This volume collects both Eusebius's history and his two speeches on the life of the Emperor St. Constantine. In order to understand the political views of the Orthodox and the foundation of divine right monarchy, the role of the Church in European and world history, and even God's plan for history, one must read this text. Truly a great work (despite the antiquated English of these translations; I might suggest reading the history in the Penguin edition and the two speeches on St. Constantine here).

In this anthology, Chafe and Sitkoff have collected a number of articles that are critical in understanding the major issues in American history during the past 50 years. Despite the broad thematic scope of essays--ranging from post-war foreign policy to the creation of an "urban underclass" during the Reagan administration--the organization and careful editing of the book provide the reader with a clear understanding of America's recent sociopolitical transitions. The lucid and well-written individual essays, submitted by leading historians and well-known political figures, work particularly well alongside the documents and commentaries they are paired with.

This is one of the most valuable and interesting accounts of the early Christian age. Important and detailed original documents, letters, and decrees from the emperors and bishops who attended the great councils of Nicaea, Chalcedon, etc. are accessible here for students and scholars alike in a pristine and comprehensive fashion. Miracles and monks, the inroads of the Goths, the Persian war, the Church's rise to a spiritual and temporal order, the often harmful and sometimes bloody disputes of the Christian factions, and the deeds of bishops, emperors, and saints underline the indispensable worth of this history. However, the magnificence of this work is not fully unscathed: there are a few aspects which confuse the lives of Gregory, Basil, and Athanasius; after the sixth book limited chronological errors are made; and the scope of this work is centered on the East and virtually ignorant of affairs in the West; but these are nearly invisible and are fully corrected by the in-depth commentary provided. It seems that Socrates was the leading man between the two chroniclers...Sozomen apparently borrowed, or rather, stole directly from Socrates; so it is best to start with Socrates' account. In general this work is a follow up of Eusebius' history, and begins with Constantine's conversion, and ends roughly arround the reigns of Theodosius the Great's degenerate sons. An excellent addiditon to the Christian library.

The writings of St. Augustine and St. John Chrysostom are invaluable especially when wanting to study the foundations of the Latin West. (Of course with the exception of some of Augustine's seemingly pro-Reformation ideas.....)
This 14-volume set is excellent in providing a substantial amount of theological and spiritual prose. However, the commentaries by some of the books' editors seem to have an anti-Roman Catholic edge to them. (Especially the comments by Paul Schaff when referring to the "Popery and Romanism" of the Roman Catholic Church.) This I believe is in bad taste....even for an Anglican "scholar."

I graded the work a five star only for the eloquance and mythodical, yet very neccessary thological literature that tends to bend the ear of anyone desiring to gain more knowledge into mystical and contemplative life. However, the print quality is less than stellar and the paper is cheap. Too bad! I purchased it for the content. So I had to put away the cheap ink and paper.

This 14-volume set is essentially a St. Augustine and St. John Chrysostom collection. It includes the most famous writings of these two very important Church Fathers. Each volume (450 pages on average) includes introductions to each book, short annotations (including scripture citations) usually related to translation, and a scripture and subject index. The translations are old (originally published in 1889) so the wording can be stiff at times, but the English is eloquent and dignified. This collection does not use archaic language except when quoting Scripture. Here are the volumes and what they contain:

Augustine:

Volume I: Prolegomena: St. Augustine's Life and Work, Confessions, Letters

Volume II: The City of God, Christian Doctrine

Volume III: On the Holy Trinity, Doctrinal Treatises, Moral Treatises

Volume IV: The Anti-Manichaean Writings, The Anti-Donatist Writings

Volume V: Anti-Pelagian Writings

Volume VI: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

Volume VII: Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Soliloquies

Volume VIII: Expositions on the Psalms

Chrysostom:

Volume IX: On the Priesthood, Ascetic Treatises, Select Homilies and Letters, Homilies on the Statutes.

Volume X: Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew

Volume XI: Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistle to the Romans

Volume XII: Homilies on First and Second Corinthians

Volume XIII: Homilies on the Epistles to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon

Volume XIV: Homilies on the Gospel of St. John and the Epistle to the Hebrews

A fine collection of the writings of several influential Christian thinkers writing in the 4th and 5th centuries. I'd watch out for Chrysostom, though, that guy's a maniac.

