Having been a pottery student, who then found a niche in the pottery world, De Waal has chosen to write a bitter attack on the man who was solely responsible for the renaissance of the pottery movement in Britain at the early years of the century! There have been few books that so arbitrarily set out to mock the artistic talent of Bernard Leach, a clear-sighted Edwardian man, born in the Victorian era, and who was to live through further reigns of another three monarchs. The pottery of De Waal has little connection to that of what Leach was trying to achieve, and yet De Waal has managed to make a name for himself, with virtually no nod of head towards the man who he chose to follow initially.

His book lacks any sympathy, courage, or honesty. It bears no relation to the pottery world that Leach was promoting, instead his book seems to be nothing more than a catalogue of the latest fashions in the present domestic ceramic world. He has no taste, and his trite, simplistic pieces of moulded clay insult the great artistic legacy that Leach had initiated. But for Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada, for instance, the method of "feathering" designs on slipware pottery would have been lost for another hundred plus years..

Do not waste your money on the De Waal book, instead, buy the book [by Sara Hogben] on The Art of Bernard Leach, which can be found via the net. A far superior book.

It is interesting that in today's day and age there are still so many people who would defend the Old Man (Leach) to the death. In doing some research on Bernard Leach, I cam across De Waal's publication. He offers a healthy, dissenting view to the norm that Leach contributed so much to today's pottery. Will Leach's devout followers also tell you that he hardly ever threw his own pots, but rather had them made for him to decorate? That he dismissed traditions with the flick of the wrist, that didn't fit into his concept of ceramics, such as those of France, Italy or Scandinavia? Or that he preached humility, but was himself quite an autocratic character? That he had an exhibition in Seoul, while it was under Imperial Japanese occupation? That many people thought (and still think) his work to be quite bland? That ceramic sculpture was as good as non-existent to him?

At least De Waal's book offers another view than that usually propogated by the 'Leach School of Thought'. I would say that it was quite an objective one, in contrast to the review by that reader from Sussex, England. Don't be fooled, unless you are a die-hard follower with a Leach altar in the corner of your studio, this is certainly a valuable book on Leach's lifes work. In contrast to that other review, I would also say that De Waal's book is not all critical. It takes you through Leach's various stages in life fairly objectively. Actually De Waal could have been much more critical (if not scathing) of some of Leach's idiosyncrasies.

As I dove into Edmond De Waals book on bernard Leach, my interest was captured immediatley. Leach's early history and experiences in Japan were exciting. Even though I struggled with the pronunciation of Japanese names and places I found the historical accounts were well written. When reading this book I couldn't help but imagine myself making pots in Japan experiencing Japanese tradition, culture, and the arts.

I thought it was interesting to see the transition in Leach's work as he moved from Japan to St. Ives England. I like how Leach tried to gain local character in his work after moving to England. This is something that is important to the Japanese and their tradition of local potteries. Leach's ability to adapt to his environment while making pots made him successful as an artist. This book clearly shows the distinct adaptions Leach made to suit his clients needs without loosing his artistic touch.

I especially enjoyed the last chapter of this book. In my opinion it is an excellent summary of Leach's life and his accomplishments. I really like where the author talks about "Leach Style" and how people categorize it as "muddy colors, unarticulated forms, indeterminate orientel-ish burshwork and a certain modesty of ambition." I agree with the the author that Leach was more diverse than that. From 1920 and in to the 1960's he did everything from "drawing, engraving, etching, painting, slip-decorating, combed decoration into clay, sgraffitio, fluting and so on." In my opinion Leach is the father of modern day studio ceramics. This book is inspirational for anyone pursing the field of functional ceramics. I would recommend this book to anyone studying or enquiring of Bernard Leach.

If you're looking for a good book on how to write a compelling resume and prepare it for online use, I recommend you look elsewhere. While this book covers resume creation, as well as online format information, these sections are too slight to really help you write an effective resume, cyber-focused or not. The authors seem more interested in technology (OCR, resume software) and offbeat career search areas (government retirees, for example) than resume content.

While the more recent edition of this book may have more up-to-date job site listings (and the rating system is good), the listings in this edition are already out-of-date.

For a better book on resume writing that also covers much of the cyber territory, try Resumes for Dummies.

Alot of good info I havn't seen before

The authors explain in clear and non-techno babble prose, the steps and concepts behind making use of the Internet for conducting a career search and sending out your resume.

