I'm quite surprised this hasn't been reviewed yet; it's a wonderful book. Likely not for undergrads, Giddens is able to tie together in novel ways some of the key concepts that connect the writings of Marx, Weber and Durkheim. A good deal of the book summarizes the key writings of each author-- which is useful in itself-- and supports much of the summary material with compelling quotes and citations of both the author in question, as well as others who have done secondary analyses. Giddens also devotes a few chapters to analyzing the three authors in comparison, and spends a good deal of time teasing out differences between the three that were not, for me at least, apparent right away. In other words, a solid and original analysis. Not five stars because there was less on similarities of thought between the authors than I would have liked to have seen (and no explicit comparative analysis of Weber and Durkheim, only Marx vis-a-vis the other two), but this is probably due to the fact that Marx, Weber and Durkheim diverge in so many fundamental ways. Nevertheless, truly a must read for those who want to begin to get a grip on classical western social theory in a more sophisticated fashion than what most textbooks (which this is not) might have to offer. Get it, because if it's this old and still in print in the academic world, there's a reason for it...

Giddens is the most well-known British social scientist after Keynes and one of three masters in sociology with Bourdieu and Habermas. This book has been widely used as textbook in classes on the history of sociology, while his more recent book, ¡®Introduction to Sociology¡¯ ahs occupied most introductory classes of sociology.
1. Giddens might be the best and deepest understander of three father of sociology. The prestige and appeal of his structuration theory might be rooted in that mastery. Before proposed the outline of structuration theory in ¡®New Rules of Sociological Method¡¯, he spent about ten years in digging into three founders: Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. This book is the fruit of that effort.
Unlike usual textbook, this book us not simple introduction to classical theorists. The need to read classics lies in the problem sociology poses to itself: ¡®what is the modernity?¡¯ Whereas other sister disciplines pose somewhat narrower problems-capitalism for economics, democracy for political sciences- sociology questions the modernity itself. That¡¯s the very problem three fathers posed over a century ago. But still we question the same problem in the way they set. So we should always return to classics when meeting the fundamental problem.
2. The style of this book is clear, easy-to-follow, and jargon-free enough to be used in undergraduate introductory class. But it doesn¡¯t mean that there is no depth in this book. Giddens argues that thoughts of Weber and Durkheim should be understood as the reaction to Marx. His emphasis is convincing and offers a good standpoint to look up three fathers as a whole. Such a point is invaluable to beginners. Moreover, his interpretations are opposite to conventional wisdom, with solid grounds. He contends that there is no discontinuity between young Marx and late Marx, against humanist views like Frankfurt school¡¯s and structuralist exposition like Althusser¡¯s; there is no inconsistency I Weber. He was always a radical neo-Kantian; the relationship of Weber and Marx should be seen as creative tension rather than antagonism; Durkheim¡¯s point lies in not primarily in ¡®the problem of order¡¯ but in the changing nature of order in the context of social development.

Well, to sort of disagree with the previous review, I feel that this book is great for Undergrads! I, myself had the opportunity to read this book in a social theory class and have since relied upon Giddens excellent analysis of these theorists! It really helped me grasp the detailed (and often times confusing) ideas and theories of the classical theorists. After reading the book, I was able to more fully understand the actual works of these individuals. I use this book as reference guide to refer back to what Marx, Durkheim and Max Weber said.

I have to admit that it took me quite a while to get through this one, even though I'm a huge fan of Cioran. This is one of his first books and as he says in Admirations.. he was inspired at this point by Shakespeare and Shelley. The language is dense poetry-prose, really beautiful but it requires your complete concentration like a book of poetry does. I prefer his later, more relaxed and slyly cynical essays and aphormisms but any admirer of philosophy and poetry-prose should take it on.

It's a cliche to say this, of course, but nothing else will do. Cioran is an author that you either like, or you don't. If you do like him, and he doesn't make it easy, you find that in no time he becomes your favorite author...

This is one of his earliest books, and one of his best. If you are really interested in post-modern philosophy, art theories, social theories, etc., but find most of what you read precious, posed, downright incomprehensible, or all three, read Cioran. Reading his work, whether you like him or not, agree with him or not, has about the same effect on your thinking as listening to Bach does on your music appreciation. To the extent that you "get" the master, you improve your ability to sort out the useful and original from the bizarre garbage which poses as useful and original. A must read for anyone who wants to think rather than philosophize.

if you want to have a new vision of history and of mankind, this is the best book in order to open your eyes

Initially, I gave La Bete Humaine five stars, but after some thought downgraded it to four. It's quite good, and in parts downright spectacular, but in all honesty it doesn't rank on the same level as the monolithic L'Assommoir, Germinal and Nana. The problem lies with the premise. In the three aforementioned novels, the characters were all basically ordinary people. This made it easy to be pulled into their emotional struggles, and made for unspeakably captivating reading because it was so easy to see how _real_ and _human_ they were. I stood behind L'Assommoir's Gervaise all the way, _literally loudly yelling_ as I accompanied her to L'Assommoir's inevitable conclusion.

