Jacob H. Schiff: His Life and Letters, Part 1

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Jacob H. Schiff: His Life and Letters, Part 1
Cyrus Adler
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Jacob H. Schiff: His Life and Letters, Part 2

ASIN: 0766162532

Book Description

Volume 1 of 2. These volumes represent the biographical account of Jacob H. Schiff, the American banker and philanthropist. Written by a very close acquaintance of Schiff, this account of his life is as close to an autobiography as can be without his writing it himself. Schiff was a partner in Kuhn, Loeb and Company, later becoming the head of the firm. He was known for his role with E.H. Harriman against J.P. Morgan and Company and J.J. Hill in the struggle for control of the Northern Pacific Railroad, which later led to the stock market panic of May 9, 1901. His philanthropies included establishing a Semitic Museum at Harvard University, a chair for the study of German culture at Cornell, as well as various hospitals and schools of higher education.

Book Description

From his heroic exploits playing schoolboy Rugby League for Queensland and Rugby Union for Australia, Wally Lewis carved out a brilliant representative career spanning three decades.A player of truly awesome skill and power, he became the all-conquering Emperor of Lang Park and the controversial King of Australian Rugby League.Dominating the early, tempestuous years of State of Origin football, he was the first player signed by the Brisbane Broncos - only to be sacked as captain and dramatically cut from the club. Plagued by injury, he struggled against both politics and pain to stay at the top of one of the world's toughest sports.Drawing on his acclaimed earlier trilogy (King Wally, Wally and the Broncos and The Emperor), award-winning writer Adrian McGregor tells in graphic detail the inside stories, the disasters and triumphs of Wally Lewis's eventful life and playing career, including his life after football.The first complete biography of this legendary champion, Wally Lewis: Forever The King makes available in one highly readable volume League's most engrossing personal saga.

Book Description

This work covers Bronson's entire output in film and on television, and includes many film stills and photographs. Alphabetical entries list film or episode, complete cast and credits, and year of release. Accompanying each entry's plot synopsis and discussion is a survey of the critical responses to the work.

The great Charles Laughton once said Bronson "has the strongest face in the business, and he is also one of its best actors." Pretty high praise for an actor who, though loved by fans worldwide, has been consistently underestimated by critics. Bronson's career has spanned five decades, from such television appearances in The Fugitive, Rawhide, Bonanza and Have Gun, Will Travel as well as the telemovie A Family of Cops (1995) and its two sequels. He will long be remembered for his role as urban vigilante Paul Kersey in the Death Wish films. Bronson is one of the most enigmatic, and also most recognizable, of all film stars.

Customer Reviews:

Essential...for the time being........2000-03-07

As an avid Bronson fan I've been looking forward to a book like this one for the longest time. This particular book has been under way for quite a while, having been postponed several times. Now it's finally here, and the result is so-so. Since Bronson apparently has stopped acting now, it's nice to have a complete overlook of all his work. However, what disappoints me a bit is how little Pitts talks about each movie. -There's lots more to be said about these films, many of them classics, but what you get here is all one is allowed to expect from a reference book, I guess. (-Although McFarland have produced similar books on actors with more thorough discussions, like the brilliant one about Peter Cushing's movies.) Also, and it may just be my copy of the book, but the photos seem to be reproduced not dark enough. Despite these shortcomings it's still a sure-buy for fans, but the ultimate fact-filled book on the films of Mr. Bronson is yet to be written.

Customer Reviews:

History Illuminated.......2006-02-23

The book starts off with a short but very enjoyable foreward by Anita Desai. And then Ms. Dutta takes over. It is obvious Ms. Dutta, does not live in Calcutta any more (she is a resident of London). For she has that detached enjoyment given to those who look back and decide what is enjoyable while the unpleasant parts fade into memory.
She has done extensive research and the results are gratifying. Her writing is erudite as well as down to earth. That is not surprising, as we read when Macaulay introduced English as the official language, it was embraced the City's intelligentsia. Calcutta also produced some of the most virulent opposition to the British Raj as spirit of Independence took hold of the country. Of course the City is famous for its Literary figures and of the Performance Artistes. The author gives us a good review of those. A book worthy of being read by Indians and non-Indians but it will be specially cherished by Bengalis. For them, I would make it a must read.

Interesting read, better if you're a Bengali.......2005-06-04

One of the best aspects of this book, in my opinion, is that it is definitely not a celebration of the city and its ways. In fact, at times, Dutta is blatantly unsympathetic towards what has been - but by and large, it is an unbiased work, grand in its scope, addresses intangibles like culture, and threads together events, perhaps inconsequential in terms of political history, but definitely meaningful in making the city a little bit more than the sum of its history and people.

