Wow, I usually like books that are very metaphorical and complex, but I found this book to be too over the top. I became lost in the babble. It put me to sleep. I was too tired to find the symbolism and critiques of society!

Ionesco promised to deliberately explore the post WW2 world by integrating the ABSURD (post-existentialist stream of thought) into the everyday life. He did it with such an ingenious way of portraying the lives of two bourgeouis couples who suffer the scandalous effects of WW2. By breaking all rules concerning grammar and the written way of expression as a means to justify the absurdity which lives inside of us and expressed orally with our "stream of consciousness". Pure genius on his writng skills, ionesco demonstrates just how far one can go just by simply observing the distortions of human relations when affected by dark historical moments...

Whether you love or hate absurdist (ahem) writers, this play is one of the most exemplary editions of a very important phase in postmodern drama. The other reviewer gives no reason why he didn't like it other than he didn't understand it. Bad critic.

This book I found poorly written and lacking in the ability to maintain reader interest.While the historical value of the groups or confederate immigration is interesting, it is presented in a form that makes it differcult to get through.

Eugene C. Harter has given us a sparkling "gem" of a book, a fascinating aspect of history that is both well-researched, and well-written.

Based on actual events, the "Lost Colony of the Confederacy" is an interesting book that chronicles the massive immigration of Southerners who fled the former states of the Confederacy and resettled in Brazil. At the invitation of Brazil's ruler at the time, Emperor Dom Pedro II, many Confederates immigrated to Brazil to take advantage of that nation's rich natural resources and most importantly, African slaves in one of the few countries in the Americas who had not abolished slavery yet.

These settlers, known as the Confederados, resettled in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, and founded a town they named "Americana" where many of their descendants still reside. With Anglo-Saxon last names such as Stonewall, Jackson, and Butler, many of their present-day ancestors still reside in the Southern-inspired town and continue to live the way of life their ancestors once lived. Pecan pies, debutante balls, and Southern hymns are all still alive, although many of them have intermarried with Brazil's population and speak Portuguese as well as English (with a Brazilian-Southerner accent).

The author did great research when writing this book, and the photographs provide the reader with visuals that help us visualize Americana. Originally published by the University of Mississippi press, this updated book provides new updated information on Americana and her inhabitants

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the U.S. Civil War, Brazil, or Latin American culture/history. The story of the Confederados is a forgotten chapter in the history of the Civil War that should be rediscovered by all.

It is astonishing that Ignatius, a usually reliable publisher, would publish a book like this. What can you say about a book that solemnly tells us, "Jesus was certainly a theist" (p. 60), or that "Plants live their kind of life automatically" (p. 111)? It is supposedly written for beginners, but the authors have no grasp of important philosophical concepts or of how to impart them. The writing is colossally bad; here's just one example: "...these classical Greek thinkers recognized that the really real reality is not the appearance of things that the senses know but the underlying ousia, or being or essence or nature or substance" (p. 46). They tend to reduce all of philosophy to metaphysics and seem to have little historical sense.

To add insult to injury, the documentation is slipshod. For instance, Britannica's set Great Books of the Western World is cited in at least four different ways (my favorite: "Great Books of the Western ! ! World Series"! (p. 389)); and the appendix on Aristotle (p. 394) is a travesty. Run, don't walk, to your local public library and pick up the first history of philosophy you find. It's bound to be better than this.

An excellent work for anyone who wants to learn Christian Philosophy as taught by the Catholic Church. It is a faithful and comprehensive synthesis of the teaching of the Magisterium and would serve well as a text for courses in Christian Philosophy.

Deacon Richard C. Caporiccio, MA - Theology, Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College, and Advanced Chatechical Diploma, The Holy See

An excellent work for anyone who wants to learn Christian Philosophy as taught by the Catholic Church. It is a faithful and comprehensive synthesis of the teaching of the Magisterium and would serve well as a text for courses in Christian Philosophy.

Richard C. Caporiccio, MA - Theology, Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College, and Advanced Chatechical Diploma, The Holy See

Only has 9 pages on resumes but has a section that tells you how to configure your dial up internet connection so you can search the internet for a job. Give me a break.

I sincerely thank Gene Wang for the book. The book is for every programmer regardless of experience. It covers several general topics. I am surprised however, that a second edition has'nt come out. Some of the stuff like "List of Top 100 companies" is outdated now.

This book provides important material for software developers. The author shows just what it takes to be a successful programmer. His book is a true guide to a successful programming career. In addition to some theoretical discussions of component programming and software life-cycle, Mr. Wang also gives important hands-on advice such as how to write a winning resume, how to prepare for an interview, and even when to leave the current job and what companies to work for. He also gives overview of some best software tools and the hottest technologies. The book has two drawbacks, though. It seems that the author is a little biased towards Windows development. Other areas, such as UNIX or WWW development, don't get nearly as much attention as Windows development. It is not quite right -- those markets do exist and can't be ignored or dismissed as "obsolete." Second, the chapter on Internet programming seems a little weak. The author managed to write the whole chapter on Internet programming without ever mentioning Java, even though the book was written in 1996. All in all, the advice that the author gives is invaluable.

