This is a highly abridged English translation of the "Polticia Methodice Digesta" of Johannes Althusius, an influential 16th century jurist. It is highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of federalism, since Althusius' conception of sovereignty is directly contrary to the one set out by Jean Bodin, which subsequently triumphed. Essentially, Althusius teaches a conception of sovereignty that allows the gov't to deal only with lower social units, rather than leaving the individual naked to the full might of the highest authority. In other words, it seeks to preserve what are sometimes called "mediating institutions" that lie between the citizen and the state. This is something that is desperately needed in our days of gov't power run amok.

If you're a devotee of the solo Gesänge und Lieder of Johannes Brahms, you will find this book very valuable indeed.

The author analyzes 212 of Brahms's songs - all 196 that Brahms published in opus-numbered sets, the eight resettings of Op. 103 Zieguenerlieder quartets for solo voice, and eight works without opus numbers. Not included are any of the many Deutsche Volkslieder set by Brahms.

For each song, the author provides the German text and a prose English translation. The translations are especially well done; by doing them in prose, the author is able to more faithfully render the meaning of the German than would be the case were the translation to be restricted by the requirements of English rhyme and meter.

Each translation is followed by a non-technical discussion of the song, generally in one or two paragraphs but occasionally longer. These describe the musical structure of the song and the methods that Brahms used to convey his meaning; occasionally there is also a brief bit of background on the circumstances of the song's composition.

For each song, there then follow a more technical notes section, in which the author identifies the source of the text, identifies recurring motifs that Brahms used in his songs (an introductory chapter describes these motifs), references other settings of the same text by other composers, and sometimes describes early reactions to the song by Brahms's friends or fellow musicians.

The analyses illustrate the author's deep understanding of this marvelous literature and have greatly enhanced both my knowledge and appreciation of this superb body of work. The principal omission, and the reason I rate the book only four stars, is the complete absence of musical quotations - except for a few in the introductory "Motifs" chapter - in spite of the fact that in his analyses, the author often refers to specific measures by number. To fully appreciate the author's insights, therefore, you will need access to scores. (Fortunately, Dover publishes a very affordable four-volume set of the complete Brahms songs, available from Amazon.)

This texts assumes little mathematics and no statistical training. It is intended to teach engineering students and managers the basic tools and strategies for successful quality control and management. The authors are statisticians, so the importance of probability and statistics is emphasized and taught from first principles. Yet the first five Chapters (Section 1 of the book), does not deal with statistics at all! The authors describe quality problems and strategies for solving problems. This involves sketching the importance of data and data analysis and mentioning the various statistical tools in the context of the roles they play. Chapter 2 deals with ways of detecting quality porblems and includes flowcharting processes, the use of scorecards and Pareto diagrams. Chapter 3 deals with problem solving techniques and cause-and-effect diagrams. Chapter 4 deals with group problem solving including quality circles and the delphi technique for reaching a consensus. Section 1 concludes with the use of a rewards system to facilitate employee involvement in quality improvement.

In Section 2 basic statistical concepts are introduced as they are needed. Chapter 6 deals with ways to measure productivity and collect data. Chapter 7 covers graphical displays, descriptive statistics and probability distributions and concludes with an enumeration of Ishikawa's seven basic tools. Formal probability is introduced in Chapter 8, survey sampling in Chapter 9, statistical inference under simple random sampling in Chapter 10, acceptance sampling in Chapter 11, statistical process control in Chapter 12, process capability indices in Chapter 13 (a good introductory treatment). Section 2 is Chapters 6-11 covering the tools for data analysis. Chapters 12 and 13 are separated as Section 3 covering process stabilization and predictability. Several real projects are described at the end of Section 3. Section 4 is on design of experiments covering Chapters 14 -16. Chapters 14 and 15 deal with classical statistical designs while Chapter 16 deals with Taguchi designs that are useful for determining robust conditions and process improvement. Many useful applications are given to illustrate the techniques. Other useful statistical methods in quality control are relegated to Chapter 17. This includes regression analysis, response surface methods and model selection procedures.

This is an excellent text for a first course....

The subject of the work is the origin of the world, and therefore creation. Hermogenes, a second century painter, cod-stoic, and heretic, following Stoic ideas, believed that matter was coeternal with God. Tertullian was by no means unwilling to make use of Stoic technical concepts himself, but drew the line at importing Stoic religious ideas in preference to the biblical teaching; and so was led to write this work. This volume is the translation made by J.H. Waszink, the eminent Dutch scholar. Waszink also published the Latin text from which this translation was made: Tertullianus: Adversus Hermogenem liber. Ed. by J.H. Waszink. (Stromata patristica et Mediaevalia). Utrecht, 1956. He went on to publish a text and German translation of Tertullian's work De Anima, also against Hermogenes, in which he established the definitive edition of that difficult work and make real progress in understanding the difficult terminology involved.

Waszink was primarily a philologist of considerable reputation, and his text is oriented at solving the many problems which the inadequate state of the manuscripts pose for a work on so obscure a subject.

The translation is the most recent in English of the work. At points it can be a little stilted, since the subject is difficult, English was not Waszink's first language, and in any event he wanted to give the literal meaning, not a paraphrase. However it is superior to the only other English version available, the 19th century Ante-Nicene Fathers version based on the now very dated and inferior Oehler text. The notes are philological rather than theological.

The most up to date version of both text and translation is the new Sources Chretiennes Latin-French text. However Waszink's translation will be the standard where quotation in English is a desideratum.

In summary, a good workmanlike translation of a little-known work.

