Eli Ginzberg: The Economist as a Public Intellectual (Festschriften)

Book Description

This revised edition of a landmark biography follows the life of basketball star Isiah Thomas from his childhood on Chicago's South Side to his current position as president of the New York Knicks. His entire professional and athletic career is covered, including his successful collegiate career with Indiana University and his role in turning the Detroit Pistons' squad from one of the league's laughingstocks to an NBA powerhouse. All aspects of Thomas's contributions are examined to reveal how he revolutionized the game with his energy and skill, introduced professional basketball to Canada, and transitioned to his controversial roles off the court as coach and executive.

Book Description

3-D Movies is the first full and accurate history of the 3-D film from the earliest part of the twentieth century to the present. Full technical specifications are included, sometimes with equipment photos. An exhaustive filmography covers over 200 films with never-before-published credits and details.

The serious researcher and 3-D fan alike will be delighted to find here details unavailable from any other source on such features as The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Dial M for Murder, House of Wax, Captain EO, Metalstorm, Hondo, Kiss Me Kate, Miss Sadie Thompson.... The book is profusely illustrated with stills, ad illustrations and behind-the-scenes photos.

Customer Reviews:

Excelent book as a reference guide.......2003-09-05

The first part of this book covers the historic aspects of Stereoscopic film making and is well written and interesting but the majority of the book is a reference guide to 3D movies. It is a great reference guide for anyone interested in 3D movies but it is not the greated book if you are looking for an in depth historical look at this genre. If you are a true 3D movie fan, this book is an indespensable reference.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Notes, published by Music Library Association, Inc. on December 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1886 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: False Prophet: Fieldnotes from the Punk Underground.(Book Review)
Author: Steve Waksman
Publication: Notes (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2004
Publisher: Music Library Association, Inc.
Volume: 61 Issue: 2 Page: 467(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

False Prophet: Fieldnotes from the Punk Underground.

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False Prophet: Fieldnotes from the Punk Underground.

Manufacturer: 2003
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ICDQJW

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False Prophet: Fieldnotes from the Punk Underground.
Steven Taylor
Manufacturer: 2003
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TAA37G

Book Description

If you’re using Excel 2003 and you’d rather be working on your projects instead of plodding through everything you could ever need to know (and may never need to know) about Excel, this is the reference for you. In a compact, info-packed, spiral-bound book that puts the facts you need at your fingertips, it covers the basics most Excel users need to know, including:

Opening, saving protecting, and recovering workbook files and using workbook templates
Adding, copying, and deleting worksheets, e-mailing worksheet data, and publishing worksheet data to the Web
Entering and editing data and text and working with cells and ranges
Creating formulas and functions
Creating and using names
Auditing, formatting, and printing your work
Charting your data
Analyzing data with pivot tables

Product Description

The Microsoft Office Deluxe 2003 Quick Start Card Bundle includes everything you'll need to learn the basic features of Microsoft 2003 - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher & Access. The following Quick Start Cards are included: Microsoft Word 2003 Quick Start Card, Microsoft Excel 2003 Quick Start Card, Microsoft Outlook 2003 Quick Start Card, Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 Quick Start Card, Microsoft Publisher 2003 Quick Start Card, Microsoft Access 2003 Quick Start Card

Microsoft Office 2003 Quick Reference Card Basic Bundle-4 MS Office Productivity Software Quick Start Training Cards: Word, Excel, Outlook & PowerPoint. Learn Shortcuts, Cheats, Tips & Tricks Guides. 6 Pages Ea, Tri-Fold. Stores Easy. Office 2003 (Software Quick Reference Cards)

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Quick Start Cards a must have....