The book ties contemporary images with paraphrased Psalms. I think the Psalms are incredibly beautiful without being paraphrased.

The audience for this book is probably more of a pre-teen or teenager that is new to Christianity. That's not me.

In the late middle ages, no book of the bible was illustrated as frequently and fully as the book of Psalms. But then the practice went out of fashion. Now, contemporary Dutch artist Anneke Kaai has received the tradition, creating 25 admirable paintings and collages based on interpretations of 25 Psalms. The images, however, are not traditional: I find no scenes of David playing his harp in this tall, slim beautifully printed volume. Rather, the paintings are quite simple and abstract. A single, craggy cliff illustrates Psalm 31. The Psalm 84 is illustrated with small sparrows nest in the lily-shaped capital of the bronze column named Boaz, which stood outside Salomon's Temple. I considered this volume an exquisite expression of the religious art. It is intense and contemplative at the same time.

I have been looking all over for works that depict biblical themes through modern art. Anneke Kaai takes Psalms that we are all familiar with and puts a refreshing spin on them. The medium, oils and acrylics on plexiglass, is incredibly unique and beautiful. She captures the emotion of the Psalms in her use of color and contrasting lights and darks. Coupled with passages from Eugene H. Peterson's "The Message," the Psalms spring to life in this book, letting modern audiences identify with timeless Truth and a very good God. :)

Granted, this may be the most extensive collection of Atget's Paris work in one volume, but the quality of the photographic reproductions leaves a lot to be desired. Although not as exhaustive, Andreas Krase's "Atget's Paris" contains beautiful, high- quality reproductions of a large number of Atget's Paris photos. The Krase book also contains a very well written and informative essay on Atget's personal history and work. For true Atget junkies, you may want to own both; but if you can only have one, or if you want the one that best "transports" you into Atget's paris, go for the Krase book. ...and finally for real buffs of old Paris photos (especially pre-Hausmannization), you may try to seek out the work of the photographer Marville (good luck, unfortunately it seems his stuff is out-of-print at present), or the Panaromanic Photograph collection in the "American Memory" collection of the Library of Congress...

This book is perhaps one of the most wonderful collections of photographs that I have ever had the pleasure of owning. Eugène Atget, a failed actor, painter, sailor, and soldier, eventually settled on photography as a career some thirty-odd years into his life, and set out to make a photographic record of the whole of Paris at the end of the nineteenth century. By 1920, some 4,000 negatives existed, from which many have been culled for the present volume.

Of course, as cities, go, Paris, like London or Rome, has perhaps more than its share of photogenic sites. However, oddly enough, considering that these photos are more than three quarters of a century old, no book has ever reproduced the experience of Paris more to my taste than this collection of Atget's work. Organised by arrondissement (the subsections into which the whole of Paris is divided), the book offers a systematic voyage past landmarks familiar and unfamiliar. Images of the Jardin des Tuilleries, Notre Dame, the Palais du Louvre, the Champs-Elysées and so many other familiar names and places are here. Faces of long-dead Parisians stare out from streets now populated by their descendants. It is as though the very images, bathed in light now a century gone, come to life in these photos. All the majesty and squalor, the beauty and degradation of a great city; these things are all captured by Atget's lens. The effect is moving and eerie, and suits what is arguably the Continent's greatest city down to the ground.

And, on a strictly personal note, one of my favourite photos is taken from the 17th Arrondissement, in the Quartier des Ternes. It is of a café in the Avenue de la Grande-Armée, dated 1924 or 1925, empty chairs and tables bathed in sunlight, and an advert for Bass Extra Stout painted on the window! Truly a sublime moment.

Do yourself a favour, if you enjoy old photographs or love Paris, or both. Find a copy of this book, and enjoy it on those days when you can't actually be there.

The book was very useful, however I orginally bought the book in 1989 or 90 and used the information exstensively, however I beleive it to be somewhat outdated now. I know Eugene was writing an updated version at that time however I have not read any further books by Eugene. I didn't actually enter here to review this book. I was really hope to find an email address for Eugene. He and I work together as staff engineers at Tele-Media co. years ago and i was hoping to find him well and drop him a line.

Excellent information at a detailed level on how to build a cable TV system from scratch, but because this book was published in 1990, it is dated. Sadly, even though the tag line in Amazon specifically mentions HDTV (so does the cover of the book), there are only 2 pages on that subject, mainly to let the reader know that no standards had been published as of the book's writing. Copious diagrams and examples are this book's main strengths, making it a useful resource in gaining a fundamental knowledge of CATV systems.

LaVerdiere does a very good job at explaining the views of the Early Church concerning the Eucharist, but is slightly repetitive. The book is full of insight, but unfortunately rephrases many of the same the same ideas over and over and over...

This is a pretty good book, but will lose your interest pretty quickly. This book should not be a priority on one's list of potential Eucharistic History books.

