Disregarding minor quibbles, I have to say that I have not been so entertained by an Oz book in quite some time, and I admire (i.e., agree with) the way the author handled many Ozzy contraditions and puzzlements. Unlike so many authors, he chooses to address head-on such knotty questions as fashion in Oz, change in Oz and in Ozzy characters, etc. that have mostly been unanswered questions until now; I think he provides reasonable and workable answers. I had a hard time putting down this _Cat_. Thanks for a good read, David!

This delightful addition to Oz-mania is right up there with the Jack Snows and Eloise Jarvis McGraw's Oz stories. Hulan has captured the special flavor of Oz, using Baum's language and puns, and weaving in sly references that will tickle the adult reader while keeping the pace brisk and lively and vivid for the young reader. Highly recommended!!!

Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to THE LATER HEIDEGGER. By George Pattison. 230 pp. London: Routledge, 2000. ISBN 0-415-20197-7 (pbk).

George Pattison is Dean of King's College, Cambridge, and the first pleasant surprise one gets on opening his book is to discover that he is human. What I mean is that, with the growing technicisation of all things today, so many of the books issuing out of academia read as if they were written, not by flesh-and-blood men and women, but by machines - being bloodless, dry, tedious, and obscure. Dr Pattison's book, in contrast, discloses a real person who is clear-headed, vigorous, and eminently fair-minded; who writes beautifully and with a certain passion; who has been concerned throughout to make his meaning as clear as possible to the reader; and who even allows himself an occasional bit of humor.

His book, in short, is a joy to read, and despite the length and complexity of certain of his arguments, so careful is he in preparing the ground, in structuring his exposition, and in his various summings up that you are never in any doubt as to where you have come from, exactly where you are, and where you are going. A good writer will always keep the needs of the reader in mind, and this is what Dr Pattison has done. If only more academics wrote like this!

Dr Pattison's book sets out to describe Heidegger's life and the background to his later works; the ideas of some of the more important of these later works, including 'The Question Concerning Technology,' 'The Origin of the Work of Art,' and 'What is Called Thinking?'; and his continuing importance. The book contains the following eight chapters: 1 - Is there a later Heidegger?; 2 - 1933 and after; 3 - Technology; 4 - Seeing things; 5 - Nietzsche; 6 - The first and second beginnings of philosophy; 7 - Holderlin; 8 - What kind of thinker? The book is rounded out with a section of Notes, a useful Bibliography, and an Index, and is well-printed on excellent paper, bound in a sturdy plasticized wrapper, and, amazingly, even has a stitched spine.

Readers will come away from this book with an understanding of the relationship between Heidegger's earlier and later thought; with a perception that, far from being Nazistic, Heidegger's thought clearly shows signs of an early migration away from Nazism as a movement which had no answer to planetary technology; and with a fairly firm grasp of such key concepts as 'destining,' 'enframing,' 'intentionality,' etc., along with an understanding of such things as Heidegger's hermeneutic procedures, the unusual nature of his thought, and his status as a new kind of thinker. Some background in Heidegger would be useful, but Dr Pattison's expository skills are so effective that, as a non-specialist myself, I found his book hard going in only a few places.

If this book has a weakness, it seems to me to come at the end in the author's discussion of Heidegger's encounter with the East, a discussion whose conclusion left me personally dissatisfied (though I can't claim to be non-partisan). But even here Dr Pattison showed himself to be fair-minded, something it isn't always easy to be. One is left with the impression that, not only is he a thorough and extremely well-informed scholar, he is also very impressive as a person, and I have no hesitation in recommending his interesting, informative, and well-written book to anyone who may be at all interested in the later thought of Heidegger.

Folks interested in Martin Heidegger's early work can choose among several excellent book-length commentaries and a small library of interpretive works. Heidegger's later meditations on art, poetry, and technology seem to rarely inspire such close inspection. One notable exception is HEIDEGGER'S ESTRANGEMENTS by Gerald Bruns (a great, great book). This new study by George Pattison shows that these later essays stand up very well indeed to sustained intellectual scrutiny. Not overly-ambitious in scope, this little volume is a handy guide to some of the major themes and obsessions of the mature Heidegger. Highly recommended.

The cover alone is worth the price! Each stone in this photograph of 46 specimens of turquoise is identified at the start of the book. High quality natural stones from the most important mines of the Southwest are pictured side by side with treated and plastic versions.

