Cahiers De Droit Fiscal International 2003: Consumption Taxation and Financial Services (IFA Cahiers)

Customer Reviews:

Very, very funny.......2007-05-18

This book has a simple concept - it's just the comics version of the "old movie with new dialog" game made famous by Woody Allen in What's Up, Tiger Lily?. It works brilliantly, thanks to observant and ruthlessly logical execution by Jeanne Martinet. This is one of the very few humor books that I have enjoyed reading numerous times.

Great idea worked out ok.......2003-11-19

This book takes existing romance comics of yesteryear and changes only the texts. The original comics are extremely static and feature few props or decors to play with (much like cheap soap operas). This is good in one way, because it allows Martinet to focus on the dialogs, which are turned into fairly bizarre exchanges, but bad on the other, because she doesn't have much to work with.
In the end, unusual as they are, most stories are still romances, if somewhat updated to this century. The result is funny but not laugh-out-loud hilarious.

Goofy Fun.......2003-07-19

Really funny rewriting of yesterday's romance comics. This book has more going for it than nostalgia for those who lived in this era and enjoyed these romance comics as teens & young women. Even if you have never read a romance comic in you life (and I haven't)this book will have you laughing uncontrollably. If you like the kind of sly silliness that Mystery Science Theater 3000 is famous for, you will probably like this book. I'm hoping the author will do a whole series.

Work of Genius.......2001-12-09

Thank you Ms. Martinet for providing something I didn't even know I needed. This was an excellent book that was intelligently funny. I love a larf more than anyone and this came through for me.

I tried to read through the comics themselves and figure out the original plot (provided by Ms. Martinet) but couldn't figure them out. Good thing she did something even better. Reminds me of an old television show "Mad Movies" that I loved.

Can't gush more. Thank you!

FUNNIER THAN HECK - TRULY!!!.......2001-10-24

This hilarious book made me laugh out loud with glee - The author captures the stresses of romance in the 50s - 70s and adds her own ascerbic wit and modern sensibility, incorporating our culture's penchant for psycho-over-analysis, consumerism and easy-fixes. The end result is a wonderfully refreshing "take" on the past and the future of romance. A must-read for Boomer gals!

CLASSIC LOVE COMICS RETOLD: TRUER THAN TRUE ROMANCE.

Average customer rating:

CLASSIC LOVE COMICS RETOLD: TRUER THAN TRUE ROMANCE.

Manufacturer: Ebury Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Marriage | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0091885159

Customer Reviews:

Arnold's UNauthorized biography.......2004-09-14

This my may not be the best book you will ever read, but if you're interested in information about Arnold, this is not a bad choice. The author mentions all the obstacles he had in writing this book and does not try to make it seem like it is an authorized biography in any way. He does give you a look at Arnold without the childish self-promoting efforts that Arnold's autobiography seems to try. This is a fun book, with a slight edge to it like you're reading something that might have been printed in a tabloid were it not printed in a book. You can almost feel like you are sneeking around with the author trying to find out information about Arnold that is not some sort of publicity stunt. It might not be the most fair look at Arnold, but then again neither is Arnold's autobiography. I think the real story might be found somewhere in between the two books.

Not very easy to read but has alot of information........2004-08-04

Although the book is not that flattering for Arnold its not that bad either. I stopped following his career in the early 90's and it has alot of information about him since then. Most of the information about his career early on and into the 80's I already knew but had more detail than in previous material I had read.

No that Interesting.......2004-04-08

Andrews has no access to Arnold, and minimal time with the A-man's associates. So he does what he can, showing an Arnold with the midas touch who sets a goal, goes for it, and gets it. (Like in his pre-success 70's, saying he would marry into a powerful American family, and later "sweeping Maria Shriver off her feet"). Andrews is rarely negative, and praises Arnold's films more than most critics, for sure. The only "criticism" is a very minimal handful of he said he/she said comments from former co-workers... and Andrews' frustrations with his lack of access. With so little input, Andrews espouses cultural meaning to Arnold's work that may not, or may, exist. For example, Andrews may read more political ambition into Arnold's work than is really there... or, he is amazingly prescient. The book was published in 1995, yet Andrews projects - seriously - Arnold as Governor and U.S. President (post new Ammendment that would allow foreign borns to serve). In my humble opinion... Andrews gives too much cultural/political weight to Arnold's art. (Maybe my bias -- I buy into a lot of political interpretation to Warren Beatty's work... see book recommendation below). On page 195, Andrews describes Arnold's expansion from his 80's Reaganesque tough guy films:

Kindergarten Cop hints at the healing age of peacemaking with Russia and at President Bush's 'new world order'. The sentimental subplots about children reaching entente with divorced parents adumbrate both the messianic geo-political accords that had taken place under Reagan and the family values mandates that had issued from his and Bush's White House.

