As a committed Progressive Jew who fluctuates between Reform and Reconstructionist affiliation, I was glad to stumble upon Michael Meyer's excellent history of the Reform Movement. Meyer traces the development of Reform from the early years in Hamburg and Berlin to recent decisions made the Central Conference of American Rabbis. In so doing, he explodes a number of horrific myths that Orthodox "Judaism" lobs at Reform: that significant numbers of Reform congregations shifted their main day of worship to Sunday; that the movement is simply "watered down" Judaism; that Reform Jews are simply "lapsed" Jews who would be Orthodox if they didn't find it difficult or knew more about Judaism. Meyer also shows that, just as there are and have been important movements and currents within "Orthodoxy", there were and are many different movements and currents within Reform. The discussions of the movement's growth and foment on German soil, and the transfer of that foment to the United States, are particularly enlightening.

Michael Meyer's clear-eyed history of the Reform (a.k.a. 'Progressive') movement should be read by anyone who wants to understand the current fragmented condition of modern Jewry. Meyer makes eminently clear that it is the Reformers who departed from the traditional faith of Judaism and thereby founded a new religion at odds with (what they came to call) Orthodoxy. (Meyer himself is clearly favourable toward this approach, but he is at least unblinkingly honest about it.) Anyone affiliated with Reform or Progressive 'Judaism' who has not read Meyer's careful and thorough historical exposition probably does not understand the real foundations of his or her own movement.

Professor Meyer's history of Reform Judaism is so rich, comprehensive, and lucid, that I cannot imagine that it has much serious competition as the best single-volume treatment of the subject. Highly recommended for those interested in gaining literacy on the topic, or much insight into the creation of a modern religion. Enthusiastically endorsed!

Miichael J. Meyer's anthology, _Literature and Ethnic Discrimination_, contains a superb essay by Eric Sterling entitled "Loss and Growth of Identity in Shimon Wincelberg's Resort 76." Sterling discusses how Wincelberg's drama portrays a convinced Nazi during World War II who is discovered to be the grandson of a Jew and who is forced to live in the Lodz Ghetto. The onetime Nazi's prejudices against Jews evaporate and he rejects his convictions in Nazi ideology. The topic of the Holocaust is also discussed by Peter R. Erspamer in his essay, "Women Before Hell's Gate: Survivors of the Holocaust and their Memoirs." He discusses German-language Holocaust reminiscenses by Jewish authors who are as-yet relatively unknown to English-speaking readers and makes a strong case for their importance and relevance. The African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston is discussed by the Spanish scholar, Anna Maria Fraile-Marcos. Fraile-Marcos challenges the view that Hurston was an apolitical writer and examines the development of ethnic identity in Hurston's folkloric writings. One of the most informative essays in this collection is Obodimma Oha's "What God Has Put Asunder." He discusses how the Niger river has divided the people of Nigeria into two ethnicities and how inter-ethnic cooperation is low despite subversive pressures from Christianity, urbanization, and Western education.

Overall, this was a good survey of Mexican history. The writing style was easy to read--not as dense as most history text books-- and was informative on more than just facts. This books covers pre-Colombian history, the Conquest, the fight for independence from Spain, and the evolution (and revolutions) that occured after independence. Also, this book goes into more than just historical fact by expressing ideas that spread through the country, cultural changes, and political trends. This is a great place to start learning about Mexico and, with the recommended reading lists at the end of each chapter, a good reference if a person wants more details on a specific subject covered in the book.

I used this book when i took
my Mexico course at the local
college. The historical literature
is well researched and documented.
This is the best guide if one wants
too know Mexican history. Any one
who says that this book is light, I
suggest you watch the news on the Televisa channel
station or Azteca Television. The literature will
not give you the details of why the economy has failed.

everything is said positive, reserved, and with class.
literature is recommended.

one has to see that mexico is just about the rich vs the poor.
the rich vs the yankees, and the white rich, mestizo rich vs the poor in todays society.

it has been a conquered land, but through revolution and evolution the country has truimphed, work through its leaders.

it was said in the news that the mexicans will not allow the "dollar" control the economy, mexican economy, but the attitude of nationalism is changing for the better in us mexico relations.. . . . .the issue of the european union, the united states of europe is bound to change things soon. . . .