The book is well organized, and the text is lucid. The book spans the history of the city since it was a small village to Satyajit Ray - the Oscar winning film maker from the city. And though, throughout, the book is about people and events that shaped the city into what it is today, the author never losses sight of the fact that the book is not about any of them in particular, but what they meant to the city they lived in.

It is also a book of strife and struggle, of fascination with a foreign culture, of assimilation, of unlikely but not untimely great men. It is a book of nuances, of idiosyncrasies and of little forgotten by lanes in a big city. It is a book, too, of cowardice and indifference, and of hatred.

The details that the book captures can definitely be captured about any other place in any other part of of the world. However, the particular combination and degree to which these commonalities apply in the context of a place make that place a differentiated, not necessarily special - for that requires a personal identification - place, & this book, in my opinion, captures the 'flavour' of the city.

And, just by the way, I do not like the city myself so much, fascinated as I was by its cultural and literary history.

S!

Calcuttans:RISE and stop the ghouls from maligning your city.......2005-03-20

It was heartening to see C Sengoopta take on David Foley with some uncharacteristic vim - despite the fanciful spelling of his surname I presume he is a Bengali. We have let the world malign our fair city for too long - we are meek and we are reluctant/afraid to challenge the west. Ashutosh Chatterji says falteringly 'perhaps unwittingly' the perpetrators have heaped insult on Calcutta. He knows as well as I do it was Mother Teresa and her extra-ordinary propaganda machinery that caused Calcutta to have become a metaphor for extreme degradation and squalor. It is the likes of David Foley that seek only poverty in Calcutta who are dispppointed to find a book which talks about a different aspect of the city. Shock, Horror! If this book gets to be known what would the Foleys of this world do? What would happen to the billion dollar Catholic charity industry which feeds like vultures on other people's misery - real and supposed?

Disregard David Foley.......2005-03-19

David Foley's response is typical of the self-important, know-it-all Westerner. Tell any amount of lies about Calcutta to these people (as the charity industry does all the time) and they'll believe it. Some of them will send money to Mother Teresa with tears flowing from their eyes; a few might even pack their bags and go out to save the poor heathens from themselves. (As Foley seems to have done.) But say one good thing about Calcutta and the Foleys of the world will condemn you for being 'nationalistic' or worse. Judge Krishna Dutta's book on its merits, not on the basis of what some self-appointed Western pundit thinks.

Let's Not Distort The Issue.......2004-08-21

Unfortunately, this book, and the review of it offered by Ashutosh Chatterji, is more about defending Calcutta from the western view of it than it is about the "cultural and literary history" that is the title of the book. I bought this book in Calcutta so that I might have a more in-depth history of the place I was visiting. Instead, I got a book full of opinions and one-sided propaganda. This is definitely an Indian's nationalistic view of the city of Calcutta and not an objective history lesson, as the book's title advertises. Whereas Krishna Dutta is indeed a gifter writer, she, or her publishing company, should have come up with a less-misleading title. Next time, pick up the "History of the Republican Party" by Rush Limbaugh or "The Cultural History of Russia" by Josef Stalin - just kidding of course.

Book Description

BradyGames' Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance Official Strategy Guide for Xbox provides highly detailed area maps that pinpoint all crucial items! Comprehensive walkthrough to lead players through the entire game. Dog Tag strategy helps gamers claim each guard's precious Dog Tags! Expert boss tactics show how to defeat the members of Dead Cell with cold efficiency! Bonus coverage--all the alternative and VR Missions, including Snake Tales, Weapon, Sneaking, and First Person Modes! Plus, all the alternative versions of Snake and Raiden! Game secrets revealed, complete equipment and weapons rosters, and much more!

Customer Reviews:

4.5 Great Job although a few unmentioned things.......2003-07-21

I have the PS2 version of this guide and since I've been out collecting guides lately, I decided to pick this one up. Amazingly enough (or not really) this guide is about the same as the PS2 guide. Well, the Walkthrough part for the original SOL is. The only bonus you get is the fact that this is XBOX (and if you get the PS2 MGS2: Substance, this is a better buy than that substance guide. Just remember that the controls are different).

Anyway, the biggest bonus is all those VR missions and Snake tails. Basically all the bonus stuff in MGS2: Substance. The guide is worth the grab for all that.

However, all the problems with the PS2 guide still remain. They don't go into any detail about the different difficulty levels in the guide. They tell you all the basic stuff but don't help you prepare for the next difficulty level. For example, the EXTREME difficulty level has several new additions that aren't in NROMAL mode that the guide simply won't detail, like when you must destroy more sensors at the Shell 1-2 Connecting Bridge.