I especially appreciated their listing of some of the better and most worthwhile resume database sites to submit resumes to and look for job postings on.

Essential driving guidance to have in this "information superhighway" age!

I think that this book is a forgery by appenine fascist youth. Like most of this book's readers, they took their master plan far too seriously. It's this inability to laugh which makes the work canonical, but nonetheless a product of unknown authorship.

Reflections presents for the reader the great range that Benjamin had as a writer, critic and occidentalist. This collection further demonstrates Benjamin's acute awareness of the literature of his time, as evidenced by his essay on 'Surrealism', which is as fine a reflection on its themes as the manifestos of Andre Breton. Furthermore, his writings and conversations with Bertolt Brecht show Benjamin to be very close to the thinking of the author himself. Also included is his celebrated essay on Karl Kraus,"the Jewish Swift of Vienna". But what I like most about this collection are the amorphisms and autobiographical sketches of 'Marseilles' and 'One-way Street'. In his images of Marseilles Benjamin creates an "exegesis of the city" that is as fine as any poet could offer; spellbinding, acute, and beautiful. As well, his wit and insight into social phenomena is detailed in 'One-Way Street', and also in the piece on Moscow, which lets the western reader experience a rare witnessing of the Russian city in the years after the Revolution in a way that recalls Dziga Vertov. Finally, the inclusion of several pieces of Benjamin's philosophical-theological speculations show that he was a man of great breath and wisedom, and further showcase the wide range of his highly polished mind.

"Walter Benjamin is now recognized as one of the most accute analysts of literary and sociological phenomena of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A companion volume to Illuminations, the earlier collection of Benjamin's writings, Reflections presents a new sampling of his wide-ranging work. In addition to literary criticism, it contains autobiograohical narration and travel pieces, aphorisms, and philosophical-theological speculations. Most of Benjamin's writings on Brecht and his celebrated essay on Karl Kraus are included."

Enjoy charming anecdotes like "Hashish in Marseilles" and the sardonic incites of "One-Way Street" (Germans, Drink German Beer!) as you peruse the timeless thoughts of a persecuted man.

Coming out of the Heideggerean tradition of confusing wannabe academics into thinking you know more than they can grasp, Derrida has been stringing his following along for decades, getting into innumerable literary criticism and philosophy and language study classrooms and scaring kids away from what can truly be rewarding fields of study. Certainly his ideas on "differance" and the de-centered center are neat and they are developed out of a broader philosophical tradition. But Derrida's work is the perfect example of why so many people are turned away from philosophical study. Certainly, I am not advocating that everyone break their works down into catch-phrases and self-help books, but there should be a recognition that if the concepts cannot be elucidated in plain language, if the arguments cannot be followed without a strong background in phenomenology and structuralism, then they are of little use. Hume wrote his Enquiry, Kant the "Prolegomena", Sartre delivered his Existentialism & Humanism talk, etc... these were all attempts to make somewhat clear, the ideas entrenched in their dense treatises. That attempt needs to be made. If the work remains solely in the hands of the elite, who have made their way through all of the academic hoops, it grows stale. I think we can already see that happening. Or is it all just a game? A bunch of intellectual posturing? I'd like to give the benefit of the doubt and believe that's not the case. But I'm still waiting for someone to prove it.

Arguably one of the most convtroversial philosophers within the Continental tradigion, Derrida's work either heralds a revolution in philosophy or its utter destruction.

Derrida cites two important pedigrees (as the title suggests): Husserl and (tacitly) de Saussure.

Using the "course in general linguistics" of de Saussure, Derrida notes a certain degree of freedom, a "jeu," between the words-as-symbols and the thought contents they produce. Exploiting de Saussure's note that the relation between the sign and the mental content is arbitrary, Derrida questions the validity of any text (where the notion of text includes, but is not limited to, books, magazines, commercials, art, sex).

Derrida sees behind any "text" its entire recursive history, the weight of all the words, the mental experience of the reader.

At the point he considers the reader's experience he starts to deal with phenomenology - the study proposed and defined by Husserl himself in his Vienna and Paris lectures. A short definition might be that Phenomenology is the study of how man mentally relates to the objects of his experience(I admit, debatably so).

