Architecture as Metaphor: Language, Number, Money (Writing Architecture)

Book Description

Kojin Karatani, Japan's leading literary critic, is perhaps best known for his imaginative readings of Shakespeare, Soseki, Marx, Wittgenstein, and most recently Kant. His works, of which Origins of Modern Japanese Literature is the only one previously translated into English, are the generic equivalent to what in America is called "theory." Karatani's writings are important not only for the insights they offer on the various topics under discussion, but also as an example of a distinctly non-Western critical intervention.

In Architecture as Metaphor, Karatani detects a recurrent "will to architecture" that he argues is the foundation of all Western thinking, traversing architecture, philosophy, literature, linguistics, city planning, anthropology, political economics, psychoanalysis, and mathematics. In the three parts of the book, he analyzes the complex bonds between construction and deconstruction, thereby pointing to an alternative model of "secular criticism," but in the domain of philosophy rather than literary or cultural criticism.

As Karatani claims in his introduction, because the will to architecture is practically nonoexistent in Japan, he must first assume a dual role: one that affirms the architectonic (by scrutinizing the suppressed function of form) and one that pushes formalism to its collapse (by invoking Kurt Godel's incompleteness theorem). His subsequent discussions trace a path through the work of Christopher Alexander, Jane Jacobs, Gilles Deleuze, and others. Finally, amidst the drive that motivates all formalization, he confronts an unbridgeable gap, an uncontrollable event encountered in the exchange with the other; thus his speculation turns toward global capital movement. While in the present volume he mainly analyzes familiar Western texts, it is precisely for this reason that his voice discloses a distance that will add a new dimension to our English-language discourse.

Customer Reviews:

A tremendous accomplishment!.......2000-02-18

This book is a tremendous accomplishment. An intellectual pleasure. In the first half of the book, Karatani deals with what he calls "the will to architecture". According to him, the whole Western philosophy has been constructed on the basis of "the will to architecture" since Plato. (Can we see here the influence on Karatani from Nietzsche?) What is interesting in his attempt to deconstruct this "will to architecture", or a "building" constructed by it, is that he tries to get "outside" of it by taking "the will to architecture" to the extreme. Karatani calls this procedure "formalization". He refuses to presuppose the "outside" intuitively. "The will to architecture" deconstructs itself by the extreme "formalization". However, though this attempt is an tremendous attempt, he finally abandons it. For he realized that he had to presuppose the viewpoint which can look at the totality of the system from above though he did so in order to deconstruct that very totality of the system. What he did after this "turn-around" is to turn to the "outside". It might sound naive, but this "outside" is not intuitive at all. The "outside" I am talking about here is the "other". This "other" is someone with whom you don't know whether you can communicate. The "other" is like a foreigner or a child. If you say something to him or her, you can never be certain whether what you are trying to say is communicated. This concept of the "other" has a lot of theoretical implications though I cannot talk about them here because of the limitation of the space. For example, you no longer need to worry about the prison-house of language. You don't have to suffer from the closedness of language. It is impossible to introduce everything Karatani says in this book. All I can say is "Just read the book." If you do, you will see a rare intellectual accomplishment in philosophy/theory.

Average customer rating:

Great baby book

Excellent baby book!

I love this Book!!!

Baby Circus My First Five Years: Flight Baby Record Book
Jean Marie Reed
Manufacturer: Cedco Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer

ASIN: 0768326818

Book Description

More than just a baby book, this volume encourages parents to keep a record of their child's development from birth to age five, with special sections for the starts and steps along the way. Heartwarming images by Jean Marie complement the baby's pictures and mementos. Friends, milestones, birthdays, handprints, health records, holidays, parties and more will be recalled with fondness in this very important book.

Customer Reviews:

Great baby book.......2007-04-05

I love this baby book because it includes just the right amount of information. Some baby books leave room for so much information that I wouldn't be able to keep up and others are too skimpy. I also love the spiral binding. It includes all the things I look for; A place for an ultrasound picture, a family tree/chart, current events (president, gas$$, ect.) and it goes up to Kindergarten. The only thing this is missing is an envelope in the back for extra mementos and pictures. The other reason I didn't put 5 stars is because the cover looks like it's a "boys" baby book, but it could be used for either.