The nice dog tag strategies are nice but my cheap trick to getting them still works fine. Wanna hear it? It's so simple and easy to do that I'll tell you right now! Once you get your hands on that coolant spray, get some easy dog tags by always putting a guard to sleep. Then walk to him and spray him until he wakes up. When he wakes up get behind him and have your gun pointing out BEFORE he comes to a stance. Do this and you'll shout FREEZE as soon as he's back on his feet. Pretty easy huh? Simple.

Anyway, enough about secrets as this isn't a place to submit tips for the game. Anyway, this is a good guide to get and if you buy the PS2 version of MGS2: Substance I'd recommend you get this guide rather than the PS2 guide...which overall will force you buy two guides (and all together you're paying the price of two guides! Meaning you'll have to buy the original MGS2: SOL guide and then the Substance guide for PS2 spending thirty dollars when you didn't have to).

Impressive.......2003-07-09

What else can I say about this book other than it is the Best stratedgy book that I have ever used in my life.

Book Description

Podcasting is like blogging out loud! It gives you a voice—one that can be heard worldwide on computers, iPods, or other MP3 players. You can podcast to boost your business, promote your passion, share your opinions, or just have fun. The point is to say what you want to say to those who want to hear it. With step-by-step explanations, screen shots, and tons of examples, this guide clues you in on recording, producing, and hosting your very own podcast with info on:

Finding your voice and your niche, whether you want to talk tech, make your own kinds of music, educate listeners, make people laugh, do soundseeing tours, serialize your novel, or invent a new podcasting genre
Getting the bare necessities (if you don’t already have them), including a microphone, recording software, and an audio card
Audio editing software such as Audacity, Cakewalk for PCs, GarageBand for musicality, and Audio HiJack Pro for Macs
Recording, including understanding dB (decibel levels), capturing or minimizing ambient noise, and more
Editing with GarageBand or Audacity, adding bed music, and including intros and outros for a signature finishing touch

You want your podcast to be heard. Podcasting For Dummies helps you launch and promote it with info on how to:

Downsize your audio files with MP3 compression
Change bit rates and sample rates in Audacity and iTunes
Create and edit your ID3 tags in Audacity or iTunes
Post your show notes using Movable Type or Libsyn
Simplify the RSS 2.0 feed by using blogging software or a podcast-hosting company such as Audioblog.com, Podcastamatic, and Feeder
Ping for publicity
Communicate with your listeners on your blog, through online discussion groups such as Yahoo! Groups or Google Groups, or on online forums

Of course, if you want to be a podcatcher (a listener) and subscribe to podcasts, this guide shows you how to do that, too! Complete with a companion podcast—a free weekly audio commentary that will keep you up to speed on the podsphere—this guide helps you get your message heard, loud and clear.

Download Description

Podcasting-recording the equivalent of a radio show and making it available through Web download or an RSS feed-is the next big thing in online communications, with more than 1,300 podcasts currently listed on one directory site This book shows would-be podcasters step by step how to get started, from recording a show to attracting a fan base Topics covered include gathering the necessary software and hardware, recording and mixing a podcast, making the podcast available for sharing, spreading the word, and finding subscribers

Customer Reviews:

Works for smart people, too........2007-08-29

Disclosure/Disclaimer: I was a Tee Morris fan before I read this book. I still am. So obviously I was predisposed to like it.

Wiley Publishing's `For Dummies' series is wildly popular in spite of the fact that most of us don't like to think of ourselves as Dummies. Fortunately, this book works just fine for smart people who don't happen to know much about podcasting, and there's a great companion podcast by Tee Morris. (Season 1 contains 20 episodes; Season 2 will accompany the sequel, which has the unlikely title of Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies.)

The book is both readable and comprehensive, and includes plenty of humor (and not just in the cartoons before each section). I could do without the font used for the subheadings, but at least it's legible, and I presume they chose it to convey friendliness. Podcasting for Dummies walks you through the basics of choosing your equipment (microphones and mixers), using audio editing software, podcast blogs, RSS, bandwidth and hosting--and that's just chapter 2!

It was Podcasting for Dummies I turned to when I needed to know how to put a music `bed' under a voice recording. (I later used that knowledge to record a comment for Tee Morris' podcast, The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy.) The explanation of bit rates, sample rates, and ID3 tags should be required reading, and the chapter on XML and RSS is a useful reference for moments when feeds won't validate. Indeed, the traditional `For Dummies' design makes it easy to use the book as a reference on any of the topics covered.