Uhhhhhh?

Ultimately, despite the potentially great material that is Arnold, I didn't find the book that interesting. Maybe there is something incongruous about a British intellectual like Andrews writing about a man of action like Arnold. The writing style lacks a certain muscle and speed (or even controversy :-)... to reflect Arnold's style.

Books I like more:
"Warren Beatty and Desert Eyes: A Life and a Story."
"Muscle: Confessions of an Unlikely Bodybuilder."

Bunch of bull.......2004-02-14

This author is out to make Arnold look bad, not to sure about this book...I think its a bunch of BS myself. Arnold is a true Idol, a star, a person someone wants to be. This guy makes Arnold out to be a pure bonified *%*$*@*...I do not believe the bullcrap from this book at all...

Great Book........2004-01-17

Great Book. Takes an honest look at the real life "Arnold Schwarzenegger". It may take the magic out of the man for some , but it puts a human face on one of the greatest personalities of our times. The book points out that, like all of us, Arnold has his imperfections, but through sheer will and a fanatical determination to succeed, he pulled himself up by his boot straps and propelled himself to success. An absolute "MUST READ" for all true Arnold fans.

True Myths the Life and Times of Arnold Schwarzenegger

Average customer rating:

True Myths the Life and Times of Arnold Schwarzenegger
Schwarzenegger Arnold
Manufacturer: Birch Lane Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LB7F6U

Average customer rating:

Strange Creations

Awesome

Leaves out the most bizarre theory of all

Excellent explanation of nutty creation stories

A Stirring Collection of Bizarre Ideas About Origins.

Strange Creations: Aberrant Ideas of Human Origins from Ancient Astronauts to Aquatic Apes
Donna Kossy
Manufacturer: Feral House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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The Ultimate Frontier

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The Christ Consciousness

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ASIN: 0922915652

Book Description

Charles Darwin wasn't the only one to come up with a contemporary explanation for the origin of human beings. Homespun fantasies and myths abound — the imaginative creations of dreamers, cult leaders, amateur scientists, racists, and rogues. Among the theorists this collection introduces are the eccentric English lord who believes that men are a cross between extraterrestrials and their Martian servants, a successful television journalist whose book suggests that humans evolved from aquatic apes, and a UFO investigator convinced that humans were bred as pets for brilliant dinosaurs.

Customer Reviews:

Strange Creations.......2006-08-24

Diana Kossy's _Strange Creations_ contains on odd compendium of bizarre theories of man's origins. It discusses hypotheses as diverse as extraterrestrial origins to creationism as advocated by fundamentalist Bible Christians. Probably the oddest theory is that of an eccentric German pseudo-scientist Oscar Kiss Maerth--man "de-evolved" from apes who discovered that eating the brains of fellow apes that they could not only increase their sexually virility but their intelligence as well. Some of the theories posit that mankind is not "evolving" or progressing to a higher state of intelligence but is rather de-evolving from a more spiritual state into a materialistic, lustful and warlike one over the course of the past several millennia. Kossey also discusses racialist theories as to how different human races developed (from both white Christian Identity believers and Black Muslims) along different lines. She also includes a section on the Eugenics movement since proponents of Eugenics wanted to consciously promote the evolution of a superior type of man. Unfortunately, the author is hardly sympathetic to her subjects and she reflects the standard liberal world view on nearly every page.

Awesome.......2005-08-02

This book is phenomenal. It's written with a philosophical/historical tone and delves deeply into the bases of bizzarre beliefs and their creators. A somewhat dry read, it maintains a factual presentation without blatant opinion, sarcasm or comedy. If you want that, however, visit www.insolitology.com and you'll have your laughter dosage for the day. Still, for the curious seekers of truth, this is a great means of learning that there really isn't any truth, save that which we make.

Leaves out the most bizarre theory of all.......2005-04-30

Completely fails to discuss the most fantastic and least logical idea promulgated withing the last 200 years, that life in all of its variation evolved from a series of random accidents.

