Thomas Aquinas was an extraordinarily systematic thinker and writer. Because of this, one of the best ways to comprehend "Summa Contra Gentiles" is through consideration of its structure. At the highest level, it consists of 4 books, with the third book in two parts, on account of its length.

The titles of the five volumes are as follows:

Summa Contra Gentiles: God

Summa Contra Gentiles: Creation

Summa Contra Gentiles: Providence, Part I

Summa Contra Gentiles: Providence, Part II*

Summa Contra Gentiles: Salvation

Each volume is formally divided into about 100 short chapters. A typical chapter gets its title from some proposition that is to be affirmed, or in some cases refuted. Each paragraph is an argument in support (or denial) of that proposition. The chapters are themselves ordered so that the later chapters build on what the arguments in the earlier chapters have established, and it is this arrangement of chapters that constitutes the real structure of "Summa Contra Gentiles".

Although in his later "Summa Theologica", Thomas formalized the higher-level structure of his writing, he did not do so here, which somewhat complicates any presentation of this structure - the book titles are so high level that they give little feel of the work, and the chapter titles so numerous that the reader is easily overwhelmed by a list of them.

In order to give the reader some sense of the overall work, I've prepared an outline of the work that (hopefully) is short enough to be readily comprehensible and long enough to give the reader an understanding of what topics are covered and in what order. This outline is presented below:

1.0 Summa Contra Gentiles: God

1.1 Intention of the Work (1 - 2)

1.2 Truths of Reason and Revelation (3 - 9)

1.3 That God Exists (10 - 13)

1.4 That God is Eternal (14 - 20)

1.5 God's Essence (21 - 28)

1.6 That God is Known (29 - 36)

1.7 That God is Good, One and Infinite (37 - 44)

1.8 God's Intellect and Knowledge (44 - 71)

1.9 God's Will (72 - 96)

1.10 God's Life and Beatitude (97 - 102)

2.0 Summa Contra Gentiles: Creation

2.1 Purpose of the Work (1 - 5)

2.2 That God is the Creator of All Things (6)

2.3 God's Power Over His Creation (7 - 29)

2.4 For and Against the Eternity of the World (30 - 38)

2.5 The Distinction of Things (39 - 45)

2.6 Intellectual Substances (46 - 55)

2.7 The Intellect, the Soul and the Body (57 - 78)

2.8 Immortality of Man's Soul (79 - 82)

2.9 Origin of Man's Soul (83 - 89)

2.10 On Non-human (Angelic) Intellects (90 - 101)

3.0 Summa Contra Gentiles: Providence (Parts I and II)

3.1 Prologue (1)

3.2 Good, Evil, and God as the End of All Things (2 - 25)

3.3 Human Felicity (26 - 63)

3.4 How God's Providence Works (64 - 94)

3.5 Prayer and Miracles, Magic and Demons (95 - 110)

3.6 Rational Creatures and Divine Law (111 - 130)

3.7 Voluntary Poverty and Continence (131 - 138)

3.9 Rewards and Punishments (139 - 147)

3.10 Sin, Grace, and Predestination (148 - 163)

4.0 Salvation

4.1 Forward (1)

4.2 The Trinity (2 - 16)

4.3 The Incarnation (27 - 55)

4.4 The Sacraments (56 - 78)

4.5 The Resurrection (79 - 97)

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* in searching for Part II of "Providence" in Amazon's book catalog, be sure to search by the full title, or the search results may just return part I.

The first volume of "Summa Contra Gentiles", "God", concerns the existence and nature of God. Although that volume requires the reader to know a certain number of technical philosophical terms, it does not otherwise require of him a great deal of contextual knowledge to appreciate.

This volume, the second volume in the work, "Creation", is more demanding. When the reader reaches the chapters concerning the intellect, the reader may well feel in reading it that he has come in on the middle of a long and complex argument. The reason that he may feel this way is because that is what he has done.

The center of the controversy is Aristotle's analysis of the intellect. His exposition on that point was not successful if we measure success by the ability of intelligent careful readers to come to a shared understanding of what he thought. Thomas's part in these controversies are the heart of this, the second volume of "Summa Contra Gentiles".

While the best thing that the reader could do to prepare himself to read this book would be to be well-read in Aristotle in general (and his "De Anima" in particular), that may not be possible for all readers. Therefore, as an aid to readers, this review will present the key terms in the controversy and what they meant (at least what they meant to Thomas)*:

Sensible - objects of sense - things that can be seen, heard, felt, tasted or smelled. Individual houses would be sensible. Contrast with "intelligible".

Intelligible - objects of reason - things that can be understood, but not sensed. The concept of "house" would be intelligible. Contrast with "sensible".

Phantasm - a sensation, whether the immediate result of the sight, hearing, touch, smell or taste of a sensible object, or a recollection of one of those sensations, or an imagined sensation. Contrast with "knowledge".

Knowledge - a correctly understood intelligible object; remembered sensations are not themselves knowledge. Contrast with "phantasm".

