A great book for the amateur genealogist. It is light enough that, unlike many books on the subject, it is readable, yet it contains a wealth of information. The book description says "some entries will provoke a chuckle, others a bit of embarrassment, still others a sense of wonder and pride." This is certainly true. As a person of German heritage who (sadly) does not speak German, I was indeed filled with a sense of wonder when I looked up my great-grandfather's name, Hundesauger.

For anyone who is researching German names and family genealogy this book is the definitive, in-depth, and scholarly work in the field of German names. A "must own" book for the serious researcher of German families and names

Will Self. Raymond Carver. Dorothy Parker. Roald Dahl. OMG could we get a better collection of the best writers ever! I was reticent about the book's topic - relationship meltdown - but it's not a downer at all. It's a hoot! My absolute favorite writers are Carver, Parker and Dahl so I new from the get go that this book would be a good read. Then to discover the inclusion of Will Self, whose name I'd oft heard but who I'd never read, was a treat. Another plus - I found a whole bag of cool writers to add to my favorites list: Self, Almond, Angguish. This book rocks!!

This anthology of stories about the end of romantic relationships made me laugh, a lot, and even made me cry. There is a wide range of authors, from famous literati such as Dorothy Parker and Tobias Wolff to relative newcomers. I loved 99% of these stories, which for an anthology is an impressive strike record. I particulalrly liked the stories by the newcomers, notably Dallas Angguish. Who is this person? His story is poignant to the point of heartbreak, and really funny. A quick search of the web finds Dallas Angguish's poetry wedsite 'Prose Machine' (members.fortunecity.com/powaboy), a bit rough around the edges design-wise but with illuminating poems similar to Sylvia Plath and Allen Ginsberg. Buy this book - it'll give your Valentine's Day teeth.

"Eclipse of Reason" is the product of one of the most important members of the Frankfurt School, a collection of Neo-Marxist philosophers who flourished between the World Wars. In it's pages the author, Max Horkheimer, works out nothing less than a total indictment of the creeping, cancerous nihilism that is slowly eating away at the core of Western civilization. The fundamental problem, he writes, lies in the fact that "objective reason" (by which he means the capacity of the human mind to discern real standards of goodness, beauty, and truth) has undergone a massive culture eclipse, so that only "subjective reason" (the ability to plot, plan, and calculate) has any intellectual respectability any longer; this inevitably leads to a society in which the worst forms of barbarism are catered to with the most refined methods of thought. In other words, he shows how the increasingly stiffling technological/bureacratic society we find ourselves trapped within is rooted in the developmental trajectory of mainstream Western thought. He also goes on to make arguments as to why certain neo-traditionalist revivals (e.g. Neo-Thomism) will ultimately fail to tame the modern beast and then offers a sketch of what a genuinely counter-modern philosophy would look like.

This is, to say the least, explosive material. It amounts to a claim that the present cultural crisis of the Western world is directly rooted in some of the very ideas that have come to define our modern way of life. That, perhaps, is the most interesting facet of the book: it is a work of Marxist philosophy which makes the same fundamental point that certain conservative thinkers (e.g. Russell Kirk and Richard Weaver) have been harping on for half a century or more: namely, that the foundation of most of our current social pathologies lies in the rejection, at the beggining of the modern era, of the classical philosophical project to discover real, true, objective standards of good and evil and the consequent loss of any means of rationally choosing one thing over another on the basis of goodness or beauty. Thus, this work will be interesting and profitable to a large variety of readers. Marxists and other members of the Left will find in it an exemplar of what intelligent leftist critique is supposed to be and a clear explanation of who their real enemy is (hint: it is NOT traditionalist right-wingers); conservatives (especially Christians who are attached in one way or another to the various revivals of pre-modern philosophy) will find in it both a diagnosis of the West's disease that is as clear as any they have produced, and a stern warning that they cannot compromise with what they struggle against. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to any and all of the above groups of readers.

Horkheimer's book, Eclipse of Reason deals with the concept of "reason" within the history of Western philosophy. Horkheimer defines true reason as rationality. He details the difference between objective and subjective reason and states that we have moved from objective to subjective. Objective reason deals with universal truths that dictate that an action is either right or wrong. Subjective reason takes into account the situation and social norms. Actions that produce the best situation for the individual are "reasonable" according to subjective reason. The movement from one type of reason to the other occurred when thought could no longer accommodate these objective truths or when it judged them to be delusions. Under subjective reason, concepts lose their meaning. All concepts must be strictly functional to be reasonable. Because subjective reason rules, the ideals of a society, for example democratic ideals, become dependent on the "interests" of the people instead of being dependent on objective truths.

Horkheimer is writing in 1946 and is influenced by Nazi power in Germany. He is outlining how the Nazis were able to make their agenda appear "reasonable". He is also issuing a warning against this happening again. Horkheimer believes that the ills of modern society are caused by the misuse and misunderstanding of reason. If people use true reason to critique their societies, they will be able to identify and solve their problems.

Amusing and thought provoking. My 12 yo son and I read this together from the library, and he wouldn't take it back! Gramma bought it for him for his birthday. The authors use many different literary styles, and sneak in lots of education. We have memorized many of the selections. This also stimulated us to continue word play and to write some poetry of our own.

*****
Imagine a book that has a whole collection of fun games that ignite a child's love of language. Imagine a child getting excited about homonyms, and even vowels! (as in "Murder most vowel" - a game you'll want to play along with them). Imagine a compendium of playful ways to exercise your child's language skills (and your own, by the way) through the mental calisthenics and verbal acrobatics presented in this highly imaginative book.

