In this well-written and important book, Hilbert demonstrates how key themes in classical social theory were lost or 'inverted' by Talcott Parsons. Hilbert goes on to show how Garfinkel's 'Studies in Ethnomethodology' (1967), and related work by other early ethnomethodologists generated a body of knowledge regarding actual social practices that stood Parsons on his head, thereby unintentionally 'recovering' some of the key insights lost to American Sociology through Parson's interpretation of Durkheim and Weber. A thought-provoking book whose insights can fuel further empirical work explicating the actual processes of the social world.

In this well-written and important book, Hilbert demonstrates how key themes in classical social theory were lost or 'inverted' by Talcott Parsons. Hilbert goes on to show how Garfinkel's 'Studies in Ethnomethodology' (1967), and related work by other early ethnomethodologists generated a body of knowledge regarding actual social practices that stood Parsons on his head, thereby unintentionally 'recovering' some of the key insights lost to American Sociology through Parson's interpretation of Durkheim and Weber. A thought-provoking book whose insights can fuel further empirical work explicating the actual processes of the social world.

In 1831, on a suggestion from his doctor to travel west to improve his health, Josiah Gregg joined a wagon train of Sante Fe traders. The result is a highly acclaimed first hand narrative of the Sante Fe trade and life on the prairies during the 1830's. Gregg's vivid writing style illustrates the many hardships and adventures of life along the Sante Fe Trail and into Mexico. We read about traveling through barren deserts, inconsistencies of the weather, the always present danger of marauding Indians and Mexicans, the questionable Mexican governmental policies, etc. Being an amateur naturalist (he had several species of plants named after him), Gregg describes geographical landforms, geology, and plant and animal life extremely well. He also gives clear, precise and realistic descriptions of the cultures and customs of both the Indians and native Mexicans from how they dressed, to how they constructed their homes; religious, spiritual and matrimonial beliefs; how food was secured and prepared; theories on future agricultural practices and uses, etc. Gregg was a keen and acute observer of his immediate surroundings which is evident in both his writing style and presentation of the subject. Professor Moorhead's editing is second to none.

Shortly after Mexican Independence interest in establishing trade with Sante Fe, Mexico's most northerly province, became ever more popular. Josiah Gregg was preceded by Mountain Men who explored the area, but he was the first with sufficient education to describe the people, land features and Indians with whom traders would have to deal. His work constitues a PREFACE to other books dealing with the Santa Fe Trail and its growing interest to the United States. Independence, MO, and Fort Smith and Van Buren, AR. - were the northern and southern starting points for Santa Fe respectively. The book is as much a tale of encounters as it is a repository of valuable information. A 'FIRST READ' for persons interested in Santa Fe and the Westward Movement. Another of a variety of fascinating histories of the Southwest.

I just bought this book and the more I read it the more I am impressed with the author's ability to clearly explain ideas in a concise manner. I am a relatively new MAX user but this book has supercharged my learning curve as well as providing new insights into the possibilities of MAX.

This book gives one a clear and inspiring view into the Max language and the wide scope of work being done with this Macintosh software. My only regret is that I don't own two copies, one for the studio and one to read at home.

This book shows just how tortuous has been the struggle in physics (and science in general) to arrive at and comprehend its fundamental concepts. The very first paragraph in Einstein's foreword is worth the price of the entire book, if one truly understands what Einstein has said. Most of us came into physics via ordinary textbook courses, where unfortunately most of the approach was to quickly master the equations and their methods of application. Somehow we never understood that the very foundations of physics are still very much at issue, and our teachers either did not realize this themselves, or considered such musings trivial, or were just too busy to enlighten us. Most of us think that things like space, mass, time, charge, field, potential, zero, and unity are obvious, and it can come as a major shock to one's system to find out that they are not. Most such fundamental concepts still do not have a satisfactory definition. Jammer's book, while cumbersome by its very scholarship, does give one a grasp of just how difficult the foundations problems -- such as the nature of space -- really are. If one is seriously interested in this sort of "deep" problem, then one must discover the literature oneself. Jammer's book is a must. I gave the book a 9 instead of a 10 because of its overall ponderous nature, but highly recommend it to anyone who is deeply interested in the foundations concepts of physics, how we got where we are, what we did along the way, what we may have yet missed, and just how firm or shaky are our concepts today. We also recommend Jammer's other studies of the concept of force and the concept of mass.

