This book is a basic philosophical treatment of computing. I think that it should be included as a basic part of any Computer Science / Computer Engineer curriculum in respectable universities, along with Roger Penrose book, The Emperor's new mind, it creats a better understanding of what is human and what is mechanic for all those who need to know it.

Should Computer Science / Engineering freshmen/women in universities know? My answer is YES, in their first year !

This is perhaps the best book ever written on issues of computer technology and modern life, in the sense that it says a lot of really important things and is also very readable by both lay persons and technical persons. People like Jacques Ellul, Arnold Gehlen et al. have written very important texts in this area, but are much less "accessible". If the truth only counts when it is absorbed by persons, Weizenbaum's book stands out as being engrossing and a pleasure to read, as well as saying what needs to be said. It is very sad that the second edition which was supposed to be out a year or so ago has not appeared. But in no way has 20 years "dated" the present text. _Computer Power and Human Understanding_ explains why we have such problems as Y2K, etc.

I read parts of this book, thinking highly of it. I thought one particular passage from it, as quoted in Gates by Stepehen Manes and Paul Andrews, particulary stood amid the limelight: [t]he computer programmer . . . is a creator of universes for which alone is the lawgiver. . . .No playwright, no stage director, no emperor, however powerful, has ever exercised such absolute authority to arrange a stage of field a battle and to command such unswervingly dutiful actors or troops.

This is Joseph Wambaugh at his best, humorous, suspenseful, and sympathetic to his police characters while not shying away from their faults, foibles, and flaws. In one of his better mysteries, the cops of Rampart Station try to solve the connections between a Nobel Prize, a Russian submarine, a useless credit card, a dead hooker and a similarly deceased sleazy private eye.

Detective Mario Villalobos tries to solve the murder of a young hooker named "Missy Moonbeam" by day while spending his nights drowning his sorrows with a typical Wambaugh cast of police and groupie characters at Leery's Saloon. Larger than life characters such as "The Bad Czech", "Jane Wayne", Ludwig the police dog, and the "Gooned Out Vice Cop" all make appearances. The thing is Wambaugh makes you actually care about these people and their situations. It is obvious that the former policeman turned author still understands and feels a great empathy and affection for the men and women who police our "mean streets".

Villalobos is one of his better drawn characters. A burned out man who drinks too much, he still possesses some great police instincts, and he is not so far gone as some of the suicidal main characters of Wambaugh's darker novels, such THE SECRETS OF HARRY BRIGHT or THE GLITTER DOME. A mixture of serendipitous luck and good police work lead to a surprising twist of a conclusion, but as with most of Wambaugh's best books, the journey and the whacky cast of characters one encounters along the way is actually more important than the destination itself.

Highly recommended. Five plus stars.

Perhaps this should be called the precinct that couldn't shoot straight. A police procedural that is spiced up with a cast of police characters that are bizarre, pathetic, crude and funny. All of them are boozers, meeting nightly at a local tavern to toss a few and exchange wild happenings of the day. Joseph Wambaugh wrote this book in 1982. It has the hip lingo of that era - a reminder of how quickly street talk becomes cliché, nevertheless a fun read. Cops on the beat, especially in L.A, always have weird but entertaining stories to tell. Besides the gritty happenings on LA streets, there are two murders to solve here. Several clever twists keep you interested throughout. A great beach book.

This is no dud, stop looking in the bookstore when you see this title and pick it up. This book moves at the same pace as a cop car running hot. It really is a good read with a lot of inventive characters and situations. There are a lot of police novels out there but this is defiantly one of the top ten percent. You will like the book from the moment you start reading.

While human cloning, biotechnology, and genetic engineering capture headlines along with the world's imagination, there's little beyond what you see in the press that puts a truly human face on the Question of Human Cloning. That's why this book is so intriguing, and its concept so rich. Here we have Clancy- and Grisham-level dialog, along with a raging plot that keeps the reader on the edge of her easy chair...combined with one of the greatest stories in our history: cloning...and what it can (will?) do to us as a species. Highly recommended, for science and non-science types alike.

