A very rare book that brings Heart and Soul as well as Intellect to the reviewing table. In consequence Neitzsche and Schopenhauer are completely debunked, whilst Plato, Socrates, Hume, Kant et al are rightly given their due positions on the high table. Easy to read, easy to digest, fascinating and luminous. This book could save you hundreds of hours you might otherwise have spent unnecessarily wading through dense philosophical tomes. There is nothing else quite like it, when it comes to understanding the western philosophers in an objective context. It is both truly astonishing and a sad reflection of the times that no one else has reviewed this book before.

PNA Volume III provides excellent coverage of hydrodynamic issues for all levels of design...including parametric analysis of seakeeping and maneuvering (based on basic hull parameters) at the concept level to fundamental theories for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and model test data necessary for advanced analysis. PNA MUST FORM THE FOUNDATION OF ANY NAVAL ARCHITECURE LIBRARY.

This was an excellent text in its time, and it was worthy of a five star rating when published. However, this out of print book is also somewhat out of date. That's not to say it has no value, but there are newer books available which are far superior in content and coverage, not to mention being more up to date in their vernacular. (The Latin names and names of Families are often changes as more knowledge is gained to better classify plants.) One book which should be in print for some time and is far superior in many many ways is "Cornucopia II: A source Book of Edible Plants." Be sure to get the newest edition, which is truly a five STAR text. A final note. These books are not pictoral. If you want to ID a plant in your backyard, then you need a different type of book.

This book is among the best myhology books I have ever read. It is expanded to the best and most popular of Greek Myths. For example, The Labors of Hercules, The Quest for the Golden Fleece and more.

Readers will not be able to comprehend that something so profoundly written has not been reckognized into mainstream literature. I've never seen so many beautiful, exact and vivid sentences compacted into one work. The story is humorous and emotional, while striking into the heart of universal themes and characterization. Wallant should be considered as great of a writer as Faulkner or Melville.

Every reader knows of authors who were all the rage when they were alive and publishing, only to be forgotten or relegated to obscurity upon their death, if not before. They disappear for decades or generations, admired or consulted by those few who read in specialized fields; or they are the subject of intermittent articles in this or that journal. Thanks to the Internet they can be seen shimmering, a sort of astral projection, on web sites and list-serves with spotty attendances. In these venues situated on rural roads in the republic of letters they are argued with, championed, held up as the acme of what's misbegotten, or pegged as simply typical of a period. For fans, bitter consolation lies in their man or woman being reviled, as such shrill attention does indicate that the core of the oeuvre has not ceased to be dynamic, and perhaps threatening.

Occasionally authors have risen from the dust of library shelves, which is the closest we can now get to witnessing the Phoenix. These rescued figures become the product of cottage industries, but a well-timed nod from hollywood can escalate their reputations and swell their audience. Many of the latest literary finds are those whose work means something quite particular to current audiences - at times, but not in all cases, a retro chic - comprising enthusiasts, popular authors in a position to repay literary debts, scholars who have revisited past figures in search of their postmodern 'nowness,' and because of groundswells of curiosity from disparate parts. There is a lovely unpredictability in the resurgence of these artists which fosters hope in those whose favourite choice has not yet bounced back into the limelight. (In an attempt at a shove back onto the stage, see my Amazon review of Lewis' _Rude Assignment_.)

It is unlikely that Wyndham Lewis will ever again receive the attention, negative or positive, that his paintings and writings garnered during his lifetime, yet if any critical work of recent years could restore his dented reputation and, more fruitfully, bring his ideas back into view for a fresh examination, then it is this book by Paul Edwards.

In his combination of literary analysis and art criticism Edwards writes with economy, clarity, intelligence and sensitivity about Lewis' paintings, drawings, short fictions, novels and a mass of philosophically-minded and politically generated essays and speculative works. One realizes that Lewis, perhaps the most probing Modernist in the anglo-united statesian family, left no major concern of the 20th century ignored, even if only to swipe at it with pen and brush. It is to Edwards' credit that he maintains a focus on his subject's wide-ranging thoughts and positions, especially as they are transformed with the passing of time and as events, historical and personal, transform Lewis.

Certain aspects of this book call for special commendation: the examination of _Tarr_, Lewis' first novel; the analyses of _Time and Western Man_ , the central non-fiction work of Lewis' writings, and of _The Human Age_, his last fiction; and the constant engagement with the art works. Art criticism is often written in an abstract and coded way, and academic criticism is often larded with unnecessary polysyllabic constructions, but a key benefit of Edwards' style is that one can argue with his conclusions or suggested interpretations because he has made himself understood. There is no dancing with words, or playfulness in a deconstructionist sense, to obscure his points.

