These 1929/30 lectures represent a stunning use of phenomenology as it probes into the nature of the philosophical bindingness to nature (as self-arising into presence "ousia"). Philosophy is understood to be the ongoing response to homesickness (as denominated by the poet Novalis). As such a response it is unique in its form of questioning and in the way it receives "answers" from the giving/receding orders of nature and their elusive ground. Philosophy is also infused with an attunement that compels it to return again and again to the questions concerning worldhood, finitude, and solitude; questions that goad it forward and backward simultaneously. The act of philosophy drives us out of our everydayness, "For in it there becomes manifest something essential about all philosophical comprehension, namely that in the philosophical concept, man, and indeed man as a whole is in the grip of an attack--driven out of everydayness and driven back into the ground of things" [Wesentliches alles philosophischen Begreifens, dass der philosophische Begriff ein Angriff ist auf den Menschen und gar auf den Menschen im Ganzen--aufgejagt aus der Alltaglichkeit und zuruckgejagt in den Grund der Dinge]. Boredom, rather than anxiety, is now seen to be the fundamental mood that governs our Dasein (human being in the world). Heidegger unfolds the complex interplay of the modes of boredom and their special ways of illuminating worldhood. Boredom is seen as one of the ways of time's withdrawal into a kind of tarrying that is nowhere and everywhere, but bereft of full worldhood. Animals, while open to their environment [umwelt] do not have a world [welt]. Yet animals live in their own way within a disinhibiting ring that opens them to their release into their species-specific environment. Here Heidegger's descriptions of the animal forms of not-worldness represent a major achievement in helping beings-with-selves become aware of the unique forms of openness of other living beings. As humans we are called to project ourselves into the difference between the various things in being, on the one hand, and the Being of all beings on the other (his reiteration of the ontological difference). This is certainly one of the most important series of lectures in Heidegger's career and the translation is a fair and compelling one. For those who only know "Being and Time" or some of the late essays, this text will come as a surprise because of its masterful and careful phenomenological descriptions of nature and the forms of openness that it contains.

I always see talk of the successor book to Being and Time. Some say the Kantbook, some say Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning), etc. Let me propose The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics. Because it was originally a lecture course, it is much more accesible than Being and Time, but it really continues the preoccupations of that book. In B&T, anxiety was the mood through which Heidegger discovers revelations of the Being of beings. Here Heidegger pushes on to a new "attunement": boredom. We think of boredom as something about which there is almost nothing to say, and it would be easy to joke about someone going for hundreds of pages on boredom fulfilling his own prophecy, but Heidegger's reflections on boredome as revealing aspects of Being and Time is about as profound as you can get. This is a great book. Maybe because it didn't even appear in German until 1983, it hasn't had as much attention as other works, but anyone interested in Heidegger (which ought to be equivalent to saying anyone interested in philosophy at all) should get to know this work.

A delightful recounting of favorite bible stories through the filter of modern politically correctness makes you think, and laugh.

This is a great guide for those who don't have the expert knowledge on carnivors. It gives a simplified summary of the predators enabling the reader to understand and gain some knowledge about the individual animal. Ryan Grobler, son of Dr Hans Grobler

This is a well done novel that shifts back and forth from the present to the French resistance of World War II and to the Cro-magnon days of 17,000 years ago. That sounds bizarre but it works for the most part. Walker is a better-than-average writer who tells a fascinating -- though not quite compelling -- story.

The centerpiece of the story is a cave painting 17,000 years old. The author creates a rarity -- a plausible pre-historic culture and society -- with one flaw: a liberated female character who belongs to the present rather than the past.

The painting shows up one day on the desk of an art dealer in London and in attempting to trace its origin she journeys to the Dordogne region of France where she becomes immersed in the nearly-forgotten history of the French Resistance of World War II. The best part of the book is Walker's account of the Resistance and the struggles between the Gaullists and the Communists. I could have read a lot more about the Resistance and wish that this part of the novel had been longer.

The book was successful in raising my interest about the cave paintings and the remote region of France where they are located. Had the ending been a little stronger, the mystery a little more mysterious, it would have been an outstanding -- rather than just a very good -- novel.

I can't think when I last read a book that enthralled me at som many different levels. It's about art and war and life, and there's a subtle message runing thru that says it's the art that makes us human. The plot might seem complex; we weave from 17,000 years BC in the culture that produced the Lascaux cave paintings, and then go to the same part of France during World War Two in the time of the Resistance, and then come home to today, where a hunt for an undiscovered cave takes us back to the same valley. Because Walker creates real characters who make us care about them in each of these three time lines, it's like getting three books in one. And there is this sense of continuity, as if characters from one time find their echo in another. I sat up till 4am to finish it, and loved it. What a brilliant movie this would make. I can almost see Tom Cruise in the leading role, from Stone Age artist to Resistance fighter to modern French politician.

