i love that francis bacon is credited in the title above as 'illustrator" in dennis farr's little retrospective. bacon who sought to avoid illustration in his paintings by creating a reality, often relying somewhat on chance, that if inaccurate was in his mind 'greater' than the truth. this taken from a very moving quote from van gogh, whose letters and paintings francis studied closely. the reverse landscape in question is in fact reversed - its like an error card. otherwise the text is intelligent and the body of work is well chosen but there are so many bacon paintings its hard to find a comprehensive publication.

somebody else said the color needed work. i have definitely seen much worse. one of the images might be flipped, maybe there were problems reproducing certain colors - i never saw the originals so how would i know - but overall i have to assume it's fairly accurate; at least, it works. it's nice that the descriptions face the plates, but that's just common sense. overall it's a fairly comprehensive collection. there are only a couple pieces left out here that i miss, but i can find them in practically any other bacon book so it's no big deal.

Well, here it all is - the paintings, the analysis of the person, the milieu that aided in the production of this prodigious artist, brilliant essays that go further than predessors into the hows and whys of Francis Bacon - the much anticipated Retrospective book and exhibition. One of the finest aspects of this book is the placement of descriptions of the background and the implications of each painting adjacent to the work. No search party needed here. If only as much attention to detail would have been spent on the four color separations of the works then this would truly have been the definitive work about one of the most exciting painters of the last century...AND chronicler of the disintegration of society and mentality brought about by the dissecting sciences.

Geography is fascinating, and there is no doubt that Livi-Bacci knows what he is talking about. I have to read this book for a class, and my classmates and I have found it hard to read. A lot of the concepts he discusses are indeed interesting, like labor issues and fertility, but I find that he could do without the excessive graphs and possibly focus on making a more chronological history. Or, if he were to split his history into themes to really make the themes clear. He does examine several case studies from around the world (e.g. from Japan to Canada), which do help make the book interesting.
This is a book to read when you have the time to really absorb what Livi-Bacci has to say and not have to worry about writing a paper on it. :)

Currently, population studies are often population polemics. Two major groups of scholars make the history of human population a battle ground today. The Neo-Malthusians, following Thomas Malthus (d.1834),and currently represented by Paul Ehrlich and Lester Brown,argue that population growth is dangerous and will deplete the world's resources. Others, beginning with Adam Smith (d.1790) and currently best exemplified in the works of Ester Boserup and Julian Simon, argue that population growth leads to higher standards of living and economic growth. Massimo Livi-Bacci adheres to neither group, but presents a balanced work which examines critically the claims of both sides.

Livi-Bacci is one of the great historians of human population of our age. His title suggests that this is a survey of previous studies of population. It is. But it is more than that. It is also a unique work of scholarship. Livi-Bacci presents new work which clarifies and extends our understanding of how population growth has affected past history and how it will continue to affect our lives in the future.

It is well written. The style is clear and concise. It is suitable for the generalist as well as the specialist. It is a joy to read.

There are only two faults that I feel mar this book. The first is that Livi-Bacci pays less attention to the effects of the Demographic Transition than it seems to merit. The second is that there is no summary bibliography. Yet if one wishes to look at one book which reveals how powerfully human population growth has affected human history, this would be the book to choose.

I have to give this book a less than perfect rating because I'm not quite sure what was the purpose of the book. I bought the book, thinking it was a manual on arguing with Creationists, but then I found a disclaimer clause in the book stating that it was not.

"What good is half an eye?" Creationists ask us this question over and over, and I would like to answer it. Pigliucci only gives us is a reference to a journal article on this question.

How can we answer the numerous arguments in "Darwin's Black Box" by Michael Behe? Pigliucci provides some rebuttal, but not much. Rather, he tosses off this responsibility by referring us to the talkorigins Website. I appreciate the references, but I had hoped to do all my shopping in one stop.

And how about another tough challenger--"Icons of Evolution" by Jonathan Wells? He spends a few pages on this book, but not enough. He uses technical terms which he doesn't define, and he hastily presents arguments without clearly spelling out each premise.