I did not have the same reaction in La Bete Humaine. The protagonist is an "ordinary person," except he's afflicted with a mental disorder that makes him want to kill women. And thus, all his character development works to develop that one unfortunate aspect of his personality. I could not get inside his head. I could not see reality in his emotional struggle. To be frank, his moral dilemmas seemed very much invented by Zola, as opposed to taken from life. Admittedly, they were very elaborate inventions and _still_ made for captivating reading - that's why I'm still giving it four stars. Gervaise is a real character. Jacques Lantier is a writer's invention.

I would, however, deem it necessary for you to read La Bete Humaine, if only for one scene - the train wreck. That is one of Zola's most powerful scenes ever. It is really quite amazing. As I read, I saw and heard it happen, and I rallied behind the people that courageously stood up to the catastrophe just like I rallied behind Gervaise in L'Assommoir. It needs to be read to be believed. But the rest, I'm not too thrilled with in the end, and I didn't walk away carrying an image of any character from the book in my brain for days like I did after reading L'Assommoir, Germinal and Nana. So four stars it is. La Bete Humaine is a worthy member of the Rougon-Macquart series, and deserving of your time, but falls just short of greatness.

Plenty of adultery and murders in this book, but not gory. It is an entertaining story and after it's all said and done, isn't that what we are doing this for? It is not one of my favorite of zola's rougon-macquart series but it is still good. This is the story of homicidal woman hater Jaques Latiner, son of Gervaise (L'assomoir) and brother to Nana Coupeau (nana) Claude Latiner (the masterpiece) and a coal miner dude in one of his books I have yet to read (germinal)

This is one of Zola's most violent and disturbing novels, but it possesses a kind of "tragic grandeur," to quote the translator, which makes it story and its characters live on in the mind long after the reader has turned the last page. Part crime thriller and partly a novel of railway life, it tells the story of a group of people who are slaves to their passions and whose ultimate doom is preordained by their backgrounds and temperaments. There are marvellous passages of descriptive writing and if you think that a novel about the railways is bound to be dull you will find yourself happily mistaken. The depiction of Jacques, genetically doomed to be a murderer, is more frightening than any Hannibal Lecter. Some modern readers may have difficulty empathising with Zola's ideological beliefs, but in the end the novel carries all before it. A shattering, truly memorable work of art, very well translated.

This work is easy to read for those involved in the industry.As a grapegrower whose grapes go to good wineries but,makes a ton or so of Cab sav each year for the family,this book is a great help.If my chemistry was better I could give it the extra star.Generally it provides answers to all of the questions that I ask.It is well served with a good index and this helps for quick guidance when needed.I think it helps me make better wine.

This book differed from any other winemaking reference I have encountered. While the text is aging and some of the information is therefore of questionable accuracy (eg: "open top fermenters are losing favor for red wine vinification"), I found these lapses to be mostly in the category of trends in practice and therefore obvious. These minor shortcomings are overwhelmed by the unique viewpoints of a man known rightfully as one of the wine worlds giants. There are brilliant insights into vinification and wine structure in this book that I have encountered nowhere else. Not in other texts, symposia, trade journals or conversations with great winemakers. If you are a professional or serious amateur winemaker, buy this book and read it. Then read it again. Thank you Monsieur Peynaud for this gift.

Peynaud's stature in the wine world is legendary. He trained a copule of generations of Bordeaux winemakers, and through his words you can gain insight into classic winemaking and classic beliefs of that major region. The book is highly technical--I ended up reading it twice, to understand it fully. But Peynaud is also a poet, and a philospher, and his language is beautiful. This is a book that you'll refer to for your lifetime--provided that you're really serious about understanding the principles and philosophies behind winemaking.

This book gives specific guidelines to follow to indeed "turn your dreams into a reality". The book, "As A Man Thinketh" by James Allen goes hand in hand with these writings Emile Coue has provided. I enjoyed this reading because he basically grabs you by the hand and walks with you. He tells you how you can direct your thoughts in order to achieve that which you desire through repetition. When you imagine specific things as happening or coming true and begin to visualize these things; it is then that they will begin to materialize in your life. Once again, the responsibilty is entirely dependent on me!

