This concise book is a much needed defence of the idea that there are exceptionless moral norms. Modernist theologians will not enjoy the way in which Finnis shows that their espousal of a proportianalist ethic is completely at odds with the entire Christian tradition. As well as thoroughly documenting the manipulation of textual evidence made by theological proportionalists, Finnis pungently demonstrates the philosophical incoherence of their position. In so doing, Finnis has many interesting things to say about the nature of freedom, and its relation to moral absolutes, and how our relation to intelligible goods and integral human fulfillment generates unconditional oughts in a way that doesn't fall foul of the Naturalistic fallacy. The final chapter of the book suggests that the proportianalist philosophy took hold amongst certain heterodox Catholic thinkers in an attempt to justify contraceptive sexual acts. The result of this attempt has been to promote an ethic which rejects not only the Church's teaching on contraception, but also the idea of any exceptionless moral norms. The irrationality of the arguments used in favour of proportionalism suggests a motivation on the part of modern theologians, far removed from the pursuit of truth. Admirers of Finnis will not be disappointed by this book, which furthers his reputation as one of the most important Natural Law thinkers.

When first considering the subject, the relations between the countries covered in Dr. Sodaro's book mights seem obscure, especially now with the end of the Cold War already a decade old. However, Dr. Sodaro's excellent book shows how these ties influence the whole continent and constitute a foundation of the events we see today. It's clearly written and a real treasure for specialist or generalist alike. Highly recommended!

Don't know about the book, but the author is one of the most exceptional people I have ever met in my life.

In brief, then, it is my opinion that this neat . . .onomastic anthology is indeed very readable.

Karina van Dalen-Oskam, as reviewed in the Autumn 1998 issue of VERBATIM, The Language Quarterly

This book is a history of the first attempt at modernity by a government in China. This is not to say there was no economic or social progress before the Republican Revolution, he's using the term "modernist" specifically to mean a government imbued with a particular worldview, reflected in discourse and practice, that is derived largely from intellectual trends during and after the 18th century European Enlightenment. The major elements are the cult of progress, belief in man as an active agent in contructing the world, and a belief that a scientific outlook can solve problems and create a rational order.

The key element in achieving modernity, according to this vision, and thus a goal of all the 20th century modernists--whether neo-Monarchists, republicans, the Nationalist or Communist Parties--is the construction of a unified cohesive social body. They thought that only after achieving this could society be reshaped in the necessary rational way. Interestingly, the author points out that neither Chinese nor Japanese language had a word for "society", in the post-European Enlightenment sense, and one had to be assigned this meaning (shehui), and it quickly took root in intellectual circles.

So how did the early parliamentary republicans, Sun Yat-Sen, and Chiang Kai-Shek (who brought the largely failed republican experiment to an end in 1927) attempt to go about achieving this cohesive unity and order in society? This forms the bulk of this book.

Why Canton? The author explains "The choice of Canton as a case study...is in part dictated by the fact that it was the site of [the first modernist] government. It is also my belief that only through the detailed and textured history of a locality can one have a sense of the life of the people, and the effects of the larger forces which shaped their milieu. This book is hence an exploration of how the lives of the inhabitants of a city intersected with the efforts of a group of modernist elites to reorder the realm."

So this book not only develops a thesis about modernity, but is also an important and detailed social history of Canton in the early 20th century (including the late Qing period).

Two areas that get special attention are the lives of workers and the attempts by the Guomindang (Nationalist Party) and the Communist Party (then working under the umbrella of the Guomindang), to mobilize labor, seen as an important step in reshaping society. But as the author shows, workers were a heterogeneous group, and didn't always follow the path desired by state and intellectual elites. This is perhaps not terribly different from how workers reacted to a different form of elite mobilization during the Cultural Revolution; see Elizabeth Perry "Proletarian Power: Shanghai During the Cultural Revolution". This leads the author to a larger point, that modernity usually cannot be imposed according to elite visions alone, but is "negotiated, contested, or even subverted by the newly mobilized constituents, as the history of Canton clearly demonstrates".

