There is a nice sixty page introduction about Plato's general line of thought: such as, the argument of the Republic, what the theory of the forms is about, and Plato's ethical theory. The rest of the book includes White's commentary on what Plato (or Socrates) is discussing in each section. It includes the arguments discussed, some criticisms of them from time to time, correlations to other greek writings/Plato's writings/earlier sections in the Republic, etc. White will occasionally interact with other scholars and propose what he thinks is the best way to understand the particular passages. I have found this companion to be very useful for understanding what is going on in the Republic during those moments where it just is not registering clearly. Thus, I think this work, in so far as you want to follow what Plato is doing, is a helpful addition to your library and studies.

I have read this book cover-to-cover, and although it is intended as a text book, it reads like many of the very popular science books I have read. If you enjoyed reading Sagan's "Cosmos", Gribbin's "In Search of the Big Bang", Feynman's "The Character of Physical Law", Lederman's "The God Particle" or Hawking's "A Brief History of Time", you will enjoy this very well-conceived and well-written book.

"The Cosmic Perspective" is very comprehensive. Besides covering the fundamental concepts of astronomy (such as light as the cosmic messenger; universal motion; celestial timekeeping; and telescopes), this book details how stars are born, evolve and die; the fundamentals of relativity; how the galaxies were formed, as well as how our solar system was formed; how vast space really is; how we know the distances to various objects in our universe; and how we know what happened at the early moments of the Big Bang. Since this book is new (published in 1999), it contains the latest facts and the latest thinking of modern astronomy. This book captured my interest and my enthusiasm the moment I began reading it.

Remy was a judge for the Duchy of Lorraine and tried many hundreds of witchcraft cases, sending as many as 800 of the accused to a slow and terrible death at the stake. As a result of his vast "experience", this present work was considered one of the most influenctial of the many works on witchcraft and demonology that came about as a result of the great witchcraze of the 16th and 17th centuries. It definately influenced the work of several later demonologists such as Francesco Maria Guazzo and Martin Del Rio. Remy's work described a number of witchcraft cases and emphasised the truth of the diabolic pact supposedly made between a witch and the Devil himself and the horrible acts claimed to take place at the witches Sabbat. It also highlighted the fact that many witches were forced into the Devil's service either through trickery or violence, which was a change from several earlier works which claimed that witches made a willing choice to do evil. This in no way meant that Remy urged mercy for those who chose the dark path. Quite the opposite was true in fact. Remy draws on many ancient and contemporary sources for his arguments and stressed that the evil power of witches and other adherents to the Devil must be thoroughly rooted out of society by rope and flame.

Remy is generally considered one of the more virulent demonologists, in line with other anti-witch writers like Jean Bodin or Heinrich Kramer. His work was influential until the end of the 17th century, when a belief in witches and demons was on a steep decline, and this book was frequently cited and reprinted. Montague Summers, the eccentric early 20th century occult historian, lauds praise on Remy for his determination to root out witchery by any means possible, even if that meant the torture and death of innocents. While repugnant to our modern morality, this work is important to an understanding of the witchcraze of the early modern period.

Boston art collector Clayton Reed sends his agent Fred Taylor to Westport, Massachusetts to bid on erotic art being put up for bid as part of the auction of the late Lord Hanford's collection. The Runnymeade Museum will benefit from the proceeds. Fred successfully purchases the drawings, which are the works of the famous nineteenth artist Joseph Turner at an extraordinary low price.

However, before they can toast their victory, problems surface for Clayton and Fred. Hanford's son slaps them with a law suit, demanding the return of the collection. A rival collector is putting brutal pressure on everyone associated with the purchase to inform him what they know about the works. Fred begins his own investigation to ascertain why these drawings, which are atypical of Turner's landscape work, have become suddenly hot. However, it is a shop assistant working on his thesis who uncovers the link that includes a Victorian age murder.

The fourth Taylor art mystery is the best book of a well-designed series. DIRTY LINEN is fascinating as 1999 characters look back at genuine mid-nineteenth century events, which are wrapped inside a stimulating modern tale. Fred remains an interesting character, but his support cast add much to the crisp story line. Especially of note is author Nicholas Kilmer's clever use of secondary players to unravel much of the mystery. This "historical" art who-done-it is a masterpiece of the sub-genre.

Harriet Klausner