In this study, John Murray examines Gulliver's Travels within the context of recent social constructionist theory. Murray evaluates the social and psychological implications of brainwashing within the context of the narrative. His thesis challenges popular theories of behavioral and ideological conformity by concluding that in spite of being socialized within the host-societies, Gulliver's decisions are his own. Gulliver's self-knowledge enables him to navigate an alternative field of choices at his own discretion, choices which, as Murray suggests 'differ from the expectations of his hosts, and which contradict the idea that he has been successfully brainwashed.' Murray's study is a valuable contribution to a growing corpus of modernist readings of Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Readers of Murray's lucid study will come away with a renewed appreciation and understanding of this literary classic.

Also recommended: REDEFINING THE SELF: SELECTED ESSAYS ON SWIFT, POE, PINTER, AND JOYCE

Discworld Also picks up where GURPS Discworld left off and includes information on the more modern innovations that have occurred on the Disc in the books Pratchett has written since GURPS Discworld was published, such as the communications explosion and the opening of EcksEcksEcksEcks, and also offers more information and help to the game master and players. There are also new racial packages and character templates (including one for creating an Igor!).

It also includes 3 full-blown adventure scenarios and 3 adventure seeds. I've only run one of the adventures, Lost and Found, twice at conventions. This adventure has always run beautifully with both those familiar with the Disc (even those more familiar with it than I) and those who are not. Warning, though, the laughter that erupts from time to time at the table tends to distract those at the surrounding tables who opted (silly people that they are) to play something else!

This book is a joy to read, even if you're not planning on running a game in the Discworld setting, but is, of course, primarily intended for those interested in running a game in the setting. I would note that you really need to own GURPS Discworld (or the Discworld Roleplaying Game, as it's now being called) to use it.

While the names of many Irish poets may spring easily to mind, the same is not necessariily true for Scottish poets, whose works can sometimes require a little extra effort from American readers, but whose art makes for equally worthwhile reading. An excellent example is Charles Murray's "Hamewith[Homeward]", a reprinted collection of three volumes of poetry printed between 1910 and 1920. The title volume "Hamewith", contains pieces from Murray's years in Africa, filled with his longing for home, and for those left behind. It also contains many small gems, including a lovely piece on Burns' centennary, as well as many pieces of Latin poetry translated into Scots. "A Sough[sigh] o' War", published seven years later during the first world war, and penned by a more mature poet, is a mix of patriotic verses and saddened reality, where he is at once proud to say:

Auld Scotland counts for something still.

but weary enough of war and the suffering it causes to give touching portraits of the young soldier saying farewell to his wife from the farm's edge, or the fiancee who goes daily to read the lists of:

"Weel, wounded, missin', deid,"

to look for the name of her loved one. Finally, "In the Country Places" written a few years after the war, finds Murray back in Scotland, writing of the seasons and rural life -- and of his own coming to grips with advancing age:

A bonny lass can stirr me still,
As deep her mither did when young,
An' aul' Scots sang my saul can fill
As fu's when first I heard it sung.

In comparing poets, the tone of Murray's works will remind readers of English poets Thomas Hardy or A.E. Housman, and of course the best known Scots poet of all, Robert Burns.

Deftly edited by Murray Kleiner, Handbook Of Polygraph Testing is a scholarly collection of superbly presented essays by a variety of experts in the field which address the technical and psychological aspects of using polygraph or "lie detector" testing today. Written at a professional level, the contributed essays by a variety of distinguished authors discuss legal aspects of testing, computer methods for determining deception, the pre-test interview, detecting false memories, and much more. The Handbook Of Polygraph Testing is a fascinating compendium of studies and commentaries containing thought-provoking information -- especially for those who must increasingly use or come into contact with polygraph testing with respect to the contemporary governmental and corporate world of personnel screening, the demands of the legal system, and national security concerns.

"Have a go" is number 2b in a series (1a, 1b, 1c, etc.) which takes beginning readers slowly through the process of learning several new words in the context of everyday adventures. The stories are interesting, based on stories young kids can identify with, and beautifully illustrated. We've found the pace to be perfect -enough to keep a child interested, but not overwhelmed! They are not as silly as the Bob Book series, but seem a little more "grownup".

I found this book and a few others in the "Key Word Reading Scheme" set in Toronto three years ago. My daughter is now starting to read and I'm very glad to have this book and the others in the series. For some reason they are almost impossible to find in the U.S., while other Ladybird Book series are available. We've loved all of them! Maybe Amazon could find a way to make the whole set available?

I've found HERBAL MEDICINALS to be a frequently-referenced book in my library. The many tables with dosage information, contraindications, potential drug interactions, and herbal recommendations for specific illnesses are most helpful. A very useable and practical guide for both allopathic and natural health practitioners.

While writing a paper for Hermes I came across this book at the library. Rather than the usual dry stuff I was using for my research, this book was the one that quickly became my favorite on the subject. It's engaging, interesting, and well-written, and describes the history and evolution of the god plus his primordial functions of psychopomp, guardian, and messenger. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy for myself!

Absolutely fabulous! Only the incomparable Rothbard could tell this compelling story in its full richness and detail. Here the hidden history of money and banking in America unfolds as the internecine, behind-the-scenes warfare between elite financial interests such as the House of Morgan and the Rockefellers, the electoral struggle between the Hamiltonian Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans, and the duel-to-the-death Bank War of Nicholas Biddle and Andrew Jackson. Discover the intriguing facts of how post-Civil War ethnoreligious political conflict between postmillennial pietist Protestant Republicans versus liturgical libertarian Democrats translated into deeply-felt attitudes toward inflation, sound money, and the Gold Standard. Explore the arcane and clandestine origins of the powerful Federal Reserve, a secretive institution still clouded in mystery and myth. This magnificent volume of unpublished and previously published writings by the late Murray N. Rothbard deserves to be on the shelf of every careful scholar of political economy, and of everyone who enjoys the discovery of unseasonable and unsettling truths concerning the government elites who attempt to run our lives, debase our money, and squander our children's futures.

Rampant postmodernism, yet highly unusual, inspiring and deeply intelligent. Murray Bail is weird! He must be! He has taken Australian cultural theory and run away with it. His irreverence towards the whole herd of Australian sacred cows is hilarious and yet written from a well informed historical standpoint. Through humour, he deconstructs the Menzies era and indeed the whole Americanisation of the country from the second World War into the sixtees. Bail also sees the effect that town planning has on its citizens. His description of Canberra is highly informative, downright cynical and yet a real scream. He sees through the sterility of the concentric circles and dead ends of Canberra and associates this strongly with the political mentality of our leaders, who of course, lead us around in circles and up blind alleys! I would recommend this novel to anyone interested in cultural theory, or indeed, anyone interested in an unusually honest and very funny deconstruction of the Menzies era. My only reservation is that the novel is perhaps a little lengthy, given the subject material. Nevertheless, it is well worth a read. John Magee