This is a well-put-together biography of Augustin Verot, third Bishop of Savannah, Ga., and first Bishop of St. Augustine, Fla. The book shows Verot was a character, as the author says in the best sense of the word. One does not get the idea that he was episcopal timber from reading about his career as a teacher in Maryland, but from Apr 25, 1858, (when Archbishop Kenrick consecrated him as Vicar Apostolic of Florida) on, one cannot but be impressed with the self-sacrificing and devoted way he performed his arduous tasks. Putting up with what he did must have been what enabled him to play such a tough and outspoken role at the first Vatican Council, where, inter alia, he called for the rehabilitation of Galileo--which was finally accomplished during this pontificate. His discourses at the Council, which seem to have been quite numerous and frank, cannot have been very persuasive but contained a lot of common sense. One wonders how he could fail to be cowed by the scene, being, as he was, a very minor bishop from a poor diocese. It was during the Council that he was appointed Bishop of St. Augustine. This is great work on a great bishop.

Before the Germans killed historical writing by trying to make history a scientific process, there were guys like this one who really brought it alive and make us care. This book is riviting. It has haunted my dreams and sparked my imagination since I read it many months ago. I will never be the same.

The chapter on depression and how it relates specifically to the experiences of women was particularly helpful. I did not find information of this kind in any other book on the subject.

Augustine wrote the City of God to respond to pagan charges that Rome fell to the barbarians because Christianity had made it soft and removed the gods' (small "g") blessings. Augustine uses devastating (and occasionally tedious) historical reasoning and sheer deductive logic to demolish that view. Those who know little Roman history will have trouble understanding the allusions. There are, however, footnotes for the more obscure references.

Thomas Merton, probably the most activist contemplative in the 20th century, surely read the book in the original and felt he could make a more readable translation. This version is almost painfully literal. He adopts Augustine's Latin style, which tends to be very verbose. Forty word sentences, such as we would "ding" a 9th grader for, are the result. And those are the short ones! Nonetheless, blame the Latin original.

Still, shortening the sentences will in many cases lose some of the meaning. Latins thought a lot more rigorously and logically than we. Augustine was their leader. Don't read this non-stop, and have a history of Rome handy, just in case. This is a Christian classic that every educated person should know, but that doesn't mean it's as easy as, say, something by Tim LeHay.

Any thinking Christian is daunted by this three-pound monster, but he owes it to himself to read it, front to back. The Great Doctor of the Latin Church here set forth the tenets for the entire Church to come, based on diligent studies of Scripture. Augustine is surprisingly readable when discussing history and even rises to humor when he discusses ancient Roman religious practices. He anticipates many of the great existentialists by over a millenium and a half in his treatments of the Old Testament. At the end of an exhausting journey, one is left with a reaffirmed faith and renewed strength in the promise of our Savior. No man should be deprived of the nourishment of the mind and spirit contained in this book. Happy reading

Like one of the reviewers above, I, too, set about the daunting task of reading this book from cover to cover, and it took me a good six months to complete it. But what a wonderful and worthwhile investment of time it was! It would do the modern Church well to read this book since Augustine places the City of God (i.e., Christ and His Church) within the context of the pagan world in which we live, and its message is as applicable to today as it was 1,500 years ago when he first wrote it. Most impressive, his grasp of both classical and biblical history and his profound understanding of Scripture is unparalleled by almost any author I have ever read, from Jerome's time until the present. If for no other reason, Christians should buy this book to gain an appropriate understanding of the last days and the rightful interpretation of the book of Revelation. Most of today's books on this subject pale in comparison to Augustine's exposition of this lofty and (sometimes) arcane subject.

This a good example of the literature made in Mexico at last years.

The book is a certain kind of trip between right and wrong, the friendship after the 30's and the strange way that life has to show us to live it.

I read this book, at fist time, five years ago and now, that I read it again I found out many new things that I did not catch at first time.