The final section of the book is a series of Top Tens (types of podcast, most influential people in podcasting, reasons why podcasting won't kill radio--and reasons it will). Some of these lists, like specific links and details about software, may become obsolete quickly, but the principles remain sound and neither audio editing nor ID3 tags are going away any time soon.

Many of the example podcasts used in the book relate to science fiction, reflecting the interests of the authors, and there's a wee bit of Macintosh bias in the screenshots. (Why are so many podcasters Mac users?) Those are just observations, though, not criticisms, and the inclusion of podiobooks.com is a boon to would-be podcasters who are either published or unpublished authors.

One thing that is missing, at least from the first edition (I think I have the first edition, though they were up to the third printing by the time I got my copy at the PME last year), is any discussion of PodPress, the popular WordPress plugin for podcasting (used on this site for the Reports from the Asylum). Of course, PodPress was much less sophisticated at the time the book was written, and WordPress hadn't yet opened up the WordPress.com hosted service.

It will be a great relief when the sequel to this book appears and Tee Morris can get back to podcasting.

Simple, Straight Forward - Great Guide.......2007-05-04

What more can you say... simple and straight forward information. Easy to understand, and helpful. Good suggestions, product reviews, and information on getting started without getting overwhelmed. Clear topics, suggestions and information that can have you up and podcasting in a few days.

Not What I Expected.......2007-03-08

If you are looking for a content and organization guide to start a podcast, then this is the book for you. If you, like me need technical information on the act of podcasting then there are better choices. There is some information on recording and posting, but the book spends the vast majority of it's time on things like structuring your podcast and reaching a wide audience.

It's All In Here!.......2007-02-08

The Dummies series of books take complex subjects and breaks them into easily understandable sections. These books never seem to disappoint and you won't be with "Podcasting For Dummies". With the explosion of internet blogging, people also began to use audio to get their content online. Listeners only need a computer and a broadband connection to hear what you have to say.

This book is for both podcasters and for those who listen to podcasts. If you want to create your own podcasts, the information in the book will take you to that point and beyond. You can record, produce and host your own podcast.

I knew nothing about creating podcasts and that's why I got the book. Besides a little history of podcasting, the book walks you through (and holds your hand) on how to select the right microphone, any needed peripherals and finding a host. I like the icons that highlight special portions of the chapters. There are icons for warnings, technical stuff, tips and things to remember. The book goes through the different types of podcasts and how to make them successful. You are guided through why it is good to have a script, methods of recording, sound checks, pacing, editing, file size compression, and also touches a bit about copyright rules.

Once you have made a podcast, you will need to know how to upload it to a server. Once there, you need to learn how to publicize and draw in listeners. There's also information on how to gain listener feedback, whether it be via your blog, discussion groups at Google or Yahoo or finding other free online forums. If you want to know how to advertise your podcast for free, it is also included in this book.

Even if you only plan to listen to podcasts and not create them, you will gain a better understanding of how to do it more efficiently. The book is an easy read and you learn whether you start at the beginning or go directly to a specific subject. There are also many helpful screenshots sprinkled throughout the book.

Podcasts are exciting in that you can find them on many specific subjects or a niche market if you will. Broadcast radio has to appeal to a large audience and also make money. You can also make money if you obtain advertisers interested in your subject and audience or through subscribers donations or subscriptions. Podcasts can be on any subject you are passionate about. One can entertain or educate. [...]

The co-authors Tee Morris and Evo Terra compliment each other as they have their interest in podcasting in common but their personalities seem so different. [...]

A good starting place.......2007-01-05

The book was well written and made sense to me. The bottom line for me was that it helped me to get the vocabulary of the podcasting world so I could understand what others were saying and maneuver through the podcasting world a little more easily. I am still learning how to do this and have referred back to the book on more than one occasion. Strongly recommend this for the newbie.

Expert Podcasting Practices For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

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Expert Podcasting Practices For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
Tee Morris , and Evo Terra
Manufacturer: For Dummies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Expert Podcasting Practices For Dummies goes way beyond Podcasting For Dummies by showing how to build a studio expressly for podcasting, add the production values of the pros, and promote so your podcast is found by a large audience. Main topics include:
* Building your pro-level toolbox
* Recording and producing a podcast to appeal to a mass audience
* Creating a targeted distribution, marketing, and promotion campaign
* Adding video to a podcast

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Podcasting Fur Dummies
Tee Morris , and Evo Terra
Manufacturer: Wiley-VCH
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Culture | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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Podcasting for Dummies

Manufacturer: HUNGRY MINDS (TWLD)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HA1O08

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boxy but good

Solid introductory reference

Very helpful introduction

A book every graduate student and historian should have.