This book proposes Derrida's famous example of "différance" and its effect upon the Gallically trained ear and mind. So if you want to seem witty and "with-it" this introductory tome shall suffice.

As far as my own deconstruction / critique of the work. As an introductory work it is dense. Derrida is often criticized for losing himself in intellectual crevices, being prolix, and employing poor stylistics. These are not unmerited. Yet for the reader who wishes to move beyond the fashionability of tossing "deconstructionist" out at cocktail parties, this is a must read. It is certainly part of the 20th century canon.

My own conclusions are mixed. In his later works Derrida becomes truly absurd, laughable, silly, and occasionally brilliant. Yet his work never fails to move its readers either to agree that he is either an idiot, a bad writer, or that philosophy as we know it has long been dead. Perhaps like a Socratic gadfly, Derrida is moving us to an entire gestalt shift vis-à-vis our relationship with philosophy and social institutions.

A solid background of Kant/Hegel, as well as a familiarity with lingustics (the aforementioned course in general lingustics of de Saussure) greatly ease the difficulty in penetrating his work.

Derrida, for all the supposed density of his writing, is a simplifier. Deconstruction owes much of its popularity (in America) to the fact that it says: philosophy is not all that complicated, just see how the inside and outside collapse into one another and you can tear any text at its seams. Derrida follows the same procedure with poor old Edmund: the entirety of the LU shamble if Husserl is unable to maintain the integrity of silent thought, in which no Anzeichen point toward anything. Unlike the canals on Mars, which may point to intelligent life, silent thought is unmediated and not supplemented (to use a Deriddaism) by a sign. The collapse (or rending) of inside and outside by the supplement mark the presence of absence: the word, a mere supplement to the presence of silent thought, separates and joins the "life" and "presence" of consciousness with absence, repetition, and death.

St. Edmund Campion: Scholar, Historian, Orator, Actor, Playwrite, Director, Jesuit, Confessor, Martyr, and Saint. A biographic play about this extraordinary man should include all these, but unfortunately Buckley and MacGuire's play is clogged with far too many scenes, and far too many of them are too brief for us to get to know the great soul of the saint. The play is enormously well researched, and one can definitely learn something by reading this piece, yet in an artistic sense this play quite obviously borrows matieral from Robert Bolt's "A Man for All Seasons." While I am glad to see at least an attempt to bring themes of religion and sacrifice into the modern theatre, Edmund Campion's story more likely is suited for an epic screen story than it is for the confines of a full-length play.

Buckley and MacGuire provide an excellent and very well reseached piece about Campion.

Unfortunately Kockelman's book turned out to be a encyclopedic summary of Husserlian phenomenology, and as such much poorer and less illuminative than the Brittanica article of Husserl's which was similar in aim, and which is the movement point for this book. Students of some intelligence need books that are really engaging and developing, and not just encyclopedic knowledge. Of course by reading this sort of a book we may learn definitions of concepts like noema and noemata, but I believe we would better have no idea of a subject than having a junk of poor and lifeless concepts. I would recommend the reader, especially the more sophisticated and good-willed one, to turn to Husserl's own numerous introductions like Cartesian Meditations or the Crisis even if he does not know much phenomenology, and put some sweat into them. Still this book might be helpful with some undergraduate exams- to'fill in' papers.

Prof. Kockelmans navigates the reader (even the uninitiated, as was I) through the prinicpal features of Husserl's thought. His writing is extremely well-structured, such that the reader's comprehension proceeds in equal rhythm with the author's careful explanations. After studying some medieval philosophy with Prof. Kockelmans I can confidently say that his understanding of the history of thought, art, and science are inspiring; all of this adds to the finish of the book. His style is never cumbersome--though he retains all of the slippery terminology of the discipline--and his summary is without superfluity. This is a highly important and recommendable work. Jason Stell

The authors are clear from the preface that this is but a short history of Ireland. Indeed, it covers many crucial events in lightning-fast time. For anyone looking to quickly absorb basic information about Irish history, this would be a good selection. For anyone looking to dig beyond surface issues, this would not be a good fit. For example, the history of Ireland from the Stone Age (I kid you not) to the Battle of Boyne takes only 160 pages. From 1690 to 1922, 158. Beyond that, modern Northern Irish history is synopsized into only a few pages. To the book's credit, the writing is highly accessible and easy to understand. The b/w illustrations peppered throughout the text are an added bonus as well. Undoubtedly, the authors faced a daunting task in trying to produce a work that would include major events in Irish history yet not overwhelm the reader by becoming a thick, esoteric tome. In the right context-- that of Irish history newcomer-- this book would be a good choice. For someone hoping to delve into the extremely complex, intellectually arduous issues in Irish history, this book would be repetitive at best.

