This book has two main virtues, in my opinion. First, it organizes its treatment of a wide variety of issues around a single theme, the philosophy of time. This subject is of perennial interest to philosophers, of course, and the authors highlight the many ways it intersects with the other great metaphysical questions, such as personal identity, free will, and God. Second, it packs a lot of information into a very small space. It contains dense, but lucid, discussions of the A-series and B-series, relational and substantival theories of time, countable and uncountable infinities, endurantism and perdurantism, and the Special and General Theories of Relativity.

I think this book will be somewhat difficult for the introductory reader, but I suppose that comes with the territory. Metaphysics is just hard! The dialogue format does little to alleviate this; in fact, the dialogues are often stilted and sometimes distracting. However, the advantage of this format is that it allows the authors to discuss the various sides of each issue without telling the reader which side to accept. There is a lot of metaphysics in this book, explained clearly and directly. Read it through or keep it on hand as a reference. Either way, I think a careful study of it (especially Part I) will pay off.

Chapters cover the beginning of time; relational & substantival theories of time; tenseless time; identity of the agent seemingly travelling through time; fatalism; God, foreknowledge, time & freedom; determinism & responsibility; and spacetime models. Very readable and insightful. The authors are leading-edge philosophers. Recommended for all readers.

Suburbia. Quiet neighborhoods. Neat, well-kept middle class houses. A friendly chat with a neighbor, a casual gathering at the pub. A place of quiet satisfaction--a place to rest and relax after a busy day of work in the angry city. Ah, Suburbia.

Leslie Thomas reveals a little tarnish on this shining image through his hilarious novel, TROPIC OF RUISLIP. While Plummers Park Estate, a sprawling London suburb, may look peaceful and serene to the casual eye, it is anything but to its hurried, worried, self-indulged inhabitants. Under the sea of flat-roofed houses, there is marital strife, discord, envy, infidelity, insanity, and a host of other dysfunctions. Plummers Park has it all: dogs chasing and mauling the local taxidermist, an onion salesman peddling more than his wares to bored housewifes, sexual trysts in the most unusual places, eccentric artists--even a flasher.

Andrew Maiby, a reporter for a local weekly newspaper, is indicative of "Flat-Roof Man." He has a wife and daughter, a steady job and good friends, and an itch that he simply cannot scratch. Middle age is approaching, and Andrew is restless. And bored--bored with the foolish hypocrisy that is Plummers Park. Unexpectedly--quite out of the blue--something happens to Andrew to break up the monotony of his life. The subsequent results are hysterical.

Thomas is a master at writing comic dialogue; his pacing, his timing, are flawless. The reader will be laughing out loud as he or she busily turns the pages of this little gem. TROPIC OF RUISLIP is enthusiastically recommended.

This witty novel takes the reader on a jaunt through the suburbs of London--exposing the dreams, crushed hopes, passions and lusts that lurk in the breasts of the average homeowner of Plummers Park. The residents of Plummers Park live on streets with exotic names--such as--Upmeadow, Cowacre, Sheep-Dip, the Sluice, and Bucket Way. As if that isn't bad enough, the proud homeowners also christen their homes with preposterous names such as "Khartoum," "Dobermann Lodge," and "High Sierra." The residents of the Plummers Park housing estate are also somewhat derisively and collectively known as "Flat-Roof Man," and while that name is derivative of the homes there, it also correctly implies that the race that dwells in this particular estate is a "type."

The inhabitants of the Plummers Park Estate reluctantly rub elbows with their neighbours--the inhabitants of the local council housing area. The council houses, however, are appropriately located at the bottom of a hill--whereas the private, and more affluent homes approach the skyline. The boundary between the private homes and the council houses is wasteland--a single road that leads to the railway station. The two very different housing estates do not usually mingle, and the residents of the council estates are viewed as undesirables. The snobbish owners of the Plummers Park homes are petrified that their little kingdom of bourgeois perfection will be infiltrated, soiled or sullied in any way. So while the Plummers Park residents are prepared to fight off intruders, they embrace their own--and often with hilarious results.