This is not the best book of this man, but it is a good chance to try to understand the crazy life in Mexico. One of the best material of this writter can be find in his first books like La tumba (some influence of existencilism), Luz interna y luz externa (a look inside the world of the mexican hippies and the way to be in hell and stay there) and many other books.

well, its a interesant book, with a lot true things, if you have the same point of view, that Jose Agustin has, im not, but its a good idea read the book when you are in Acapulco.

El libro es excelente, ameno y sobre todo nos deja ver como voyeristas, la vida loquisima de los personajes...

This is a great book on the life and Complex Variable Analysis work of Augustine Cauchy.

Smithies brings many of the quaint, yet pertinent pieces that comprise the rich field called Complex Variables together into a mathematical jigsaw. I for one was fascinated to see the link between the CR Equations and Green's Theorem.

Using copious examples, directly from Cauchy's published as well as unpublished notes, Smithies enlightens the reader of the genius of Cauchy. To the reader versed in modern representation of Complex Variable theory, Smithies insistence on sticking to Cauchy's formulation of complex functions in real terms and then using his method of separation may seem laborious at first, but it rewards the reader by giving deep insight into Cauchy's thought processes.

The book covers a wide field of Complex Variables from the formulation of Cauchy's Theorem, Cauchy's Integral Formula, the Residue Theorem and Integrals between imaginary limits.

Remarkable though his work was, the book shows the almost insular nature of Cauchy - by sometimes never publishing his results and being either unaware or disdainful of other results, e.g. d':Alembert, Gauss, Euler, etc.

A good book to read as an accompaniment to a standard text on Complex Variables (e.g. Ablowitz and Fokas). Rich in Mathematics and History and highly recommended!

This is a good reference book for those with a strong background in biology who are interested in primates. The essays are well organized and color photos in the center provide easy reference to some species. However, the language can be difficult to understand. I would not recommend it for someone who is looking for lite reading

This encyclopedic reference was a multi-peopled task, undertaken by 4 main writers, 3 reviewers, 8 translators and 6 English version editors. The brief introduction to the book informs us that its chief aims are to provide a condensed survey of the prominent personalities of Slovakia from ancient times up through 1997 (only persons who have died before the end of 1997 are included in this Dictionary). The book is inclusive of Slovak men and women involved in all spheres of the arts and sciences and the range of personalities is remarkable. The first entry, an Omodej Aba, a "county official from the 14th century" has an unknown DOB, but is listed has having died in Kosice in 1311. Contrast this with the last person in the Biographical Dictionary: Darina Zuravlevova, a singer who died in Bratislava in 1988. There are no photos in the book, unfortunately, although the front and back covers feature several small, slightly out-of-focus photographs of many more well-known Slovaks. The entries are all presented in a uniform fashion and the print size of the dictionary is just right--not too small, like it is in many encyclopedias. Dates are provided in the typical Slovak fashion of day-month-year and last names are listed in alphabetical order per the Slovak alphabet (with last names beginning with a diacritical letter coming after the non-diacriticals). Most entries run about 250 words and succinctly include pertinent life date and a review of the person's main works and activities. Bibliographies are also provided when available. Longer ones are reserved for Slovaks of major significance, like Andrej Hlinka or Tiso. The publishers explain that the Dictionary was compiled to give a wide audience a glimpse into the Slovak national character; no effort was made to select or de-select persons due to political ideology or orientation and they were especially careful to include clerical and secular intelligentsia during the period of national enlightenment in Slovakia. You will be surprised at the wide range of persons in this volume as it includes actors, veterinarians, noblemen, geologists, physiologists and "Hungarian Jacobins," not to mention several composers, artists and writers. All of the writers and editors involved in turning out this handy reference book have excellent credentials, although it would have been nice to have a separate index to list the Dictionary entries by occupation or even region of birth or such...Other than the page-long intro, there are no other appendices, indexes...and with so much of Slovakia's history being under Magyar rule, there are several Hungarian officials (on Slovak soil as we know it today) included in the Dictionary, which may evoke mixed feelings from some readers.

If you love Star Trek and collect Star Trek Items, this is a must for your collection.

Interesting topic, good edition.