Microsoft Office 2003 Quick Reference Card Basic Bundle-4 MS Office Productivity Software Quick Start Training Cards: Word, Excel, Outlook & PowerPoint. Learn Shortcuts, Cheats, Tips & Tricks Guides. 6 Pages Ea, Tri-Fold. Stores Easy. Office 2003 (Software Quick Reference Cards)

Manufacturer: BrainStorm Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Cards

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Office 2003 All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies

ASIN: B000PHGYJ4

Product Description

The Microsoft Office Standard 2003 Quick Start Card Bundle includes everything you'll need to learn the basic features of Microsoft Word 2003, Microsoft Excel 2003, Microsoft PowerPoint 2003, and Microsoft Outlook 2003. The following Quick Start Cards are included: Microsoft Word 2003 Quick Start Card, Microsoft Excel 2003 Quick Start Card, Microsoft Outlook 2003 Quick Start Card, Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 Quick Start Card

Customer Reviews:

Quick Start Cards a must have...........2007-06-26

Once we received the Quick Start cards for MS Office 2003, we used them to create Office training for our employees, that covered the ins and outs of Office. The cards have proven very valuable.

Microsoft Excel 2003 Reference Card - Handy Durable Tri-Fold MS Excel 2003 Tip & Tricks Guide. 6 Total Pages. Stores Easily. Ultimate Reference for Shortcuts, Tips & Cheats for Excel Spreadsheet 2003. (Software Quick Reference Cards)

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Just the facts!

Microsoft Excel 2003 Reference Card - Handy Durable Tri-Fold MS Excel 2003 Tip & Tricks Guide. 6 Total Pages. Stores Easily. Ultimate Reference for Shortcuts, Tips & Cheats for Excel Spreadsheet 2003. (Software Quick Reference Cards)

Manufacturer: BrainStorm Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Cards

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: B000NNGUAI

Product Description

BrainStorm's Excel 2003 Quick Start Cards give Excel users a quick and tangible reference to help them perform standard tasks like importing data to more complex tasks like creating PivotTables, plus it included instruction on topics such as: Document Workspaces, Special Cell Formatting, Customizing Charts, Updating External Data, Absolute vs. Relative References, Productivity Shortcuts, Pivot Tables & More. This durable laminated tri-fold card is perfect to hang in a cubicle for all-day reference or to travel with in a laptop bag. The full-color step-by-step illustrated instructions on each of the 6 full pages of content can also reduce the stress new users feel when they learn a new program like Excel.

Customer Reviews:

Just the facts!.......2007-07-13

And the shortcuts too! I wanted a quick reference tool and this one is perfect for me. It has hundreds of well laid out commands, shortcuts, procedures and more! I won't have to fumble thru my large manual anymore when I need a quick fact. Plus it's laminated to last a long time. In addition I placed a large order from several suppliers and indicated 2 Day Shipping...Brainstorm Publishing was the only one who delivered on time. So am I happy? You bet!
J-Lo

Book Description

Galileo, one of history's best-known scientists, is introduced in this illuminating activity book. Children will learn how Galileo's revolutionary discoveries and sometimes controversial theories changed his world and laid the groundwork for modern astronomy and physics. This book will inspire kids to be stargazers and future astronauts or scientists as they discover Galileo's life and work. Activities allow children to try some of his theories on their own, with experiments that include playing with gravity and motion, making a pendulum, observing the moon, and painting with light and shadow. Along with the scientific aspects of Galileo's life, his passion for music and art are discussed and exemplified by period engravings, maps, and prints. A time line, glossary, and listings of major science museums, planetariums, and web sites for further exploration complement this activity book.

Customer Reviews:

Most of the activities in this book on Galileo are really scientific experiments.......2006-03-03

The only real complaint about "Galileo for Kids: His Life and Ideas, 25 Activities," is that I doubt there is a teacher in the country who would spend long enough on the famous scientist to do all of these activities. If they got to double figures that would be pretty impressive, but also somewhat doubtful. However, there are certainly some choice activities in this book by Richard Panchyk (Buzz Aldrin does the foreword) that will not only get young students interested in the life of Galileo but also fan their interest in the sciences.

This book makes it clear that while he is best known as an astronomer, Galileo was a genius who enjoyed science, mathematics, music, and art, and someone who sough the truth and believed there was no substitute for observation and experimentation. Despite being forced by the Church to recant his discovery that the sun was the center of the universe, Panchyk makes it clear that Galileo believed both science and religion help us to know ourselves. After a Timeline that begins with a new star being observed by the Chinese in 1054 to Galileo being reburied with proper honors in 1737, and a map of Italy, this book turns to Science and Astronomy Before Galileo, to set up how important he was in changing things. Astronomers including Peter Apian, Nicolaus Copernicus and Tycho Brahe are covered, as well as the Comet of 1577. The activities here include making initial lunar observations and how to use raw data, so you can see there is an initial focus on scientific metrology.