Upon first reading, I believe what impressed me most about this text was the constant reminder that it is our imagination, not our will, that dictates the direction of our actions. With the latest barrage of psychological doctrines focused on finding the person(s) responsible for the rash of killing sprees and murders; this book was a refreshing reminder that it is indeed within us to determine what we do, how we do it, and even why. Emile Coue allows us the chance to enhance a function that we are born with and utilize unwittingly everyday, only not usually to our advantage. He gives us the simplest of all principles: conscious use of our own innate awareness, and proves to us that pure autosuggestion really can work to drastically change our lives for the better. Once the premise of conscious autosuggestion is mastered through practice, using it to aid students or clients is shared as a simple and effective means of effective and long term treatment.

Emile Coué was a French druggist who pioneered the method of self-hypnosis called autosuggestion. It was popular during the 1920's; but the combination of Coué's death and the fact that he was out of then-mainstream psychology led to its being eclipsed.

Poor Coué was a little too far ahead of the Zeitgeist. It would have fit in better today with the development of cognitive psychology and the development of cognitive therapies.

Esstentially, Coué in this work emphasizes the role of positive thinking in self-improvement. In this way he implicitly proposed bridging the gap between behavior and cognition, a concept offered over 250 years earlier by Blaise Pascal. But can reciting a mantra involving positive thoughts improve one's outlook? There is some evidence that it can.

Emile Coué offers a number of practical suggestions for cognitive self-improvement in this very readable work. It is equally recommended for both the scholar in the history of psychology as well as the everyday reader seeking practical suggestions in management of thoughts.

So: "Each day, and in every way, I am getting better and better." Putting a different cognitive spin on things can improve one's life.

Givry gives an excellent overview of certain areas of occult study and a unique perspective since he substantiates much of his observation with data gleaned from art images of the time periods involved. Quaint and entertaining, and the narrative is delivered with a sort of good-natured offhand manner that makes it quite enjoyable to read.

Many fascinating bits of information and illustrations make this an all-time favourite of mine.

This is a classic photo-reproduction of the Artium Magister, Grillot de Givry's: 'Le Musee des sorciers, mages et alchemists' (1929). It is an Art Historical tour of the Occult heritage in virtually all the classical Arts; from painting and illuminated manuscript, to sculpture and architecture, as well as a vast body of Literature, including many extremely rare & beautiful manuscripts "writ in the sublimest poesy" found mostly in private French and Parisian libraries, the Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal, and from the exemplary Art Historian's own collection. Some 375-plus high-quality Black & White Illustrations on archival glossed paper make this a valuable document for both Occultists' and Artists/Art Historians of varied fields of inquiry. This is the book which more than any other inspired and taught the SURREALIST'S about all the Occult Arenas which were so much a part of their heritage dating back just a few decades before to the late 19th century 'European Occult Revival' which was infiltrated by the SYMBOLIST's-DECADENT's (perhaps the largest singular influence on the Surrealist's versatile agenda) who undertook the immense task of making ART THEIR OWN RELIGION by finding their individualized spiritual definitions in the magical world of Occultism.

Fulcanelli's 'Mystery of the Cathedrals' & 'Dwellings of the Philosophers'---of which de Givry's catalogue is a pictorial companion-piece---is the only other work(s) which so affected the Artistic Advanced Guards between the World Wars to an immeasurable degree and literally unlimited extent, especially those working in a non-literary medium.

For, the writers, both linear and poetic turned to the Occult Authors such as Eliphas Levi, or Paschal Beverly Randolph, or Paul Christian, and of course the Theosophical Madame, her big Russian self---and Steiner's Anthroposophist's...the list goes on & on.
But there is Nothing to compare too this pictorial archive as de Givry's assembled for the sheer bulk of their numbers and the high quality of the works he labored valiantly to include, reveling in the many mysteries abounding all over the European landscape, especially within the sculpture of the cathedrals from several historical era's. Many criminally unknown (or just ignored) medieval & Renaissance Artist's that have somehow gotten buried by those ladies of T.S.'s still talking of Michelangelo are herein restored.

Occultist's/Occult Historians should find this book an immensely helpful anthology for use alongside such Classical scholars as the English dame Francis Amelia Yates' and D.P. Walker's works on the subject of Renaissance Hermeticism and both kinds of Magical professors. Or works dealing with any other era in European 'Hidden History'.