The protagonist of the novel is Andrew Maiby (pronounced Maybe), and he waffles just as his name implies. He lives on the Plummers Park Estates with his wife Audrey and his daughter. Andrew is a reporter for a small local newspaper. And there's a lot to report--a geriatric shoplifter, hamsters living in couches, an eccentric artist, adulterous trysts, a black body stocking, a scandal at the local golf course, and a nimble flasher who haunts the Plummers Park Estates. A great proportion of his thoughts are directed to the unanswerable question as to why he ran off with another woman--only to return to his wife. And she's waiting for the next event. The next event comes along in the person of Bessie--a tough young girl from the council houses--and she's prepared to stop Andrew from printing his story on her Grandfather, the addle-pated kleptomaniac.

Leslie Thomas--who is perhaps best known for his novel "The Virgin Soldiers" (and there was a film made from the novel), lampoons the middle classes unmercifully while ridiculing the preciousness of all that is held dear. There are some truly wonderful characters in this book--bored Andrew who looks at oncoming middle-age and wonders just how he got here (and how he can leave). Mrs Polly Blossom-Smith, the avant-garde artist whose nude statue awaits the final touches--and for that she needs the cooperation of the elusive flasher, and Ena Grant, the supremely unhappy wife of the insensitive Simon who treats her like "some luxuriously upholstered vehicle tethered for use once the discussions had concluded." And then there's Gomer John, who runs the sub-post office and longs to run away and join the Navy, but his mum won't let him.

Collin's novel is the ultimate re-examination of the 1930s private detective. It is full of drama, action, and deep historical context.

Should be required reading for the human race.

Rarely does one come across a book which so completely captures the essence of an era. Max Allan Collins has achieved this in spades. He is simply the master of the historical mystery novel. Nathan Heller is a well rounded character, and his interaction with some of the era's most notable figures is exceedingly well done. I can only the entire line of Nathan Heller novels get back into print. If you're a fan of Hammett, Chandler, etc, you're sure to love it.

If you want to know what sociology was/is all about this is
the best single book I know of. It's probably not for the
uninitiated since even though the author tries to be as clear
and direct as possible it's just not possible to write on a
subject as big as this with the depth and detail necessary and
reach those with no background. But, if you have had some
exposure to the social sciences the book is well worth the
effort. His command of the material is admirable.

This book is the best book ever written and it was written by the best guy ever! Don Levine Rules! Seriously, Don Levine has forgotten more about sociology than most of us will ever know. This book is a testament both to his knowledge and his taste for strange charts and graph-thingys. Rock on!

The author - a three times cancer survivor - faces the hard questions and myths confronting every cancer patient with honesty and common sense. Through his own considerable experiences and those of his patients, he helps remove some of the panic and show how people with cancer and their family members can take control from the start. It is an easy to read book and covers all the issues that occur during the critical weeks and months after a diagnosis of cancer. It is written in five parts: Part 1 deals with understanding and confirming the diagnosis, why you need a cancer specialist and how to find one, and very importantly, how to break the news - especially to children. It lists key questions to ask your doctor and how to go about getting a second opinion Part 2 deals with how to be a survivor, weighing up alternative treatments, and describes the various treatments available and their side effects. I was particularly impressed with the author's sensitivity in the way he discusses the issues of sexuality and feeling. Part 3 deals with your rights, what are you entitled to in law, and the hotly-debated issue of euthanasia. Part 4 deals with the mind-body connection,the impact of stress and how to deal with it. I was particularly impressed by the author's meditations and the manner in which he presents them. How to make the most out of life in the face of death is, for me, the most compelling part of this book. Part 5 provides a list of notes and resources that can be used as reference. To make it even easier for the reader, it is also well indexed. I have read many books on cancer, and this is, to my mind, the best.