Always check out your source of information

From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods
Martha C. Howell , and Walter Prevenier
Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Writing History: A Guide for Students

Going to the Sources: A Guide to Historical Research and Writing

The Craft of Research, 2nd edition (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

Short Guide to Writing About History, A (6th Edition) (Short Guides Series)

A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

ASIN: 0801485606

Customer Reviews:

boxy but good.......2007-01-15

This book is intended primarily for serious students of history. It discusses the foundations of historical research--what kinds of questions do historians ask, what constitutes evidence, what makes a source reliable, and the epistomology that underguards historical inquiry. The language is somewhat dense at times and examples are frequently pulled from European history, a not always felicitous choice for students of American history. Still, the reader leaves the book with an arsenal of questions that he can use in tackling his own research questions or in critiquing the work of others. I am still searching for the brief handbook that will provide the amateur historian with a guide towards writing honest, vital, and accurate local histories. To the best of my knowledge, it does not exist.

Solid introductory reference.......2006-11-30

The trouble with studying history is that it is exceedingly boring in many respects. Unless you are a graduate student of history or just a real history buff, you probably have better ways to spend your time. I like this book a lot, and I only say that because this book is a good, solid introduction to the issue of sources. Oh my goodness, sources. How many biased books are there on every imaginable subject that come to faulty conclusions based on an obvious lack of in-depth research? Anyone can "research" a subject by cherry picking sources and then drawing a conclusion based on someone else's research which is often a compilation of opinions. No one will admit to doing this, but it happens frequently.

What I particularly like about this book is that it approaches history from the standpoint of evaluating sources critically. Certainly history is just a compilation of facts, but how reliable are those facts? No one alive today knew George Washington personally, so how do we really know anything about him? That depends on the nature of the source. We have diaries of first hand accounts. There are letters that he wrote. We know what he looks like based on portraits painted of him. We also know what other people said about him. The problem is that we have to interpret all that information. The key is compiling and evaluating sources. This book addresses many different areas of that and gives various methods for evaluating the credibility of a source. There is a certain amount of critical thinking that goes into such an evaluation and for many people a source is only as credible as the honesty of the person from whom it originated. This usually involves personal attacks and questions about a person's character. This book goes beyond that into other methods of corroborating evidence.

I keep this in my personal library next to other standard books on the subject of researching and writing about history. This book is not about writing history as much as it is an introductory book on researching and evaluating sources. The overall tone of the book is definitely college level. It is probably a bit much for undergraduate history students except for history majors who plan to do a lot of history research. It is definitely suitable for graduate students.

I occasionally refer back to section II (Technical Analysis of Sources) and Section III (Historical Interpretation: The Traditional Basics). Both sections combined are contained in pages 43 through 87 which is not a whole lot of reading. Section II covers a broad range of topics including "Source Criticism: The Great Tradition." I particularly like that part, and I refer back to it on occasion. This subsection covers the analysis of a document from whether the document is an original or a copy down to "The Trustworthiness of the Observer."

Overall, this is an excellent book for the history student, the historian and the history buff. I plan to keep it for the long term for occasional reference whenever I need to brush up on the basics of source criticism and document analysis.

Very helpful introduction.......2005-12-26

History used to be a subject that one could view as somewhat ancillary, as an interesting subject but one that was not really needed to function in the modern world. One could dispense with studying history and still maintain a proper perspective of world events. Any inaccuracies in the reporting of world events were the responsibility of reporters, and historians were viewed in general as occupiers of an ivory tower. They were held to be trustworthy because not much weight was assigned to their scholarly activities.

In general, this attitude about history and historians is now considered to be a mistake. Because of some very volatile and dangerous events in the early twenty-first century, the study of history should be viewed now as one of the most important, if not the most important scholarly activity. One can easily observe the enormous weight that is placed on events of the past, due in part to the ideological agendas that are deeply embedded in contemporary politics. And some historians have chosen to use historical analysis to justify a political agenda, or have acted as sycophants for the institutions that host them. It would be fair to say that some historians are now viewed with extreme skepticism, and many are therefore looking into the historical record and seeking answers on their own. These historical auto-didactics are hungry for tools of analysis in which to study and interpret past events.

This short book gives an introduction to these tools, and any reader, whether of the afore-mentioned type or not, will gain a lot from its perusal. It gives much insight into how historians view and find sources, and is primarily written for non-experts (such as this reviewer) in historical analysis. Philosophers and economists will also discover how the study of history also intersects to a large degree with their own fields.

