In addition, the author has many reference notes that the reader can use to find the original writings to which the book refers. In many ways, the book acts like a good philosophy teacher. Much can be learned by reading the book, and the corresponding works of Aristotle as referenced in the notes.

There is also an epilogue which lists the various works of Aristotle from which Adler culled the information included in each of the (short) chapters. Anyone who's ever wondered what Aristotle was all about should read this book.

"No idea in this book is less than 2,400 years old." So says the back cover.

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, and one of the greatest thinkers and scientific investigators and organizers the world has ever seen. He was born in 384 B.C., and died 62 years later. His father, Nicomachus, was the court physician and a friend of the king. He studied under Plato for twenty years, until the latter's death. Although he criticized Plato's doctrines in later years, he always spoke of his master with greatest reverence.

Many of his popular writings were written in dialogue form, and were modeled in both subject matter and style, after Plato's. The writings which are traditionally attributed to him seem to have come primarily from the works prepared and arranged by Andronicus of Rhodes in about the first century.He wrote The Treatises on Logic; The Rhetoric and the Poetics; The Work on the first Philosophy (also called The Metaphysics); The Works on Natural Science; and The Ethics and Politics.

Mortimer Adler, the author of this book, says that his sons, Douglas and Philip, 13 and 12 respectively, read his manuscript enthusiastically, and so you may assume that the book is easy to assimilate. Which it is.

Why philosophy? Adler says, I think correctly, that philosophy is everyone's business, to help us understand things we already know better than we now understand them.

And, it is humbling to know, when you finally think you understand something, to find that someone--Aristotle, for example--understood it more than three hundred years before the birth of Christ, and without the benefit of television documentaries.

This book should probably be in your library.

Joseph Pierre,
Author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity

this highly readable book will make you wonder why it ever had to be done that way in the 1st place?

(in my opinion, it probably has a lot to do with the male-dominated world of western medicine & their irrational space-age [read: godless] belief that hard, cold & sterile intervention is far superior to going with the flow of nature's [read: God's] ready-made birth process!)

& due to the inherent beauty of its subject matter, this book would make a great gift for just about anyone interested in children & the process of childbirth -- not just for the mother-to-be!

(although i would definitely give it to a mother-to-be if i thought she was just going to blindly trust herself, her body & her baby to the harsh processes of a "traditional" hospital delivery. in fact, in this dire case, i would have a WHOLE ARMFUL of reading material to give to her! but i would probably start with THIS book, because it is the most unthreateningly eloquent in startling one to the realization that there might be a kinder & gentler way ... )

&, because of its great beauty, i would unabashedly keep this one on the coffee table (if i had one!) for all to see ... :)

After reading this novel about 4 years ago, I went on to devour almost every other published work by this author. If you are Canadian, like me, I urge you to read Shadows on the Rock. This is a Cather novel set in 18th century Quebec City. A real gem.

But back to The Professor's House: Cather draws us in with the singularity of her main character. The professor is set apart from his wife and one of his daughters, disconnected from them by a lifetime of having to listen to and observe their pettiness. Connected to Tom Outland and to his youngest daughter, the professor flourishes. Aren't we all like this? There are kindred spirits and there are those who are not kindred spirits.

Because I love the landscape of New Mexico, I was thrilled with the descriptions of the ruins. Cather's love of this part of the world is reflected in much of her work. She is able to capture the emptiness and beauty of this stark landscape in her writing.

I have found some of Cather's work to be a bit ponderous. The Professor's House is one of her best novels. It has stood the test of time, which is what makes it literature. I'm also thrilled that a woman writer can be so successful at creating male characters. This is an art that many writers do not have.

The main character, the Professor, begins by tutoring Outland, even as Outland tutors the Professor's own daughters. Outland betrothes the eldest who benefits from Outland's creations with enormous riches. The youngest daughter languishes in the shadow of her older daughter's consumerism, which the mother encourages, much to the disinterest and dissatisfaction of the Professor.

The middle and last sections of this three-part book are wondrous and provide the ultimate redemption and "tutoring" for the Professor who is "saved" by the life which Outland has lived.

The setting for this book moves from the attic-office of the Professor in a small college town set on Lake Michigan to the mesas of the southwest. Each setting is beautifully described, in economical and lovely language.

This novel is a wonder! Perfect, and the best that I have read in a very, very long time.

Therefore this book have given me a lot of insight of how USA comes to be what it is now. And moreover, it can be read as a FORWARD-LOOKING book: the Globe is closer to the blink of Great Depression than ever. We can spot a lot of parallel between US then and US now: speculation of real estate, stock; the style of the media (aren't they all interested in soapie-like story?). As well, we can spot all the syndromes in our current econ situation that were present in US in 20's. If the world leaders cannot learn from History and steer the course correctly, we will soon dive into the merciless age of depression again, and soon someone else will follow the author and wrote us a book of World in 90's, "Yesterday Once More"(?!)