A must have for anyone who is intent on understanding the Holy Bible fully and how to live it. Aside from being great thinkers and writers, St. Athanasius, St. Gregory, St. Ambrose, St. John Chyrsostom etc. were Christians who wanted to know how to live in Christ, through Him and with Him. Their writings are beautiful reflections of the mindset of the early church and its full understanding of the Bible and its applicability. I highly recommend this series and I am sure it will appeal to the Orthodox Christian as well as anyone who is probing around for answers.

Having seen "Scoop" Jackson's name in a dozen places yet knowing little about who he was, I thought I'd learn something about the man by reading this book. I wasn't disappointed. Kaufman's biography does a good job of detailing his political life, especially his role and legacy in foreign affairs. Yet the book is more than just an examination of Jackson's life, as Kaufman also offers an interesting examination of both Jackson's philosophical approach to Cold War foreign policy as well as the historiography of late-Cold War memoirs in an effort to award Jackson with the title of "Soviet Union-killer."

That being said, it was also a disappointingly written book in a number of respects. By focusing so much on Jackson's role in foreign policy and defense matters, Kaufman overshadows what the senator did in domestic policy. Moreover, after an initial examination, Kaufman virtually ignores Washington state politics, which leaves me wondering if the author might not have supplied a complete explanation as to how Jackson was so dominant in his reelection campaigns. Finally, Kaufman's habit of continually refering to political figures by their full titles was a little annoying, while the editing of the book was a little sloppy (every time I saw "Republic senator" on the page I wanted to grab a pen and add in the missing letters). In the end, it was an informative book, but not definitive.

Henry 'Scoop' Jackson is rarely referred to in contemporary political debate. The American polity and indeed the western alliance are much the poorer for his absence. This is a fitting - indeed, a model - biography of a notable American patriot.

Senator Jackson represented a distinctive, honourable and above all prescient tradition in American politics: that of the liberal hawk. He was unfortunate, in respect of his presidential ambitions, to hold consistently to his pro-western principles at a time when the Democratic Party was abandoning (or at least, compromising) the staunchly anti-Communist tradition of Truman, Kennedy, Johnson and Humphrey. Rent asunder by the experience of Vietnam and the rise of the New Left, the Democrats polarised around Jackson, on the one hand, and the party's disastrous 1972 presidential nominee, George McGovern, on the other. Only because of Watergate - and even then, only by a whisker - did a Democrat win the White House in 1976, and his presidency proved to be the most ineffectual in living memory.

Kaufmann describes this political background with a sure touch. He is unflinchingly honest in his depiction of Jackson's personal flaws, such as periodic irascibility with aides, but the essential Jackson - a man of deep humanitarian impulses, evident in such causes as his campaign for persecuted Soviet Jewry, and searing moral insight into the nature of Communist totalitarianism - shines through. The book is a fine political biography, but also a most touching personal portrait. It depicts admirably and with fine insight the circle around Jackson, some of whom later held office in the Reagan administration. I was unaware, for example, that the common view that Jackson's adviser, Richard Perle, was responsible for Jackson's unwavering support for Israel has it exactly the wrong way round. In fact, Perle, a secular Jew, came to see the urgency of supporting Israel because of the influence of Jackson - a Niebuhrian Protestant who understood better than any post-war American politician the moral import of a liberal democracy's struggle for survival while assailed by totalitarian states and terrorist organisations.

Jackson has the biography he deserves; I hope it is widely read and studied.

There is no doubt that here in Washington state, the U.S. Senate tandem of Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Warren Magnuson were a valuable asset to Washington's - and the nation's - development in the 20th century. So much of our state's infrastructure, institutions, and industries can be credited to these political heavyweights. But yet, so little had been written about their immense legacies up until a couple of years ago. First we got a decent bio of Magnuson written by Shelby Scates. But then came this book - "Henry M. Jackson: A Life In Politics" - which is an outstanding portrait of the man and the legacy.