The second chapter details the Beginnings of Galileo's life, where you not only get to cook a renaissance meal (meatballs and pea soup), but also get to make a pendulum and pulsilogia. In chapter 3, Position at Pisa, Galileo began his career as a scientist. There are also sidebars on Dante, Johannes Kepler, and the Medicis so the religious, scientific and political contexts of the time are covered as well. Activities include not only the famous gravity experiment, put also the properties of the ellipse and the second part of lunar observation. The Telescope is the focus of the next chapter, which includes an aperture experiment and the floating needle experiment.

The Storm Builds is the subject of chapter five, signifying the coming collision between Galileo's science and the religion of the day. Here the activities are the perception of illumination and the mathematical problem represented by the roll of the dice (plus making a care package for Galileo because of the plague). Chapter six covers The Two Systems, with experiments on relative motion and projective motion. However, most of these chapters tell the story of what happened when Galileo was called before the Inquisition. Galileo's Last Days are covered in the last chapter, along with experiments on accelerated motion and charting the cycloid curve. The look at the life and times of Galileo is pretty strong to begin with, so when you add the activities and see that the vast majority of them are practical scientific experiments, then you have to be even more impressed. In fact, I could be wrong: I can now see a teacher breaking up the class into lots of groups and having them do different activities and sharing the results with their classmates, so getting to double figures could be pretty easy (although making meatballs can be seen as being practical too, since kids have to eat).

Throughout the book there are illustrations of the people, places and things in Galileo's life, many of which are contemporary to his time. The back of the book includes several pages of Resources. There are lists of the Popes and Grand Dukes of Tuscany during Galileo's time, a Glossary of Key Terms from "abjuration" to "volume," Key People from Peter and Philip Apian to Vincenzo Viviani, and Key Places from Arcetri to Venice. A list of Galileo's key writings is provided, along with some web sites specific to his life and works, and there is also a list of Planetariums an Astronomy/Space Museums to be found in fourteen states and the District of Columbia. If you are not tired you can also check out the Selected Bibliography before we finally get to the Index.

The final thing that needs to be said is that this is but one volume in the For Kids series. There are over a dozen volumes that I know about for sure. The one's under "A" consist of "Africa for Kids," "American Folk Art for Kids," "The American Revolution for Kids," and "Archaeology for Kids." Those four titles along should give you a good idea of the scope of the series. So teachers might only use a couple of activities from this book, but they can do the same for units on Leonardo da Vinci, Lewis and Clark, the Civil Rights Movement, and know that Chicago Review Press will be adding volumes to this wonderful series for some time to come.

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This Book is Awsome! BUY IT!

Couldn't make it through

Joy, High Self Esteem, Confidentence, Abundance

Awesome and empowering!

And the point was...?

Seductress: Women Who Ravished the World and Their Lost Art of Love
Elizabeth Prioleau
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
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The Book of the Courtesans: A Catalogue of Their Virtues

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Mama Gena's School of Womanly Arts : Using the Power of Pleasure to Have Your Way with the World

COURTESANS

Sacred Pleasure: Sex, Myth, and the Politics of the Body--New Paths to Power and Love

ASIN: 0143034227
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Book Description

In this road map to restoring feminine sexual power, Betsy Prioleau introduces and analyzes the stories and stratagems of historyÂ's greatest seductresses. These are the women who ravished the worldÂ—from such classic figures as Cleopatra and Mae West to such lesser-known women as the infamous Violet Gordon Woodhouse, who lived in a mÃ©nage with four men. Smarts, imagination, courage, and killer charm helped these love maestras claim the men of their choice and keep them fascinated for life. Through an exposÃ© of their secrets, Seductress provides an authoritative, empowering guide to erotic sovereignty.

Customer Reviews:

This Book is Awsome! BUY IT!.......2007-10-16

This book compiles famous seductresses through out history who got the men they wanted and much more. Some of these women were bitches plain and simple, but alot them just wanted more out of life then what society said they could have.