The editor says the the purpose of this dictionary is to analyze the religious statements of the Old Testament with the aid of all accessible resources and the present them in their peculiarity, in order to shed as much light as possible on the connections of the content of Old Testament though in a given text, tradition, or institution. To accomplish this goal 39 international Old Testament scholars have written articles on 53 Hebrew words found in the Old Testament, ranging from the word for "father" to that for "alone." There are articles on "light, "man," "God," "land," among others. While the words are arranged according to their Hebrew form, all Hebrew words are transliterated. This is the first of several volumes translated from the German original.

Let me first say that this book has not been my first contact with unit testing and test-driven programming: I recently read Kent Beck's "Test-Driven Development" and followed some of the unit testing threads in the Extreme Programming discussion group. Beck's book left me somewhat helpless and thinking "And how do I use that in real work?" Johannes Link's book had much more to offer for me in that respect, especially in the second part where he tackles the problems of web apps, database programming, user interfaces and distributed programs. I certainly liked his treatment of mock objects. Mr Link seems to be a pragmatic proponent of test-driven development - a good thing as far as I'm concerned - and he also has lots of reasonable advice for those testing their programs after the fact.
On the downside there is this chapter about unit testing within more traditional software development. These pages might be useful for others; I don't think they belong in this otherwise very enjoyable book.

This German collaboration does well in discussing the general history of the region from the pre-Islamic Sogdian and Bactrian kingdoms, to the khanates and the intrigues of the Great Game to the present day independant country.

Uzbekistan itself, strangely enough, is largely a Soviet era creation. The present borders include the historically important towns of Samarkand and Burkhara (and much of the Fergana Valley), much to the annoyance of Tadjikistan. Thus, the work focusses on the regional definition of Uzbekistan rather than as a people. (The Uzbeks trace their name from Ozbeg, a leader of tribes of Mongol descent in the 14th Century).

Vivid pictures of works of art as well as early photographs chronicle the cultural sophistication in what was once the crossroads of the greatest civillizations in antiquity. An in depth analysis of the different patterns and motifs in carpets points attest to the subtle influences in the region. The book cannot be faulted on its detail of its analysis of artifacts and works of art. Long a people with a nomadic inclination, such influences did not necessarily remain rooted for long, and these remain as probably its most reliable catalog of its past.

Thus said, the book is informative to the point of being somewhat staid in its narrative. Not much is said about life after the transition from the former Uzbek SSR to an independant country. The work is obviously of some national importance as the President of the new Republic provides the forward.

Recommended if you hold more than a casual interest in the region.

This piece is a duet for 2 pianos 4 hands. The beautiful theme that the piece is based upon was first written by Haydn. Brahms then wrote an orchestral piece based on this theme. He went a step further by creating an orchestral reduction for 2 pianos. Brahms starts the piece with a simple yet elegant display of the theme and then procedes with numerous variations, finally ending with a large fugue. Do not be fooled by the somewhat simple introduction, as each variation comes with its own set of difficulties. This piece is very exciting to play because of the different moods that are created through the variations.

After reading "Girl With the Pearl Earring" and seeing the Metropolitan Museum's current 'Vermeer' exhibit, it's hard to stop there. One wants to know more about the man who only has 35 paintings in his catalog raisonnee. But reviewing the Met's exhibition catalog proved too dense with minutia to be readable, even for an Art History major in college. The Pascal Bonafoux "Vermeer" is a perfect companion to the exhibit. It provides large-format illustrations of all 35 paintings, and provides a "cutural context" to the paintings much the way the exhibit did. There are other artists' portraits and scenes used as a comparison to Vermeer's, also the way the exhibit provided. Details from the paintings are shown within the context of society at the time; for example the Postal System is explored in the text while illustrations of letters being read in the paintings are shown. Other topics include "The Beginning of the Scientific Method", "The Geographer" "The Concert" and "Woman Reading a Letter", among others. Written in 1992, Pascal Bonafoux forshadows the Met exhibit in including many of the same paintings which are key to understanding Vermeer. His chapter "Painting in Delft" includes the Carel Fabritius "View of Delft" which was painted to be looked at in a perspective box which is a highlight of the Met show. And even though Bonafoux includes a comparative Delft street scene by Pieter de Hooch, my two favorite Courtyard scenes by de Hooche are not reproduced in the book, so I am very happy I bought the postcards! Although there is no table of contents or index, this is a slim volume which includes a complete Table of Works. With only 35 paintings, this suffices. Also included is an extensive (though "select") bibliography, with an International collection of sources dating back to 1886, and including several standard references as well as periodical articles. Though this is not a detailed scholarly work, it is a FABULOUS book for the price. The only reason it did not earn 5 stars is that the illustrations, while good, are not outstanding. They are missing the whites which jump out of the paintings, and are captured in the only book I did buy at the exhibit, "Vermeer The Complete Works" which is printed on high quality glossy paper, and does justice to the paintings. But if you have seen the exhibit, you will want to own the Bonafoux "Vermeer". Out of print, it is worth the search, and a bargain at the price.

Did the famous Delft artist, Johannes Vermeer, use the camera obscura to create his remarkably photographic paintings? People have been asking that question for a century or more. To help answer it, Philip Steadman has written this great little book. It is truly an enjoyable investigation of Vermeer's acquaintances, studio, and style. My favorite parts of the book are Steadman's photographic reconstructions of Vermeer's paintings. Did Vermeer use the camera? If he did, would that make him an artistic cheat or a visionary? I like a book that leaves me with some things to think about, and this one does the job.