This book will excite a child's mind, and thrill your own, as together you travel on an adventure of discovering the power that lies hidden beneath "ordinary" words. This book excites kids -- of ALL ages. If you don't have any kids whom you can read this with, then have no fear; just tell people it's for a "nephew" or "student" and buy the book for yourself.

I myself am all 'grown up' so I have to read it on the sly when I'm not around actual children, but when I do I can't wait to find some more 'kids' to share it with.

Because it's pure fun, and you don't have any other book like it' yet.

I really liked this book. It is a dark drama, one that is frightening to hear. I acted in this play and I decided to pick up the book since I liked it so much. It's about a man named Biederman. Despite the warnings of "firebugs," or what we would call more-commonly arsonists, he invited a man into his house. A large, burly man that he couldn't say no to. He gave him home in the attic of his own house. His wife objected, of course, because she didn't want anyone who may be a pyromaniac living in her home. In the morning she promised herself she would get rid of the man in a perfectly polite manner. Instead, the man gave her the sad story of his youth and Frau Biederman allowed him into her house because she felt sorry for the man. So, the man invited a friend of his, without consulting Herr Biederman, by the name of Eisenring. Together they collected sawdust and oil barrels in the attic, and even promised Herr Biederman that they were the firebugs of the city and that they were going to burn the house down. But because it is his house, Gottlieb Biederman does not dismiss the two from his house. This is the story of a man who refuses to believe, and then blames all his mistakes on fate. I really enjoyed this creepy book. I think people who respect a drama such as his will, too.

I received this as a present, waited a few months, and then read it in the course of a single day. This short play is about a middle-class businessman whose biggest anxiety revolves around the Firebugs, men in the city who are responsible for a recent rash of arsons. They enter homes as guests and, after staying the night or dining, take advantage of their hosts' hospitality and trust and burn down their homes. The protagonist, at the height of such crimes, allows a couple of young men to spend the night at his house and refuses to believe (because of pride or trust or some other variable) that the sawdust, matches, and gasoline that they bring into his attic could have anything to do with malicious intents. Frisch prevents the reader from really feeling sorry for the protagonist, who is humorously pathetic. The most interesting part, to me, is that what seems at first glance to be a caricature of human nature is, in fact, so close to reality.

Rarely I have seen a biography with so much interesting details.Not a single page is wasted.As a Fleischer cartoon fan,it's la creme de la creme for me.Congratulations Cabarga.You wrote a book with love and admiration.

Leslie Carbaga is a big fan of Fliescher cartoons and this book shows it.I loved so many of them when i had the chance to see them on TV in my younger days.(Color Classics,Popeye,Sing-Alongs, and the movies Gulliver and Hoppity.)This tells the story of Max Fliescher,who made many worthy but largely unknown contributions to the art of animation.I recommend this to any fan of the vintage cartoons of the 20s/30s/40s

DIARIES of FRANZ KAFKA

July 21, 1995 Purposely omitted, "the". Thus, an article averted. A catastrophe forestalled. Like my car when it was still moving, i.e., before it stopped moving, just in front of the new school called The New School, where I was taking a crash course--in hopes of preventing a car crash--in Kafka, (the) Diaries of. All by myself--teacher and pupil. I the teacher, I the pupil. And where was Kafka while all this learninhg was/wasn't going on? Sitting in my car, of course, asleep at the wheel, which turned round and round in his hands, like the globe in God's. Will I ever obtain a learner's permit? Will he? (Will He?)

Kafka left instructions with Max Brod to burn all of these journals. Max, however, believed they were too important to be lost and devoted himself to organizing the diaries for publication. Kafka made his entries in a manner convenient for himself: starting at the back, writing upside down, changing journals daily. All of this made the task of organizing them very difficult. Max Brod did a tremendous job and only misjudged the placement of a handful of entries. The diaries themselves contain a lot of things no writer would want seen. They are fragments, drafts, and sketches he worked on during the nights. Most are not very good--as they are. Their value comes in the later, published, incarnations. These writings give us a little insight into the way Franz Kafka worked. Several of the entries are worked and reworked over a period of years. They show subtle shifts in Kafka's insight, perspective, and craftsmanship.

This must be it : the greatest love-story ever written. Any age ! Love can't be love without a violin playing frog...

As a teacher, this book is a great way to start discussions of difference and sensitivity with my class. A great love story for any age!

The proceedings really have 1876 pages, but they are divided into two volumes. The first volume has 944 pages, the remaining pages are in the second volume. Make sure you get the two volumes!

"The 1999 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO-99) combines the longest running conference in evolutionary computation (ICGA) and the world's two largest EC conferences (GP and ICGA) to create a unique opportunity to bring together the best in research in the growing field of genetic and evolutionary computation (GEC).

"The GECCO conference continues the tradition of the GP and ICGA conferences of bringing together researchers from the entire spectrum of research in evolutionary computation, including genetic algorithms, classifier systems, genetic programming, evolvable hardware, DNA and molecular computing, evolutionary strategies, evolutionary programming, artificial life, adaptive behavior, agents, as well as real-world applications of all of these areas." - from the publisher.

The relentless high quality of the many papers in this book make it delightful and thought-provoking. (My copy is 944 pages - not "1876" as Amozon has it.)