You may read a opinion on here that says "the wanted power not love." The fact is they wanted both. They thought very higly of them selves and wanted to be treated equally, alot of the men they met didn't like that idea so they were permently appalled at the idea of marrige.

These women, the good and the bad, each have something to teach the modern woman. Have confidence, speak eloquently, be confident with your sexuality, demand your equal share in the bedroom, absorb knowledge from as many sources interest and DON'T be ashamed of it.

Some people will call these women sluts, but sluts aren't picky and these women got the cream of the crop. Even if you find no practical use for this book, the stories about these unique women are well worth it. The funny, crazy, illegal, and ahead of their time antics will make you laugh and shock you. This book is well worth each of the stars I gave it. Enjoy this book.

Couldn't make it through.......2007-02-03

Even though I was excited to read this book and fascinated by the subject matter, I just couldn't slog through it. Prioleau should have written either: 1) an academic study of the seductress as mythological figure and icon in history, or 2) a light, fun, flippant, sexy book for modern women about the art and history of seductresses. What she's doing instead is trying to merge the two, and it's awful. Her tone is saucy and sassy, but the sorts of comparisons she's making are more suited to an academic, professional voice. She writes as if she's trying to be the reader's bosom friend, but she can't help peppering her language with little French phrases (far, far too many little French phrases). She's not using footnotes, but she can't resist quoting from sources, so the reader has to page to the back of the book and find the reference in a list sorted by chapter and page number. I would rather have either easily-accessible footnotes, or else no quotations at all but an annotated source list for each topic at the end of the book. Overall, she comes off like an overweight, matronly, middle-aged history professor who's trying desperately to be "hip to the lingo" and the best friend of all her students when everyone would like her better if she'd just cut the cutesy act and be herself. Because of the style she's adopted, I don't have much confidence in her as a scholar, and I can't stand her as a writer.

Prioleau's writing is even more disappointing because the subject matter is really interesting! I *want* to read about seductresses. She covers famous and not-so-famous seductresses from history, women who really took the world by the balls and got what the wanted out of life, and I'm genuinely interested in reading their stories. But she insists on comparing each one to a mythological goddess, when there's no reason to do so! Each figure is fascinating in her own right, without the need to be likened to a Neolithic owl-headed goddess figurine. I agree that it's important to discuss the goddesses, that goddesses should get their own chapter, but the mythology and the primeval worship of female sexuality is done to death here. I would have much preferred to see each historical seductress appreciated for herself, for her own unique way of seducing and claiming power, than as an aspect of some ancient magical womanly life force. I understand what Prioleau is trying to do, but it's not working.

I made it halfway through the second chapter before I had to put this book down in annoyance. I would read it happily if it was an academic book or if it was fun, light nonfiction. But it's neither, and the mash-up means that I'm turning away from a topic I honestly want to read about because of the author's writing style.

Joy, High Self Esteem, Confidentence, Abundance.......2007-01-12

.
These women grabbed the world by the balls and had their way with it.

I think the reviewers who slam this book can't stand to see a powerful woman.

I love powerful women.

