Although this is the fourth volume of the new edition of WJ's correspondence, in a way it is really the first, and would be a good place for a reader desiring a more intimate acquaintance with William James and his world to start. Volumes 1-3 were devoted to the letters to and from his equally famous novelist brother -- an appealing idea and one probably calculated to increase interest and sales, but perhaps questionable on more fundamental grounds. Be that as it may, as a reading experience Volume 4 can scarcely be recommended too highly. William James is probably one of the most lovable letter writers ever to set pen to paper. In these letters every sentence comes alive and breathes.

James possessed to a high degree qualities of attention, powers of observation, and an adorable desire to render experience vividly. It is a cliche to say that "a world comes alive" in pages like these, but that is the feeling I have when, for example, I read a letter written from Dresden to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. on May 15, 1868: "Wendell of my entrails! At the momentous point where the last sheet ends I was interrupted by the buxom maid calling me to tea and through various causes have not got back till now. As I sit by the open window waiting for my bkfst. and look out on the line of Droschkies drawn up on the side of the dohna Platz, and see the coachmen, red faced, red collared, & blue coated with varnished hats, sitting in a variety of indolent attitudes upon their boxes, one of them looking in upon me and probably wondering what the devil I am, When I see the big sky with a monstrous white cloud battening and bulging up from behind the houses into the blue, with a uniform coppery film drawn over cloud & blue which makes one anticipate a soaking day, when I see the houses opposite with their balconies & windows filled with flowers & greenery -- ha! on the topmost balcony of one stands a maiden, black jaketted, red petticoated, fair and slim under the striped awning leaning her elbow on the rail and her peach like chin upon her rosy finger tips -- Of whom thinkest thou, maiden, up there aloft? here, *here!* beats that human heart for wh. in the drunkenness of the morning hour thy being vaguely longs, & tremulously, but recklessly and wickedly posits elsewhere, over those distant housetops which thou regardest..."

This jocular yet earnest mood is perhaps the most pervasive one in these letters. Yet we also get glimpses into the deep and suicidal depressions he fought during his early years. Several of the letters in this volume blossom into fascinating six- or seven-page ruminations on some of the deepest questions of philosophy and religion, for these are the years in which James, "swamped in an empirical philosophy," won through to a view of the world that found room for consciousness, will, and spirit. It is in his letters to (and from) Holmes, the physician Henry Bowditch, and his bosom friend Tom Ward that we feel most intensely James's mind and heart grappling with the ideas he cares most deeply about.

But James is not always mulling over deep principles. At eighteen years of age he briefly considered becoming a painter, and began studies to that end, so it is in his character to be fully alive to surface details of the scene about him. A commentary on cultural and political matters full of interesting judgments runs though these letters. Readers will also come to feel they know well every member of the James family. WJ's letters to his sister Alice are especially remarkable.

Though my initial reaction to the policy of extremely restrained annotation practiced by the editorial team was one of frustration, in the end I came to appreciate the free hand it gives us to reread letters more carefully and to feel ourselves into the wonderful and mysterious crannies of the inner life of a great human being. To this end, I recommend deferring the introduction by Giles Gunn until after they have concluded the letters. Professor Gunn (of UC Santa Barbara) has interesting and pertinent things to say -- especially about James's relation to his father, the Swedenborgian theologian Henry James, Sr., on whose work Gunn has written -- but there is nothing there that cannot wait until readers have first immersed themselves in the primary texts.

The volumes of this series are beautiful in their craftsmanship, and it is an aesthetic as well as intellectual delight to manipulate and peruse them. This volume would make an excellent gift for a bright high school senior or college freshman, since the problems of youth and of finding a vocation hold a special place here -- for anyone struggling with a chronic or debilitating illness (James is plagued with back and eye problems through most of these years) -- or indeed, for anyone who reads!

This book has been a great source for teaching myself how to use Office 97. I was a proficient user before, but this book shows all the little tweeks that make all the difference. Beginning users should also consider this book, as it starts from the very beginning- covering the start key and how to use programs. All you need to know is how to computer on. If you don't- ask someone and then purchase this book. It will take you the rest of the way! The program is easy to follow and includes projects to practice newly learnt skills. This is not a "computer guru" book...it reads English. Well worth the $$.

I won't bore you with how great this story is....but I will say this. My copy is tattered and torn...AND the kids still want to hear it every day. They know all the words and they LOVE it. I think that is the greatest compliment I can give this book...dont you?

then this medical dictionary is worth MUCH more than it's suggested retail price! Having used Dorland's for the bulk of my studies (for over 1 year now) I can only say that I wish I had THIS dictionary when I started. Certainly, there are other med dictionaries out there, but if you have a strong visual bent about your learning style (or are trying to develop your visual learning faculties to increase your learning speed) then I STRONGLY recommend this book. Wish someone had shown it to ME when I first started my studies!
... Success to ya'!

Nam June Paik accompanies the first American retrospective of the Korean multi-media artist's work since 1982, bringing together the major works which define his many artistic contributions. While this was published to accompany an exhibition, it stands well on its own as a gathering of 300 illustrations and an essay, accompanying text descriptions of Paik and his works. It's a special challenge to bring multimedia works to life in print: this succeeds in capturing the gamut of Paik's creations.

"The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant" is a project begun in 1962 for the purpose of publishing all the known letters written by Ulysses S. Grant. Volume one was published in 1967 and there are now twenty-four volumes in the series. People who follow Grant's career are aware of the inestimable value of this project. The Papers contain all known correspondence written by Grant and letters received by him. The editing of the series is unparalleled and the volumes represent primary source material at its apex.