Having some years ago identified the stunned mullet syndrome affecting the cancer patient upon diagnosis I welcome Joel Nathan's "What to do when they say 'It's cancer" as the most steadying influence the patient (and family) could be given at this point. His first advice is 'to press the pause button', regain control, don't rush into treatment. Having also known the indignity of the experience, he knows the value of dignity, and the importance of hope - early. The subtitle's claim of being "A survivor's guide' is a very modest one for it provides more common-sense, practical, useful information than has so far been assembled. The bibliographical notes indicate a more than unusually informed mind on the wide scope of this subject. Writing out of experience as a three-time survivor, first with leukemia, 13 years later with lung cancer, and then with a recurrence of his leukemia, and altogether free from any hint of 'schmaltz', Nathan has avoided the all too often extravagant claims of other survivors who maintain their way is the best way, even the only way. The book is not hyped as ' inspirational'. It has substance, pabulum. This is a very readable book, but it is not only for the patient. The author's insights into the professional world of the practitioner, of all brands, is extremely useful, with much to be learned by those who rely only their skills and knowledge and who lack awareness of the significance of the right relationship with the patient. Nathan's advice is to find the right door, get a second or third opinion. In this area, as throughout, there are specifics, practical down-to-earth ideas and observations. The book has a very balanced chapter on alternative medicine, the author's wisdom born from his own struggle with leukemia. In desperation he had been induced to try dozens of alternative treatments, so he has an understanding of the cancer patient's vulnerability. His advice is wise and uncompromising: demand the facts, the evidence; be warned of the consequences of abandoning conventional treatment; know the myths, the origins and the track record. It would be difficult to suggest any area of the cancer patient's needs that has not been addressed. Diagnosis and treatment are only two of the matters the patient is concerned with. Within those two headings there are sub-headings of great significance: psychological reaction and understanding your feelings, options and alternatives, patient's rights, side-effects, collaboration with your medical team, sexuality, stress and the immune system, caring and support, death and dying, living in the meantime. This a readable, informative, practical book that will be of immense value to all involved in the care of the cancer patient. It provides the information and wisdom to prevent drama turning to tragedy. The sooner people read it, the better. Not only the patient; the husband of a patient recently said of the chapter on carers, 'I wish I read it 18 months ago'.

Not many know that the Jewish diaspora reached India two thousand years ago. Although the size of the Jewish diaspora in India was always small, it invites study because its history of sustained harmony sharply contrasts the Jewish diaspora in Europe, a history of periodic horrors.

It's fitting that the University of California Press is the publisher of the first comprehensive scholarly study of all three of the Jewish communities in India. It was a UC Berkeley professor of history, Walter J. Fischel, who pioneered the study of the Jews in India in his 1962 article, "Cochin in Jewish History: Prolegomena to a History of the Jews in India," published in The Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research. Inspired by his article, several monographs soon appeared on each of the three Indian Jewish communities.

In the introduction to this truly engrossing book, Nathan Katz writes: "Indian Jews lived as all Jews should have been allowed to live: free, proud, observant, creative and prosperous, self-realized, full contributors to the host community. Then, when twentieth century conditions permitted they returned en masse to Israel, which they had always proclaimed to be their true home despite India's hospitality. The Indian chapter is one of the happiest of the Jewish Diaspora."

The three Indian Jewish communities have a distinct history: the Cochin Jews arrived as early as the first century; the Bene Israel Jews of greater Bombay arrived, they claim, 1600 years ago; and the Baghdadi Jews of the port cities of Bombay and Calcutta arrived in the middle of the eighteenth century.

The largest section of the book is on the Cochin Jews. The connection between Cochin and the Jews goes back to the time of King Solomon (992-952 B. C.): teak, ivory, spice, and peacocks were exported to Palestine. The Cochin Jews claim their ancestors arrived in Shingly, near Cochin, on the southwest coast of India in 72 A. D., fleeing the destruction of the second temple by the Romans. They were allowed to settle in Cochin by the local maharaja, where many of them prospered as merchants, government officials and soldiers. Katz quotes from Mandelbaum's article in the Jewish Journal of Sociology: As late as 1550 "the Raja of Cochin refused to fight a battle on Saturday because on that day his Jewish soldiers would not fight; and they were the best warriors he had raised." Katz comments: "Probably India is the only country on earth so civilized that in war, out of deference to its esteemed Jewish soldiers, no battles were fought on the Sabbath."