A very deep book, filled with excerpts in native languages from ancient Greek to modern German, French, and Russian, and with tensor mathematics and other such nonsense. If you want to have your concept of space and time ripped out from under you and your horizons dramatically broadened, check this one out!

(BTW, I gave this a 9 instead of a 10 solely because of the weightiness of the material.)

English professor and failed writer Walter Loomis feels his new inheritance has finally broken his downward spiral of being unable to obtain tenure at four different colleges. His father, a former CIA operative, who Walter had not seen or heard from in years, died and left his son with a little under a million dollars. Without anyone even noticing, Walter leaves the world of academia and returns to his hometown of Helmsville, North Carolina.

However, upon arrival Walter learns that he has inherited some other oddities including Ricky, a half-brother he did not know existed, a large estate, and a diary that irritates him Though he never knew his father, apparently his dad knew Walter. His dad (and Ricky) lived life to the fullest without crippling fear of failure. The ex CIA operative also realized through the pathetically dull books Walter authored that his son was a charter member of the CONGREGATION OF THE DEAD because Walter preferred to stand on the sidelines bemoaning his fate rather than live life to the fullest. A shaken Walter begins awakening to life, but where it leads him requires reading the novel.

Max Childers' third novel, CONGREGATION OF THE DEAD, is the author's most serious work to date, but is still loaded with the author's trademark acrimonious yet jocular mockery. The male characters, including the deceased, are brilliantly bizarre opposites. The story line is filled with pathos, but has wonderfully funny scenes. Especially hilarious is teaching the bored students creative writing. This a fantistic piece of literature though not for everyone because Mr. Childers' novels have a dark brew taste to them. Anyone who enjoys acerbic satire should read this book and the writer's previous works, THINGS UNDONE and ALPHA OMEGA, which contain non-stop ironic humor.

Harriet Klausner

English professor and failed writer Walter Loomis feels his new inheritance has finally broken his downward spiral of being unable to obtain tenure at four different colleges. His father, a former CIA operative, who Walter had not seen or heard from in years, died and left his son with a little under a million dollars. Without anyone even noticing, Walter leaves the world of academia and returns to his hometown of Helmsville, North Carolina.

However, upon arrival Walter learns that he has inherited some other oddities including Ricky, a half-brother he did not know existed, a large estate, and a diary that irritates him Though he never knew his father, apparently his dad knew Walter. His dad (and Ricky) lived life to the fullest without crippling fear of failure. The ex CIA operative also realized through the pathetically dull books Walter authored that his son was a charter member of the CONGREGATION OF THE DEAD because Walter preferred to stand on the sidelines bemoaning his fate rather than live life to the fullest. A shaken Walter begins awakening to life, but where it leads him requires reading the novel.

Max Childers' third novel, CONGREGATION OF THE DEAD, is the author's most serious work to date, but is still loaded with the author's trademark acrimonious yet jocular mockery. The male characters, including the deceased, are brilliantly bizarre opposites. The story line is filled with pathos, but has wonderfully funny scenes. Especially hilarious is teaching the bored students creative writing. This a fantistic piece of literature though not for everyone because Mr. Childers' novels have a dark brew taste to them. Anyone who enjoys acerbic satire should read this book and the writer's previous works, THINGS UNDONE and ALPHA OMEGA, which contain non-stop ironic humor.

Harriet Klausner

This book is part of a genre of cautionary tales that was big in Europe, especially Germany, around the turn of the century that had its roots in fairy tales (the REAL ones, told by old wives living in dark forests, not those that were collected and sanitized by Perault, Disney, et al.) What distinguishes these stories from more traditional fairy tales is that punishment is not meted out by supernatural forces or angry Kings. Instead, the characters meet their just desserts as the result of some sort of irony. Like most books in this genre, Max and Moritz begins by accounting the cruelties committed by a couple of sociopathic children in cute rhyming verse (adding to its effect) with accompanying illustrations, then towards the end shows how their actions backfire, leading to their own horrible demise. Although these books were innocently meant to scare children into behaving, the ironic nature of the villians' demise actually suggests that they are not being punished for their actions, but are just victims of a cruel, chaotic world themselves. If only they put more thought into their cruelty, they could have gotten away with it. However, this is the reflection of an adult. As a child, this book both fascinated and scared the (...) out of me, making it far more effective than any fairy tale.