Excellent baby book!.......2004-08-22

This is an excellent baby book. While I was pregnant with my 2nd daughter, I looked at every baby book I could and just couldn't find a satisfactory one. And since I wasn't too pleased with the book I used for my 1st daughter I didn't want to buy another one. I stumbled across this book and love it! It has spaces for so much information, including pictures. I am so glad I found this book. I am going to buy one for my friend.

I love this Book!!!.......2004-07-27

This is such a great book to keep track of all your baby's milestones! They grow so fast, it's hard to keep up with them, let alone remember when they did what. It makes a great gift to all new parents and parents to be! The circus theme is so cute and it works for a boy or a girl! The babies in the photographs are just adorable!!!

Average customer rating:

The Family Circus Memories
Bil Keane
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0449902587
Release Date: 1989-06-24

Book Description

This book presents guidelines to refine the skills of practitioners and students in the field of labor relations and collective bargaining. It integrates the principles of accounting, financial analysis, and labor relations.

Book Description

America's bestselling consulting author shows you how to create letters and brochures that get results!

In The Independent Consultant's Brochure and Letter Handbook, nationally recognized business and consulting authority Herman Holtz gives you expert advice on how to produce letters and brochures that demand attention and get results. Packed with samples that cover virtually every business situation, this unique handbook shows you how to turn your everyday correspondence into effective marketing tools for you and your consulting business. What's more, it will save you countless hours of struggling to write from scratch and leave you free to do more important work.

With the help of the samples in this invaluable reference guide, you'll be able to:

Plan, set goals, and devise strategies for all of your general business correspondence, including marketing, sales, and promotional letters
Create your own library of letters that can be easily adapted to different situations
Write and design different types of brochures—includes tips on when and how to use them
Use press releases and newsletters to keep regular clients and attract new ones

Plus, special appendices offer practical advice on copywriting, graphics, proposals, headlines, mailing list brokers, on-line services, and government electronic bulletin board services.

Customer Reviews:

Extremely Disappointing. Save Your Money..........2003-05-16

After having read two of Holz' other books, I was really looking forward to receiving the "...Brochure and Letter Handbook" -- particularly since our firm is currently revising its brochure. Unfortunately, the book spends most of its time describing the various types of brochures and their uses instead of how to actually write one. Important questions such as what sections should be included in the brochure? and what words and graphics are most powerful? have been glossed over. Instead, Holtz spends too much time describing the brochures he has included as examples. Whats wrong with this? Well, the examples are circa 1980s and even then they would have been considered relatively low quality. Suggestions to print or photocopy your narrative on blank pre-printed brochures is a sure way to announce to potential clients that "I am a low-quality, work-from-my-kitchen consultant." What about other components of your marketing kit? I haven't found any mention of such valuable additions. Consider Holtz's recommendation that, if you have a number of specialties, you should have several different brochures. Really? Maybe he should explain this to the world's largest consultancies. Instead, they typically use general brochures featuring folder pockets die-cut on the inner front and rear covers. This way they can continue to use their general brochure and then include a cover letter, additional material describing their specialities, articles their firms have written, a copy of their newsletter(s), press releases, client testimonials, and/or a host of other information. Holtz's examples of model letters are also horrible. The language, in particular, is noteable for its use of 1950s and 1960s style formality. Consulting is a business based upon relationships. Your letters, therefore, should be reflective of the relationships you've established (or wish to establish) with your clients. They should be warm, personable, and sincere. I'm so disappointed in this book that I'm thinking of reviewing my other Holz books with a more critical eye. If they don't measure up to my original evaluation, I'll discard them to make room for more valuable resources. Overall grade: D+/C-

Book Description

The contributions to this timely volume explore the social implications of labor market reforms, and assess the complex relationship between the economic and non-economic aspects of labor institutions. The authors ascertain that labor market systems have important social dimensions, including social benefits and effects on psychological well-being and on social relationships. They go on to argue that the evaluation of reforms should take into consideration this social impact.