There is a wealth of information in the book, and many questions are answered as well as raised. Some of these include:

1. What is the nature of historical interpretation? Can historians put themselves in a position where an historical source can be read without giving attention to the historical context that give it meaning?
2. How can an historical source be characterized?
3. Are historians ethically responsible for the content of their works, and if so, to what degree?
4. Is there any value in oral records for historical analysis? In interviewing?
5. What impact has information technology had on historical analysis?
6. How are archives useful for the historian, and does a given archive, taken to be reliable, expand or shrink with time?
7. Will the advent of software to analyze historical texts eventually result in the automation of historical analysis?
8. How do historians assess the accuracy or authenticity of sources?
9. Does the interpretation of an historical document always involve the determination of its intended meaning?
10. Should "firsthand" reports of events always be taken as true?
11. How do historians compare different sources relating to the same historical event?
12. The authors refer to `reasoning by interpolation' or `by analogy'. What exactly is the nature of this kind of reasoning?
13. When can a historian claim that his analysis is correct? Is there a way of quantifying the point at which enough evidence has been collected?
14. Can participants in events claim any special insight into these events over and above what can be obtained by an observer (an historian) who is not, or has not, participated in these events?
15. Can historians view events and documents from an apodictic point of view, i.e. free from bias and any implicit assumptions?
16. Should historians focus on what people did in the past rather than what they thought or felt?
17. Should historians concentrate on deducing the motives of the people in history from their visible actions?
18. The authors point to the use of fields such as psychology to study the "feelings in history." Could the relatively new field of cognitive neuroscience be used to do the same, or even more generally to study the motives, decisions, and mental limitations of people in history? One could view this use as a kind of "historical neurocriticism" and its use could possibly shed considerable light on how people, through their cultures, construct meanings of their experiences and make history.
19. The authors refer to human life as being "too complex" to be analyzed with historical models. What notion of complexity is being used here, and given current methods for dealing with complexity in model-building, would these be of any assistance in the study of history, especially those that attempt to understand to what extent events are caused by human actions?
20. Should historians focus more on studies of "popular culture" and not on "learned culture", i.e. should they analyze historical events in terms of what has recently been called "people's history?"
21. What is the difference between a `linear' theory of history and a `cyclical theory', and is the former always more optimistic than the latter?
22. Can technological innovations and development be used as a reference of time for historical change, i.e. as a kind of clock or calendar in which historians are to delineate events? Such a calendar would not necessarily be a linear ordering of events like the ones that are currently used. In periods of rapid technological development, time will be more compressed than in periods of slow technological development. History could thus be viewed as moving more quickly in the former than in the latter.

A book every graduate student and historian should have........2005-09-14

Finding the right sources for a book, article, paper, or project is much more difficult than it seems. Every subject generally has a large list of material available for use. But in order to generate a significant contribution to this field, historians need to sort out the reliable sources that fit their topic. From Reliable Sources helps this process by producing a "guideline" to finding the best material and how it can be put to use. This book is a useful guide to the various techniques professional historians have devised for analyzing sources. It gets across the point of finding the best sources in order to produce quality historical scholarship.
The critical analysis of a source is the first step to this process. What follows is whether or not the historian believes that the source is reliable. An important message conveyed by the authors is that no source is perfectly reliable. This leads to the limitations faced by historians today, such as change and causality, and how they deal with them. Its significance to historical writing is vital because historians today use different methodologies than their predecessors. Historiography is a daily changing profession where scholars and historians continually struggle with finding the right sources.

Always check out your source of information.......2004-01-30

History writing is usually considered to have begun with the Greek Herodotus in the 4th century BC with his efforts to distinguish between myth and verifiable stories and that has been the basic problem of writing history ever since. In his history of the Gallic Wars Julius Caesar celebrated the military power of the Romans, along with his own formidable talents as a military leader. Livy fed Roman chauvinism with a history that celebrated eight proud centuries of the Roman past. Thucydides, Polybius, Sallust, Plutarch and Suetonius each brought their own approach or treatment of characters. Augustine portrayed history as an enactment of God's plan. Others wrote accounts to convince readers of the justice of a cause while Guibert of Nogent painted Mohammed in the worst possible light, not caring if the tales were true but only if they helped his case. Matthias Flacius Illyricus's chief purpose was to demonstrate that the Roman Church's claim to be the direct heir of first-century Christianity had no historical basis. Medieval historiography was designed to serve Christianity and in the Middle Ages historians entered the service of lords, monarchs and the state where their primary task was to create glorious pasts, fabricate evidence or select information to give legitimacy to the elite to whom it was offered.