The author's main focus in this work is the profound and unquestioned effect Sen. Jackson had on U.S. foreign policy. The book brilliantly delves into Jackson's evolution from simple legislator to foreign policy guru. Much attention is made to Jackson's stances on a variety of foriegn policy issues, including his infamous battles with Henry Kissinger over the issues of detente, Soviet dissidents, and pro-Israel issues. Jackson proved a great foil for - and perhaps huge thorn in the side of - Dr. Kissinger, but with time and further examination, their debates likely benefitted U.S. foreign policy in the long run.

Make no mistake: while there is much on Jackson's foreign policy expertise, this is a solid biography of the man in total. We get a good look at his upbringing in and around Everett, his entry into politics, his failed presidential bids, and - eventually - his sudden and surprising death in the early '80's. Also included are the events at the infamous 1960 Democratic convention, where Jackson was very nearly chosen as JFK's running mate.

All in all, this is a very fair and solid biography, presenting an excellent look at the life of Sen. Jackson. This should be a must-read for political-junkies. Those of a conservative/Republican ideology should also make it a must-read, because it is made very evident how much of the current Republican stances on foreign policy were founded by Henry Jackson.

It has been said of "Scoop" Jackson that he was "the last good Democrat". For the citizens of Washington state, that is unquestioned and still lamented to this day. For the nation, the realization of this statement is slow to develop, but hopefully with this book, "Scoop"'s legacy will be recognized with the respect and stature that it truly is.

I teach European history as well as African history, and I can recommend this book to anyone teaching a course about Decolonization, either in a class on modern Europe or in a class about modern Africa, whether you are teaching history, political science, or any related subject. It is an excellent overview of events and provides a good framework and context for additional reading. If you have not taught African decolonization before you will find this a valuable resource. If you are not teaching and have a general interest in the subject, this is also a good introduction. However, if you are teaching, or have a deeper interest in the subject, you will have to do additional reading, because this book is only good as an introduction to the topic. You are not going to find any in-depth discussions about anything: culture, society, political actors, etc. Obviously that is not the book's purpose, so I really shouldn't criticize it on those grounds. It is clear, straightforward and to-the-point and might be a good book to assign for students as well. Especially since it is short, but covers so much information.
Professors who have been teaching these subjects for years, however, will not get a lot out of this book, I imagine, since it is a basic overview. I urge beginning teachers like myself to buy it, however.

"The First and the Last" contains Isaiah Berlin's earliest surving extended piece of writing ("First"), his final essay ("Last") summarizing his intellectual path and development, and brief tributes by Noel Annan, Stuart Hampshire, Avishai Margalit, Bernard Williams, and Aileen Kelly.

The tributes give us a faint glimmer of the man: his humanity and generosity, his passion for music, especially opera, and his extraordinary devotion to friends and students. "You have beautiful black eyes," Greta Garbo once said to Berlin. In Oxford circles Berlin was as renowned for his vivid talk and character as for his ideas. However, these recollections only hint at Berlin's expressiveness and luminous personality. In this regard, Michael Ignatieff's illumnating biography provides a more rounded treatment and measure of the man.

"First" is a prize winning story entered in a children's magazine competition when the Berlin was twelve years of age. The short story concerns a murderous bolshevik commisar named Uritsky, whose motto is "the purpose justifies the ways". Aside from revealing his precocity, the story is meant to illustrate Berlin's lifelong thematic struggle with absolutism in all its forms.

Berlin's last essay "My Intellectual Journey" is the principal and only substantive essay in this volume. It traces the the main themes of Berlin's intellectual journey, from his early interest in verificationism and phenomenalism, his discovery of Vico and Herder, his treatment of Romanticism, his famous formulation of two senses of "Liberty", and his contrast of monism with political pluralism. The writing is lucid and serves as a good synopsis of Berlin's political pluralism, which he summarizes as "a product of reading Vico and Herder, and of understanding the roots of Romanticism, which in its violent, pathological form went too far for human toleration".

Noel Annan once compared Berlin's writings to a Seurat, "a pointilliste who peppers his canvas with a fusillade of adjectives, epithets, phrases, analogies, examples, elucidations and explanations so that at least a particular idea, a principle of action, a vision of life, emerges before our eyes in all its complexity." The force and brilliance of Berlin's writings is found elsewhere. Nevertheless, "The First and the Last" is worth reading. For it is the one and only place where we find Berlin's own summation of his intellectual development alongside a modest tribute by his friends and admirers.