In the aftermath of this book it was instructive, in a disappointing way, to read a review by irish novelist John Banville of _The Crisis of Reason: European Thought, 1848-1914_, written by J.W. Burrow, which appeared in _The New York Review of Books_ (October 4, 2001, pp.38-40). On p.40 Banville responds to what Burrow says about Nietzsche:

"[...] There is a study to be made of the influence on modernism of Nietzsche's thinking, which is insufficiently acknowledged even by the most philosophically-minded of the modernists - it is hard to recall, for instance, a single mention of Nietzsche's name anywhere in Eliot's prose criticism."

Banville is mistaken when he says Nietzsche was not regarded sufficiently by "the most philosophically-minded" modernists, for as Edwards makes plain throughout his almost 600-page book (not a page too long), Lewis engaged Nietzsche in a constant debate (and dealt with many others as well). Pointing out this error on Banville's part is not meant to cast a slur against him; it merely shows how far Lewis has sunk below the critical horizon.

The book's layout is very good. In most cases, when art work is discussed the painting or drawing is at hand without needless flipping through the book. While as a rule footnotes are preferable, in this instance the use of endnotes is justified.

This book has given far greater pleasure than many others recently. For those unfamiliar with Lewis it is an excellent primer; for those just stepping into his sea of words it is an invaluable guide; and for those who are well acquainted with Lewis' concerns and motifs there is much to deliberate on, and hopefully respond to, in Edwards' original findings and his engagement with other critics.

Paul Edwards deserves more laurels than he is likely to get for writing about an artist who is underrated, over-scorned, difficult, and not very likely to experience a surge in popular appreciation. He also merits praise for writing in a direct manner, tackling the contentious aspects of Lewis' life and works head on, for his generally even-handed treatment of others who write on Lewis, and the zest underlying every sentence. His discerning enthusiasm will urge a reader to read Lewis' books again, or for a first time. Not many academics or critics achieve that notable goal.

Brother Lawrence can be of enormous help to those of us seeking to grow closer to Christ. For one, there is no complicated methodology behind practicing the presence of God.

As Brother Lawrence says, "Lift up your heart to Him ... the least little remembrance will always be acceptable to Him. You need not cry very loud; He is nearer to us than we are aware of."

And so, the practice of the presence of God is to simply think of him often. As Brother Lawrence says, your friend (God) is always with you. Why would you cut off conversation with God when you would not be so rude to another person.

I enjoyed this book. It takes maybe one hour to read, but I have a feeling it will have a lasting impact on my life.

I am constantly is search of books that will help me advance in the spiritual life. I find alot of books that I read are repetitive. This short book by Brother Lawrence shows a simple, direct, effective way to strengthen your spirituality without losing you halfway through the book. Through the practice of one simple method we can be in continual union with God. All we need is the perseverance to continue practicing it!