The book examines the requirements for increased flexibility in contractual associations while maintaining social protection and job security. Using new utility criteria, guidelines for evaluating labor market and social protection system reform policies are recommended.

It is argued that policy evaluations should consider whether social benefits are compatible with the increased flexibility demanded by the marketplace, taking into account the complex social and cultural rules which affect human behavior, and the fact that individuals are concerned with issues such as fairness, status and the well-being of their fellow citizens.

Policymakers involved in government, international institutions, professional associations for social work and labor relations, unions and employer federations will find this book to be a useful and fascinating read. It will also be of great interest to scholars and students of labor economics, industrial relations and industrial economics.

Book Description

By Dr. Robert Coles, Dr. David Elkind, Dr. Lorraine Monroe, Rev. Charles Shelton, Rev. Buster Soaries, and others.

Within these covers, some of America's best-known educators, psychologists, and clergy members examine spiritual life among youth from many different cultural backgrounds. They share inspiring stories of young people rescued from lives of violence, neglect, and despair. Their essays offer insights gleaned from years of research and real-life experience in the trenches of street ministry.

This 225-page book begins with several examinations of what is known about the spiritual and moral life of at-risk youth and then presents four cultural perspectives of spirituality. The final four essays move from theory to practice as a teacher, two ministers, and a religious education director offer concrete strategies for affecting the spiritual lives of at-risk youth.

Book Description

This book gives an unparalleled insight into the organization, day-to-day life and psychology of Wellington's army, focusing on the characters that Wellington believed could go anywhere and do anything'. Wellington's Army examines both the leaders and the led; the daily life, manners and customs of the Peninsular Army are explored, drawing on dispatches, general orders and records of court martial, and, to a greater extent, non-official information such as diaries, memoirs and letters. A great deal of literature was produced during this period, written by both commissioned and non-commissioned soldiers. For the soldiers, the campaign became a battle against the Revolution, a kind of crusade, and an attempt to thwart the triple-headed monster of Republicanism, Atheism and Sedition. The soldiers of Wellington's army were fighting for all that made life worth living - religion, morality, constitution, laws and liberty.

Customer Reviews:

A Companion Volume to Oman's great history of the Peninsular War.......2006-04-25

British historian Charles Oman spend thirty years writing "The History of the Peninsular War." Although now somewhat dated, Oman's seven volume study may still be the best English language narrative history of the Peninsular War. Oman chose to include a significant collection of supporting materials on the British Army in a companion volume: "Wellington's Army 1809-1814."

In "Wellington's Army," Oman sketches the leadership, organization, tactics, and details about the life of the long-serving British field army in the Iberian Peninsula. His topics include Wellington's use of his infantry and cavalry, his conduct of supply and of sieges, and the means by which he disciplined his force.

Oman's long immersion in the correspondence and memoirs of the Peninsular Army leads to many worthwhile insights, including why Wellington was respected but not loved by his troops and why his army was so successful for so long against superior numbers of French forces. One example is Wellington's insistance on campaigning from an established supply chain, which allowed his army to remain concentrated in the field far longer than his French adversaries. The French Army of the time depended on forage and pillage for supply, and when concentrated into a large mass, quickly exhausted the available local supplies and was forced to disperse.

Oman provides useful insight into the manning of Wellington's army through the rotation of first and second battalions under the regimental system. An appendix documents why Britain strained to field Wellington's relatively small army in the Peninsula, given the competing demands of the world wide British Empire.

Oman does not spare Wellington's Army its faults. The conduct of siege warfare was never its strong suite. Wellington's force lacked engineers and sometimes the artillery and the time to conduct proper sieges. It was successful at Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz thanks to the bravery of its soldiers, not its technique, and failed at Burgos for want of serious preparation.

This book is highly recommended to students of the Peninsular War and of Wellington as a commander. The casual reader with some background in the British Army will also find this a worthwhile book. Oman's writing style is clear and readable. This Greenhill reprint is wonderfully priced and contains a small number of prints and all the excellent appendices of the original.

