Despite his status of 'whipping boy'with much of the academic community - the 'icon' to be smashed - Wordsworth's literary merits endure. Or rather - his power to inspire, endures. Wordsworth made an important diction - between the public and the people. The pseudo-sophisticated wish to pander to fashionable modes of literary criticism; they will try to convince you that Wordsworth's poetry is passe, the 'tin god' of gemutlich Victorian dreams. Meanwhile, the 'people' still read W, and they always will - especially those who turn to the bosom of nature to nourish the spirit. J.S. Mill cured himself of chronic melancholia after opening himself to Wordsworth's work -the prospect (or 'project') - it endeavours to lead us toward. This text is De Selincourt's judicious editorial work. Otherwise expensive, this p/back version is worth buying.Be warned tho', Wordsworth did not live to see 'The Prelude' published.For that, Stephen Gill's ed is much to be recommnded.

HE IS INDEED THE MEMORABLE OF THE FINNEST ARTS THAT WORLD HAD PRODUCE.HE IS A RARE GEM OF ALL THE JEWELS.WELL INDEED HIS WORKS WERE ONE OF THE RARE COMODITIES IN THIS PRESENT WORLD OF LETURATURE.

I won't do Mr Quick the injustice of comparing him to anyone else in the Sci-Fi world. He truly stands alone. His books are somewhat hard to come by but may be republished in the future. If you like Niven, Pournelle or Stephenson you'll love all of Quicks work.

If you like Gibson's work, well here is where he copied his ideas from. Well written and good technology. Read them all.

Of all the books on investing that I've read over the years, this one was at once, the most pleasurable and most challanging to my own beliefs. Mr. Phelps spent over 40 years in and around Wall Street and the world of investing. His activities included being a private investor, columnist, analyst, author and financial advisor. His career spanned from just before the Crash of 1929 to the 70's.

In spite of the the rather glamorous title, the book is actually about Buy and Hold investing. Yes, it is true that you could have made a million dollars by buying any of about 350 stocks he mentions if you had invested $10,000 and just sat back and watched it grow over time! Doesn't sound that exciting, does it? However, I hope you didn't miss the point that he mentions AT LEAST 350 opportunities to have done this! Most of the companies' names will be quite familiar to most readers.

With the histories of many of these companies available, Mr. Phelps goes back in time to examine what it was about these companies that made their potential as great as it was. How can one begin to see what it takes for a company to do well? Well enough to drive its stock from $1.00 to $100.00 over a period of time? This is the heart of Mr. Phelps' book. He comes up with common characteristics that show up in many of the stocks he uses as examples.

Now, what about his strategy of stock ownership? He says that the best way to preserve the wealth you accumulate from investing is to NOT SELL your stocks! Uncle Sam always wants a piece of the pie when you decide to cut it! Mr. Phelps says that no matter how long it takes, it's better to pass on stocks to your heirs than it is to sell them too soon!!

"The reason," he says, "that more people don't make 10,000% on their money is that they don't set their goals high enough!" He says that to sell a stock sooner than that is an admission that you have failed at this goal and haven't done your homework properly! Move over Mr. Lynch! Who wants a Ten Bagger when we can shoot for a 100 Bagger!

Certainly in these times of trading stocks as frequently as heartbeats, his style seems almost radical. After all, who interviews the guy that just buys stocks? CNBC will just ignore you!

Mr. Phelps shows in one example, an investor could have seen the possibilities of a 10,000% return several times during a 40 year span! This same stock returned $100 for every $1 invested if held for 40 years, 36 years, 28 years, 20 years and also just 12 years! In other words, the stock price bounced around alot over the 40 year period. This offered the investor who was shrewd enough to have perceived the possibilities several chances to have caught that 10,000% ride! The company story just got stronger with each price cycle.

We work hard to find stocks that will give superior returns over time. We are willing to risk our money based upon our perception of the company's future. Mr. Phelps develops very good selection skills. These same skills will benefit all long term investors.

Along with Kors and Silverglate's The Shadow University, this is one of the most important higher education books published in many years. Based on their studies of the Duke University campus, Willimon and Naylor correctly identify the real problem in American higher education as the poverty of student life, not the politicization of the curriculum.

For more than a generation, student life has been under the control of a vacuous bureaucracy of "student affairs" and "residence life" workers who exist in a state of co-dependency with underprepared and delinquent students. Out-of-control dormitories, alcohol abuse and vandalism, institutionally-promoted segregation, and a complete disconnection between the classroom and life outside the classroom -- all these problems have been endemic for a generation in institutions that advertise themselves as "caring" and "student-centered."