The book is a collection of 10 articles written for New Mexico Magazine. Titles include "Turquoise and the Native American", "Buyer Beware: Hidden Facets of Turquoise", Young Native Jewelers Signal Change of Guard" and "The Plight of Old Pawn". High quality photographs of famous mines, artisans and jewelry, both historic and current, will whet the appetite of would-be collectors but also leave an impression of love and respect for the land and its native inhabitants.

Read this book under a strong light to catch the full depth of color!

I thought this book was great! The pictures of the objects are beautiful. Where a picture could not be obtained there is usually a detailed sketch of the object. The descriptions give not only insight into use of the archaological object but also surrounding information like similar objects and archeological context. Then the essays descibe the time period and unknown/debated issue of Egyptian Archeology. As a newbie to Egyptian Archaeology I found the book easy to read and felt that things were explained well.

This book, divided in two sections, was compiled during the course of the 1993 exhibition of the same name. It collectively portrays the fruits of knowledge of it. In the first part, the author introduces this fascinating civilization, by explaining its politics, religious beliefs, society, culture and history from the Bronze Age to the Napatan Meroitic Period. The second part contains more than 300 black and white pictures presented at the exhibition. This is a valuable work for those needing to learn more about Nubia.

The Blue Door is another humorous children's book written by David McPhail. Fox and Rabbit's adventure to the city to find fox's uncle is amusing and entertaining. The illustrations are magnificent, colorful and delightful to view. It's a book children want to read over and over.

Being of Irish descent, I am very particular about hearing Irish stories in recorded form. There are some really good editions out nowadays. But this one is the best. I knew I was in the presence of greatness when I beheld the wonderful packaging, and it just got better the longer I listened to these truly wonderful stories. My favorite is one I've read many times, by Joyce, entitlled "The Boarding House." Here it is transformed into something that is difficult to describe and thrilling to experience. The narrator, who must be Irish, has perfectly deciphered Joyce's intent. He has also given us some of the very finest renditions of Irish stories I have ever encountered. "The Weaver's Grave" comes to life as if by magic. There is wonderful music here and very lifelike sound effects that are very skillfully and gently woven into the fabric of these great works. It is such a pleasure to listen to these recordings, you will be listening over and over again, as I have.

O'Connor, David E. Demystifying the global economy: a guide for students. Greenwood, 2002. 229p bibl index afp ISBN 0-313-31863-8, $.... Outstanding Title! Reviewed in 2002nov CHOICE.
Fortunate indeed will be the students whose first exposure to international economics is an assignment to read this book, written by an established author (e.g., The Global Economy, 2000) and high school economics teacher. He summarizes in a clear and concise style the major developments, institutions, relevant data, and economic and social issues that have contributed to and are associated with the emergence of worldwide commerce and industry over the last century. Following an introductory chapter describing the technological developments and government policies fostering the network of international trade, two chapters cover the roles of international and regional organizations and of multinational business corporations. The penultimate chapter focuses on the disparities of wealth and income among nations. The fifth and final chapter addresses environmental concerns raised by economic globalization. To assist readers unfamiliar with the topic, the volume contains a list of commonly used terminology and abbreviations for international organizations, a time line of the 20th century's major events impacting international trade, a glossary of selected terms, and an annotated bibliography. A final section contains several primary source documents that present current views on issues raised by the global economy. Highly recommended for general readers and undergraduate students, lower-division undergraduate and up. -- E. L. Whalen, formerly, Clark College

I found this book to be an invaluable assest and reference text. As a resident needing a thorough reference at home for this text will be a welcome addition to my library (and the first place I head to late at night). It systematically breaks down each chapter into clear, clinically important areas so you can easily find what you need.

This is one of the best, most informative books I've ever read. I am teaching my son about ancient civilizations and came across this book. I picked it up and couldn't put it down until I finished it. The book contains serially related myths from ancient Egypt and is written in a very engaging style. The author is clearly an expert on ancient Egyptian civilization and writes very well. The chapters are of a length appropriate for bedtime story reading as well as for school-related activity. Furthermore, there is a nice taxonomy of the ancient Egyptian "pantheon" and an interesting, if too short, discussion of glyph writing. The text is beautifully illustrated and has interesting footnotes about many of the illustrations.