Anything that comes from the liturgical press is worth reading for Catholic reseach. This is no exception. The majority of the books of the New Testament as well as some patristic texts are explained in Eucharistic terms as well as a theme for each book ie: Dining in the Kingdom of God: The Eucharist in Luke's Gospel. LaVerdiere is clear in his statements and allows rooms for questioning early practices. He is a poet in his research as much as he is a historian.

Good if your looking for nice hotels although one big inaccuracy. Hotel La Mariposa in Manuel Antonio is not nearly as wonderful as they described it, much nicer hotels are available. Good background info on the country.

Hi, I am working at ILISA Spanish Language Institute in San Jose, Costa Rica and I just want to say that this book helps our students a lot by giving them helpful inside information and thus by getting to know all the ins and outs about this fantastic country. Thanks!

Best friends are complex characters. Both sides develop a synergy which goes beyond clear tangibles and virtues. When your best friend is famous, and that person dies, the surviving friend has an obligation to seek perspective. Eugene Kennedy needed more time and distance to adequately honor his friend, the late Cardinal Bernadin. Kennedy's emotions are too raw. He seeks sainthood for his friend. After setting that standard, the book becomes defensive. Kennedy tries to be poetic, but he can not sustain that type of prose for 175 pages. In the end Mr. Kennedy tried to honor his friend with emotions and flowery prose. It would have been better if the author had more confidence in Cardinal Bernadin's own words and deeds. We would have learned more about a great man than the slim concepts gained from this endeavor.

Like my fellow reviewers, I agree that Kennedy is hardly an objective, dispassionate biographer. As he makes clear from the outset of the book, he and Cardinal Bernardin were close, personal friends for many years, and the latter's death in 1995 was a deep personal loss to the author. I certainly would have appreciated a few more words about Bernardin's personal flaws, a subject which Kennedy glosses over. Nonetheless, Eugene Kennedy is one of America's most highly respected Catholic thinkers and, if this book is somewhat lacking in evenhandedness, I remain convinced that what appears within its covers is accurate and reliable. Because of his direct access to Bernardin, Kennedy is able to give us a "behind the scenes look" at some of the most fascinating episodes in recent church history: the 1978 election of Popes John Paul I and II; the scandal involving John Cardinal Cody, Bernardin's predecessor as Archbishop of Chicago and the target of a federal criminal investigation; the politics surrounding the drafting of the bishops' pastoral letter on nuclear arms; the shocking allegations of sexual misconduct by Bernardin (later retracted by the accuser); and the Cardinal's courageous handling of the news that he was dying of cancer. But this book is more than just an ecclesiastical "tell-all"; it's also a loving account of a very special man and priest. What I find so extraordinary about Bernardin -- and EVERYONE who knew him attests to this -- was his humility, gentleness, and total lack of pretension. How, I wondered, does a man who rises so high in both Church and society remain so down-to-earth, so unaffected by the honors and the "hype". Somehow, Joseph Bernardin knew how to do this.

Writing a memoir about friendship is a tricky endeavor. Events and conversations, times of consolation and alienation, moments of intimacy -- all those elements that go into making up the best of relationships -- are suddenly on display. Living through them, you somehow thought they would never catch the light of day. Now they are out there for all to see. Eugene Kennedy's poignant and inspiring tale about his more than thirty years of friendship with Joseph Bernardin, the late archbishop of Chicago, convinces us that it is worth the risk to share the details about these precious relationships. Anyone who has ever had a best friend will cherish this book.

My Brother Joseph, however, is much more than the tale of a friendship between two men. The book also provides us with an understanding about how Bernardin grew into a much-admired and loved churchman who provided energetic and visionary leadership to the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Catholic church in the United ! ! States.

Kennedy helps us appreciate that Bernardin was niether a dealmaker nor a crafter of compromises; he was instead a genuine consensus builder. His genius as a leader lay in his ability to maintain that delicate balance between loyalty to the institution and respect for the person. Bernardin also refused to typecast people. This capacity helped him work effectively with fellow bishops holding different points of view and was one of the gifts he used eventually to produce the US bishops' pastoral letter on war and peace.

Most memorable in Kennedy's book, however, is the very human person who emerges in its pages. We see Bernardin in those unguarded moments that we all have with good friends -- moments when, free of self-censorship, we say exactly what's on our mind. We are also privileged to witness the growth of his ever deepening spirituality.

The friend that Kennedy had in Bernardin was no plaster saint. Yes, he was ambitious. While still Archbishop of Cincinnat! ! i, for example, he confided to Kennedy that he would very m! uch like to head the Chicago archdiocese. While tolerant of others, their idiosyncractic behavior was not lost on him. He cloaked his reactions to these annoyances, however, in subtle humor.

Kennedy has done us an enormous favor in sharing with us his years of friendship with Bernardin. We come away from this book convinced that God did have a dream for Joseph Bernardin and that this exceptional man spent his life discerning just what that dream was about and living it out. Each step along the way helped make him what he was at the end: an extraordinary leader, a compassionate pastor, a dear friend. Simply put, he was the very best of men.