The solution to these problems, Willimon and Naylor show, is not left politics, nor right politics, nor politics of any kind: it is sustained, personal contact between students and faculty throughout the institution.

It is unlikely that this book will have much effect on university administrators who profit from the existing problems, but it should be read by all students, parents, and (especially) legislators who want to improve the quality of higher education.

This is a popular university textbook. I know this because I called several universities for recommendations before purchasing. I've used this book as a professional reference. It is very current on recent pronouncements. The book is well organized, has good examples and it includes many "real world" examples as well

With the current war on terrorism underway here is a book that gives a venue to voices that are often silenced and ignored. Each year in Porto Alegre, Brazil, thousands of activists meet at the World Social Forum to exchange information, discuss challenges and plan social action to combat the neoliberal excrescences of globalisation (globo-colonisation). The book is essentially a compilation of the documents that emerged from the Forum in 2002 and as Fisher and Ponniah contend, it offers both a 'snapshot' of the left's perception of world affairs in 2002 and a deeper dialogue that lends a practical face to the desired alternatives to globalisation.

A key theme throughout is the collective call for 'the reinvention of democracy,' something that Fisher and Ponniah see as,
The reinvention of society such that the mode of economic production, the structures of political governance, the dissemination of scientific innovation, the organization of the media, social relations and the relationships between society and nature, are subjected to a radical, participatory and living democratic process (p 13).
This reinvention manifests itself in grassroots, bottom-up participation on an international scale both North and South and across lines of gender, sexual orientation, culture, and so on.

There is an impressive number of contributors and while they possess a shared general rejection of neoliberal economic policies they are also diverse in their responses towards combating the aggressive nature of globalisation. From radicalists to reformers, there are those who would abolish the multilateral lending institutions and there are those who would instead push for strong reforms within the existing international system. The diverse backgrounds of the contributors result in some documents offering vague or general ideas while others offer detailed assessments and specific proposals. The central thesis is that neoliberal globalisation only serves to perpetuate and strengthen inequalities.

The book's four parts demonstrate the panorama of interests as held by the tens of thousands of World Social Forum participants. The general thrust of the book is apparent from the beginning with the declaration that "the market needs to be regulated and guided by the democratic control of the public" (p. 28). And this control is to be achieved by pursuing 'new forms of participatory democracy,' 'a new internationalism,' 'a reconstitution the left,' and 'the struggle against war.' From there, the book concentrates on ways and means of pursuing this desire, and in an interesting way it exposes the diversity in opinion within the left.

Such diversity is especially obvious when discussing issues of debt, trade, financial capital, transnational corporations, labour and solidarity economy. Some contributors call for a coordinated economic policy, functioning at the global level and with a central bank. Moreover, it is suggested that the US, Europe and Japan could perform this function as their responsibility to undertake this task results from their having "pressured the world into a system of brutal competition" (p. 89). Others support the idea of anti or deglobalisation, replacing imports with local production.

The second part disputes the capitalist held position that globalisation, with its 'free' and 'open' markets, is the natural alternative to communist regimes. Presented here are compelling arguments concerning the incompatibility between neoliberal policies and nature's renewability and non-sustainability and bankruptcy of the ruling world order. Not surprisingly, there is harsh criticism of the World Trade Organisation's Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), with Oxfam UK drawing attention to the irony that, "all these rules will affect the lives of billions of people, yet until recently they have been introduced with minimal public debate" (p. 137). The documents in this part not only stress the impact and problems of TRIPs but also give detailed campaign strategies for combating negative affects.

Later parts expose issues such as the challenge of ensuring 'the right to information' when confronted by the reality of international media monopolies, this in addition to covering a range of fascinating topics from the 'hidden apartheid' of discrimination, migratory issues, expanding international sex industry, absence of global legal infrastructure for human rights, and the idea of a World Parliament. Near the end of the book James Petras gives a military definition of the current situation, underlining the thinking of many of the book's contributors. "In reality we are facing a situation of permanent warfare...We on the left have the capacity to intervene in the economic crisis if we make clear proposals" (pp. 299-300).