I normally wouldn't read a book about genetics but I could not put down Destiny's Hand! The characters are compelling and the story is well researched. In addition to being totally entertained, I found the storyline to be intellectually stimulating. Terrific book!

Joe Driessen is a master of dialog. The characters speak clearly and loudly so the story just rolls along. Anyone who likes science, mystery, adventure, romance, technology, music, great characters, and/or spirituality will love this good, solid read. It's sure to be a movie soon. I can't wait for the sequel.

Joseph Banks was a head of my LDS Stake in Cincinnati. Often he would tell this tale live from the pulpit. As a youth, I somewhat 'checked out' as this is not the type of tale I wanted to hear, but kept it lodged in the back of my mind.

I read this book at the beginning of July, 2002. At month's end, Joe was back in Cincinnati to tell his tale once more to the congregation. How amazing that, even after all this country has experienced in recent years, the people there were only half-tuned. One even had the courage to question its Truth.

Want to get the Royal Hell scared out of you?! Read this one. Be sure and pray that this Never occurs to you.

A book I will never forget. I could never imagine experiencing the hell that this man went through. I am so grateful that we have men like this hero who protect us. In light of recent national catastrophe's, this book is not only topical, but a story that will stay with me forever

We bought the unabridged audio version and put it in the tape player in the car on a long trip. My 13 year old daughter and 11 year old son were both "glued" to their seats. Every time we stopped, they were the first ones to make sure I started it again. A very gripping story that holds your attention from the very first page. The man had incredible faith. His life was spared numerous times. I definately recommend the book.

Joseph Owens has written a superb technical study of ONTOLOGY, the study of "being qua being", from a Christian perspective. That is: Owens proceeds from supposition of Uncreated SUBSISTENT BEING(God)as the source of created, contingent "being" subtending existence and all existents. He further develops distinction between "being"(esse), the IS-ness most fundamentally "actualizing" an existent(an "ens"...thing...res...substance);and NATURE(essentia..."through which and in which a being has its act of existing" p.131).NATURE is not only characterizing(existential particularizing)WHAT-ness of a thing/existent, but is its "formal" cause as POTENTIAL for existence in Reality. That is to say, "Natures" potentially exist as things they may become when actualized by ESSE.(Thus: there is Human Nature that can be actualized/ inFORMED by "being qua being" to become a unique person...known individually as particular man or woman, and collectively(UNIVERSALLY)as Mankind.)

Additonally, Owens discusses notions of "real" being(existents); and cognitional being(ideas).The latter may or may not have NATURES:potency for existence.(Ideas: MAN; table; cars or Time Machines,can/may exist. "Square circles"; "snowballs in hell";or
Heideggerian/Sartrian NOTHING-ness, cannot "exist" outside clever verbal formulation.) Furthermore: It's not that GOD is NO-thing (Medievalists occasionally punned). HE is Ultimate Thing; the
Only Being who IS subsistent; whose being(Esse)and Nature (essentia)are Identical. Defense of valid--truthful and reliable--EPISTEMOLOGY is argued with the notion of INTENTIONAL being. Knowledge itself is Cause(esse)communicated to intellects then actualized as IDEAS in the mind. Intellect "judges" idea/concepts existentially and essentially in what comprises the reasoning process(cf: pp.236-247). This essay is fascinating exploration of fudamental metaphysics from classical(Christian, Aristotelian-influenced)perspective. Key chapters are 6 ...Subsistent Being as FIRST CAUSE...and 9; discussion of Essence(s)...the WHAT-ness...constituting REALITY.The book is highly recommended to students of philosophy and history of ideas,particularly as CONTRA to many nihilistic anti-Metaphysics (with solipsistic "knowledge" theories)comprising POST-MODERNISM.

Fr. Owens truly provides an outstanding work into Christian metaphysical thinking. While this book is titled an "Elementary" introduction and indeed it is, still the subject matter of metaphysics is not easy and hence this material is no cake walk. First time readers on metaphysics should probably read an easier primer, but after doing so they would do well to buy this work of Owens. It is very well done.