This book is of particular interest because the characters of Max and Moritz are the clear inspirations behind the Katzenjammer Kids, a newspaper comic strip that was popular throughout much of the 20th century. This book is considered a classic of this genre.

This is one of the novels I read as a child over and over again. When I lost it years later I was so happy when my mother purchased the book for me again on one of her visits to our relatives. One of the easy ways as a child (adult) to learn a different language is through stories.

To me this review does not do justice to the most compelling aspect of the book, which is how political pressure, and assurances of safety in the face of all evidence to the contrary, by governmental officials and other trusted leaders dissuaded the people of St. Pierre from evacuating the city in time to save their lives. I read this book many years ago and have forgotten some of the details, but this theme -- more popularly explored in "Jaws" and recently in "Isaac's Storm" -- has stayed in my mind. Most readers will never be threatened by a volcanic eruption, but this book is a somewhat grim reminder that our own leaders may be lying about impending natural disasters. Remember Pelee!

Thomas and Witts tell the story of a week in May, 1902,when the Carrabean city of St. Pierre was obliterated by a volcanic eruption. When I first saw this book, I wondered how anyone could pen over 150 pages on a volcano that wiped a city out in seconds, leaving only two survivors. I thought there would not be much to write about. Boy was I wrong! It turns out that in the week prior to the eruption, St. Pierre was hit by landslides, a tsunami, and even a deadly snake infestation! Several hundred were killed before the great event itself. The final eruption is simply the climatic horror and can almost be seen as a blessing, putting people out of their misery. This book is probably hard to find now, but it is worth getting, and will interest just about everyone from the scientist to the casual reader.

When watching ships coming into port in the United States, it is hard to imagine that there are still many places in the world where things do not work so easy.

Max Hardberger has seen it and knows how to tell you about it.

While this book actually is more of a textbook than an easy read, it really draws you in.

His crime novel the jumping off place is pretty good too!

Hardberger's writing brings to mind the clean and cool descriptive prose of T.E. Lawrence.

Hirsch's "Democracy vs Socialism" is very different from von Mises' "Socialism." The person who is recommending von Mises *instead of* Hirsch's work is part of the anti-georgist, propertarian right wing of libertarianism. Who misses Hirsch's work misses a unique synthesis of late 19th century classical liberalism and early Austrian economics sans the Social Darwinism that ultimately cut the heart out of Classical Liberalism and split the movement into its modern day left and right wing fragments.

Hirsch's work integrates a modern model of Capital & Interest with classical liberalisms principle of labor earned property rights and equal freedom to use/access what is not created by individual labor, eg, natural resource opportunity and civil opportunity.

Hirsch's exposition of the formation of genuine "technical" Interest is beautiful in its simplicity and clarity and is alone worth its purchase. It clears away all the jargonistic obfuscations and needless complexity. His strength in clear exposition might be best demonstrated by one of his startling analogies: "Just as Labor's Wages are extended across Space as Land's Rental value, so are Labor's Wages extended across Time as Capital's Interest." Hirsh's derivation may not explain all of new capital formation but it does cut through to the heart of the most difficult aspect of technical "Interest." This is especially useful to most of us who need to find a coherent path through technical jargon, especially for us who are economic beginners through talented novices.

Hirsch also provides abundant thorough replies and anticipations of anti-land reformers of both Left and Right. It's too bad that latter day Austrian Economists like von Mises clung to his anti-Georgist prejudices instead of considering Hirsch's arguments. If you insist on covering your ears and eyes in favor of anti-Georgist name-calling, then by all means go instead to von Mises "Socialism." If you want to learn about a very important alternative proposal for constructive solutions to the ills of neo-feudalist, landlordist Capitalism, an alternative that is steadfastly ignored and "ad-hominemed" by both Left and Right, then invest your time more *constructively* in Max Hirsch's "Democracy vs Socialism." Practically all anti-georgist arguments of right wing libertarianism are based on ad hominems, diversion, evasion and "package dealings."

