This remarkable book, produced by poet and Bruno Schulz scholar Jerzy Ficowski, assembles more than 200 artistic works of the famed Polish Jewish author, best known for The Street of Crocodiles, produced in the 1990s as a play of the same name by Simon McBurney's London Theatre de Complicite. Thanks to that brilliant staging, easily one of the 20th century's most remarkable dramatic productions, audiences of tens of thousands learned of this obscure artist and writer.

Born on July 12, 1892, the third and youngest child of a merchant, Schulz lived and worked in Drohobycz, and reflected in all his works his close connection to his family and place. In 1939, the Soviets occupied eastern Poland, and Schulz survived that period without experiencing the deportation suffered by hundreds of thousands of others.

Still, he was unable to work. But in June 1941, when the Nazis entered the area, he was like all the Jews of Poland further enslaved. The infamous Viennese Nazi and Jew murderer Felix Landau also had a taste for art, and boasted of keeping a Jewish artist slave alive on one daily bowl of soup and slice of bread. Schulz survived a year under Landau's "protection," but on Black Thursday, Nov. 19, 1942, he was shot in the head by Gestapo officer Karl Guenther and buried at night by a devoted friend in a Jewish cemetery that has since disappeared, along with his grave.

Assembled here, with Ficowski's 28-page introduction and his 12-page essay entitled "Catepillar Cat, or Bruno Schulz's Drive into the Future of the Past," are more than 200 Schulz drawings and engravings, most of which reside in Warsaw's Museum of Literature. These include Schulz's Book of Idolatry, an early collection of 25 works, including drawings, circa 1919 and later, on which he worked for several years. It illustrates imaginary scenes of mythical pastorals, nymphs and weird men, fawning on women. There are scenes labeled "Masochistic," which are really more fetishist than the sort of full-blown evil one might expect, a series of nudes, and a 12-print section entitled "The Table," reminiscent of scenes from Street of Crocodiles.

In "Jews," readers are treated to 16 prints and sketches of Jewish worshipers, students and scholars. The collection also includes 16 self-portraits and 8 portraits, all of them remarkable in their intensity and precision. There are also several book covers. But my favorite section is the 44-page group of "Illustrations" from Schulz's writings, including The Street of Crocodiles and Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass.

There is one other collection, Letters and Drawings of Bruno Schulz, that contains some of these works. But those reproductions are few, and their quality far inferior. To my knowledge, this is the best gathering of the artists' pictorial works.

How much more of his work was lost altogether? We may never know. Schulz' brilliance was incalculable, the loss of his work and world, the more so.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

This is the first book about Bettelheim and a thoughtful summary of his intellectual contributions in varous areas of our thinking about children, institutions and the transformation of psychoanalysis in the United States.

Bettelehim was and is a controversial figure whether he wrote about parenting, autism, the kibbutz or the potentially therapeutic effects of institutions. This book addresses his ideas and their contribution to our understanding of ourselves and others for whom we care.

The day this book was published in Germany it was banned and the publisher was imprisoned. Bruno Bauer, the author, soon lost his position as a University lecturer, but he continued to write about history, theology and politics according to his conscience and his commitment to the freedom of thought.

Because Karl Lowith suggested that CHRISTIANITY EXPOSED (1843) might have been a model for Nietzsche's THE ANTICHRIST (1893), we may understand why there has been considerable hesitation to translate this book into English. I had to see this with my own eyes, and when I did, I realized that people greatly exaggerated the alleged radical nature of Bauer's writings.

This book is far milder than THE ANTICHRIST. In fact, Bruno Bauer here mainly reviews some writings from a theologian who lived in the 1700's, namely, Johann Edelmann. By modern standards this book should never have been banned, and there should have been no hestitation to translate it into English. It is well-written, thoughtful and scholarly.

The translators have done a fine job with this edition. It is easy to read, presented in contemporary English.

This is an academic book, hardcover, mainly for University libraries and scholars, yet it has inter-disciplinary interest, I think. Historians, philosophers, theologians, theorists and political scientists will all find something of interest in this, the first English edition of one of the most feared books of 1843.

Despite the fact that Bruno Bauer, the famous Young Hegelian, wrote dozens of books, this is only the third book of Bauer's translated into English. Thanks to this translating team, the English reader has a chance to see what all the fuss was about.

Best regards,
--Paul Trejo

This is a very informative collection of articles covering many aspects of South Asian music. It includes articles about North and South Indian classical traditions, folk traditions, dance, and popular music. There are also many articles about the role of music in society, women in music in South Asia, and South Asian music worldwide. Each region of South Asia is also covered with individual chapters. Many of the musical concepts and structures are exemplified in the accompanying CD; the relevant CD tracks are clearly noted in the text.

Living in Dubai, I have found myself immersed in South Asian culture, and recently started studying carnatic music on the veena, simply because it was here. Lacking all knowledge of the contexts in which the veena is played, I found myself floundering in my studies. The first teachers I worked with here either haven't had enough English or enough music theory studies to explain the music. I searched on the Net for information about carnatic music, but found that most of the information was written by Indians for Indians, using terms that I don't understand or can't make sense of. What makes this book different is that it is written for Western audiences, and the Indian terms are fully explained. As a result, this book has been a tremendous resource for me in explaining the music theory that I was struggling with, as well as the context of the music in Indian society. I've never read an encyclopedia cover to cover before, but once I got started reading this one, I couldn't stop.

On Febraury 16, 1600, this former monk was burned at the stake on charges of heresy. He died in the name of free thought. Yes, at first he offered to retract all of his heretical statements, but in the end, he decided that there was more honour in the penal fires than in a life like Galilei's. This book begins with an Explanatory Epistle. This letter alone is worth reading. The dialogues that comprise the body of the work were a trifle trying for me, as i have very little knowledge of the constellations, but please don't let this deter any possible readers from this work. As with any philosophical text, every reader should bring with him or her a willingness to concentrate on the book and the understanding that numerous re-readings will be necessary to appreciate the full depth of it. The bit where the messenger of the gods is telling Sophia all of the events Zeus has ordered to take place on Earth that day is very funny, so don't think this is all esoteric gobble-dee-gook that only some Ph.d. could enjoy. Shoot, I am only a high school graduate and I was glued to this thing the first time I read it.

children have always had a refreshing view of the world that adults seem to loose- but now some has been captured and all are free to return again and again to majestical snapshots of our existence. long time poets will salivate with jelousy at the primal beauty of these children's works, read it all and savour the effects it has on your perception of language.

Land and Liberty is all they wanted. It was something that most had prior to colonialism. Most of us today were lucky enough to have already been born with these rights having been fought for and defended against by previous generations. [Of course some could argue that we have only a facsimile of land and liberty even today as most never own their land (e.g., mortgage) and liberty is a relative term.] Anyhow, this book is the last in the 6 part series. The culmination of all previous books ends here. This is the guts and glory and revenge of the indians on the landowners and government. Tierra y Libertad!

Marvelous book - have referred back to it many times for encouragement and reinforcement of my own parenting "beliefs". When I have grandkids, this will be my first gift to the prospective parents

What a magnificient analysis full of profound and original insights.This book was done with such exemplary clarity that one need not be a student of philosophy in order to comprehend the ideas that are discussed.I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in discovering the important pathway into the lives and thoughts of the great minds.