Wellington's army 1809-1814: By C.W.C. Oman

Average customer rating:

Wellington's army 1809-1814: By C.W.C. Oman
Charles William Chadwick Oman
Manufacturer: F. Edwards
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Oman | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

WELLINGTONS ARMY 1809-1814
C.. W. C. OMAN
Manufacturer: EDWARD ARNOLD
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000S94EBE

The general orders of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington ... in Portugal, Spain, and France, from 1809 to 1814;: In the Low Countries and France in 1815; ... above campaigns. By Lieut. Colonel Gurwood

Average customer rating:

The general orders of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington ... in Portugal, Spain, and France, from 1809 to 1814;: In the Low Countries and France in 1815; ... above campaigns. By Lieut. Colonel Gurwood
Arthur Wellesley Wellington
Manufacturer: Printed by W. Clowes and Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Portugal | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Spain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

The general orders of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington ... in Portugal, Spain, and France, from 1809-to 1814;: And the Low Countries and France, 1815

Average customer rating:

The general orders of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington ... in Portugal, Spain, and France, from 1809-to 1814;: And the Low Countries and France, 1815
Arthur Wellesley Wellington
Manufacturer: Printed by W. Clowes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Portugal | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Spain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008618LQ

Average customer rating:

Wellington's Army, 1809-1814

Manufacturer: GREENHILL BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HAN6FE

Average customer rating:

What an omission!

Warblers of Europe, Asia and North Africa (Helm Identification Guides)
Kevin Baker
Manufacturer: Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books | Excursion Guides | Field Guides | General
Ornithology | Zoology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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Thrushes

Pipits and Wagtails.

Shrikes: A Guide to the Shrikes of the World

Sparrows and Buntings: A Guide to the Sparrows and Buntings of North America and the World

Starlings and Mynas (Helm Identification Guides)

ASIN: 0713639717

Book Description

Warblers are the archetypal "little brown birds" that pose so many identification problems for birdwatchers. These problems are sometimes complicated by the fact that not all warblers are brown and small; some are brightly colored and relatively large. Jeff Baker helps novices and experts alike to steer away from such confusion in a unique book covering all old world warblers in Europe and Asia. The book describes in detail 145 species, including all aspects of identification and those species that are likely to be confused with one another. Sections on geographical variation, moult, voice, habitat and behavior, distribution, and measurements complete the guide, together with forty-eight color plates and numerous line drawings presenting every species and 140 color distribution maps showing breeding and wintering ranges.

Very few books have covered Asia in such detail, and none until now has brought together all the warblers of Europe and Asia in one place. Groups and species such as prinias and tailor birds are described extensively as never before. Warblers of Europe and Asia also presents warblers new to science and brings us up to date on the latest thinking on taxonomic treatment.

Customer Reviews:

What an omission!.......2001-10-20

In the same series as the Helm ID guides to bird families, a series that is apparently beating Handbook of Birds of the World in being the first to catalogue Passerines in detail this book like others in the series apparently offers a breadth of coverage including illustrations and species accounts but the volume is seriously flawed compared to all the rest.

It has chosen to avoid references to food and feeding except where considered essential to illustrate a point of habit. For a book that could never be used as a field guide as it is more taxonomic in coverage rather than geographical, this omission represents a grave error by the publishers. All the other volumes cover details of food and I can only say that the authors were lazy. They have no excuse.

They seem to think we the readers already know that warblers are insectivorous, but this fact is not really stated in the introduction to compensate for the omission. Hence this book is more a taxonomic list, not a monograph of the family. It perhaps ignores breeding as well (I was researching them for food details) - very very disappointing for a large group of birds not adequately covered elsewhere at the time of writing.

Average customer rating:
Warblers of Europe, Asia and North Africa. (book reviews): An article from: Wilson Bulletin
George A. Hall
Manufacturer: Wilson Ornithological Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Science | Subjects | Books
Science & Technology | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B00098BCV4
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Wilson Bulletin, published by Wilson Ornithological Society on September 1, 1998. The length of the article is 549 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Warblers of Europe, Asia and North Africa. (book reviews)
Author: George A. Hall
Publication: Wilson Bulletin (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 1998
Publisher: Wilson Ornithological Society
Volume: v110 Issue: n3 Page: p453(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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