Bjorn Kurten, a famous paleontologist, said that the use of a novel to discuss or portray early humans about whom very little is know except for the physical artificats they left is the appropriate way to do this. In this novel those artifacts are 17,000 year old cave paintings in France. And that is what Matin Walker the author does in this book.
Kurten thought that speculation by professionals about such people in professional texts are taken too seriously and literally by the public. Such speculations are just stories made up by the professionals based on their best guesses. He thought such stories should be told as such.
The author in this book uses a realistic tale of the adventures of some members of the French underground led by a
a trio of a French, British, and American special forces members
flown into German occupied France just before the invasion by the Allies. Harassing the Germans, this group used the caves in the area to hideout and store their equipment. One such cave contained these early paintings made famous by those that exist in the Cave of Lascaux.
The author does a very good job of intertwining his WW II adventure based loosely on what actually occurred as the French underground from their caves delayed a strong German force from reaching the invasion site to repel the Allies, and his speculation of what life may have been like for the inhabitants of those caves 17,000 years ago.
If you like realistic WWII adventure and are interested in speculating over the what life was like for our ancestors some 17,000 years ago, you will enjoy this book.

I wasn't sure about this book when I first picked it up. Was it going to be blasphemous about our Lord's life and works? I found the book to be a funny look at how silly, and stupid being "politically correct" is. It is somewhat irrevent about sacred things of God, but I think unless you are a extreme Christian Fundamentalist you will find the book well within the boundaries of not taking sacred things too lightly.

Just the sort of book to give to someone who is annoyed with all things "politically correct" (whatever that means).

Parables is fun for old and young. Walker's incisive witmakes parables a quick read. I found it impossible toput down. The remake of historical parables in today'slanguage is apropos to the state of the world we live in.I heartily recommend this book to anyone looking to lighten the drudgery of daily existence

An excellent overview of the American century, brought to life through the bios of influential persons and their relations to actual trends and movements in history. Highly entertaining, well written and comprehensive. This should be a high school American history textbook.

This is one of the most enjoyable as well as one of the most informative books I have read in recent years. Walker's purpose is to "describe and explain the American century through the lives and careers of a handful of individual Americans." He discusses 26, each whom he views as representative of a specific component within the evolution of American civilization. For example, Teddy Roosevelt (Ambition), Emma Goldman (Dissidence), Woodrow Wilson (Idealism), William Boeing (Air Transportation), Lucky Luciano (Crime), Katherine Hepburn (Stardom), and Alan Greenspan (Banking).

One of my favorites of the 22 essays is that which discusses Walt Disney (representative of American Entertainment). Walker first quotes Joseph Nye: "Soft power occurs when one country gets other countries to want what it wants, in contrast with the 'hard' or coercive power of ordering others to do what it wants." In response, he suggests that "the essence of America's new global hegemony was that the United States was not only the unique military superpower but also the dominant soft superpower, which [because of Disney's films] invented the world's dreams and defined its aspirations....The Disney Corporation has become the heartland of soft culture's colonial realm. It is unmatched in pillaging there cultures of others to repackage them in Disney's universal vocabulary....[Disney] aimed for what he once described as 'that deathless, ageless, absolutely primitive remnant of something in every world-wracked human being which makes us play with children's toys and laugh without self-consciousness at silly things....You know, the Mickey in us'." These brief excerpts correctly indicate Walker's highly subjective and yet circumspect perspective on 22 quite unique Americans. I have already mentioned eight. The others are "Black Jack" Pershing, Henry Ford, Babe Ruth, Duke Ellington, Winston Churchill, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Walter Reuther, John Steinbeck, Albert Einstein, George Marshall, William F. Buckley, Jr., Richard Bissell, Billy Graham, Richard Nixon, Martin Luther King, Jr., Betty Friedan, and Bill Clinton. If your desire is to understand America in the 20th century, I cannot think of another combination of lives and careers which will contribute more to that understanding than do those whom Walker discusses with eloquence and insight in this remarkable volume.

I was given this book as a July 4 present, took it on vacation, and when I'd finished a stack of my usual mysteries, picked it up and began to read. And American history just began to come alive before my eyes. Here were real people, with amazing stories, and details about what had really happened. I'd vaguely heard of Emma Goldman, but to read about her trying prostitution to get the money to buy guns was a revelation, and so was the way Billy Graham heard the Lord's call on a golf course. It's a book about a really fascinating bunch of Americans, brilliantly told. It even made me feel better about voting (twice) for Bill Clinton. Funny, I'd never thought of him as a historic personage before. I just wish I'd been taught history this way when I was younger.

The British cozy mystery is practically an institution so it's fun when a book comes along that respects that tradition while giving it a different twist. In this case, an American protagonist, Dorothy Martin, guides us through British village life, high church nuances and murder.