If you are a Christian and interested in philosophy, then this book is for you. Owens does an excellent job of introducing the student to the science of 'being as being.' However, it is not elementary as the title might suggest. There is a lot to digest, but the Christian intellectual will find a lot of answers to how a theist ought to do philosophy. The best feature are the footnotes. Owens directs the reader to other interesting pursuits. I cannot not recommend this book enough.

My father introduced me to Henry Ware and his mates when I was 7 or 8 years old. I have treasured every adventure with the "Five". My two sons have carried on my love for stories of the American frontier in the early late 1700's. Mr Altsheler has a unique way of explaining the flavor of the times.

As a young girl in the early sixties, I read every Altsheler book the library had. The writing of these novels is so colorful and detailed, the reader easily feels a part of the story. The characters in the Young Trailers and their descendants carry on through the historical periods covered in Altsheler's other books. Must reading for anyone enjoying accurate historical novels. Note: First reviewer missed Tom Ross as the fifth Trailer.

Almost 40 years ago, as a young girl, I read and treasured all eight of the Henry Ware stories. As an adult I have re-read and treasured them again. Joseph Altsheler's descriptions of the great American wilderness will be with me always. Who recommended them to me? My mother. This is great writing - for boys and girls!

I really wanted to like this book, since I love both mysteries and the sport of harness racing. And, for the most part, I did think the book was excellent, particularly the main character, who I find to be a very interesting detective. However, I did have two problems with the book, that keep me from giving it 5 stars. First of all, in his desire to have the right mix of politically correct characters, the quthor produces quite a few awkward passages since, in alot of spots, the diversity he covets really doesn't fit, and seems contrived. Second, he should know, since his son, to whom he dedicated the book, is a fairly well known harness racing trainer in Chicago, that everyone who works on the backstretch at a harness track must be fingerprinted. Yet, from the way he describes these murders, prints must have been left, so the guy would have been identified almost immediately. So, all in all, the book was good but not great, and perhaps a bit inaccurate, but I would definitely read more by this author.

Mc Caffrey did an excellent job on this one. A must read for all harness racing fans. I fell in love with some of the characters, and it was hard to put down!

Cassies Ruler and Confessional Matters contain eventful and fast-paced stories distinguished by clear, vigorous writing. McCaffrey makes clever use of a rich and deep classical background. His mystery stories contain historical and philosophical references, with a hint of humor, to explicate attitudes and to breathe life into characters and personalities that are vivid and memorable. More McAbee mysteries, please!

Jacquie Joseph's Defensive Softball Drills is a compilation of some of the most basic skills necessary for development of a successful defensive player. The drills emphasize proper fundamentals and are adaptable to players of all skill levels. I use the drills in the book with my high school players as part of my defensive drill period, and our team is as solid defensively as any.

I coach girls 19u and used this book to set up my practices. I found the drills very good and helped to teach the girls ball control. I found that alot of the drills help shape the skills of the players. By the end of our season the girls were showing skills they themselves never knew they had. I feel this book made me an effective coach.

Where do you go for softball fielding practice drills when you're a coach trying to teach certain skills? After looking at many sources, my vote is for this book. Dozens and dozens of great drills for every position. The girls on my 10U team loved the drills, had fun and learned a lot.

Dostoevsky: The Mantle of the Prophet, 1871-1881 is the long-awaited final volume by Joseph Frank, Professor of Comparative Literature Emeritus at Princeton University and Professor of Comparative Literature and Slavic Languages and Literature Emeritus at Stanford University.

Previous volumes in the series are: Dostoevsky: The Seeds of Revolt, 1821-1849; Dostoevsky: The Years of Ordeal, 1850-1859; Dostoevsky: The Stir of Liberation, 1860-1865; and Dostoevsky: The Miraculous Years, 1865-1871.

It was during the final decade of his life, 1871-1881, that Dostoevsky wrote Diary of a Writer and his greatest novel, The Brothers Karamazov. Many pages of Frank's fifth volume deals with analzying these two works (140 pages for The Brothers Karamazov alone).

With impressive literary scholarship, Frank throws light on the historical, political, economic, social, cultural, and literary setting within which Dostoevsky created his works of art, novels of great psychological depth.