The first volume, which covers the conception of Western philosophy in the seed of the early Ionian thinkers, through the gestation of Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Zeno, Anaxagoras, and the Sophists, ultimately culminating in the birth of Western philosophy in the axis of Socrates-Plato-Aristotle and its post-Aristotelian Roman afterbirth, is a detailed and analytical discussion of the origins of Western thought. Complete in itself, it provides a comprehensive introduction to the beginnings of Western rationalism and a useful starting point for a general study of the history of philosophy in the West or a more detailed exploration of the ancient thinkers from the Pre-Socratics to Plotinus.

If any criticism can be made of Copleston's work, it is that his analyses are dominated by an overriding scholasticism, by Copleston's adherence to traditional, Thomist perspectives on these thinkers. This criticism is difficult to make, however, because he never minces words in disclosing his point of view and because, despite his own Jesuitical intellectual predilections, his treatment is always comprehensive, thoughtful and genuine.

Two aspects of Copleston's work make it especially masterful. First, he provides an excellent context for the material: He provides an engaging portrait of the era in which these philosophers lived, a brief biographical sketch about each philosopher, and a survey of their intellectual influences. Second, he provides an excellent analytic portrait of each philosopher's arguments, including a fairly comprehensive sketch of their positions, well-reasoned criticism, and a discussion of how the various philosophers' views interact. While Copleston is a Thomist, he is up-front about his philosophical leanings, and they are not detrimental to his presentation.

The reading is at times dense, and readers unfamiliar with Greek may find his penchant for including Greek terms and even phrases in the text confusing. Despite that, this book will be very rewarding for a reader committed to learning about ancient philosophy, who is willing to invest the time and energy it takes to get the most out of this book.

The first volume, which covers the conception of Western philosophy in the seed of the early Ionian thinkers, through the gestation of Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Zeno, Anaxagoras, and the Sophists, ultimately culminating in the birth of Western philosophy in the axis of Socrates-Plato-Aristotle and its post-Aristotelian Roman afterbirth, is a detailed and analytical discussion of the origins of Western thought. Complete in itself, it provides a comprehensive introduction to the beginnings of Western rationalism and a useful starting point for a general study of the history of philosophy in the West or a more detailed exploration of the ancient thinkers from the Pre-Socratics to Plotinus.

If any criticism can be made of Copleston's work, it is that his analyses are dominated by an overriding scholasticism, by Copleston's adherence to traditional, Thomist perspectives on these thinkers. This criticism is difficult to make, however, because he never minces words in disclosing his point of view and because, despite his own Jesuitical intellectual predilections, his treatment is always comprehensive, thoughtful and genuine.

As does My Antonia, The Lost Lady pictures the American frontier in the middle west and its closing due to urbanization, the demise of the pioneer spirit, and commercialization.

Together with its picture of the changing of the West, the book is a coming of age novel of a special sort and a portrait of a remarkable, because human and flawed, woman.

As with many of Cather's works the story is told by a male narrator, Neil Herbert. We see him from adolescence as an admirer of, and perhaps infatuated by Marian Forrester, the heroine and the wife of a former railroad magnate now settled on a large farm in South Dakota. Neil matures and leaves to go to school in the East. We see his idea of Ms. Forrester change as he learns that there is both more and less to her than the glittering self-assured woman that meets his young eyes.

The book is also the story of Marian herself, of her marriage, her self-assuredness, and her vulnerabilty. She is independent and a survivor and carries on within herself through harsh times and difficult circumstances, including the change in character of her adopted home in the midwest.

This is a tightly written, thoughtful American novel.

Over time, as Niel matures, his "lady" too ages. And when the Captain dies, she falls on bad times, hurt rather than aided by advice from her lawyer. Her fall however is as much moral as it is financial - or at least it is in Niel's eyes. He notes that she has begun to use cosmetics and sherry. He finds her voice too loud, her laughter too forced. Niel loses his lady- or perhaps he gives her up.

There is a kind of poignancy to this brief novel, and a unity that is as pleasing as the story itself. It is, on the one hand, the story of the West's golden youth and fading future. On the other hand, it is the story of a young man's growth and an aging woman's refusal to live as others would prefer.

I'm a little dismayed by [people] who suggest that Hitler was merely a sufferer of post-traumatic-stress syndrome after his experience in the trenches of WWI, and that Fest does a disservice (to Hitler?) by leaving this information out. But many people have suffered in the trenches in many wars without later moving on to attempt world domination and genocide.

In any case, Fest's biography omits nothing. It is written in a clear, beautiful language, and will leave you with an entirely new understanding of Hitler, Germans and Germany.

The evidence is there - ("Linking Infant Mortality and Stress - Many experts now conclude that stress causes release of hormones that weaken the uterus, leading to premature delivery or mortality," NY Times, Feb. 6, 2002) and the logic is obvious - you can't just take prenatal vitamins and exercise a little during pregnancy and expect to have a healthy baby if you're also angry, stressful, anxious, fighting with your partner or not sleeping. Think of the "acid rainshowers" you're causing in that womb.

Dr. Wirth explains how meditation, relaxation, spirituality and "fetal love breaks" can improve pregnancies and lessen the likelihood of premature births. This is information that every pregnant woman should have. Thank you, Dr. Wirth!