The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson by Daniel J. Boorstin is a look into the early years preceding the birth of the United States and the climate of thought that was current at that time.
Scientific knowledge was starting to be shared and Jefferson seemed to absorb and process a lot of that times current philosophies.

This book is invaluble if you realy want to study or "get a feel" for the times of the 18th and early 19th century. The author goes to great pains in explaining particular events and ideas that were concerning these early scientific thinkers.

This book conveys the thought process behind the events and how the minds of the thinkers moved the nation. Mostly, this book is about American intellectual history, and is engaging as it is history of ideas. These ideas are blended with a purpose to bring the thought of the time into perspective and defines the key problems facing how Jefferson appeared.

This book is worthy of a place on your bookshelf, for reference and a look into American life and thought, aspects that are hard to see today, but are brought out richly in this book.

I highly recommend reading this book by one of America's leading historians .

The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson provides an in depth study of the philosophies and amazing depth of scientific knowledge that Thomas Jefferson displayed during his lifetime. The renowned historian, Daniel Boorstin, wrote this wonderful historic piece decades before his more famous works of The Creators, The Discovers and The Seekers. Boorstin's ability to explain a specific set of events and ideas amid the complex myriad of late 18th and early 19th century concerns in political thought and philosophy makes this book a invaluable reference. Thomas Jefferson's basic principle that all law, social construction and philosophy should be grounded with "Natural Law" is explained at depth. Boorstin also explains how the liberal ideals attributed to Jefferson were misinterpreted in the 100 years following his death. If you an interest in either early American Anthropology (although term was not being used per se, it is the only accurate way to describe the emphasis of this book) or American Scientific thought, then this book must grace your shelf.

Boorstin is the best historian I have read. He brings history to life by examining the thought behind the events and the assumptions behind the thought. This is not so much a book about what happened as to why it happened; what the underlying ideas were of the minds that moved the nation at its birth. Boorstin manages to effectively communicate thought processes that are foreign to the modern age. A remarkable achievement. I plan on reading more of his work in the future. Highest recommendation!

As a beginner in Middle Eastern studies, I bought this book for a balanced overview of the conflict. I was disappointed that the book seemed to "start in the middle" with only a passing mention of the diaspora, etc. Certain facts, figures and dates were glossed over w/out further explanation. I didn't even make it through the first section...

The Palestine-Israeli Conflict
By: Dan Cohn-Sherbok and Dawoud el-Alami

The Palestine-Israeli Conflict is an insightful, original, and well-researched work.
Although it is labeled a "beginner's guide" one must already have at least a basic knowledge of Middle East modern history to fully understand it. From the roots of Zionism in the 1800's to the Intifada of the early 2000's, both writers do a masterful job of tying every cause and effect into an understandable history of the troubled region.

A refreshing characteristic of the book is it's dual point of view format. In an age where nearly every history book is distorted by the writer's viewpoint, it is hard to find a clear perspective. Although Cohn-Sherbok (Professor of Judaism) and el-Alami (a Palestinian native) are no different in their own individual writings. However, since both points of view are presented in the same work, the reader can read both, mix and match different points, and form his or her opinions.

The only aspect of the book is that it tends to become repetitive and never repeats information. The reader must stay attentive to every event in order to understand the next.

This book is a great tool for forming your own opinions about the conflict and learning the details from both points of view. I would recommend it to just about anybody looking to learn more.

This is a fantastic book and is laid out giving a balanced account from both sides of the conflict. I detest hearing one-sided arguments as I always wonder what "the other sides" response would be.
In this book I don't have to wonder. One chapter is devoted to the Israeli cause and the following chapter is devoted to the Palestinian cause. One writer makes a point and the other makes a counter-point. More books should be written in this format.

If ever there was a clear case of people choosing sides based on what they believe a priori, this is it. While some authors (Judy Sarasohm for example) followed this case from both sides, Kevles obviously entered the discussion with a judgement to be excused. The case of Imanishi-Kari v. O' Toole is one that should have be decided in science, by scientists. But the intervention and face-saving by David Baltimore caused this case to linger half a decade beyond it's merit.

This book wends its way through the facts of the case in 512 pages, but prejudges it's view from page 1. Science isn't the question; in the original paper, the Tufts review, the MIT review, the NIH review or the Secret Service investigation.

Rather, the intent is clear from the beginning, politics has no place in science, except when practiced by Nobel laureates.

Read "Science On Trial" as well, to see an honest (but admittedly poor) author explain the entire case, instead of a biased view decrying the proper research.

As an engineer by training and profession, this book really makes my blood boil. It's basically the true story of some scientists at MIT who publish a paper on immunology. A student of one of the professors challenges that some of the data in the paper was faked, and an epic of Phyrric proportions ensues.