This book could be placed with other books to form a rich history of Canton:

'Heaven is High and the Emperor Far Away: Merchants and Mandarins in Old Canton' by Valery M. Garrett

'Canton under communism; programs and politics in a provincial capital, 1949-1968' by Ezra F. Vogel

'Socialist Welfare in a Market Economy: Social Security Reforms in Guangzhou, China' by Yongxin Zhou, Nelson Chow, Yeubin Xu

As the author notes, given the often conflicting interests between Guangdong province and Beijing today, "a closer look at the social history of a key southern urban center sheds some light on the tensions inherent in the process of national reconstruction."

Japanology is viewed with suspicion by scholars in less politically charged disciplines - and rightly so. For one thing, many of Americafs most visible and widely quoted Japanologists spend little time in Japan and thus are largely dependent on secondary or tertiary sources in trying to understand this most opaque of nations. As most of the secondary and tertiary sources are in one way or another mouthpieces of the Japanese systemfs extensive international public relations program (the gmutual understandingh industry), there are clear grounds for concern about their reliability and trustworthiness. Enter Brian McVeigh. A resident of Tokyo since the early 1990s, McVeigh is one of the few American Japanologists who can claim a truly authoritative first-hand knowledge of his subject. Moreover he brings to this ultra-political field, a mind that is unrivalled in its commitment to the most rigorous standards of intellectual honesty and impartiality. McVeigh views Japan through the lens of anthropology - and the picture he presents is a disturbing one. While less informed observers maintain that nationalism is dead in modern Japan, McVeigh expertly debunks this myth. Stating his case in the precise language of anthropology, McVeigh presents an electrifying picture of a nation driven from the top by authoritarian bureaucrats who pursue an uncompromisingly nationalistic - some would say profoundly xenophobic - agenda. As McVeigh shows again and again, the bureaucrats have left almost nothing to chance in building what will in the fullness of time come to be recognized as one of the strongest nation states in world history.

Eamonn Fingleton, Mita 2-chome, Tokyo

Of all the Naval Technology Reference works I've seen, and I've seen quite a few, this is by far the most comprehensive, detailed, and analytical of them all. Mr Baker has done a superb job in the amount, depth, and accuracy of his research, and has given the world an all-in-one reference work for the Naval Warfare genre. Whether you're looking for specifics on weapon systems, sensors, crew compliment, etc., there's no doubt that your questions will be thouroughly answered in his all-in-one, do-everything Naval Reference Work. I highly recommend it!

The "Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy" does for Naval engagements what the "West Point Historical Atlas" series has done for land wars: simplify and illustrate conflicts and put them into their proper historical context. Over 90 maps include all major naval accomplishments, including voyages and battles from the American Revolution to the Civil War to the birth of the nuclear Navy to Desert Storm. This book contains charts and maps of naval battles and voyages accompanied by a narrative text on a facing page that explains clearly what happened and why it was significant. The maps are in color and are easy to read. The text is not overly complicated, but not so simplified that it's useless. The authors strike a good balance here, providing a reference work that will be useful to both military historians or casual readers of military history. Highly recommended.

The Art of Africa NEGRO ART From the Institute of Ethnography, Leningrad with text by Dmitry Olderogge, photography by Werner Forman. List of Contents: Introduction - Prehistoric Africa - Benin Art - Notes on the Plates - Bibliography - Map of Africa - Plates.
©1969 PUBL: Paul Hamlyn, London. Dimensions (in inches): 9.5 x 11.0. Includes 168 plates in colour and black/white.
...This text refers to an out of print or unavailable Hard Cover edition of this title.

This book is a monumental work on Buddhist monuments in Kathmandu Valley (Nepal). It has requred a thorough study and long periods of fielwork in the country itself. Not only the graphics, including black-and-white photos and line drawings, give a very elegant impression, but the reader is also impressed of the very thorough and accurate descriptions of monuments with technical terms given in Sanskrit or local languages. Though this work gives a lot to those who are eager to study the history of oriental arts, its mere browsing is delightful to anyone.