In summary, the book demonstrates the overarching shared ideologies of the contributors. This does not diminish the book's richness or utility, rather it brings together an invaluable collection of the left's perceptions and thinking with respect to offering alternatives to neoliberal globalisation. There is important reading for all those concerned with constructing economic models that serve society rather than vice versa. An editorial conclusion would make a welcome addition to future editions of this book. This edited volume provides a useful reference for those interested in the movement for global justice and solidarity.

Alexander I Gray, PhD
Marie Curie Researcher
Universidad de Deusto, Spain

Hello i'm a resident of orthopedics in México (centro medico nacional del noroeste) it's a very good book, it'easy to read and uderstand, has all the concepts of AO managenent.

Aquinas On Creation is a fascinating introduction to St. Thomas's philosophy of the begining of time (creation). Though I disagree with Aquinas on almost every possible point, his arguments are valid and good. Additionally, professors William Carroll and Steven Baldner translate Aquinas in such a way as to make him intelligable to both philosopher and layperson alike.

In his introduction the author refers to the contents of the Better Eyesight magazines as a treasure chest. Actually this compilation is priceless! It is chock-full of absorbing information ---articles by Dr. Bates, case studies and many testimonials from people of all ages and all walks of life --- covering supposedly irreversible conditions such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, cataracts, glaucoma and many more. If you are not amazed by what you read in at least one case history, then you'd better have someone check you for a pulse. The book also confirms that Dr. Bates' teachings had nothing to do with eye aerobics and everything to do with relearning how to RELAX the mind and the eyes for better vision and improved overall health.

Even though I'm not a novice at natural vision improvement (see Relearning to See review), this book has greatly inspired me. The moment I began reading Better Eyesight, it was like stepping back in time to get personal advice from Dr. Bates in his clinic. It was also uncanny to read many unique observations so similar to my eye re-education experiences. I'm on the homeward stretch of my 20/20 goal (or keener!) and Better Eyesight has bolstered my motivation. It's helped remind me to quickly recognize and correct myself when I lapse into poor vision habits and my progress has surged.

Dr. Bates humbly stated that he had no external cure to improve eyesight. It was nature's way of healing and he cited cases where people improved their vision with no knowledge of his teachings. (I know of two adults who hated their prescribed glasses as kids, quit wearing them, and their sight returned to normal.) However Dr. Bates found that most people, especially those who'd worn lenses for any length of time, needed to relearn the relaxed use of their eyes to have any chance of reversing locked-in strain and blur.

Dr. Bates appeared to have high scientific principles, yet knew the limitations of science and the dangers of submissive adherence to authoritative dogma. He once believed the orthodox teachings and it took him many years to reconcile their errors to his satisfaction. His findings were well documented and published in the medical journals and scientific literature of the day and apparently went unchallenged. Instead Dr. Bates was ostracized and ridiculed in such a bigoted and arrogant manner. He seemed to take it all in stride with a sense of humor by interspersing his wit in many articles squarely aimed at the nay-sayers.

Better Eyesight also gives glimpses of Dr. Bates beyond the eye clinic. His ethics, values and philosophy towards industrialization, mass-education and modern medicine closely parallel views of more contemporary social critics such as author Ivan Illich. In Limits to Medicine --- Medical Nemesis, Illich provides a definition from a medical dictionary of iatrogenic conditions or disorders. In essence, they are those caused by medical intervention. Progressive myopia has to be the granddaddy of all iatrogenic disorders, mainly due to the prescribing of full-power compensating lenses, and not the genetic disorder falsely invented.

Another interesting facet of Dr. Bates was his discovery of adrenaline, now a household word when we hear overpaid professional athletes on TV talk about their adrenaline rush. Yet sadly the benevolent work of improving vision naturally for which Dr. Bates dedicated his life is so little known and has been so grossly maligned. Thankfully his teaching methods and writings were preserved and have been edited and annotated by the author in this legacy. Hopefully it will help set the record straight and give Dr. Bates more widespread recognition that's long overdue.

Maybe some future day when these teachings become mainstream principles a museum will house a chamber of horrors displaying artifacts of the iatrogenic era. Animated lifelike figures in a "Blind Faith" section could depict people straining to see through Coke-bottle glasses, poking bloodshot eyes to insert contact lenses and having corneas burned by lasers. Aghast parents will be at a loss to explain to their children how so many people willingly paid to be maltreated in the name of progress.

The amazon.com lisitng of this book is inadequate. The book is a reprint of a multi-volume work. A reprint of what edition are you selling? How many volumes are you selling?