For example, Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: "Dostoevsky, the only psychologist, by the way, from whom I had anything to learn; he is one of the happiest accidents of my life, even more so than my discovery of Stendhal."

Dostoevsky traced the roots of the evils in Russian society to a loss of religious faith. By "religious faith" he meant specifically the Christian faith of the Russian Orthodox Church. He thought the Roman Catholic Church was a distortion and perversion of true Christianity. (See the harangue Dostoevsky puts into the mouth of Prince Myshkin in Part Four, Chapter VII, of The Idiot.

Of particular interest is Frank's discussion of Dostoevsky's philosophical thinking (framed, of course, within a Christian worldview), such as his ruminations on Russian nationalism, rational egoism, and the freedom of the will, and his grave concerns over the adverse moral and political effects of atheism and nihilism.

Frank soft-pedals Dostoevsky's notorious anti-Semitism, seeking to exonerate his hero as being simply "a child of his time."

Although one finds many things to dislike about Dostoevsky, one cannot help being impressed by his literary genius. Recognizing the excellence of Dostoevsky's art, Frank devotes the lion's share of his volume not to the man himself but to the man's literary production.

While this is surely not the fault of Joseph Frank, one is depressed by the seemingly endless fare of Russian sectarian bickering and murky political maneuverings. One breathes a huge sigh of relief to escape this oppressive atmosphere.

A truly triumphant conclusion to a massive and passionate undertaking. Frank shows the highest standards of scholarship in being objective, fair, yet sympathetic to one of the greatest of all writers. In this final volume, we have Dostoevsky living and breathing the Russian air of his beloved land seething with social, cultural and political issues of the day. An engaged and far-seeing artist if ever there was one. The complexity and paradoxical simplicity of his life presents us a real genius often at odds with the way he would be perceived by many of his readers, yet a humane and sincere human being. Now go back and read the magnificent works he has given us from his pen.

"Dostoevsky : The Mantle of the Prophet, 1871-1881" is the fifth and final volume in Frank's extraordinary biography of Dostoevsky, a remarkable undertaking of more than a quarter century. While every volume has been exceptional and well worth reading, because they share a title and differ only in subtitle Amazon's system tends to muddle reviews of the various volumes together. This final volume covers the last decade of Dostoevsky's life, so don't buy it expecting a one-volume bio of the great writer. If you care about Dostoevsky's work find copies of the first four volumes, read them, then read this book. The series sets a superlative standard for examining a great writer's life and works, but this volume isn't really intended to stand alone, despite a short "story-to-date" intro.

I first read this book several years ago. I am a professional computer scientist/applied mathematician, and have no training at all in any social science aside from history, government and anthropology courses taken in college (lo these many years ago). My interest in this book arises from the illumination that its chapters on the English, the Irish, the Italians and the Jews (the main ethnic groups in the town in which I grew up) have given to otherwise inexplicable bits of my life. For example, I could never understand why one of my Yankee friends would go into paroxysms of anger when, after inviting his daughter to Sunday dinner, she would accept, and then call with a (legitimate) excuse on Saturday; or why one of my mother's best friends, a woman of Irish descent, drove me wild for over 40 years with her teasing manner, although she clearly meant very well towards me. The pathways of social and familial relationships passed from generation to generation through the filter of ethnic heritage appears to be remarkably powerful, even in these post-melting-pot days. Read this book with an eye to self-discovery if you don't believe me!

Ethnicity and Family Therapy is quite simply the best book that exists to any interested person as well as students and professionals with a good overview of important factors to understand when dealing with differences that exist in people.

I first became familiar with Monica McGoldrick about eighteen years ago. She has devoted her life's work to research and writing on the influences of ancestry and ethnicity in our contemporary lives. Every time I pick this book up (over the first and second editions), I find myself lost in it as if it is my first discovery of it and I always learn something new! A great book for a discussion group to consider.

I have been using this book and the earlier book in my practice for more than ten years. It has been vital to my work not only with other cultures, but my own (Irish)> I have often shared the readings with my clients who also found the chapters on their cultures to be acurate. If there was going to be one book on my shelf, this would be it. Got a copy to sell I would buy it as a back-up!