This book has the element of the unexpected. For example, "At bottom the Catholic tradition is in touch with the goodness of the world and the joyfulness of life" (p. 6). The authors paint Catholicism as altogether too optimistic and care-free and try to support that using a contrast with Puritans. This is an intellectual slight of hand, rather than a sound intellectual argument. Puritans arouse against what they saw as corruption of the Church as it really existed at the time of Renaissance, not against the universal Christian tradition as it should exist. The Bible is very pessimistic about human nature and the New Testament is also pessimistic about life on earth in general, seeking salvation in the world Beyond. To continue this theme of the unexpected, the authors turn decidedly Nietzschean in their historical criticism on page 41, when they discuss Christianization of Germanic peoples: "They were, as the Romans called them, barbarians. They were crude and illiterate. They were wild and uncivilized. They were often at war with one another. Christianity tamed their barbaric instincts." But immediately following this, the authors become true believers: "It gave them a higher standard of morality. It gave them a deeper purpose and a broader vision."

Half way through, the book begins to wear on, warily reaching the end. It does not present a compelling argument for being or not being a Catholic. It just tells you somewhat haphazardly what Catholicism is about and presents questions at the end of each chapter for your consideration. This book is not like other books about Catholicism, so it is worth taking a look at.

I was impressed by the way this book looks honestly at both the postive aspects of being Catholic and the "shadow" side. Reading it reinforced for me all the good reasons to be Catholic, reaffirming for me my decision to profess my faith in the Catholic Church some years ago. I am presently serving as Coordinator of Catholic Campus Ministry in a small university, and often have students (both Catholic and non) that have questions about the Catholic faith. I plan to have several copies of this book on hand to loan them. I will highly recommend it to those thinking of leaving their Catholic faith!

I read this book 6 years ago, when I was considering becoming a Catholic. It answered many questions I had about the Church, and was a positive factor in my decision to convert to Catholicism. I liked the fact that it explains the direct lineage from the Church founded by Jesus, and is honest about both the great things the Church has been and done, and the times when the Catholic Church and Hierarchy have made big mistakes. I highly recommend it, and am ordering another copy to replace one I loaned out and never got back!

to an architect the purpose of this book is unclear. The subject is an architect with an extremely intersting life, who designed very interesting buildings. The subtitle of the book gives us the impression that the book is about architecture. In reality it only gives us a very poor impression of the buildings designed by Neutra: only very small pictures are displayed of what he designed. family snap-shots on the other hand, are everywhere and in larger sizes.
Of course this can be a purpose of the writer. However, the uncritical way and blind admiration for Neutra makes the book boring to read an tiresome.
I suggest that anyone that is interested in the works of Neutra buy another book, with better, and more pictures of his buildings an floor plans to go with them. His buildings deserve it.

this is an excellent account of the life and works of richard neutra. i would recommend this book to anyone interested in modern architecture, both regionally and internationally. More color images would have been appreciated, although this does not detract from the overall attractiveness of the book.

The classic Neutra companion; very informative. Although I would have liked to have seen current color photographs of the great RJN's work along with the extensive B&W ones (actually I believe a volume of that nature is in the works), this retrospective is nonetheless very broad in its scope and has many interesting stories about the building of the structures during Neutra's life. Also contains a complete list of his buildings and houses, along with locations and dates of construction.

This book is one of only a few books that I own that I have been able to use as both a reference book and an enjoyable reading book (enjoyable to a structural engineer). It had many great examples on different ways to use composite design that I had not learned about in school. It also did this in a way that was useful at work. I have impemented many of the design principles from this book into my designs.

I would recommend this book to any structural, civil, or architectural engineer with a basic understanding of composite design.

Can you feel any logical sensation with the so called mysticism.Ghazzali was the best practician of the logic upon mysticism.Ghazzali was not only a master of the recent affairs throughout the islamic world but also his sctriptures were extremely donated along the western humanities and the philosophy of renaissance.Ghazzali was the eclectic face of the last thousand years in the eastern half the western world(that is Islam,yeah you're right!)

This book is the best language overview yet made. All languages and dialect spoken are shown here, including the number of speakers, area in which the language is spoken etcetera.

A global world is subject that is often pondered and disected at any given moment in time. Ideas and opinions aren't always out of vogue like some issues. In Mansbach/Rhodes 2nd Edition of this Reader, they present the ideas of what the world is, was and should/could be.

This Reader is almost like a history lesson juxtaposed with current affairs to present concepts in international politcs. And because it was printed in 2003 (but really in 2002) there are issues that most people are familiar with that are discussed (i.e. terrorism-9/11, UN, weapons of mass destruction, ethnic/cultural/social/economic changes, etc). Numerous and well known authors in each chapter give their own view. But most importantly, there are also counter arguments that give the reader a well rounded idea of the subject. It's very important to be able to see all sides and not one that is the most popular or the most radical.

Each chapter has a short introduction (in which for some subjects, gives a kind of brief history, and better understanding) as does each article. Lots of examples and references that are clear and concise. It's difficult not to understand.

The author's are w/o bias and are willing to give all sides of the same issue--which doesn't color the subject one way or the other; they leave it to the reader to decide.

I actually loved reading each chapter and all the varied opinions made me think more about my world and how it functions. There are things that most of us are completely unaware of and dont' take the time to read and understand. With this Reader, anyone can get a brief history that they can apply to real life issues. I am a better informed person and more aware of how the system came to be and why. It's a fountain of information that can be used for first time users, as myself, and it's not difficult to follow at all.