In the 10 years that this book covers, scientific careers are ruined, researchers are vilified in the media and in the court of public opinion, and (most troubling of all to me) our elected officials engage in a witch hunt of completely innocent scientists. In particular, Senator John Dingell (Michigan) and his staff are revealed as complete devils; the author has thoroughly documented and footnoted the evidence in the case, so there is really little doubt that Mr. Dingell is as pernicious as he is portrayed in this book. Unfortunately, Mr. Dingell is still a senator to this day and no doubt is still out "to get" the scientists involved. Fortunately for science (and society), history has proven the scientists involved innocent and they have all been restored to preeminent positions in the scientific community.

Be forewarned that this is quite a tomb, weighing in at hundreds of pages of meaty scientific and political reading. At times, I contemplated giving up on it, but as the story unfolded, I wanted to see just how far this tragic comedy would unfold. The subject matter (immunology) is far removed from the layperson and I found myself at times not understanding the concepts fully. Luckily, this book is more about the sociopolitical ramifications of the science, and thus not understanding the science does not detract from the novel.

Kevles has written a masterful account of the Baltimore Case (Imanishi-Kari Case might be better). I can only second the glowing reviews already on this page. A few things that might interest the general reader: at the time of this book's publication, Baltimore-bashing was practically a national sport among scientists. Kevles set out to write a balanced account, and he has done so-- it is a good job all around, as Yale recognized when it gave him an endowed chair recently (Caltech's loss, alas!). Information subsequent to its publication only enhances Baltimore's stature. Unfortunately, like the French Dreyfus case that it resembled at times, too many prominent people said too many harsh things about Baltimore that they cannot retract. Contrary to at least one of the editorial reviewers, it is clear now that Kevles was too hard on Baltimore and company, but so many people attacked Baltimore(Nature's Maddox, Paul Doty, Jim Watson, W.Gilbert, J Darnell, G. Blobel, and a whole nascent federal bureaucracy, inter alia) that these contemporary anti-Dreyfusards will never be refuted. Be that as it may, read this account to get a detailed study of how scientists and government can go wrong, all while trying to do the right thing.

This was a text I used in Beginning ASL II. There is a supplemental video that goes along with the book as well.

While there is tons of vocabulary used in this text, most of it is used the the Pacific Northwest area. This is not a great book if you're taking classes in the midwest or even the south. I was really glad that I had a professor that could show me local signs in my State/City/neighborhood.

There is some examples of ASL grammar included, but nothing hard and fast. As I've learned, the grammar has been easier to pick up.

The video I mentioned is very helpful since most of the exercises revolve around certain scenes that are acted out. There are some werid camera angles during a few black and white "intermissions".

Good textbook for an ASL course.
Written by experts teaching the ASL.

I have taught sign language courses for 10 years and find this book to be a good resource for beginners. However, in the midst of teaching this course, my "video" was lifted from my classroom. I would like to purchase the video without having to purchase the book again. Aaaah! What does one do?

This book doesn't have the greatest examples for the students. It also lacks a solutions manual. Not worth a 100 bucks to say the least.

Much Errata in this book. Many concepts are just not explained in terms that can be understood. More effort was spent on marketing and cover design then content and proof reading.

This book is very suitable for a 10 week intro. course to digital design. In fact, the author wrote the book with this in mind, since he teaches ICS 151 at UC Irvine which is a 10 week introductory course on the subject. As an instructor, I was thankful that the book came with transparency templates and a solutions manual (although the publisher does not sell it to students). Using this book is also advantageous for the computer science major who needs a solid foundation in digital design for learning computer architecture, but does not need to be overburdened by an indepth analysis of issues such as timing, hazard-free designs, etc. (although these subjects are discussed, but not in much detail). Moreover, the final chapter discusses design and synthesis issues for developing a cpu. Thus, this book is very appropriate for computer scientists and computer engineers...but may be not the best book for a design engineer who may need a reference with more information.

How can a man so self concerned write a book concerning the rights of others?

I found this to be an extremely informative book. This was not just based on the authors opinions. He offered facts to back up his information. Every person donating money to an animal rights group should read this and SEE where their money is really going. Bravo to Daniel Oliver for such an eye opener to the groups that the FBI now classifies as our home grown terrorist.

At last, someone who is not afraid to tear the mask of hypocrisy. Vaccinated humans have no right to deny vaccines from others. Well-fed people have no right to deny food from others. Medical experimentation on animals is good. Adulation of animals as sacred cows is a religious perversion. If medical students will be forbidden to practice on animals, we'll either have bad physicians or practitioners that have studied their trade on humans. The first animal rights laws were enacted in the Third Reich by the Prussian minister. The rationale was that most animals have more rights than most people. The goody-goodies that have tired of fighting for human rights and have taken leave of their senses should remember that Einstein was not a vegetarian, Hitler was. "The Inhumane Crusade" is a valuable book for people who still value human life above the pseudo- and quasi-rights of rats, cockroaches, and the malaria plasmodium.