Volume three, out of the "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers" series two, contains many works of adequate historical merit. This volume begins with Theodoret, the bishop of Cyprus' "Ecclesiastical History" which, much like the church histories of his younger contemporaries Socrates and Sozomen, opens during the rise of Arianism under the emperor Constantius and closes abruptly at the death of Theodore of Mopsuestia in AD 429. Theodoret's history appears to have been written in order to fill the gaps and correct the errors where Socrates and Sozomen's efforts proved insufficient; he adds more original documents and decrees than them, but seems to care less for chronological accuracy. Theodoret does surpass his contemporaries in eloquence, religious zeal, and invective; in this he resembles the later church historian Evagrius Scholasticus, whose works brim with orthodox fervor. Of Theodoret's works his "Dialogues and Letters" are preserved here as well, and they are possibly more important than his church history for the fact that they provide significant knowledge on key persons and surface much information about the Bishop of Cyprus himself. Some minor works also comprise this volume, namely Gennadius of Marseilles and St Jerome's "Live of Illustrious Men," which are merely short documentaries on some of the primary influences in the Church from St Peter on; even a few non-Christians joined the ranks: Seneca, Philo, and Josephus. Finally, a collection of works by Rufinus of Aquilea, who is best known for his correspondence with the saintly scholar Jerome, are presented here as well. His commentary on the Apostles Creed, which is the first to have been written by a western cleric, is very important and interesting. Also, his apologetic works, defending the orthodoxy of the sublime Christian philosopher Origen, are contained in this volume; these were written in reply to Jerome's anti-Origenist sentiments. Rufinus' prefaces concerning his translations of Eusebius' "Ecclesiastical History" and some of Origens theological writings, show the motives of a man who rendered much of the Greek Church's storehouse of knowledge to the Latin Church. This accomplishment is much more significant and influential than his infamous controversy with St Jerome; it is just a shame that he is known most for a petty argument than for his translations. The only thing lacking in this volume of Rufinus' works is his own "Ecclesiastical History," which is comprised of two books. His history should have been included here, but that is the only apparent flaw in the entire volume. With the late nineteenth century English translations rendered here, these works are certainly not bedtime reading, or to say the least, easy to read. Only the most concentrated and zealous church history readers should own and attempt to make use of it; others should remain content with more modern secondary sources. This series is important since it boasts of more English translations of the Church Fathers than any other series, and many of the works here will not be found elsewhere. Although, the Catholic University of America has a series much like the Nicene and P-Nicene Fathers, which is more modern and definitely worth checking out.

Instinctively, most decent people don't like to see anyone singled out and denigrated unfairly. To most, it seems particularly distasteful if the denigration is on the basis of race, gender or (to many, at least) sexual orientation. Yet the authors of this book, all of whom are active in campaigns for equality as well as for civil liberties, see codes on US campuses which prohibit and punish such speech as a threat.... Why?

Their book examines the arguments for and against such codes and the issues that underlie them. Objections to these codes include that :

They are a threat to basic free speech principles. In particular the idea that speech should be protected regardless of its content or viewpoint -- a principle intended to prevent the law from favouring one interest over another.
 
They have a chilling effect on wider discourse. Nadine Strossen points out that : Regardless of how carefully these rules are drafted, they inevitably are vague and unavoidably invest officials with substantial discretion in the enforcement process; thus, such regulations exert a chilling effect on speech beyond their literal bands. (1)
 
They put us on a "slippery slope". Ideas not originally intended to be the subject of the codes will be penalised. Throughout the book examples are given of this happening. Strossen points out that in Britain the "No Platform for racists and fascists" was extended to cover Zionism (whereby its victims included the Israeli ambassador to the UK). (2) In Canada the victims of restrictions of free expression have included the black feminist scholar Bell Hooks, and a gay & lesbian bookshop in Toronto. (3)

Much the same issue was raised from the floor of an LM sponsored conference in London at which one of the authors (Nadine Strossen) spoke; it was pointed out that the UK Public Order Act of 1936, which was ostensibly introduced to control the followers of British Fascist leader Oswald Mosley, had been invoked time and time again to ban demonstrations by leftists and trade unionists. Similarly, police tactics used against the National Front in the 1980s to prevent their coaches from reaching demonstrations were later employed against striking miners.