This book has all of the things I want in a four star rated book. The writing is always competent and sometimes quite witty. The plot moved along with only one or two annoying digressions into tourist information. And, most important, I like Dorothy. Maybe it because I've recently helped my own mother cope with widowhood but Dams has created a character who ran both true and likeable. Of course, the hint of an upcoming romance with the widowed chief constable will have me back for more soon.

The mystery itself is solid. There are plenty of suspects with reason to kill the victim. Was it church politics? Was it a matter of musical taste? Was it an agrieved employee? Was it a jealous scholar?

I've held back a fifth star for a couple of reasons. While I throughly enjoyed the book it isn't so outstanding that I'll be recommending to friends (yet). Also, as a non-Christian, I felt Dams was a bit heavy handed with the religious angle (even if the victim was a Canon).

It's Christmas Eve in the small town of Sherebury. Dorothy Martin, a recently widowed American, is looking forward to her first Christmas as a resident of England. But when leaving the cathedral's midnight mass, she literally stumbles over a body. Soon the questions are flying. Who killed Canon Billings? Since the list of suspects includes most of the town, more importantly why? Dorothy has her hands full trying to figure this one out.

I was drawn in by the charm of this book. It starts out rather quickly and the pace never lags until the gripping conclusion. Dorothy is an interesting main character. I felt her interest in the murder was a little under explained, but I was willing to let that go. I really enjoyed the writing style. The first person narration felt like a letter to a friend and the scenes where Dorothy argued with her self were funny because they were so true.

Having already discovered this author's other series, I now look forward to reading more in this one as well. She is a truly talented mystery author.

Dorothy Martin and her husband had planned to move to England when they retired. When he died she decided to go ahead with their plan. She moves to Sherebury England where she starts to put the pieces of her life back together. Because this is a murder mystery she promptly stumbles over the body of Jonathan Billings. To the dismay of her new friend, Chief Constable Alan Nesbitt, she starts to investigate and as she gets closer to the solution the danger increases. A charming cozy with a main character whose affinity for hats rivals Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax.

Dorothy Martin, an American widow with arthritic knees and a penchant for hats, travels with the reader into this cozy mystery set on a dramatic island off the coast of Scotland. Bright flowers, glorious hiking, historic landmarks, mislaid keys, heavenly meals, a canny cat, travel to the dark and mysterious island of Staffa, even a cure for seasickness, factor into a fun and clever whodunit. When one of the members of an acrimonious church group is lost and presumed drowned in Fingal's cave, Dorothy senses more than knows that it is murder. Back at the beautiful island, she puzzles out the numerous motives, as a major storm blows an ill wind across the island. Better batten down the hatches, this one is exciting.

This is the third in Jeanne M. Dams' delightful English cozy series featuring Dorothy Martin, a retired American schoolteacher living in Sherebury, England. In this adventure, our heroine, en route to a vacation on the Scottish island of Iona, finds herself on a bus with an ill-assorted, bickering American church tour group headed for the same idyllic destination. Dorothy's holiday turns out to be anything but peaceful: An obnoxious American is killed in a fall from a cliff in Fingal's Cave, and Dorothy suspects murder. As if that weren't enough, the island is hit by an extremely violent storm. This is a wonderful series, with a charming sleuth and many likable characters. I recommend beginning with the first novel, "The Body in the Transept," and reading the books in order, so you can become acquainted with Dorothy and her friends.

This is not a review...I had written a review but do not see it listed with the others do you only take so many for each book or is there certain criteria that I am not meeting....I thought it was a good review. Lawscotch@aol.com (Margie R.)

The text in paperback form was quite inexpensive. The book was organized into easily digestible chapters with insightful DSM classifications. The chapter on sexual disorders was quite explicit. Our instructor skipped it in lecture.

Kudos to Morris Walker for such a wonderful book on the life & childhood of Steve Martin! I could not put this book down for a second and will read it again and again! A refreshing look into the person behind the comedy legend. This book takes you into a friendship that started in childhood and still continues today. The stories will have you laughing for days! The author takes you through Steve's childhood, family life, career highs and lows, and the man he is now, all with many funny stories and great memories along the way. After reading this book, I felt like I knew them both personally. If you want to know the "real" story of Steve Martin, this is definitely the book to read! I will treasure this book always!

This book is terrific! I enjoyed reading each & every page; and found the book difficult to put down. Morris Walker has done an outstanding job. It's fun getting a "peak" inside the real life of Steve Martin in addition to his personal persona. I highly recommend this book....it's a great read!

Theresa (Seattle, Washington)

I am 15 years old and I actually don't read as much as I should. My mother bought the book and after reading it told me it was great and that I should read it. I didn't really want to because she's the big Steve Martin fan not me, I like Adam Sandler. But she insisted and She was right. I really loved it. I wanted to be one of the Gophers boys (because all the girls go fer them!)

Now I want to see Steve Martin's old movies. But most of all, I want to read more because of this book. The stories are very cool.

I was sorry when the book was over, I just wanted more.