Bravo Betsy Prioleau

Awesome and empowering!.......2006-10-27

I think what many of the previous reviewers found offensive was that the author turned the sexual double standard on its head; the old "promiscuous men are studs and pimps, promiscuous women are slut and whores" axiom. In this book, promiscuous women who enjoyed sex and didn't allow men to objectify them are the real and ultimate pimps, the studs. These women took on the male role of sexual conquerer and they are seen in a positive light for it. Although I personally can't imagine this being a satisfying lifestyle, I think it's awesome that some women have really put on the boys' shoes, dodged marriage and commitment, had successful careers, pursued attractive men, and toyed with lovers.
Women's sexuality is so often used against them, so often seen as their weakness that it is disturbing to the popular mind to see women using their sexuality, which society says is their mortal Achilles heel to be exploited by men, to their advantage. The notion that women would use the very weapon that's brandished against them to conquer the world is terrifying. It's okay to see women on the front of magazines displaying themselves for men's pleasure, but it's *not* okay when they use that display for their own personal gain, their own pleasure. They become dangerous.
And this wonderful book is about dangerous women. It's delightfully readable. It shows how many very accomplished women have been mistreated by historians (Did you know Cleopatra was *also* a great ruler, besides just being the mistress of Mark Antony? Did you know she was ugly?) It also shows how many women, notorius and famous and incredibly influential on the course of history, have been deliberately and systematically ignored in the history books, their names and faces lost to time immediately after their deaths. The author resurrects these powerful forgotten figures. Also fantastic was her classifications for these women -- ugly seductresses, old seductresses, musicians, politicians, artists, ect. The point is that these women didn't just have great sex -- which is what we usually think of when we envision a seductress. No, they seduced *the minds* of the public, of powerful figures, they used charisma to get what they wanted. And it's important to note that this is *not* unlike what men do to succeed in their careers! Men too use charm, charisma, their looks and body language to overcome objection and succeed in life. When this author uses the term "seductress", she really doesn't mean a woman who can get lots of people to sleep with her; that's not much of a talent at all. To this author, seductresses inspired devotion, respect, love, lust, envy, professional admiration, and shifted the social politics of their time.
Besides that, the writer is exciting and dynamic. Her style is action oriented and packs a real punch.
I have one gripe. The goddess theme was soooooo irritating. Soooooo irritating. Every woman had to be compared to Innana or some other goddess. It's easy, though, to skip over these paragraphs because they are sort of clearly marked in the text, so you can easily hop over them and get to the good parts. Don't let it keep you from buying this very pleasurable, empowering, beautiful book.

And the point was...?.......2006-08-13

I was excited to read the book because it talked about even how unattractive or intelligent women can be seductresses. However, all the author talked about was how the various artists, intellectuals, and adventurers used sex to get what they wanted from men. Basically, the author reduces women to physical beings and tries to justify this treatment by comparing the women in her book to the Sumerian goddess, Inanna. There was no everlasting love for these women, a myth if there ever was one. And then Prioleau claims that if women reclaim their sexual selves, they will gain the everlasting love that has been eluding them. Essentially, the book is BS and I wouldn't give this book to anyone. I would actually advise friends and family members to avoid it at all costs. It just perpetuates the image of women as sexual creatures to be used by men in exchange for power, money, fame, and security.

Average customer rating:

An Fascinating Study of Crackpot Theories

A Classic Statement of Skepticism toward Pseudoscience, but one Exceptionally Reflective of the Time in which it was Written

Necesary

It's been going on a long time.

A classic sadly situated

Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science (Popular Science)
Martin Gardner
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books
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The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions

ASIN: 0486203948

Book Description

Fair, witty appraisal of cranks, quacks, and quackeries of science and pseudoscience: hollow earth, Velikovsky, orgone energy, Dianetics, flying saucers, Bridey Murphy, food and medical fads, more. "A very able and even-tempered presentation." — The New Yorker.

Customer Reviews:

An Fascinating Study of Crackpot Theories.......2007-06-09

Gardner's book is an essential read for any educated person. Gardner debunks creationism in a chapter entitled "Geology verses Genesis." This short essay is a masterpiece and highly recommended. It ends with the following quote from fifteen-hundred-years ago by St. Augustine:

"It very often happens there is some question as to the earth or sky, or other elements of the world...respecting which, on e who is not a Christian has knowledge...and it is very disgraceful and mischievous and of all things to be carefully avoided, that a Christina speaking of such matters as being according to the Christian Scriptures, should be heard by an unbeliever talking such nonsense that the unbeliever perceiving him to be as wide from the mark as east from west, can hardly restrain himself from laughing."

I would also highly recommend Robert Wauchope's "Lost Tribes and Sunken Continents: Myth and Method in the Study of the American Indians." Click here to see my review: Lost Tribes and Sunken Continents Myth Method in the

Another essential book is "The Mound Builders: The Archaeology of a Myth," by Robert Silverberg: Mound Builders

Finally, there is the short classic that every educated person should read: "The True Believer," by Eric Hoffer. Click here: The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements (Perennial Classics)

Hoffer's 150-page book applies perfectly to our times. Hoffer hits the mark again and again with "Machiavellian detachment" as one reviewer said. Of fanatics, Hoffer wrote:

"The effectiveness of a doctrine should not be judged by its profundity, sublimity or the validity of the truths it embodies, but by how thoroughly it insulates the individual from his self and the world as it is."