Memory - the repository where phantasms can be kept for later recall. Images of houses could be kept here so as to enable later recognition of them. Contrast with "possible intellect".

Possible intellect - the repository where knowledge is kept. Knowledge of what "house" means would be kept here. Contrast with "memory".

Cognitive power - sometimes used to refer to the intellect, sometimes more narrowly to the power that responds to phantasms - for example the ability to see a house, recall the image from memory, and recognize that house. Contrast with "agent intellect".

Agent intellect - the power that deals with knowledge - both in creating new knowledge from phantasms and from previously existing knowledge. Contrast with "cognitive power".

Soul - when classical philosophers debated what "the soul" was, what they were debating was what differentiated living things from non-living things. While Thomas followed Aristotle in the view that the soul was the form of the body (i.e. - what differentiated living things from non-living was not what they were made of, but how they were put together)

Nutritive soul - that most general power of the soul by which life is present in anything: its operations being reproduction and the use of nutriment. All living things have a nutritive soul.

Sensitive soul - that power of the soul through which a living thing is aware of its environment, as through touch, smell, taste, hearing and sight. The difference between animals and plants is that animals have a sensitive soul while plants do not.

Intellectual soul - that power of the soul that gives the ability to reason. According to Thomas, the intellectual soul differs from the nutritive and sensitive soul in that it is not just a form, but a substance as well, and so can exist without the body. Much of "Summa Contra Gentiles: Creation" is devoted to establishing this doctrine against competing doctrines of Plato, Alexander, Avicenna, and Averroes, among others.

Separate substances - intellectual beings without bodies, such as angels.

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* In my review of "Summa Contra Gentiles: God", I included definitions for more basic Aristotelian terms than these, such as form, matter, substance, etc. Readers unfamiliar with these more basic terms might want to read that review.

Bourke's translation of this key text of Aquinas is accurate and hightly readable. A valuable resource.

This work is a complete collection of chronicles for the De Soto expedition into La Florida (which is most of the south-east USA). Due to the fact that this work comprises two volumes of almost 600 pages each, I have so far only read volume II which is the complete account "La Florida" by Garcilaso de la Vega. Following others (including the Narvaez expedition that de Vaca relates) De Soto went into Florida to find gold and eventually settle the new land. Garcilaso used one captain from the expedition as his source and is a great storyteller, claiming his abhorrence of exaggerating the contents, much of it is told with the heroic chivalry and noble virtue of the times, whether speaking of Spaniards or Indians, and always some purposeful enthusiasm. If all you know of De Soto is that he was the first to see the Mississippi, that doesn't begin to say anything about what happens during the expedition, and even to the way those who were on it considered it afterwards. It shows also the real nature of the natives, showing great differences in their treatment of the Spanish, their use of slavery, and the brutatilty they showed towards other tribes. (Not as placid as Las Casas would have you believe). Also describing the native cultures and life-styles to some degree. All wonderful and interesting stories. The volumes contain some maps and black and white illustrations. Volume I contains all the other existant accounts including the more historical one by the Gentleman of Elvas. Well worth the price.

I used this book in school. I knew the man who wrote the book. He was a fantastic teacher. The book is just as good. Unlike most text books, which solve problems, leaving you with "How did they get that", this book gives you the steps. It shows you how to get from here to there with the steps laid out so you actually say wow that was easy. Like the other books Person has written, this is a jem. I only wish he had completed the last book he was working on, Differential Equations. I've collected all his works. If you want to learn math, this is it.

"Zoo and aquarium history" is the most comprehensive book in probably any language on the history of wild animals in captivity since publication of Gustave Loisel's three-volume "Histoire des ménageries" back in 1912. In this one volume, zoo historians from five continents and eight countries offer a region-by-region account of the development of menageries, zoological gardens and (to a lesser extent) aquaria since the Renaissance. Ancient and mediaeval collections worldwide are covered well by the book's editor Vernon Kisling in the first chapter. The various authors approach their task along different paths, for the most part more narrative than reflective, and not all chapters, unfortunately, are equally good.

Zoos in Europe have been best chronicled in the past, although obviously not always in English, and the three European chapters may not offer anything really new to the well-read zoo nerd. The book's division of Europe into Great Britain (including Ireland, which may not be well appreciated by proud Irishmen and -women), Western Europe, and East-central and eastern Europe appears to be somewhat arbitrary, although it may have made sense from an American viewpoint looking at Europe during the Cold War. Nevertheless, as an introduction to European zoo history for the uninitiated, all three chapters carry their weight.

The excellent chapters by Ken Kawata on the history of zoos in Japan and Sally Walker on that of India offer genuinely new literature (at least in English); together they're worth the price of the book alone. Australia too is well covered. The chapter on South America has a decidedly Brazilian bias to it, and the one on Africa concentrates on Egypt and South Africa (Cape and Cairo, so to speak), so although neither is really comprehensive, interesting material certainly is in there. The development of zoos and aquaria in the United States is nicely reviewed by Kisling. The book has left only one space completely white on the map: Canada. The reason is not obvious; Canadian zoos have a history too. The editor, of course, could only include chapters for which he was able to find competent writers, and as the book, as good as it is, hardly promises to be a best-seller, their reward will be more likely be idealistic than mammonish.