I'm studying for the CPA. I bought the book because it's required for a course in school. But to actually learn for the CPA exam, I'll toss this one aside for one that provides a solutions manual. Authors who withold the manual for the instructors benefit miss a fundamental point about economics - who the customer is. It's the student that the book is written for and it is the student who pays for the course. Breffni University of Chicago

I agree with those that say this book would be more useful if it came with solutions. Right off in the first chapter, hypothetical situations are presented without any background information in the text. If you haven't had some experience in Accounting, you are going to be left scratching your head. The instructor in my class says that it causes you to think. Hard to think if you have never come close to experiencing anything that is being discussed. Some guidance would be helpful.

The book provides very clear explanations about different aspects of financial statement analysis. The only drawbacks are that the book is a little simplistic and that problem solutions are sorely needed. However, I am sure you are not going to use oit for self-study- you would be using it as a textbook in a financial statement analysis class. The professor, would be able to provide you with solutions (as in my case- thanks Dr. Church!) and will also help you out with some of the tougher stuff. Whatever, the book does an excellent job in explaining the basic stuff- much better than the Sondhi book.

While it is packaged nicely, this attempt to get a book out on FrontPage 2000 is simply taking the previous book and substituting 2000 for 98. Very few hands-on examples. Because of the rush, the book is full of inaccuracies, thus leading to more confusion on the part of the user.

This is a great book for people wanting to learn how to use the frontpage 2000 interface. If you are looking for a book on how to use HTML code this is not the book of choice. I skimmed thru the book while building my web site and had a good understanding of the frontpage flow in about a day. This book is a good buy for a rookie frontpage developer.

creating, viewing and editing website in frontpage.

Waste of paper. Same old GERMAN denials. (Anyone familiar with the same kind of lies the SWISS have been caught at lately?) No one knew anything. They were forced. No one could oppose the STATE. GOLDHAGEN's book, together with the latest 'touring' exhibit of photo's of ordinary GERMANs doing the rounding up, killing etc show more truth that this book ever could. This generation of GERMANS are seeing the reality of situation.

25% of the SS were ROMAN CATHOLICS. Who forced them to become SS murderers? Did they suddenly lose EVERY choice?

This book collects some thirty essays and other materials on Daniel Goldhagen's controversial 1996 book, "Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust." Not every piece the reader might want to find is included here, but more than enough is presented to familiarize the reader with the chief objections to Goldhagen's theses raised by scholars and journalists, as well as the lines of defense offered by his supporters and Goldhagen himself. Although inherently somewhat repetitive, this book would prove rewarding to anyone interested enough in this arcane realm of Holocaust studies to be reading this review.

This was a very well organized collection of essays on Daniel Goldhagen's controversial book "Hitler's Willing Executioners". Goldhagen's main thesis is that the Jewish Holocaust was not a secret project of the Nazi elite, but was perpetrated by hundreds of thousands of ordinary Germans motivated by murderous Anti-Semitism. Though it sounds obvious that Anti-Semitism would be the prime mover in this horror, a body of scholarship holds that either 1) coercion within the totalitarian state, or 2) careerist ambitions in competing and poorly defined bureaucracies (the "structuralist" thesis) are mainly responsible. Articles are reprinted in chronological order, tracing the arc of the debate from near-universal condemnation of the thesis in Germany, to a grudging acknowledgment of its importance in light of the book's hugely enthusiastic popular reception.

Though dry and necessarily somewhat redundant, this collection offers a good introduction to various Holocaust theories, along with revealing insights into the psychic burdens and vulnerabilities of modern Germans.

I think this book is very repetitive and is a very poor attempt at showing why losing all of these languages is important. They are comparing losing these languages to animals and plants going extinct. They try and draw all of these worthless comparissions that do not make any sense. This book is not even worth being picked up.

Vanishing Voices does a good job of showing how larger languages are destroying smaller ones, and the methods of language death. This is all pretty much common knowledge. However, the authors fail in their attempt to give a reason as to WHY language death is something with which we should be concerned. The only argument they put forth is in a ecological/enviromental analogy, which says that biological diversity is good and stable, therefore, linguistic diversity must. However, they only go part way in their analogy and reject natural selection for languages. They also show that linguistic diversity corresponds to environmental diversity, but state this has nothing to do with the inexcessiblity of the areas. The violin-playing and loaded words are hard to stomach if you are looking for good social science. I would not suggest the book unless you are an ecological activist wanting to try to link your cause with "saving cultures" or with yet another critique of the West.

There is little for me to add to the other fine reader reviews of this work except to say that I found it very repetitive. I am not sure that it could not have been a long article in the Atlantic or Harper's.
I am not at all sure that there is much that can be done to preserve some of these minor languages in the long run but I do find it admirable that the authors have taken up the cudgel.