A very concise description of pospmodernism and the arguments thereof. Explores the impact of science on our view of reality and how quantum mechanics may alter this view in the futer. Also explores the possibility that reality in the future will be based on a strange composite quantum-mystical level.

Clarke's wide ranging selection of reviews,spanning a period of fifty years, reflect an intellect seriously and, in my opinion, immorally, neglected by those claiming to be students of English literature. His incisive comments and criticisms on the work of many of his contemporaries, coupled with his vast knowledge of poetry and the means of critique offer today's students a window into the mind of one of the greatest writers to come out of Ireland this century. Long in the shadow of Yeats and Kavanagh, Clarke has yet to take his place among the greats of Irish literature. This worthy book will go some way in placing him where he belongs, alongside the more easily recognised names to come to prominence .

This very well-written, cogent description of pivotal events in 20th c. Ireland is from a woman-acitivist's point of view but focuses almost entirely on events around her and little on her internal experience of them. At times she says, "I was wild with grief," anger etc., but little else about her own emotional experience to the horrific losses she suffered. While she certainly has her own opinions about individuals and events, she does not belabor the reader with them. Her defense of Michael Collins is unique for an activist of her politics. Her ambivalence toward DeValera is obvious but she is not bitter or mean spirited in any of her opinions of others. This is a very interesting, readable memoir.

I thought this book was excellent!! Anyone who likes things about cars would be interested in this. Even though Will wan't winning races he still enjoyed the sport alot.

This is the text to one of the most significant versions of the cosmological argument in history. Highly recommended.

I also recommend William L. Rowe's "Cosmological Argument," William Craig's "Reasonable Faith," Vincent Cheung's "On Good and Evil" and "Christian Apologetics," Norman Geisler's "Christian Apologetics," and R.C. Sproul's "Classical Apologetics."

This book should be read by everyone. It describes, in a lucid, clear, and level-headed style, the discoveries made by inventors and engineers over the years, in their quests to find a free and non-polluting source of energy, and why their inventions are still not out on the market. It makes for very sobering, not to say chilling and even frightening, reading. Infuriating is another word that comes to mind. In his foreword to the book, none other than Sir Arthur C. Clarke describes this as, "almost certainly the biggest scandal in the history of science."
This is not a "conspiracy theory" book. It does not describe grand conspiracies and cover-ups (although it does touch on those subjects). Tutt simply lays out the facts as they are, gathered from news stories, interviews, and the personal writings of the people involved (from both the pro and con camps). It is clear that with adequate funding and support, a source of limitless energy would be within our grasp in a matter of years. Yet very little funding is forthcoming, continued ridicule abounds, and our tortured world is still subjected to a year-by-year massive increase in pollution caused by the burning of primitive stone age fossil fuels. Not to mention the continued dependence of the Western world on the oil supplied by the fundamentalist Arab world.
There is no organized conspiracy, I certainly hope, but there is a "momentum" against change, and what is desperately needed is a paradigm shift. People with vested interests, and people whose livelihood and careers depend on the continued use of our primitive and backward energy technologies, are, independently of each other, actively working against the new technologies, and collectively they form a massive resistance that does indeed look like a great conspiracy. And in the scientific establishment we have all the "experts," whose careers and reputations depend on the continued discrediting of cold fusion and all other alternative free energy sources. The result is the world as we see it today, with its massive pollution and energy problems.
For those with no technical background, this book is heavy going at times. There is a lot of technical detail, and Tutt relies heavily, at times, on extracts from other sources, which interrupts the flow of the narrative. But the stories told are, nevertheless, interesting ones. Here is the original "mad scientist," Nikola Tesla, and his several free energy devices. Here is also the Radiant Energy Device of T. Henry Moray, and the tragic story of his futile struggle to find acceptance for his technology. Here is the mysterious N-Machine, and the Thesta-Distatica, developed by a sect of Christian fanatics somewhere up in the Swiss Alps. Here is the very tragic story of how the promise of cold fusion was destroyed, as Tutt delves into all the popular misconceptions about this important technology. And here is the story of Randell Mills and his BlackLight technology, currently in development. Tutt also describes some of the free energy scams that are continually being pulled by various con artists who usually claim that God has given them the technology, with the predictable result that long lines of evangelical Christians immediately form up to give the "inventor" their money.
I give this book the rating 4 out of 5 only because, as I said, it is not an easy read for those who are technically challenged. But the book is more than well worth reading. People with closed minds will no doubt scorn and deride, as such people always do, but for intelligent and open-minded individuals, this book gives an important insight into what is really going on in the field of free energy development. Highly recommended.