Is this book a history of the Creationist-Evolutionist dispute? It seems that way somewhat, but it doesn't stick to that subject either.

But it's an interesting book, and a very informative book. That's why I give it an almost perfect rating.

Massimo's book is very well written (considering he is from Italy) and his arguments are of the highest caliber. I know Massimo and must say that he is a little dogmatic for an atheist. His arguments are well thought out but still do little to cast doubt in most believer's minds. Massimo may come to be one of the best humanistic debaters of our time. In person, he will claim that he has no positive proof that God doesn't exist. He will say that *he* need not believe in God becasue *he* doesn't see proof. He will usually even admit that Theists are well within their epistemic rights in believing in God. However, he will then write a book such as this that seems to counter that. He seems a little dogmatic with his atheism on paper (not that theists aren't). Why doesn't he shut up and let people believe? Because as Theists we bother him with our arguements constantly!

This book is a great insight to how one of the smartest men in the evolutionary field debates the existence of God and the denial of evolution. Massimo has debated big name apologists such as William Lane Craig and spoken at several universities and schools. If you want a great place to examine or even critique some of the best atheistic arguments out there, this is the place.

This book, to my knowledge, is the only historical novel that has been published to date which has an Etruscan setting. The setting and political background are realistically drawn, and with great concern for historical accuracy, but the characters at times lack passion.

The emerging fields of bioelectronics and neural engineering are opening major scientific and technological avenues in the new millennium. The challenges, belonging to research areas of a strongly multidisciplinary nature, are highly demanding requiring fellows involved to master a diversity of classical disciplines such as physical chemistry, molecular and cellular biology, biophysics and solid state electronics. The book of M. Grattarola and G. Massobrio provides a timely and authoritative text which, in a coherent and unified manner, allows the reader to start forming his her knowledge basis in order to better deal with these new themes. Comprehensive, clearly written and, at the same time, rigorous the book is a must for bioengineers and professionals working bio and nano related fields.

After seeing a wonderful room divider demonstrated in "Budget Living" Magazine, I ran out to get this from the store! What wonderful out of the box ideas and truly FAST decor! If you're looking to spruce up an apt. for a year or two...it's perfect! Even if you just want to make a change to your home, you'll find something amazing and perfect and very different!

There are many books telling all about where Kerouac's road has taken him, but this is the first i've read that actually tells all about where it started. This book is a much needed asset for any Kerouac reader. I will refrain from giving a synopsis as it would reduce the element of surprise that this book preys on.

Massimo Gargia has written an account of his life among the Jet Set and what you think might be great fun is instead a pathetic and disgusting reverie of the superficial lives these people live.

After graduation from college, Gargia decided that he didn't want to work a real job so instead he used his looks and charms to worm his way into the jet set society. First up, he seduces the mannish 60 year old Cecile de Rothschild and through her, he meets her elusive friend, Greta Garbo (herself in her 60's). A brief tryst with her follows and he ends up seducing her as well, however, you can read between the lines and realize that Garbo was a woman who was not interested in sex (if anything, the chapter on her illustrates what a strange woman she was and it is evident that she probably could have used the services of a psychiatrist).

After tiring of Garbo's eccentricies and her iciness (she ignores him and is embarrassed while he chokes on a fish bone at a dinner party), he proceeds to his next conquest, a rich widow in her 80's. (Note: A strong stomach is required for the sex scenes - disgusting is no other way to describe them!) This woman (Lydia Deterding) ends up buying Gargia several apartments but their affair becomes the laughing stock of the jet set community. Believe it or not, Gargia does have some modesty and he leaves her for a nympho Countess, whose husband dies soon after they begin their affair. They enjoy the good life for a while until her funds start to get low and she kicks him out after he won't get a job.

By this time, Gargia has lost his looks and he romances a magazine editor and decides to start a magazine called "The Best", based on a frivolous awards event that he created (a big excuse to hold yet another big party bash). After all, can you really take an award seriously whose recipients include LaToya Jackson, Fidel Castro or Ivana Trump???