"The effectiveness of a doctrine does not come from its meaning but from its certitude."

"It is obvious, therefore, that in order to be effective a doctrine must not be understood, but has to be believed in. We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand. A doctrine that is understood is shorn of its strength." (quotations from page 76)

Very powerful and convincing reasoning!

A Classic Statement of Skepticism toward Pseudoscience, but one Exceptionally Reflective of the Time in which it was Written.......2007-01-22

In many ways this is a fascinating book, and one that may say as much about the time in which it was written as it does about the subject, pseudoscience, that it investigates. First published in 1952 by G.P. Putnam's Sons, it was revised and expanded in 1957 and it is this second edition that I discuss here. It presents a concerted attack on various ideas, many of them aimed at self-improvement, that have a veneer of the scientific mindset about them but that have little relationship to science. All are critiqued mercilessly and dismissed as utter nonsense. Martin Gardner skewers such cults as Charles Fort and the Fortean Society, William Reich and orgone sex energy, L. Ron Hubbard and Dianetics, and A. Korzybski and General Symantics. He also critiques of ideas about the hollow Earth, Velikovsky's wandering planets, phrenology, flying saucer groups, Lysenkoism, Atlantis and Lemuria, and creationism. Had it been written more recently it would no doubt have also included Erich von Daniken's ancient astronauts espoused in the 1960s in "Chariots of the Gods" and the cold fusion furor from the 1980s.

Gardner recounts the stories of what he fully believes are cases of fraud with gusto and not a little humor. For him, it seems to be something of a guilty pleasure to chuckle about these various beliefs, ill-informed and sometimes duplicitous though they may be. At some level, this is an outgrowth of the era in which he wrote this book. In the heady environment after World War II, in which modern science and technology may well have saved Western Civilization, it is easy to see how Americans could express a broad faith in scientific knowledge to solve almost any problem. The immediate postwar era in which Martin Gardner wrote "Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science" found the application of wartime mobilization models for science also being applied to peacetime problems. In 1952, the same year that Gardner published his first edition of this book, Edward Everett Hazlett wrote to presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower about declaring "War on Untimely Death." He suggested that a widespread government effort to "smash the atoms" of disease "seems no more likely to fail than did that on the atom. It has, in addition, the spiritual advantage of being a campaign to save life and not to take it" (quoted on p. 164 in Brian Balogh, "Reorganizing the Organizational Synthesis: Federal-Professional Relations in Modern America," Studies in American Political Development 5 (Spring 1991): 119-72). Such faith in science and technology motivated all manner of activities in the twenty years after World War II and Americans yielded to the authority of experts with something akin to a religious conversion experience through at least the middle part of the 1960s.

In such an environment, Martin Gardner's critique of these "fads and fallacies" seems almost sui generis. It is a classic in skepticism and well worthy of in depth consideration. At the same time, I would recommend that readers explore this book more as a statement of the time in which it was written, enjoyable and amusing at times, as well as informative, but also dismissive and demeaning toward those individuals and groups who accepted these various ideas.

Necesary.......2006-11-13

Thsi kind of book is necesary. People must learn to see things sith skepticism and have the information needed to accpets thinks on a logic basis. Th eonly problem with this book (the reason I don't give 5 stars to it) is its age. Maybe Mr Gardner (I hoe he es still alive, I remember his column in Scientific American) could bring ot to day.

It's been going on a long time........2005-11-30

This book covers a sampling of pseudoscientific claims from UFOs, Dianetics, bogus food and medical claims, and other areas. The chilling part for me is that every major cranky notion and con on the internet and pop tv are in this book, and the book is over 50 years old. There just might be something to reincarnation, because I left this book with the feeling that a sucker is re-born every minute.