One might think that Thurston Clarke is compiling his travel books by geographical feature, first a book on the equator and now one on islands. We might expect his next to be about the Tropic of Cancer or salt marshes. Whatever it is, I suspect it will be a worthy and fascinating concoction.

While he writes this book from the perspective of what he calls a "islomane", one who fascinated with islands, it makes compelling reading for someone who lacks this particular fascination. As a prairie boy I am more fascinated by mountains than islands, but because Clarke weaves so much collateral information into his text, you will never be anything less than fully engaged. He visits all kinds of islands from tourist meccas to summer cottages to northern coal mines. These journeys seem terribly difficult, but Clarke never lets the encumbrances of modern travel get in the way of his examination of both the fascination he has with islands in general and the particulars of what makes any given island worth visiting. He comes to many surprisingly interesting generalizations about the nature of islands and islanders (that for example changes on islands are usually more permanent than elsewhere).

As a traveler he reminds me of Paul Theroux, and certainly his writing is on that level, though without the annoying flashes of ego that often make Theroux painful. It is interesting to compare Clarke's island jaunts with Theroux's Happy Isle of Oceania. Both authors distinctly render the sense of desperation that emerges from these isolated places, but Clarke appears to have a greater sense of the humanity of the people who inhabit them. Perhaps it takes an islomane to truly empathize with those likewise afflicted.

Much as I enjoyed this book, I would also recommend Clarke's book on his travels around the equator. I found these places more interesting, and the quality of the writing is just as high.

This work, a re-issue of the late 1960s anthology entitled "Willian Styron's The Confessions of Nat Turner: Ten Black Writers Respond," is the best place to go for the reaction of the black intellectual community to Styron's fictional treatment of Nat Turner's 1831 slave rebellion in Virgina. This review refers to the orginal edition and doesn't address any edits or new introductions or essays included in this 2001 version.

Styron called his work a "meditation on history" and it sparked a long and bitter debate about views of Turner (a preacher whose rebellion was the most violent and longest-lasting of the several slave rebellions before the Civil War) two centuries after his birth. Styron has been criticized for racist and apologist views on slavery and a poor portrayal of Turner -- and his defenders have responded that he wrote a well-constructed, moving, and accurate portrayal of American slavery and Turner's life.

The truth lies somewhere in between, I suspect. But to decide for yourself, everyone who reads Styron must also read this excellent collection of essays.

My sole complaint with the style of this work (although one could endlessly discuss the content) is that some of the essays are redundent, several are too long, and at least two are too short to adequately make their points. But this work was orginally a rapid response to Styron's work, so you'd expect it to be a little rough around the edges.

As I started reading the book, I knew there would be so many parts I would want to refer to again and agian that I grabbed my yellow highliter.

My copy now has a LOT of yellow.

Simple Encounters is something many of us could write - but Chris DID it!

Some of the lessons are a 'Flash of the Obvious', (sort of like the information we've read in Tom Peters', In Search of Excellence', but Chris makes reference to him, also.

Easy to read and easy to learn from - I like the book and highly reccomend it!

I am an art teacher,and I found that when my students become frustrated with their work, and they run out of ideas for painting, a step-by-step is always a reliable lesson plan. This particular step-by-step book by Frank Clarke is great for everyone who likes to have an outline to go by, but still wants to be creative. Right now my students and I are working on a seascape acrylic painting following Frank Clarke's instructions. We are all really enjoying the way our paintings are coming out.