This book should be required reading in Ireland, England, America, and possibly other countries as well. It does a very competent job of presenting centuries of issues which have formed and continue to influence the political climate of Ireland. Be warned that by and large it is a grim history. As much as I abhor violence, I now have little difficulty in understanding the ill feelings that exist to this day.

The first couple of chapters are pretty dry, focusing on archaeology, but the read improves from there. There are many entertaining passages: for example, a reference to the 19th century House of Lords as "that bastion of the landlord interest". Also noteworthy is the section on Parnell and the original "boycott", not to mention Griffith and the nonviolent origins of Sinn Fein.

There seems to be more than one version of this book. The one that I read was titled "A History of Ireland" and was jointly credited to Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry.

Having done a Ph.D. in optics, I have read quite some books on optics and out of curiocity I bought this book, but I am not very pleased with it. First, it is difficult to read because of the old English language and structure. For native English speakers this carries perhaps not so much weight, but for me it did. Second, because it is a collection of Newton's works, it contains of course also many not-so-interesting discussions which you have to 'consume' before realising it was not so interesting.

What is nice though, is that the book contains many so-called queries, which are possible explanations of various optical phenomena, explanations/assumptions Newton could not prove/disprove at the time. This is fascinating reading, because many of these turned out to be true (or false, but even then: still interesting to know what he thought).

Overall impression: if you are interested in the history of optics/Newton then it is a nice book. But just for browsing in the evening: no.

"Though Mr. Newton is no physicist, his book is very interesting." -- Father Nicolas Malebranche (1707)

This 1924 book tells about five famous murders that occurred decades earlier. Pearson was "one of the best trial and crime reporters" in the 1920s-30s. "In all five cases, the determination of guilt or innocence rested on circumstantial evidence".

"The Borden Case" attracted national attention, and divided public opinion as no criminal prosecution had ever done before, or since. Families were divided, and argued over this fascinating case. The Bordens were not of a class where these crimes are common. The verdict did not solve this puzzle. On that "intensely hot morning of Thursday, August 4, 1892" (p.9) Andrew Jackson Borden walked back to his house. In half an hour he was dead; later the body of his pre-deceased wife Abby was found. His youngest daughter Lizzie was charged with these crimes, and found "Not Guilty". This crime remained a mystery until Arnold R. Brown's "Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Final Chapter" was published in 1991 with its solution.

"The Twenty-Third Street Murder" of Friday, July 29, 1870 was of Benjamin Nathan, a New York financier. He was beaten to death in his own room, while his two sons slept in their house. The blood spattered walls and door spoke of a violent struggle; the open safe and empty cash box spoke to the motive (p.132). A newspaper pointed suspicion to one son of irregular morals. The inquest named no one. A convict in Sing Sing named a burglar. This burglar was found in Texas and brought to New York. But a case could not be made (p.155), and the suspect returned to jail in Illinois. It was never solved.

"Mate Bram" concerns the voyage of the barkentine 'Herbert Fuller' from Boston on July 3, 1896. Most of the crew was new to the ship and each other. The boat carried a load of lumber below and on top of the deck. There were some quarrels between the first and second mate. Early on the morning of July 14 the captain and his wife, along with the second mate, were murdered. The Grand Jury indicted Thomas Bram, the first mate (no bloodstains were found on him). Seaman Charley Brown testified he saw Bram kill the captain. Cross-examination revealed incidents from Brown's past that lessened his credibility. Bram was sentenced to life in prison; he served 15 years before being paroled. Six years later he was granted a full pardon. He became a prosperous businessman (p.224).

"The Hunting Knife" is about the murder of Mabel Page on March 31, 1904. Her retired father came home at 2:10PM and found her dead; money was missing from her purse. The police questioned all who had been in the neighborhood. One of these had his picture in the newspaper. A driver who gave him a ride saw this; he found a leather sheath for a knife afterwards. Charles Tucker was taken to the police station and given the usual warning of having his words used against him (p.241). While examining his overcoat, the police asked if this sheath was his; he admitted it was (!), then denied owning a knife. When his house was searched they found a pin of Mabel Page, and parts of a knife; he now admitted it was his. He was then arrested, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death. No plea for mercy was considered (p.255).