"Zoo and aquarium history" is a must in any zoo and natural history library, but it is also highly recommended to anyone interested in reading a history of what remains one of the most popular institutions of recreation and public education, science and conservation in the world. On the subject, there's no better book in print.

Congratulations on a fine book that really does fill a long-standing gap in the historical literature! Needless to say, I hope it sells well, and gets rave reviews! It deserves them.

As a zoo and aquarium history enthusiast, I have yet to find a book that covers the broad history of zoos and aquariums worldwide. This book fills that niche. Many U.S. zoos are issuing history books celebrating their centennials and Hoage's book covers the transition from menagerie to zoo in the 19th century. Neither the centennial books nor Hoage's book cover zoos and aquariums from ancient times to the present continent by continent. The chapters cover ancient Chinese "Intelligence Gardens" and early zoos as places where rulers could showcase animals captured from newly conquored lands. We learn about the development of the travelling menageries, 18th and 19th century zoos as living museums for scholars, and the political and social climates that transformed them into institutions of public education, recreation, research, and, mostly in the late 1900s, as centers for conservation. This is the first time I have seen anything in print about the history of African zoos and many of the Asian ones. The chapters are well-researched and well-referenced. Many of the references are hard to find or in foreign languages. Mixed in with brief histories of the individual institutions are little-known stories such as the arrival of the first Giant panda to the U.S., the first female zoo director, and how war affected zoos and aquariums all over the world. The photos selected by the authors clearly illustrate points made in the text.

The authors are well-qualified to tell these tales. Vernon Kisling, the editor and an author, spearheaded the History Task Force for the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums and represents North America to the Bartlett Society (an international zoo history group).

In summary, zoos and aquariums have played and continue to play a vital role in how man interacts with other species. They can foster an attitude of empathy or domination. Their histories are rich and varied. This book is a valuable resource to anyone interested in zoos and aquariums, the history of the natural sciences, or anthrozoology (human-animal relationship studies).

This anthology contain a wealth of plays written by black playwrights. While looking for less familiar plays to produce with a primary minority theatre group, I stumbled upon this gem. Within its pages, I was able to find several plays and playwrights I had never heard of before. I enjoyed reading these plays and were able to find works to produce. The plays also provided less known monologes for auditions. Additionally, the various plays provided ample selections of scenes for scene study work. Although some pieces are dated, they are good clasical "Black" pieces. The more modern plays in the anthology date back to 1960's. Never- the- less, it's a good find and a must for my theatre library.

I OWN BOTH VOLUMES OF THIS BOOK. I LOVE A.A. PLAYS AND LIT. THIS BOOK WAS A JOY TO READ IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE ALSO. I USED THIS VOLUME TO DO A PAPER IN MY BLACK WOMEN WRITERS CLASS. I WROTE ON FEMALE PLAYWRITES OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE AND THEY ARE ALL IN THIS VOLUME.

A MUST FOR ANY LOVER OF A.A. THEATRE

RONDY

This is collection of short stories that offers a wide mix of speculative genres. Fantasy, SF, horror, and just plain weird. The stories run the gambit and most are good. "Jeo Defined" and "Moon Warrior" were excellent stories and well worth purchasing the book. Even just the so-so stories were enjoyable and all the authors are names to keep a look out for. In the end, this is a book of up and coming writers and a few of them will no doubt be big names someday.

I didn't know what to expect from this collection of short stories but I was happily surprised. The stories cover a wide range from fantasy, science fiction, and horror to those hard to classify strange stories. Each one is worth reading. My favorites were the one about a radio personality who was singing the Siren's song and the one about a criminal who is forced to undergo "augmentation" to control him. Some wild stuff for a great read.

Here are my thoughts on this book.

Pros: 1. Very reasonably priced as a comprehensive review book and supposedly a money back guarantee.
2. It is current and up to date (as of the April 2003 exam)
3. It has a pretty good variety and quantity of examples and practice problems.

Cons: 1. There are a large number of errors in the example and practice problems. I found at least 50 errors in using this book as a review guide and it is difficult, especially on some of the example problems where I would wonder for half an hour where I went wrong. Some of the errors are obvious, others are difficult or near impossible to spot if you are trying to relearn this material and remember very little. I am sure there are significantly more errors since my review did not cover the book comprehensively and I'm sure I missed a lot as well.
2. The text is not very well written. Some sections go into too much detail while others simply scratch the surface. There were times when I learned more from reading the EIT handbook than from this review book.
3. Lastly, I was a little disappointed when I went to take the practice exam and I found several identical questions to the practice problems provided in the different chapters. The least they could have done was make sure not to reuse questions so that when we'd like to take the practice exam we haven't just seen the questions from review sections.