As a collection of essays this book covers a wide range of topics that are important to a quality understanding about the implications of a Marxist and post-modern critique on contemporary western capitalist society. However, as a dialogue on these topics the book is a little one sided and short legged. The Marxist academics that have contributed to these 14 essays i think do a decent job of articulating much of the problem with post-modernism from a non-post-modern-marxist position. Whether such a read of Marx is particularly coherent with what Marx himself wrote is of another matter.
The concern over how one can justify a viable resistance to multinational corporate "free" market capitalism is of the uttermost importance for the authors of the text. The post-modern
critique of the Marxist meta-narrative on history (historical materialism) is a kind of line drawn in the sand for most of these academics in that the category of class is justified by such a read of history and class struggle for Marxists is the only coherent and realistic way of engaging in liberatory Praxis given the logic of capitalism. This becomes very important in recent history given the rise of the new social movements (identity politic movements) which have fragmented the old
Left categories of class and fragmented agency in the face of class war. Some of the authors of these essays do a better job than others when it comes to articulating the post-modern argument, however, some indeed set up post-modern straw men in order to bring the combine.
What appears to be the primary problem here in this debate between Marxists such as these and many post-modern theorists is the failure to see the bridge between the two positions by way
of a Coherence epistemological model of justification. As a matter of fact, throughout the entire book words such as knowledge, justification, universal, essential, etc. are all being used seemingly one way by the Marxists and another way by the post-modernist if used at all. The impression one gets from the text on this account is that there are two different language games being played in the debate leading to a whole host of miscommunication.
I would recommend this book for reading only if or after one is familiar with the epistemic issues of the debate between post-modernists and Marxists as they rear their heads throughout
the entire book.

For multicultural Solidarity in class war,
M.B.R.

Given that the book is a collection of essays, the quality of the content covers a wide spectrum of issues. The overall aim of the book is to give an account of the manner in which postmodernism has hindered social action. Specifically, what is of concern to the philosophers contributing to this work is that the denial of any sort of grand universal meta-narrative by postmodernists denies the ability to form a class of oppressed which can rise up against capitalist oppression. By denying
meta-history and universals, class struggle, in the eyes of these philosophers becomes impossible. The arguments presented in favor of the particular brand of Marxism held by the contributors, therefore, are of a pragmatic nature and as such do not engage on a theoretical level with the postmodernists. This is one the main problems I have with this book. The contributors only ever look at the practical implication of the postmodern critique without ever engaging the postmodernist on a theoretical level. The postmodern critique of the Marxist meta-narrative is a theoretical one and as such should be argued against not just on a practical level, but also on a theoretical level.

A second problem with the book as a whole is that its argument against postmodernism is a straw man. Granted, postmodernism is a philosophical viewpoint that is extremely varied and difficult to define, but the contributors have taken a less developed and easily defeated postmodern perspective as indicative of postmodernism as a whole. What occurs as a result are arguments that do not really engage postmodernism as a whole, but rather engage only a small unsophisticated niche of postmodernism that suits there purposes. It behooves the authors in this book, therefore, to develop a greater understanding of what postmodernism is, and then to develop a critique of it and defense of their own position which does not rest on practical
concerns alone, but also on the theoretical concerns.

For King of the Wood, John Maddox Roberts creates an alternate history of a North America settled in the Dark Ages by pagan Norsemen, Christian Saxons, and Spanish Moors. After killing his half-brother, our hero, Hring Kristjanson, is exiled from Christian Treeland in the north. With his friend Halvdan the skald (bard) he crosses into pagan Thorsheim. Hring and his friend travel south to Muslim Bluemensgard as escort to the Lady Yngva, a high priestess to pagan gods, who has bewitched Hring with a mark on his brow.

The two friends join up with Yngva for a time, following her back to her home, where both play important parts in the pagan midsummer celebrations. Hring escapes with the Skraeling (Native American) slave girl Winter-Grass, and has many adventurers as a sailor in the Caribbean, a captive, and later a celebrated member of, the Azteca empire in Mexico, a member of Winter-Grass's Skraeling tribe, a furrier and trader among the Skraeling on the plains, eventually an ally of the Mongol empire, which is now on its way to conquer the American continent(s), before finally returning home.

With an admirable eye for detail, Roberts describes Hring's adventures, and paints a fairly believable/accurate image of Aztec, Norse, and Plains Indian society. This book would be wonderful for boys and men who are young, or young at heart, and want to read about the adventures and triumphs of a mighty warrior in the vein of Conan.

However, the characterization leads a little bit to be desired. The protagonist's feelings about human sacrifice are not difficult to sympathize with, and entirely clear. In this light, it would seem that Hring's behavior in two of the major events of his life (his marriage, and his death) go entirely contrary to the feelings he has been having for years. Without a great epiphany to explain the changes in his character, the ending and epilogue left me feeling a bit hollow and disappointed.

I have recommended Tim Power's The Drawing of the Dark in lieu of this book. Some may also enjoy Morgan Llywelyn's The Druids for another picture of pagan religion, and a main character's struggle with human sacrifice.