The watercolors of JMW Turner have the concise, simplified vision of contemporary art even though they were painted in the mid 1800's. This survey shows the progression of this master of light and delicate color from tightly delineated landscapes to the atmospheric , nearly abstract vistas of his late career. The reproductions are supported by quotes selected from writings contemporary to the paintings. This book provides an inspirational overview of the work of Turner and belongs in the library of the serious watercolor artist.

This is a new edition of a book published in 1984 that has long been out of print. So far as I can tell, the only change is a new preface of Joseph Pierce. The republication is due in part to the surge of interest in Middle Earth occasioned by the new movies, and in part due to the interest the publisher, Ignatius Press, has in the book's subject matter.

What Tolkien, Purtill, and Ignatius Press all have in common is their Roman Catholicism, and of particular relevance to this book, a common sense of morality stemming from it. Between the Purtill the critic and Tolkien the author are additional commonalities as well: Purtill, like Tolkien, is an academic who is also an author of fantasy.

Given the commonalities between Purtill and Tolkien, it is therefore not surprising that the critic is entirely sympathetic to the author. In explaining, Purtill also defends. There are a few passages where Purtill makes the defense explicit, citing negative comments by others and then arguing against them. For the most part, however, the defense is implicit, inherent in the explanations he gives. The explicit defenses are not fully satisfactory. In terms of tone they come off as, for lack of a better word, defensive. A deeper problem however is that the explicit defenses by their very nature tend to distort that which they defend - points minor in Tolkien can become major in a defense of Tolkien. These defects make Purtill's explicit defenses sufficiently unsatisfactory that the work would have been improved through their omission.

Where Purtill succeeds and succeeds quite well is when he defends Tolkien implicitly. The strength of his book lies in his explanations of Tolkien's moral views, as well as how myth is used as a means to convey them. When Purtill works directly with Tolkien's published writings and with comments he made about them in his letters, Purtill is at his most interesting and his book most worth the time spent with it.

The main works of Tolkien taken up by Purtill are "Leaf by Niggle", "On Fairy Stories", "The Hobbit", "Lord of the Rings", and "The Silmarillion". The attention paid by Purtill to the first of these, "Leaf by Niggle" will surprise some readers, but it is I think justified by the parallels between the character Niggle and Tolkien; to understand how Tolkien saw Niggle is to a considerable extent to understand how Tolkien saw himself. "On Fairy Stories" is similarly self-referential in that Tolkien is writing about a genre in which he himself works. If "Leaf by Niggle" is about the relationship between Tolkien and his writing, "On Fairy Stories" is about the relationship between Tolkien's writing and the world. Together, these works give the reader a sense of how Tolkien saw his writing and it is through these works that Purtill approaches the others.

Tolkien's chief works, "The Hobbit", "The Lord of the Rings", and "The Silmarillion" share a common world, and are treated by Purtill in an overlapping fashion. Purtill's main goal is to separate and discuss the works' moral themes. In his discussion of how morality is presented in the three works, Purtill applies the approach developed in his discussion of the previous two: the use of a particular world and a particular story to illuminate the universal and unchanging. What is the nature of good? What is the nature of evil? How do good and evil operate in man? It is simply by explaining what Tolkien has to say about these themes that Purtill's literary defense of Tolkien succeeds; it is when he is least concerned with defending him and most concerned with simply explaining him that Purtill defends Tolkien best.

Tolkien employs multiple methods to make his moral points. First, he often simply makes the moral physical - beauty and ugliness representing good and evil. Second, he facets personality; this character receives this facet while another character receives another. Third, he makes moral choices stark. While it is many other things as well, morally Tolkien's work is one of analysis - he breaks up complexity into simpler parts for study. Given this, an analytical reader is doomed to failure because his work has already been done for him - he can't break up Tolkien's characters into simpler parts because they are simple parts already. Morality in Tolkien becomes interesting not when he is read analytically, but when he is read synthetically - when the reader considers not the parts in themselves but in how the parts relate to each other.

Purtill's book benefits its reader in two ways. First, in his explanation of particular moral points that Tolkien makes that many readers may not have caught, but which enrich the experience once understood. Second, and more importantly, Purtill explains how to read Tolkien - Purtill has by no means exhausted the moral complexities of Tolkien's work; he opens the door but ultimately leaves each reader with the pleasure of crossing through and exploring it for himself.

Like Ford Maddox Ford, Curle was, for a time, an intimate literary friend of Conrad's. His book provides some interesting insights into the great author's writing process and into his personality, as well. For Conradians, Curle is an indispensible source. Jocelyn Baines provides the background. Curle provides the personal reflection, as when he describes Conrad's being subject to "paroxyms of fury, into which he could be plunged by people who, for one reason or another, had angered him."

We don't usually think of the stolid, placid, stoical Conrad as being a human being who could occasionally blow his top. Curle brings him down to earth a bit, as when he reports that Conrad was notoriously afraid of "losing his self-possession, even for a moment." Certainly the pictures of the author that have come down to us try to convey the image of the steady-going voyager and captain, ever-composed and thoroughly self-possessed. Curle's depiction shows us another side to this enigmatic author. One that historians and scholars should not overlook when investigating the great man's works.

I felt that the book was not as objective as i would have liked it to be. I felt that opinions should have been kept out.