All in all, this is a highly informative and absorbing compendium of a wide variety of works that would find a good home in so many differing disciplinarian's studios! Also, the translation by J. Courtenay Locke is excellent, as de Givry's prose is always insightful and has an down to earth romantic quality imbuing it as a whole, allowing for some rather fantastic humor which the translator has indeed caught well. The book is published by DOVER PRESS in photo-facsimile (the best mass Paperback Publishers still around when it comes to quality and unbeatable prices! It was originally pub. by Houghton Mifflin Co. in 1931) and it therefore has a whiff of ages about it which confers upon it an antiquated sense of thumbing through a tome from a far distant time, making it seem even more of a miracle such a unique Art Historical work as this is still so readily available in the early days of century number MMI.

Such an area of European Spiritual heritage has yet to be explored in any depth approaching the deeps which Grillot de Givry succeeds in delving to! As much as the Arts have a rich cultural heritage in Esotericism---so does Occultism have a long and flourishing tradition in the Arts; both are wondrous facets of a single fact this book documents well! I am surprised it is not more well-known?

If you like gazing at works with a very Gothique edge; with a definitely Sublime terror about their subject matter, and executed by the European continental likes of Goya, Bosch, Brueghel, Cranach, Rembrandt, Van Der Weyden, etc...to Paracelsus, Magnus, Barrett, Fludd, Kircher, etc... & all variety of Faustian caricatures and outtakes from innumerable incunabular texts of both Literary and Goetic/Theurgical origins...This is a visual Feast that will ravage your visions after you go to sleep just as much as you will frequent the hellish sights within its pages!

This book builds a bridge made to last, that many have already passed through...it should be a more frequented path in academia as well as independently trodden again, Amen!

This Dover reprint of de Givry's classic text contains all of the art work of the original, although all of it in B&W. It is a treasury for anyone interested in the history of art, as well as the presumed subject matter.

Few "peasants" in 19th century France ever learned to read and write, let alone went on to write a novel. Yet, this is exactly what occurred when Emile Guillaumin sat down to write "The Life of a Simple Man." This poignant tale, set in the early 1800's, follows the life of a man beset by poverty, hardship, and the caprice of the landed classes. What shows through, however, is the strength of character, the determination, and the simple wisdom of a people who built the French nation. A wonderful, literate read that I highly recommend to anyone interested in this period or in the autobiographical experiences of a people whose voice is only rarely heard.

The life of a simple man not only gives us an inside look into the life of the peasants of the 1800's in France and of its overall history, but it also allows us to look further towards the future where other nations are now heading. It not only recounts history, it foresees the history of others; the path that they are yet to walk. Of tremenduous value for me has been the parallel found between the France of those years and the Latin America of today. Having traveled extensively in the latter, I have learned that Latin America is for the most part 200 years behind if compared with the France described in this book. More interesting than that is the fact that despite distances and differences in cultures, we are so much more alike than we give credit. I wonder how many Tienons there are in Latin America today relieving the life of this metayer. I am thankful I was able to read this book prior to my traveling back to these countries because it has allowed me to look at my own culture in a different light and I can even somehow look forward towards the place they are heading. Great Reading!

"The Secret Life of Saeed" relates the experiences of a not-so-bright Palestinian informer. Saeed leads a tragic life, and thinks his only chance in improvement is by working with the Israelis to discredit and destroy Palestinian political workers' groups. Through symbols and metaphors, the author illustrates the absurdly difficult life that working class Palestinians are forced to lead because of Israeli occupation.

Habiby was one of the "Palestinians of the Interior". He managed to stay after 1948 when more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled out of fear of possible massacres in the wake of Deir Yassin. Habiby remained and became an Israeli citizen.

Thus, this book contains some autobiographical elements, mostly around the dilemma of the Palestinians who became citizens of Israel only to find themselves second-class citizens. In the particular case of Said, the character reacts with an ever-increasing zeal, trying to serve the Israeli state as much as possible.

The Palestinian tragedy is told here with an explosive sense of humour, an ever-present wit and through stories and anecdotes which, although revealing many of the deep contradictions inherent to occupation, never compromise on literary and narrative standards. The language in the Arabic version is beautiful and concise. The English and French translations maintained this spirit very well and are, in my opinion, excellent. Habiby's deep knowledge of history and his erudition in literature are impressive.

This book became a classic of Arabic fiction. No wonder. It is both entertaining and very touching.

in this book of short essays, cioran uses irony and paradox to achieve an absolute black humor. life is described as mind looking at itself and finding no significant content. death, the final exit, is a betrayer in that contemplating it leads one to wish to affirm life once more, yet without knowledge of what in life can be affirmed. many key words in the book begin with "a": abulia, aporia, askesis, ataraxia, and acedia define cioran's mood. perhaps the most brilliant essay, "beyond the novel," informs us that the novel is either dead or dying, in any case in agony, since both "character" and "meaning" no longer signify anything. here art mirrors life, where certitudes are merely functioning lies and the only goal is a futility achieved by severing oneself from those lies. the curious thing is that humor shines through all this, and while i don't find this book as funny as others of cioran's, particulary his books of very short aphorisms, there were still some laughs: "...at any price we must keep those who have too clear a conscience from living and dying in peace," for example.