This is one of the three greatest Christian books besides the Bible that I would recommend for all to read, the other two being "The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life" and "Pilgrim's Progress". Brother Lawrence seems to have found a heavenly type of life on earth and describes his experience in this very short and simple book that other's may partake of this blessing also. The life he portrays is one of continual communion with God in that all our daily mundane works are intimately connected with Him. One interesting comment he makes, and which perhaps best serves as the central thesis of this book, is that he feels no less closer to God when he is busy doing his earthly chores than in his set time of devotions. The Christian life he found is the one God intends for all belivers to have.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of the most clever and entertaining books yet written. The author's use of language is extremely appealing to the younger readers. These young readers are attracted to this book because of the author's use of many songs. For instance the lullaby sung by the duchess to her child. The Mock Turtle also sang to Alice and the Gryphon a song about the Lobster Quadrille. The author also uses poems that are entertaining and fun to listen to. "You are Old Father William" is one of the many poems. Not only does the author use poems but she also uses commonly known poems and changes the words to fit the character saying them. For instance the Mad-Hatter sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in different words saying "Up above the world you fly, Like a tea-tray in the sky." If this isn't a unique way of writing I dont know what is. Another style of her writingthat is appealing is when she creates a picture, using words in a poem, about the poem. Yhis is used on page 37. The words in the book are nbot hard so the book can be enjoyable when it is being read, not stressful. The author brings animals to life which is an interesting style of writing. This is Lewis Carroll's style of writing. The main character in this book is a little girl with blonde hair named Alice. This child is full of fantasies and dreams, which is what the book is about. Alice is very curious and likes to know every little detail. She thinks she is very smart. For example, when Alice is listening to the Dormouse's story she asks questions like "What did they live on," and makes smart comments such as "They could'nt have done that you know, they'd have been ill." She is also a little bit bratty, especially to the Dormouse when she says: "Nobody asked your opinion." These characteristics pull together to make an interesting main character and to create a fabulous story. The theme of the story is sometimes you need to take a break out of every day life and dream of fantasize. This makes your life more interesting even if you dream about things that will never come true. Alice does this when she dreams about changing sizes and listening to talking animals. Dreaming doesn't hurt anyone except the people who don't do it. If nobody ever had dreams life would be extremely stressful and boring. The plot of the story is all about Alice trying to find the white rabbit, which of course is in her dream. Following the white rabbit takes ALice to interesting places, such as the Courtroom filled with animals, and the Duchess' house, along with meeting interestingpeople such as the Cheshire-Cat and the Queen. This amazing cat hes the ability to disappear whenever it wants to and it always smiles. In the end Alice finds the white rabbit and then wakes up from her dream. This is the plot of the story. The story is effective to the reader. This is so because after listening to such acreative dream and fantasy, it inspires people to take a little time out of the day and be creative and dream once in a while. All the parts of this five star story; the writer's style, the main character, the theme, and the plot; come together to create the overall effectiveness of the story. This is why I rated this book five stars.

I really like Alice in Wonderland and its sequel because it is so whimsical. The way Dodgson made fun of Alice so much makes one laugh until tears come pouring down. He based the character Alice, on his friend; a real life Alice. Throughout the book, he constantly makes references to her, or something related to her. For example, when a character asks her the exact day Alice replies May 4th. May 4th is the real life Alice's birthday. Alice walks through Wonderland, and she sees many strange things, but thinks otherwise. If you like poems, you will certainly like Alice in Wonderland and its sequel, for both books contain numerous poems. However, in the book Carroll takes the original poems and creates a parody out of them. Something interesting to know is that all the poems relate to the chapters. These are all minor details, but something to muse over. On the surface, Alice in Wonderland is a book where she meets weird creatures and walks away from them always feeling humiliated, as she thinks she is smarter than she really is. That is most of Alice in Wonderland.

Alice through the Looking Glass is similar to the prequel, yet glaringly different. The whole book revolves around a chess game, and so the character's actions correspond to moves on the chessboard. Alice joins in the game, starts out as a white pawn, and proceeds to move until she becomes a queen. At each square, she meets a new character, but in one chapter, characters from the previous book are in this one too. An important thing to know in this famous classic is that everything is backwards. It makes sense since Alice is on the other side of a mirror, yet she encounters difficulty sometimes in understanding this. But in the end, she manages to become a queen and to checkmate the red king. Both books are very enjoyable, and I strongly advocate both children and adults to read it. Enjoy!! Cheers!!!!! : )

When I was assigned Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass to read for my Victorian Literature class, I was excited. Even though I had heard Alice's Adventures in Wonderland referred to countless times throughout my youth, I had never read the story or seen the movie. I had never heard of Through the Looking Glass, but while reading, I realized that many people who think they are talking about AAIW are actually referring to TTLG. The two texts seem to be conflated in a way that makes them indistinguishable from each other. It is for this reason that I enjoyed reading this edition of the texts. There is only a page separating the two stories, which allows the reader to easily make the transition between them. This small separation also allows the reader to recognize the undeniable connection between the texts and to understand why many people combine them in their minds.
AAIW is about a young girl named Alice whose boring day with her sister is interrupted when a white rabbit runs by her saying, "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" Alice's curiosity is aroused, but surprisingly not to a great degree. This is the first hint to the reader that Alice is not an average child, as she seems to believe that a talking rabbit is quite normal. She does become intrigued, though, when the rabbit produces a clock from his pocket, so she follows it down its hole and enters a world of wonder. I loved the story from this point on. It is filled with such unbelievable creatures and situations, but Carroll's writing style made me want to believe in a world that could be filled with so much magic and splendor. There was never a dull moment in the story, and each page was filled with more excitement. I will offer a warning, though. This story is not for those who like a neatly packaged plotline. It is written in a somewhat discontinuous nature and seems to follow some sort of dream logic where there are no rules. However, I enjoyed the nonsensical pattern. Without it, a dimension of the story would be lost. It offers some insight into the mind of a young, adventurous, fearless girl, and Carroll seems to be challenging his readers to be more like Alice.
The second text in this book, TTLG, is again a story about Alice. In this adventure, Alice travels through a wondrous world on the other side of her looking glass. As in AAIW, Alice again encounters absurd creatures, such as live chess pieces and talking flowers. The land she travels through is an oversized chessboard, which gives this story a more structured plot than AAIW. The chess theme provides Alice with sense of what she must accomplish in the looking- glass world, and it provides the reader with a sense of direction throughout the story. Alice's goal is to become a chess queen, so the reader knows that when she becomes queen, the story will be over. However, just because the story has some structure does not mean that it is not just as wild and marvelous as its predecessor. I enjoyed all of the characters. They seem to have an endless supply of advice that people in the 21st century can still learn from. My favorite example is when the Red Queen says, "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" Maybe what Carroll is suggesting is that if we read more nonsensical, unbelievable stories like his, we won't be so afraid to be adventurous and fearless like Alice; so that the next time a white rabbit runs by us, we might just see where it leads us.