"Uncle Amos Dreams a Dream" is about the Boorn case. Russell Colvin disappeared on May 10, 1812 from Manchester, Vermont. Seven years later his Uncle Amos dreamed that Russell was murdered by his brothers-in-law, and buried in a filled-up cellar hole. A dog began to dig by a hollow stump; bones were found. Some physicians said they were human, one didn't agree. Jesse Boorn was arrested, jailed, then admitted his brother did the killing. Stephen Boorn was arrested, but protested his innocence; he was chained in the "inner dungeon". The Grand Jury indicted them both. Russell's son described a fight; a forger in jail testified to a confession from Stephen. Stephen then confessed and said it was self-defense. Both were found guilty and sentenced to death. The brothers protested their innocence, people petitioned the State Legislature. Jesse's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, Stephen was left to the gallows. The Rutland Herald printed an advertisement for Russell Colvin, and the death sentence of Stephen. The NY Evening Post reprinted an article from the Albany Daily Advertiser. A man from Shrewsbury NJ said a Russel Colvin from Manchester Vermont was living there. This person was asked to visit New York, then taken to Troy, then to Bennington. He was recognized and identified beyond all doubt. The Court was criticized for allowing a conviction without a dead body. A new trial was held, the charges dropped, and the Boorn brothers freed. They later moved to Ohio. People wondered why they would confess to a crime they didn't commit, but no answers were given except an "Act of God" (p.285).

Outstanding overview of five famous murders of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with the lion's share of the pages going to Miss Lizzie Borden and the bizarre goings-on in Fall River, Mass in 1892. The other, less familiar cases are at least as interesting. I especially liked the chapter on the Nathan murder, a cause-celebre in New York City in the 1870's. Pearson's wonderfully biting sense of humour comes out in his disdain for the masses, and for those bizarre characters who, simply for the notoriety, manage to insert themselves into famous cases.

I would like to point out to the reviewer from Perth Amboy that the Borden case was not solved by Arnold Brown or anyone else. He came up with a solution, and like so many true crime writers, labeled it "Final". The genre is filled with books purporting to be the "Final Chapter," "The Final Solution" etc. But the real solutions to cases like this are lost in time. We can't solve the Borden murder (though I think we can all figure out the LIKELY murderer in this case without too much difficulty), we can only luxuriate in it's delightful domestic creepiness, preferably while sitting by the fire on a winter's evening reading this book.

Enjoy.

I have enjoyed many of John Buchan's novels: The Thirty Nine Steps, John McNab, Huntingtower (especially amusing), The Island of Sheep. But this Richard Hannay novel is rather strange, involving the use of hypnotism as a means to gain political power. Most of his novels are rather far-fetched, but fun. I'd give this one a miss though. Really out-there!

Kudos to Wordsworth Classics for keeping these four books in print -- affordable, too! I've now read all but one of the Hannay adventures (this one, plus "39 Steps" and "Mr. Standfast") and thoroughly enjoyed them all. "Hostages" moves a bit slower and doesn't have quite as much "local flavor" as the others; but it's a fine book, with much to recommend it and much to remember.

I enjoyed especially the respectful portrait of Hannay's wife, every bit as smart and tough as he -- quite surprising in an era (and culture) that I had assumed would be somewhat chauvinistic -- and a real relief from other spy stories in which the women simply scream helplessly until The Man comes along. Mind you, I have no political agenda -- and indeed am quite conservative about gender roles; but I just find it so much more sensible and realistic when women characters act like human beings!

"Hostages" is also remarkably prescient about the onset of WW2, and how Hitler would try to rule the world not merely through brute force but through propaganda and mass hysteria. There is also some fine thematic development here, esp. the notion that a spy mission may achieve "success" without "victory."

But the best thing about the book is its final chapter; as in "Standfast," "Hostages" has a split climax; the main conflict is resolved about 35 pages before the end of the book, and then there's a further, more nitty-gritty, down-to-earth duel at the end. Fantastic!

These books are great for folks looking for good old-fashioned adventure like James Bond, but without the girls and the violence.

Highly recommended.