Contorted at the end of a struggle, like a slovenly cat no longer able to fight her revolutions, it is an indication of Cioran's aspiration to diffuse sound upon silence, that a philosophy where existence disgruntles consciousness into submission is its most prevailing feature. What must be done? Cioran, that final seer unable to dislodge his lucidity: knowing indeed that lucidity is a gift available to those whose lives have already ended, and like Diogenes in his tub, he winces at the absent sky above him. Desertion, the epigram of self-consciousness and the incipient dawn that is reason: Cioran is symptomatic of a resignation in regard to reason's vacuity - a distant light in the façade of reasonable progress. What must be done? Furrowing the fortunes for ruin, we owe him our spirits. But apocalypse that is breathing, perhaps we have not done enough to oblige Cioran's task - is there not a sediment of reason still left in your goblet human! Exile, the fortune of the vagabond, for him reason is trace of nostalgia. No, it is all together too clear: it will be the task of our present generation to dissolve gradually until the sediment of spurious aspirations has been exhausted. We are no longer engaged in a struggle with reason, for such ends are absent. To regard reason as an anathema, to scorn it as an obsolete tradition adhered to by either servile conservatives or pious harlequins, and to embrace decline as an antidote to such retrospective tendencies - that will be our progression. Decline and its organic counterpart decay are virtues into which we ought to submit. Nietzsche is right about the ruinous: like an orchestra at the edge of a precipice, we need to finally be pushed into the void. But you wince, unable to sacrifice yourself for a future generation founded in the hallucinogenics of the nocturnal reverie. Very well! But know in advance that existence, the trace of sulphur in an otherwise familiar metropolis, is a tincture only available to those who have gargled on their own negation - had Cioran tasted it? Unable to answer this question, we perform an exegesis on the text, hoping the hermeneutics of hopelessness will exhume gold, hoping the allusions written in sand will reveal a hidden hieroglyphic. But such elusive ideals, such pewter-encased goblets, are only to be found in dissolution and to that we must revere before timidity beckons.

An entertaining read but you can't help learn something about Parisian bourgeois class homelife in the process. Plenty of intrigues and double dealings. I like how zola lets us eavesdrop on the gossip sessions of the servants in the back courtyard in order to move the plot along. The ending leaves the reader hanging somewhat. He was obiously already planning to write the next installment in the Rougon Macquart series (and this book's sequel) The ladies paradise.

A good jolly soap opera of a book. Young man comes from the provinces to the capital. Gets a room in an apartment block. Learns about life in general and the opposite sex in particular. Nothing new so far. Other authors had already trod the same path. Here, the whole process is meticulously described with Zola's usual skill (he is now on the tenth novel in his cycle). One cannot help thinking, though, that the apartment block must have been a pox doctor's paradise. But the book's real interest is in how the hero uses his acquired knowledge - which is revealed when he becomes the great retailing tycoon in the next book "Au Bonheur des Dames". So, this book is really the first part of a two-part series and it does its job of whetting the appetite for part two. It shows that the university of life is better than a business studies course any day.

"Pot Bouille" is indeed a piece of treasure. Even now, I can still find myself holding on to each word since the very first page. Each page will keep you wanting for more. It tells a story of an apartment building and its occupants. One might imagine the type of brownstone mansions in New York City or Beacon Hill in Boston divided to apartment units to be rented out. Except that in Zola's pot, neighborly interactions take place regularly and make up the heart of the story.

Although many stories about bourgeoisie lives have been written, I've never come across characters as vivid, comical, harsh, evolving and disgusting as those portrayed in this book. Gossips, money, sex, adulteries, self advancement and selfishness are so well mashed in the pot, they'll warm up to readers' hearts. I can really feel for the characters cause they seem very much alive, it almost seem that I'm living next door to them. Although Monsieur Octave Mouret is described as the hero in this book, I feel that the true hero is Monsieur Josserand. "Pot Bouille" is a story about temptations and human feelings. It has every power to make me cringe, laugh, smile and cry.

"Pot Bouille" is a truly wonderful piece that will spark readers' imaginations. I've enjoyed reading the copy by Oxford World's Classics. Professor Brian Nelson has done a terrific job in translating it from its original French. Read it and have fun!!!!