Absolutely involving. The best book of its kind because there is no other book like it. Mixing history with great story telling, Mr. Roberts once again shows his tremendous ability to engage the reader in a story. You will not put it down.

I appreciated the conciseness of this book. In less than 200 pages (plus a preface, glossary, index, etc.) the author manages to cover all major aspects of our Solar System including its origin and even -- very briefly -- how it compares to other, newly discovered, planetary systems. The book is organized by physical processes rather than the traditional sequence that starts with Mercury and moves outward. I think the author's approach works much better. Despite its engaging style, the book was not a quick read for me, but after finishing it I felt I'd gained a thorough (re)initiation to the subject.

Apart from a few glaring errors (ie. p. 30, "H. J. Melnsh" should be "H. J. Melosh," and p. 59, where a normal fault is mislabeled as a reverse fault), THE SOLAR SYSTEM presents fair intermediate-to-advanced coverage of our home planetary system. There is a bit of higher mathematics here and there, but definitely not so much as to become intimidating. I would recommended this work (with errors corrected) as introductory reading to college undergraduates interested in entering the field of planetary science.

As known, Adam Smith, a british economist and philosopher, is the father of economic theory. So, it is an indispensable collection for economists and economics' lovers. The author, John Cunningham Wood, from Edith Cowan University, writes about the life of this leading economist (as the author says) and the books are focused on the critical assessments of Smith. This collection is pleaseant to read (besides its 2176 pages) and I'm certain that people won't regret to acquire it.

Wallonia's beers and culture have lain hidden for centuries under the weight of their flemish and french equivalents. The Walloons have enjoyed their anonymity. But no longer! The authors traversed the french speaking half of Belgium and have uncovered a vast wealth of liquid gold....and reds, blonds and wheat coloured beers. Their enthusiasm for their task knew no bounds as they tracked down small family run brasseries in out of the way places that would do justice to the beerhunter himself, Michael Jackson. They have rated the beers using scales of their own tastes, as well as expectation for the tastes of others.Their descriptions of small unique breweries such as l'vapeur were captivating.One developed a severe thirst as one read. The book itself is not a coffee table exhibit as those from Mr. Jackson, but well worth the read, and one which I will bring to Belgium on my next trip there.

This is an excellent book. I found the book to be extremely helpful and informative in explaining ASME 31.3 Code requirements. I recommend this book for anyone involving in the design and maintenance of plant piping.

While I enjoy Friar's <>, it would take several life times to check the references for the number of items about which there is disagreement. To wit: using Kay W. Holmes as his source, Friar says that the Order of the Holy Ghost was a Castilian order of the 1300's. But Aviles [1780] dates the order in 1578 and says that it is French.

R Goss [richard.n.goss@gte.net]

This book gives a good introduction to argumentation theory and its twists and turns over the course of its existence. I found it helpful to get started, especially coming from a completely different field. It gives the essence of Toulmin and Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca but I would have liked to see a bit more on Austin and Searle.But then again the references mentioned are very extensive and can be followed up. All in all a good book if a bit pricey for students (whatever happened to the paperback cover?)

John Campbell is without a doubt the most important science fiction editor of the twentieth century. Under his aegis, science fiction was completely recast from space opera into serious philosophical and scientific extrapolation; his stable of writers, led by Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, created the Golden Age of Science Fiction. This collection of letters shows the man at his most private, his most cantankerous, and his most intellectually stimulating. Anybody interested in science fiction will enjoy these letters. I have but two complaints. One, the collection would have been served even better had the letters TO Campbell been included as well, since quite often he is responding to specific questions and arguments. That's a minor complaint, given that the length of the book would have been exorbitant had they done so (although the editors seem to have believed this would be just the first volume in a series, making length less of an issue). A larger complaint is the scarcity of letters in the thirties and forties, when Campbell's influence was at its height. By the time the editors start putting in large collections of letters, Campbell's influence was secondary at best, as most of his original stable had moved on to novels and other editors, and his own interests expanded into little short of crusades: dianetics, psionics, anti-gravity, to name a few, as he began challenging the framework of accepted science and philosophy. Some of those interests remain fascinating, especially his examination of how we think and feel, but others have been cast onto the ashpile of ideas, such as the belief in psionics as the inevitable next stage in human development. With those two caveats in mind, these letters need to be read, and the editors need to put together their long-promised second volume, with a renewed emphasis on the thirties and forties.

moliere is one of the great comic genuises of our time. The miser, which is perhaps the most well known and definately my personal favorite play in this book, is a great example of his quick wit and irony. this translation, while for clarity completely perfect, seems to stray a little from other and more beautiful translations of this play i have read. However, what a treat for the actor and the reader alike. Second only to the misanthrope (and maybe Tartuffe) this, one of Moliere's classics, is a must read. Note also, for the actor, that there are some wonderful scenes that require great timing in this play and would be wonderful as a duo audition piece.