The book's authors note that the codes give power to institutions and government. Can we trust them with these new powers? As David Coles, a law professor at Georgetown University, wrote :

...in a democratic society the only speech government is likely to succeed in regulating will be that of the politically marginalised. If an idea is sufficiently popular, a representative government will lack the political wherewithal to supress it, irrespective of the First Amendment. But if an idea is unpopular, the only thing that may protect it from the majority is a strong constitutional norm of content neutrality. (4)

Donald E. Lively questions how new powers will be exercised :

Reliance upon a community to enact and enforce protective regulation when the dominant culture itself has evidenced insensitivity toward the harm for which sanction is sought does not seem well placed. A mentality that trivialises incidents such as those Lawrence relates is likely to house the attitudes that historically have inspired the turning of racially significant legislation against minorities. (5)

But perhaps Ira Glasser puts it best in her introduction to the book :

First, the attempt by minorities of any kind -- racial, political, religious, sexual -- to pass legal restrictions on speech creates a self-constructed trap. It is a trap because politically once you have such restrictions in place the most important questions to ask are: Who is going to enforce them? Who is going to interpret what they mean? Who is going to decide whom to target?
The answer is : those in power. (6)

Another condemnation is that the codes are an exercise in self-indulgency, a trivialisation of real racial imperatives by the pursuit of relatively marginal and debatable concerns....
Donald E. Lively states :

As a method for progress, however, protocolism (1) seriously misreads history and disregards evolving social and economic conditions, (2) is an exercise in manipulating and avoiding racial reality; and (3) represents a serious misallocation of scarce reformist resources. (7)

Speaking of Race, Speaking of Sex doesn't just put the arguments against speech codes -- it also deconstructs the arguments put in their favour. The three most interesting arguments in favour of such codes are, in my view, (1) that racist expression is not about truth or an attempt to persuade and so is not worthy of protection; (2) that racist declarations are in fact group libels; and (3) that racist expression is akin to an assault.

All three arguments are dismissed by the authors. In the first case, Justice Douglas is approvingly quoted :

(A) function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute. It may indeed best serve its high purpose when it induces a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger. Speech is often provocative and challenging. It may strike at prejudices and preconceptions and have unsettling effects as it presses for acceptance of an idea. This is why freedom of speech, though not absolute is nevertheless protected against censorship or punishment, unless shown likely to produce a clear and present danger of a serious substantive evil that rises far above public inconvenience, annoyance or unrest. There is no room under our Constitution for a more restrictive view. For the alternative would lead to standardisation of ideas either by legislatures, courts, or dominant political or community groups. (8)

The second argument -- that racist, sexist or homophobic statements are group libels -- is likewise dismissed. The authors point out that libel involves the publication of information about someone that is both damaging and false. Apart from the obvious fact that group libel doesn't refer to an individual does it fit the definition? Henry Louis Gates Jr. states that it does not. He points out that racist statements may be right or wrong but cannot in many forms be judged true or false. they are often statements of what the individual thinks should be or an expression of feeling. As Gates points out : You cannot libel someone by saying 'I despise you', which seems to be the essential message of most racial epithets. (9)

The last argument -- that such speech represents an assault or words that wound -- is examined, and also dismissed. The authors accept that words can cause harm. Their concern, however, is that no code can be drawn in such a way as to punish only words which stigmatise and dehumanise. They point out that the most harmful forms of racist language are precisely those that combine insult with advocacy -- those that are in short the most political. (10) Attempts to deny that racist speech has a political content also deny that they are part of a larger mechanism of political subordination.

So, can we combat hatred on grounds of race, gender or sexual preference whilst cherishing and nurturing civil liberties? Can we encourage a diversity of thought as well as of population and lifestyle? The answer given by the authors of this book is an emphatic 'yes'. They don't see equality of opportunity and freedom of expression as being at odds. As such, their ideas are refreshing in contrast to the many who seem to have quite unthinkingly accepted that we must sacrifice our freedom on an altar of (faked) equality...