The Bene Israeli community, which numbered 50,000 before emigration to Israel, 90 percent are gone to Israel, claims its origin to some sixteen or eighteen hundred years ago, they say, "when their ancestors were shipwrecked on Indian shores.... They came as refugees from persecution and political overthrow." Katz dismisses this as pseudo-history without elaborating. The Bene Israel divided themselves into subcastes: Gora, or White, and Kala, or Black.

On the harmonious history of the Jewish diaspora in India, Katz analyzes: "A crucial distinction between India and the rest of the Diaspora, however, is that in India acculturation is not paid for in the currency of assimilation. By acculturation I mean fitting comfortably into a society while retaining one's own identity, whereas by assimilation I mean that the loss of that identity is a perceived condition for acceptance. The study of Indian Jewish communities demonstrates that in Indian culture an immigrant group gains status precisely by maintaining its own identity. Such is the experience not only of India's Jews, but also of local Christians, Zoroastrians, and recently, Tibetan Buddhists. This striking feature of Indian civilization is reflected by each of these immigrant groups."

Although Katz is right in ascribing Hinduism's acceptance, even encouragement, of differences, I would point out that the Hindus extend hospitality to the outside groups to the extent that the outsiders refrain from proselytizing Hindus. For example, Christian missionaries are vigorously opposed by most Hindus. Even Gandhi was completely against Christian missionaries in India: "If I had the power and could legislate, I should stop all proselytising.... It is the deadliest poison that ever sapped the fountain of truth." The major cause of conflict between the Muslims and the Hindus for more than a thousand years has been the Koranic injunction to convert all infidels and to slay those who refuse [Koran, 9.5]. Unlike the Muslims and Christians, the Jews in India never engaged in proselytizing activities. The greatest of the Jewish strategies for living and prospering in India lay in what the Jews did not do!

As part of the project for writing this book, Nathan Katz, professor and chair of Religious Studies at Florida International University, interviewed many people in India and in Israel to provide the reader an understanding of "how these two great and ancient civilizations, Indic and Judaic, interacted within the very being of India's Jews.

In Calcutta, Norman Nahoum, one of the small number of Baghdadi Jews who remain in India, tells him: "We are taught to abhor idolatry to prevent its assimilation into Abraham's family of religions, but if you look closely you will see that Judaism and Hinduism have so much in common. In India, we are accepted totally, at the same time we are treated with kid gloves, like special guests." Referring to Hindus, Nahoum says, "These people are civilized; the others are barbarians, bent on proselytization. If you ask any Jew who has lived in India, from Cochin to Calcutta , you will find that although the Hindus are called idolaters, they are more accepting of Jews than those so-called new religions that grew out of Judaism." In Cochin, interviewees tell him: "Anti-Semitism doesn't exist in our Indian dictionary."

Katz has written a heart-warming, scholarly book on the Jewish diaspora India.

I've been interested in learning about the Jewish Diaspora into India for a while now and have done a little research on the internet but the websites did not provide me with as much information as I wanted. Finally I found out about this book and it gives a really great accoount of the Jewish-Indian groups-Bene Jews of West India, Cochin Jews of Kerala and the Middle Eastern Jews in cities like Delhi and Calcutta. It gives detailed account on how the arrived in India and how lived there with their neighbors and colonial rulers. The book also deals with how Zionism and Indian independence were both exteremely importatn to Indian Jews and how they were torn between these two philosphies because of their emergence to the mainstream at the same time.

Handlin puts the army experience in a very clear manner: he tells EXACTLY what happened. He does not say things like, "I think the Germans shot him.", he will say, "He was shot." If you want to hear a REAL soldier's account of the war(Warld War II), then this is the book for you.

This was an inspiring, idea-filled book that really impressed me

Hale has thought deeply on the meaning of forms and has found endless relationships between them. All organic matter follows laws which are written into their structure. For the artist, understanding these laws means that each new object is no longer unique, but part of a larger whole. This means that each new object (water mountains, trees, bodies) can be related to others, making the "new" object more familear

This book will be of especial help to young readers. I do, however have one quibble, and that is that the great writer Alice Walker has challenged white male prejudice so effectively that it is regrettable that there is not more discussion of this in the text. As a white radical feminist who sides with African-American women in their struggle against oppression, I am grateful that books like this are written.