Leopold von Ranke is credited with the founding of the scientific method of history writing but even so he betrays an unclerical ideology and a commitment to the national state so historians must always consider the conditions under which a source was produced, the intentions that motivated it and the reliability of that source. They must also consider the historical context in which it was produced - the events that preceded it, and those that followed, for the significance of any event recorded depends as much on what comes after as it does on what comes before. Had the Boston Tea Party of 1773 not been followed by the American Revolution, it would have had considerably less significance than historians have since given it, and the very same newspaper report of the uprising, in the very same archive, would have had a very different status from the one it actually acquired. Thus, historians are never in a position - and should never imagine themselves being in a position - to read a source without attention to both the historical and the historiographical contexts that give it meaning.

Recording history today has become more complicated because we have such a wealth of information such as television recordings, audiotapes, and videos from the man in the street and not just the written word. This book was written as a guide on how to handle this overload of information and to provide ethical ground rules so that we have the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

But the deeper underlying significance of this book is something that all of us must reflect on because we receive viewpoints from different sides of a conflict or different political views and we must understand that any report may also have a hidden agenda or bias. We may not have received the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If we then go back in history, our beliefs may be founded on the "truths" handed down to us by the victorious faction and may not truly reflect the real truth. As the authors point out: "It is thus one of the primary responsibilities of the historian to distinguish carefully for readers between information that comes literally out of the source itself (in footnotes or by some other means) and that which is a personal interpretation of the material. For the literal content of a citation - what is transcribed from the source itself - historians have no ethical responsibility; for the meaning they impart to that material, of course, they are entirely responsible."

Book Description

Taking a fresh look at what the Greeks and Romans thought about Jews and Judaism, Peter Schäfer locates the origin of anti-Semitism in the ancient world. Judeophobia firmly establishes Hellenistic Egypt as the generating source of anti-Semitism, with roots extending back into Egypt's pre-Hellenistic history.

A pattern of ingrained hostility toward an alien culture emerges when Schäfer surveys an illuminating spectrum of comments on Jews and their religion in Greek and Roman writings, focusing on the topics that most interested the pagan classical world: the exodus or, as it was widely interpreted, expulsion from Egypt; the nature of the Jewish god; food restrictions, in particular abstinence from pork; laws relating to the sabbath; the practice of circumcision; and Jewish proselytism. He then probes key incidents, two fierce outbursts of hostility in Egypt: the destruction of a Jewish temple in Elephantine in 410 B.C.E. and the riots in Alexandria in 38 C.E. Asking what fueled these attacks on Jewish communities, the author discovers deep-seated ethnic resentments. It was from Egypt that hatred of Jews, based on allegations of impiety, xenophobia, and misanthropy, was transported first to Syria-Palestine and then to Rome, where it acquired a new element: fear of this small but distinctive community. To the hatred and fear, ingredients of Christian theology were soon added--a mix all too familiar in Western history.

Customer Reviews:

some interesting and fun facts.......2001-01-24

This book taught me a bit about ancient Judaism and how gentiles related to it. I didn't know, for example, that there was an Egyptian spin on the Exodus (that the Jews were Egyptian "undesirables" who were driven out because the other Egyptians couldn't stand them); just knowing this proves that SOMETHING happened between the Jews and Egyptians 2300 years ago. I also enjoyed reading about what the Romans thought of the Jews (surprisingly favorable, despite the ugliness of the Imperial response to Jewish rebellions).

No student of this topic.......2000-08-04

This is the first time I've read any text on this topic, so I'm no scholar on the subject. The book is written in formal, but accessible language. (( I admit with chagrin that I was 3/4 of the way through the text before I realized that when the author said that "Jews proscribed intercourse with non-Jews" he meant SOCIAL intercourse! It gave a slightly different sense on the second read!)) I found it a good, though somewhat dry read, and especially enjoyed the insights offered by the author's comparison of several ancient cultures and the re-introduction to ancient philosophers whose names are better known for their contributions to western culture than for their attitudes toward Jews.

Book Description

An encyclopedic and vividly illustrated reference.

Gone but never forgotten -- no other life form has captured our imagination and attention like dinosaurs. Dinosaurus is organized into the major dinosaur families and identifies 500 species -- creature by creature, from the voracious flesh-eaters to the egg-stealers to the vegetarians. What they looked like. What they ate. How they fought, lived, and died. A dramatic full-color illustration of each dinosaur is accompanied by a concise explanation of their traits and habits.