I grew up in Mexico. For years, the best source on Mexican history was a 4-volume set published by the Colegio de México, the authoritative and ultra-elitist "Mexican Harvard." It was the best because nobody could read it (no one dared criticize this monstrosity)!
The Course of Mexican History is magnificent in contrast. Since I found the fifth edition this year, you can be sure that the authors don't neglect their incredible labor!
I believe the contents and lengths of chapters are well balanced. You probably have to live in the country to understand her history, and you might only get the gist of it.
A truly remarkable find!

I think this is an excellent book for anyone wanting to learn computer hardware but I would recommend supplementing your studying with other material for the actual exam. Study guides and free practice tests available on the Internet will help you focus on what is actually on the exam. Meyers' book goes into much more detail than what is needed for the A+ exams, making review a daunting task if you depend only on this book. The author seems to care more about teaching you something than preparing you for the exam (that is commendable but this is supposed to be geared for the test). To sum up, this is a very well-written book and I learned a great deal from reading it, but it is just way too much too review with. I passed both tests on the first try with good scores but I don't think I would have if I had depended solely on this book. So read this book but use study guides and practice tests for review. By the way, according to the CompTIA site the Dos/Windows exam is changing this spring or summer. They are dropping the Win 3.x info and adding NT, Win98 and Linux. None of which is covered by this book so keep that mind if you don't plan on taking your test before June. Good luck.

This is the book that I used to brush up and study with before taking my A+ and passing both tests the same day.

I feel that this book is well writen and has humor in all the right areas (trust me humor is very important when studying a 1000+ page book). Author Michael Meyers kept my interest from beginning to end and I wasn't bored through the book. Some would say that he goes way to far in to subjects taht aren't covere on the test, but my feeling is that the areas that he covers either are good to know as an IT professional or help you to understand the relevant matter better and more completely.

Mind I do have 3 years professional experiance and over 15 years of hobbyist, so take this for what it is worth.
Now if only his Network + book was up to date on the 2001 Objectives and testing methods.

This book is really all you need to pass the A+ Exam. It isparticularly strong in the Core Service Technician area, but a littlebit weak on the DOS/Windows protion of the exam. There is way, way more here than is needed to pass the A+ Exams, but it makes an excellent guide for troubleshooting even after the exams have been passed. All the same, you may want to wait until the tests are upgraded before testing; Windows 3.x and Windows95 are still included on the test, which is rather silly now that we have Windows98, Windows NT, and Windows2000 out. The book is so large that review is difficult, and the questions provided at the end of each chapter are nothing whatsoever like the ones on the exam, so you may need to invest in some testing software as well. The CD asks you to pay more money before you get full access to it, which is kind of a dirty trick. All the same, this book can't be beat for the sheer amount of information and detail that is in it. Caveat: it may not be best to start out with this book -- it is really not for beginners are those with no experience under the hood of a PC. A more basic book may be in order before feeling comfortable with identifying the varying types of expansion slots and so on. But on the whole a great book.

this was truely a great book and i enjoyed reading it, however i desired more interpretation on "the secret sayings of the living Jesus." i thought the authors would elaborate in depth the sayings they've discovered, but rather they were just presented. I'd recommend buying the book, that is for sure, but you should research the gospel of Thomas deeply before you undertake the reading.

Urban Transportation Planning is well written and well organized. Complicated modeling techniques are explained in detail. The process flow charts and bubble graphs simplify complex relationships between transportation, land use, planning and politics. Strengths and weaknesses of different modeling strategies are discussed in detail.

Extensive chapter bibliographies are useful for students and professionals seeking detailed discussions of topics covered in the text.