Gargia wraps up with stories about the Royal Family and how he ingratiated himself into their circle. Some rumors about a possible Princess Diana conspiracy are lightweight, at most. If Gargia's book does serve any worthwhile purpose, it does show how frivolous and wasteful the "Jet Set" live their lives.

A superior book written by a superior writer with a superior style, about a man honest about his unique life. Massimo Gargia has the guts to tell people about everything he has done. Very captivating book and very entertaining.

This is the most entertaining and enjoyable book I have read. It is true page turner that I simply could not put down. Allan Starkie potrays the world of the elite with all their bizzarre ritualized sex games with a subtle sarcasm and self-effacing honesty that makes it understandable and extremely funny. I have never written a review before but after reading Jet Set felt compelled to share the experience.

I expected when I bought this book at the second hand bookstore to discuss more so why there are certain logic errors and how they relate to human reasoning, evolutionary psychology etc.

The book is largely a composition of examples of logic tricks that defy human logic with answers in the back that make it seem more like a book of logic tricks to tell than others. Other than relating small bits about individual problems there is 1-2 paragraphs explaining logical illusions and it is limited to the rather basic explanation that it deals with a modular view of mind. unless one cares for logic tricks little will be learnt from this book on the human mind, except in particular circumstances. the few good parts such as bringing up bayes law in statistics is given 5 pages and without any mathematics.

I don't often read in cognitive science but i am rather confident there is a better book to describe findings on mental illusions than this.

I'll admit it--I began reading this book with skepticism. After all, how many mental traps could folks (or *I*) really be subject too? And at first I was ready to put the book down. The first few examples seemed weak. "What? I learned a long time ago not to fall for THAT!" But as I (fortunately) progressed, I started coming across more convincing arguments and examples. I saw that, yes, there were innate mental traps that I fell into. Eventually I was convinced.

While the start was slow for me, the book is overall a very good read. A bit thick at times, but the translation was excellent. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in how the mind works, how people think, and other such cognitive studies.

The book discribes a lot of typical mental errors that we make in our every day life when we make judgements. This is interesting and helpful. We tend to overvalue our minds, and this book helps to put it back to the ground. All the time while reading it I thought about how much Voltaire and his friends 200 years ago were adoring the human brain, and what would have they said if they had read this book! However, some of the examples seemed to me too much black-and-white. I have made the tests in the book upon my friends, and the results were not according to the results in the book. May be Europeans think in a different way than Americans? Anyhow, the book is interesting, easy to read, but does not live up its the title.

A popular rendition of the Alexander's history. A bit kitsch a times, but still good if you cannot digest standard history text.

In this 3rd installation, Alexander marches on and on until the ends of the earth it seems. Alexander is victorious throughout his campaigns that the narrative just became a list of battles. I wondered why his poor opponents bothered fighting him at all - "Hail Alexander. Here are the keys to the city."

Alexander's sheer determination in his enterprise is admirable, very much Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, relentlessly driving his army onwards through rain, sun and snow, dessert and tropical forest. The sheer scale of his achievements is truly magnificent in grandeur. In victory Alexander was crowned King of Macedon, Chairman of the Pan-Hellenic League, Pharoah of Egypt and Emperor of Persia.

Alexander wanted to test the limits of Man and God and indeed he stood a towering Titan. But ultimately was a mortal and he died of fever, ungloriously away from the battlefield.

Alexander proved to be a great military leader but his statesmanship was unproven.

It's a wonderful account of Alexander's final journey in his enterprise to challenge the limits of man. In my opinion he did very well for a man but poorly for a God.

The End of the Earth is the third and last volumen of the trilogy which tell us how Alexander conquered the Persian Empire, the triumphal entry in Babylon, the sack and destruction of Persepolis, the run away of Darius from Alexander till the first one is murdered by his close collaborators and the conquest of all the kingdom of the greek known world. Also this volumen tell us how was the morale of Alexander's troops, tired of so long campaign want to return home against their leader plans of world domination. Although the end of Alexander is well known, his dead is poorly treated in this book, I expected a little more details and the inmediate consequences after the decease. Excellent Phtolomy epilogue as an old egyptian pharaoh who in few words tell us how Alexander's Empire ended so bloodly.