At-a-glance Fact Files describe:

Latin name, translation, and pronunciation
Adult length, weight and height
Diet and habitat
Global distribution

Dinosaurus challenges and discredits popular myths and long-standing legends. For example: the dinosaur known as Brontosaurus never even existed in the first place. Was Tyrannosaurus really the biggest meat-eater of all time? Were flying dinosaurs simply feeble gliders? Could sea dinosaurs out-swim today's fastest fish?

Brimming with the latest research, from contemporary digs in North America, Mongolia, Europe and China, Dinosaurus is comprehensive, innovative, and as compelling and exciting as the dinosaurs themselves.

Customer Reviews:

Congratulations - Excellent.......2007-02-08

Thanks for your product - it's too much good!
It's satisfy my better expectatives...

Have a good day...

Something isn't right here..........2006-12-03

Something isn't right here. Where are the feathers? The scaly velociraptor mongoliensis and therizinosaurus(pardon me for spelling [if it's not right]) look less likely than a tyrannosaurus with wings. And on a page about Stegos, i read that "Stegosaurs, like MOST DINOSAURS [My caps] are COLDBLOODED. That is not right! And i thought that ever since the time Gregory S. Paul's every Theropod being feathery theory, dinosaurs were becoming faster, smarter, and featherier in the public eye! Well, gees, did this book ever prove me wrong! And by the way, except for a couple of feathery fellows, how come they're all brown or maybe a little dull red? Frankly, although there is good info here, go for The Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Henry Gee for the dino's life.

Great in combination.......2006-11-07

This is a great book to have on hand because of the vast amount of creatures that it covers.
My only gripe is that some of the illustrations are outdated and not so accurate with current findings. Still it has wonderful artwork and offers a lot of information to the reader. Best used with other Dinosaur guides in my opinion, but great to have in a collection for referencing on not so well known dinosaurs and other creatures that lived during the same time.

If you want more then just dinosaurs, a book that covers other prehistoric life that was around at the same time, this is a great book to have.

A very complete and detailed book.......2006-01-02

This is one of the best dinosaur book I have ever read. This book is probabley the biggest and most detailed dinosaur reseach book out there. It includes all the well known dinosaurs, and many new finds and less famous beasts. But this book does not include only dinos. It branches out into creatures that lived before the dinosaurs, as well as the beasts that roamed the oceans and skies during the dinosaur era. All the facts are well put together and very accurate, as well as put into a format that is very easy to read. The illustrations are not as stunning as the ones in "A Field Guide to Dinosaurs" but they do portray an accurate picture of these amazing creatures. If you don't own this book, buy it. You won't regret it.

Where is the phylogeny?.......2005-11-28

This book has useful information and wonderful drawings (even if the coloration and poses seem a bit fanciful). The factfiles with genus names work well, except the maps with highlighted fossile sites. Continental arrangements during the animals' life are shown in faint outline. Most readers know what the world looks like today, but don't know continental position in the Mesozoic. I would toss the contemporary map.

In these days of cladistics, to omit cladograms or phylogenetic trees seems a bit bizarre. I've read several books since then, and have a fair grasp of the orders, suborders & families of dinosauria. But at the time, I felt crippled if I didn't have another book opened to a chart as I perused the book.

The format of the book will make it interesting to children, even if they can't read or understand the text.

Average customer rating:

Been down the river, loved the book!

The Complete Guide to the Tatshenshini River: Including the Upper Alsek River

Manufacturer: Cloudburst Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Rafting | Water Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0972812210

Product Description

Authors Lyman, Speaks and Ordonez distill their combined experience of over 30 years with over 100 trips down the Tatshenshini and Alsek rivers, into this interesting and informative guide. Includes trip logistics, geology and natural history, native and historical information, 21 maps, 45 photos and illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Been down the river, loved the book!.......2006-04-22

I've floated the Tat three times, twice without this guide, once with. It is incredibly helpful to find good camps, hikes, troublesome spots, etc. I would love to be able to buy it from Amazon.com (which I attempted to do), but as you can see, it says that it is currently unavailable. If you do a search for its publisher, Cloudburst Productions, you can find ordering information.

A delighted boater / reader, with no connections to the publisher

The Complete Guide to the Tatshenshini River: Including the Upper Alsek River

Average customer rating:

The Complete Guide to the Tatshenshini River: Including the Upper Alsek River
Russ Lyman , Joe Ordonez , and Mike Speaks
Manufacturer: Cloudburst Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Rafting | Water Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books

North America | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006RW72Q

Average customer rating:

Tatshenshini River Wild
Ric, Editor Careless
Manufacturer: Raincoast Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1895714079

Average customer rating:

Tatshenshini River Wild: River Wild

Manufacturer: Westcliff Pub Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1565790413

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