It is a tragedy that this book is out of print. The first few pages of this novel are as funny as writing can get. Those who only know Portis by TRUE GRIT would be shocked to learn that he is primarily a comic writer, and THE DOG OF THE SOUTH and MASTERS OF ATLANTIS are his funniest. The scene in which the protagonists describes how he always wets the corners of his cocktail napkins so that the napkin will stay attached to the bar rather than stick to his glass and thereby make him look like a dork is priceless.

Trying to describe Charles Portis' classic novel The Dog of the South is not easy, since this book doesn't fit nicely into any category I've encountered before. The book is sort of a cross between Confederacy of Dunces, and maybe a more accessible (and enjoyable) Pynchon. The narrator, Ray Midge, is a 28 year old fussbudget from Arkansas who has trouble settling down to a real job, and whose wife Norma has recently left him for her first husband, Guy Dupree, a hapless radical arrested for threatening the President. Midge wouldn't be THAT mad except the lovers on the lam took Ray's Ford Torino, and left him Guy's [run down] Buick filled with Heath wrappers, and reeking of dog.

This relatively sparse outline of a plot sets a wonderful story in motion, as Midge follows the trail of his wife's credit card receipts to follow them to Central America, ostensibly to get his car back. Along the way Midge meets a zany ex-doctor, named Symes, a loony Louisiana character who seems to me right off the pages of John Kennedy Toole's masterpiece Confederacy of Dunces.

It is difficult to explain the plot and the characters, it is simply a parade of oddball characters and circumstances. Ray looks out the window at some pelicans, and one gets hit by lightning. He makes polite conversation to a kid, asking him "How many states have you seen?" and the kid inexplicably snarls back "More than you!" Every meeting and social interaction takes a somewhat unexpected, but strangely believable turn so there was something to enjoy and chuckle about on every page.

The novel is also full of wry observations and bits of wisdom, like when the narrator warns readers to turn glasses or mugs with handles to the left, as if you were left-handed, since the side of the cup you are sipping has come into contact with fewer human mouths. Portis' outlook is offbeat to be sure, but there's a zany truth to much of it.

This was my first encounter with Portis' work, much of which is in the process of being re-released (the book was written in the mid 70's), and if Dog of the South is any example Portis is a writer who begs to be rediscovered by modern readers looking for a comedic road trip story.

It's great to see Portis' finest novel getting a little attention at last. Pity it took everyone 20 years to notice that Dog of the South is a masterpiece. Here are the Seventies as they were lived outside Hollywood:an American "Era of Stagnation," a stagnant pond in which tiny creatures like Ray Midge, protagonist of this novel, move in little circles. Ray is a bore, a weapons-nerd and military-history pedant, a tiresome "selfish little fox" in the words of his dancing ex-mother-in-law and "an effete yeoman" in his own estimation. But he is also the voice to which Portis assigns some of the funniest and most beautiful sentences ever written. Ray's failed attempt to live out an heroic tale of vengeance is the story, and it's a great story; but it's Portis' extraordinary prose that will stay with you long after you finish this novel. My brothers and I, who had read this novel dozens of times, used to conduct whole conversations consisting of memorized sentences from the novel. It's that good.