A classic sadly situated.......2005-08-19

Even though this book sadly ended up in the canon of "skeptics" literature - and therefore in perhaps the silliest and most unselfconsciously backward genre - it is still a fantastic must-read. Gardner "debunks" a bunch of wacky ideas and movements which have, in one way or another, tried to promote themselves by cashing in on our culture's allegiance to the scientific trump card. Gardner's strategy, rather than to criticize this allegiance, is to preserve the allegiance and to argue that these ideas are not what can properly be called "science."

Gardner has made a career out of evangelizing the so-called "demarcation criteria" - the (somewhat) Popperian rules for discerning science from "pseudo-science." In it's heyday, this chestnut did a lot to help anglophone philosophers of science focus their discourse. Today Michael Shermer has taken over where Gardner left off but Shermer lacks what I consider to be the wit, breadth of knowledge and dryness that makes Gardner such a fun read. And besides, Gardner was writing in a time when the demarcation criteria was taken a lot more seriously than it is today. I've been a Martin Gardner fan since I was a little boy transfixed by his "Perplexing Puzzles and Tantalizing Teasers."

Gardner's prose is superb. Sure he does a lot of name-calling, but he does it with style and dry humor and the people he calls names really kind of deserve it. This book is a true and lovable classic that belongs on your bookshelf next to Huff's "How To Lie With Statistics." The Dover paperback is remarkably rugged.

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Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science
Martin Gardner
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KB9YJW

Average customer rating:

Fads & Fallacies: In The Name of Science.
Martin. Gardner
Manufacturer: New American Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000P626SS

FADS AND FALLACIES in the Name of Science

Average customer rating:

FADS AND FALLACIES in the Name of Science
MARTIN GARDENER
Manufacturer: Dover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IF95FI

Average customer rating:

Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
Martin Gardner
Manufacturer: Dover Publications Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NX8TWK

FADS AND FALLACIES IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE (FORMERLY PUBLISHED UNDER THE TITLE IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE)

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FADS AND FALLACIES IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE (FORMERLY PUBLISHED UNDER THE TITLE IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE)

Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H434WU

Fads and Fallacies: In the Name of Science (Masterpieces of Science)

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Fads and Fallacies: In the Name of Science (Masterpieces of Science)

Manufacturer: Dover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000E0SUMQ

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Fads & Fallacies In the Name of Science
Martin Gardner
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NX5CVG

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Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science
Martin Gardner
Manufacturer: NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UKOG4Q

Average customer rating:

Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science
Martin Gardner
Manufacturer: NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QA0H20

Book Description

Why should any society take the decision to devote scarce resources, as a matter of public policy, to preserving natural objects? This is one of the questions considered in the field of environmental ethics, and the thinking that has taken place in this discipline has been dominated by the 'ecocentric-anthropocentric' distinction. Answers focus on either 'intrinsic values in nature', or on the human welfare benefits that will accrue from preservationist policies. These two answers are generally taken to be both mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive. Ecocentric writers believe that their preferred environmental ethic transcends anthropocentrism, whilst those who cleave to a more 'ecological humanist' position, view the turn to ecocentrism as at best an unnecessary diversion or at worst as a thinly disguised expression of misanthropy. This book looks afresh at the question of justifying nature preservation as public policy and challenges the dominant ecocentric-anthropocentric dichotomy. It undertakes a detailed analysis of the ontology and ethics of ecocentrism, of social ecology - as a self-proclaimed new-humanist' form of ecological ethics - and of eco-Marxism - an example of an ecological philosophy that claims to 'transcend' the ecocentric-anthropocentric divide. This shows that there is an 'embedded humanism' within ecocentrism that provides the resources to move beyond the ecocentric-anthropocentric dichotomy. The analysis also shows, however, that this dichotomised framework distorts the understanding of substantive moral positions in the debate that has taken place between thinkers from different ecological schools. The failure of ecocentrism lies not in its substantive moral position, but in its attempt to render the justification for preservationism non-contingent. The insights drawn from the analytical sections are pulled together in the final chapter in order to suggest a basis for justifying nature preservation as a public policy that escapes the sterile, distorting ecocentric-anthropocentric dichotomy. The author claims that an argument from 'strong irreplaceability', compatible with both human-centered and nature-centered concerns, provides the strongest grounds for the justification of a public policy of nature preservation.

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