Hirsch's ethical demolition of pro-statist Socialism (modern oxymoron so-called) is also a huge bonus. Hirsch points out that when statist Socialisms deny all individual rights except for arbitrary state dictates, there are no real rights save arbitrary state privileges. Without some sort of rights prior to and independent of State formation, there is no reliable concept of "Good" or "ought" save the arbitrary dictates of state politicians and bureaux men. Hence, the very foundation of pro-statist Socialism is to deny any reliable objective standard of reckoning what the "good" is, what the state "ought" to do, how it could protect and extend the "happiness" of the people. So, Hirsch anticipated vonMises', Hayek's and Popper's calculation deficiency objections to statist ruled economics by about 2 or 3 decades. The additional latter day objections concerning lack of valid market price data are trivially derivative of the fundamental epistemologic fallacy of pro-statist Socialism, it's own self-contradiction; that some kinds of social policies "ought to be" without some reliable code, system, concept of rights vs wrongs besides predatory forced political power and privilege at the command of arbitrary statist government.. Hirsch boils down pro-statist Socialism's conceptual system to "these social policies ought to be because we in power say they ought to be, no matter who they hurt or lay waste to, no matter the alternative facts, reasonings, rights claims of others without the power to forcibly dissent and disagree."

In the United States there was Henry George; in Australia there was Max Hirsch.

Hirsch, who was born in Cologne, Prussia in 1853, settled in Victoria, Australia in 1890. It was here that he became a respected and outspoken leader of Henry George's Single Tax movement. 'Democracy Versus Socialism' was Hirsch's master work. Published in 1901, it was the first book to deal comprehensively with Karl Marx's 'Das Kapital' and the literature which had, up to the end of the nineteenth century, been published by Socialists.

Hirsch's analysis is arguably the most thorough refutation of the basic ideas of Marx ever written. Although Ludwig von Mises is often praised for being the first economist to offer such a refutation, it is important to note that, with respect to the evils of Socialism, von Mises reached no conclusion in any of his works that Hirsch had not already reached decades earlier.

While Hirsch's views on capital and interest were heavily influenced by Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk, his views on land were heavily influenced by Henry George. In short, Hirsch believed that the moral basis of private property is derived solely from the right of the individual to the fruits of his or her labor. But since land is not the fruit of anyone's labor, Hirsch, like George, held that all individuals have an equal right to land, and hence to the rental value thereof. He advocated George's Single Tax remedy -- the abolishment of all taxation save that upon land values -- as a means of upholding the true right of property, while at the same time eliminating poverty by freeing laborers and capitalists from the clutches of State-granted privileges and monopolies, particularly as they relate to the concentrated ownership of land.

After an exhaustive analysis, Hirsch determined that "The ultimate social and political outcome of Socialism...must be an all-pervading despotism on the part of the rulers, and a degree of slavery on the part of the ruled masses." Nevertheless, Hirsch also believed that Capitalism would continually fail humanity as a whole so long as it is based on State-sanctioned land monopoly. If the earth becomes the exclusive property of a relative few, Hirsch argued, then "all non-landowners, under this condition, would have no right to the use of any part of the earth," and would thus "have no right to live upon it." In Hirsch's view, only when both the exclusive right of the individual to the fruits of his or her labor *and* the equal right of all to the use of land are upheld will Capitalism truly become what Hirsch envisioned it to be--'the most marvellous system of co-operation which the human mind can conceive.' To that end, Hirsch recommended the Single Tax, and devoted the last part of his book to providing persuasive answers to both right-wing and left-wing objections to this remedy.

I highly recommend 'Democracy Versus Socialism' to anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of both Capitalism and Socialism (as they are currently defined), and who suspects that there is a fundamental flaw in each, but is unsure as to what that flaw is. I also recommend it to economists who have an overall high regard for Henry George's 'Progress and Poverty,' but who are dissatisfied with George's theory on the nature and cause of "interest." Hirsch provided a more analytically sound treatment of that subject, and, in doing so, corrected what up to that point had been the sole logical blemish in George's economic paradigm. (It's worth noting, however, that before eliminating that blemish, Hirsch insisted that it in no way lessened the overall soundness of George's Single Tax remedy).