Those who believe Grant was a "drunkard" or a "butcher" should read his own words, which show Grant's humor, pathos and unique personality. Masterfully edited by John Y. Simon, these volumes are a "must have" for anyone with an interest in U.S. Grant as a general, a politician and as a man

"The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant" is a project begun in 1962 for the purpose of publishing all the known letters written by Ulysses S. Grant. Volume one was published in 1967 and there are now twenty-four volumes in the series. People who follow Grant's career are aware of the inestimable value of this project. The Papers contain all known correspondence written by Grant and letters received by him. The editing of the series is unparalleled and the volumes represent primary source material at its apex.

Those who believe Grant was a "drunkard" or a "butcher" should read his own words, which show Grant's humor, pathos and unique personality. Masterfully edited by John Y. Simon, these volumes are a "must have" for anyone with an interest in U.S. Grant as a general, a politician and as a man

I think both this book and the original "Blues You Can Use" are terrific. I learned a ton from the first one, and I'm learning another ton from this one. What I like best about these books is that the material never sounds stilted or dull--as it does in too many other books.

Be warned, though: this book is quite a bit more demanding than the first one. It's almost like there was supposed to be a "middle" book between the first one and this one. There is some EXTREMELY fast playing in the practice tracks. It will take me lots and lots of practice and patience to get them down.

Beginners should steer clear of this book. You'll only be disappointed. Try the first "Blues You Can Use" book instead.

That being said--the stuff sounds exciting. I can't wait until I master all of it. It's a great chance to learn how some of those great high-speed riffs I've heard in the past work. Because I don't think I'll ever be able to work them out on my own.

More Blues You Can Use picks up where Blues You Can Use left off. The two books are a great combo for self-teaching blues electric guitar. In this second book, Ganape puts more focus on rhythm guitar than in the first book, with each lesson including a rhythm lesson that is very useful. The scale portion of each lesson is also much more instructive--he gets beyond the (necessary and useful) pentatonic pattern inculcation of the first book, and into lead patterns and runs that can help in building new, improvised solos and licks. The solos are now generally two DIFFERENT choruses, which adds to repertoire and illustrates more of the principles of improv and lick playing. And more important, the solos are (as they were in the first book too) tasteful and progressively more challenging.

You can actually learn a lot from this book in practical terms and principles.

I've been playing guitar for about three years now, but I never really practice much. I'd just learn a few parts of songs that sounded cool, and then sit in frong of the tv playing them and messing around in pentatonic scales. I bought this book without the first one because I am quite familiar with 12 bar blues forms and techniques from guitar one magazines. This book is great. I just started the first lesson, and it begins exactly where I needed to begin at. No skimming throught trying to find pages I don't already know. The book is well written and explains the songs and note selections very well. The main point of the book seems to be to get you to creatively follow the changes of a 12 bar blues form, in both rhythm and lead. I imagine I will work on each lesson for about a week at a time. I would recommend this book to those who practiced and enjoyed the first book, or to those blues fans that have a hard time picking notes outside pentatonic scales. Be prepared to work hard on each lesson though!

June Thomson is a British mystery writer who has published about 18 novels concerning her own characters, and three pastiche collections of Sherlock Holmes short stories. What she seems to be doing here is getting another book out of her research and thoughts about the Holmes and Watson characters, as accumulated during the writing of the three short-story collections.

There is not much that is original here, and Thomson leans particularly heavily on D. Martin Dakin's SHERLOCK HOLMES COMMENTARY. What is good is Thomson's refusal to speculate wildly. She hews in a Fundamentalist way to the letter of the Canon; and, her main interest is the changing relations between Holmes and Watson, particularly as affected by Holmes' increasing deteriorating mental stability, and Watson's two marriages.

Thomson's two claims of originality lie in her identification of the person Watson disguised as the "King of Bohemia"--- an identification I don't buy at all; and, her identification of Watson's mysterious second wife, an identification I find brilliant and completely convincing.

This 2001 ... edition seems to be printed directly from the plates of the 1995 British edition, and the type shows quite a bit of damage, with a number of missing letters.

If you are a lover of the Canon, and of Holmes and Watson, you'll find much to ponder in this organized review of what few hints the Canon gives us on matters of the actual dates of various cases, and on the day-to-day life and relationship of the Great Detective and his faithful Boswell.

June Watson has written several books of Holmes short stories (under the titles 'The Secret of Sherlock Holmes' - File, Chronicles, Journals) but here writes a biography of both Holmes and Watson, with especial attention to their friendship.

In writing this book, she draws heavily upon the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (things written by anyone else is ignored) and establishes a chronology of the stories, espouses her own theories and makes reference to those of other Holmesians and Sherlockians.

This is a well-trodden path - first treader, as far as I know was Baring-Gould - but Ms. Thomson does a good job. The whole thing hangs together wonderfully - she foreshadows future ideas, she refers back to her previous views, and has plainly thought this project through.

And, yes, she addresses the age-old questions - was Watson shot in the shoulder or the leg, why does Mrs. Watson call her husband John "James", how many times was Watson married and to who, who was Mrs. Turner, which university did Holmes go to, etc.

If you are interested in the Holmes canon (as opposed to the stories) you may want to read this one.

Excellent "biography" (originally published in 1995) of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson from an accomplished mystery writer and Sherlockian scholar. The details and discussions are drawn directly from the original Holmes stories and features none of the unfounded or fanciful speculations that clog so many other Holmes "biographies". Thomson does offer other scholars' differing or dissenting opinions and interpretations, conjectures, and so on, where appropriate for a well-rounded text. The writing style is excellent and eminently readable, avoiding the dry scholarly style of some other studies. Well documented and footnoted, this is almost as entertaining to read as the actual Holmes stories themselves. Highly recommended.

This conference proceeding is quite focussed on fuzzy logic applications and theoretical considerations for applying fuzzy logic for some real applications.