As for criticism of the aquatic ape theory, it's far more logical than other "mainstream" theories and most scientists have ran from this theory without even attmepting to evaluate it. After all, it was written by a woman in a man's profession so why should it be taken seriously?

Excellent explanation of nutty creation stories.......2003-07-29

This book explains the history of nutty creation stories. I particular enjoyed the historical perspective, documenting how all new-age beliefs date back to Blavatsky, why people are drawn to such beliefs, and how these beliefs changed through the years. This book provides excellent debunking material.

A Stirring Collection of Bizarre Ideas About Origins........2002-06-01

_Strange Creations_ by Donna Kossy presents some of the most bizarre and far-fetched ideas and theories which have been conceived by the human consciousness to explain human origins. In an attempt to challenge the accepted scientific accounting of origins, Darwinian evolution, attempts have been made to claim our ancestors were space men from the stars, that evolution occurs in reverse, that eugenics or racism is necessary to explain human development, that the biblical account of creation in Genesis is to be interpreted literally, that our ancestors were aquatic apes, that the Urantia Book explains our origins, and that a certain UFO cult holds the secret to human conscious evolution ("Heaven's Gate"). The book includes a fairly decent discussion of Nazi ideas concerning evolution and eugenics as well as Social Darwinism. Among the more bizarre theories suggested are those of the devolutionists (including the punk band DEVO). For instance, the book _The Beginning Was the End_ by Oscar Kiss Maerth suggests that we owe our existences to cannibalistic brains-eating apes. Another bizarre theory is that of Stanislav Szukaski, who contends that an ongoing struggle between true humans and Yeti-humans has shaped our history. The book includes a bizarre discussion of the UFO cult which ended in tragic suicide, "Heaven's Gate". Overall this book presents a strange concoction of some of the ideas floating at the further extremes of human consciousness.

Product Description

Master the inner workings of today's premier relational database management system with this official guide to the SQL Server 2000 engine. Written by a renowned columnist in partnership with the product development team, this is the must-read book for any

Amazon.com

To help you design Microsoft database servers that must achieve the best possible performance, Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2000 has the details you need. For one thing, author Kalen Delaney (who used Ron Soukup's fantastic first edition as a starting point) explains how SQL Server 2000 works at a level that will interest all database administrators. She packs in the sort of minutiae that can make a real difference in the performance of especially large or complex data-storage structures, explaining what goes on inside the database management system (DBMS) when it's presented with various commands, and using that information to back up her abundant advice on the right way to design, build, and operate databases under SQL Server 2000.

Delaney makes extensive use of DBCC PAGE dumps to show what's going on in the databases that demonstrate concepts (incidentally, that utility is documented, as well as the others in the DBCC toolbox). In a typical section, DBCC PAGE is used to show how index pages work. There's careful attention to database structure at the byte level too, with conceptual diagrams that explain how pointers work and how strings of strings of bytes combine to represent stored data. It's the sort of detail you need if you'll be writing software for SQL Server 2000, or need to extract maximum performance from the DBMS itself. --David Wall

Topics covered: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 internals, especially data structures and the behavior of queries. Table design is emphasized, especially indexing decisions. Transact-SQL programming, including the use of cursors, gets lots of attention.

Customer Reviews:

One big comprehensive book about SQL Server engine.......2006-09-05

This book is about SQL Server as of query and data access engine, not as of a whole product. It in fact covers the architecture of the SQL Server and its internals related to actually processing the data. This book indeed won't answer many practical HOW questions if any, instead it shows you the way SQL Server works on the inside so that you can apply this knowledge as you see fit.

It will tell you about data tables, indexes, constraints, locking, stored procedures, transactions, T-SQL language, cursors, full text indexes, deadlocks, query hints and so on. It won't tell you anything about how any of these are used in practice. Even the "Performance and Tuning" section wouldn't give a lot of practical advises.

Anyhow, this book is a great reading, if you are a experienced database developer, and by chance want to know

* how the data is stored inside the tables and indexes
* how the index pages are scanned when searching for data
* how memory manager handles its buffers
* how to read the SQL Server performance counters
* how a database is backed up and restored
* how different isolation levels affect locking
* how transactions can be shared between different connections
* how stored procedured, user-defined functions and triggers work
* how different types of cursors lock the records they traverse
* how to make your full text indexes work efficiently
* how to safely use text and image data

and so on. Do NOT read it, if you want to know

* how a particular table should be organized
* what indexes needs to be created in your case
* what's the right backup policy and how to set it up
* how to write any particular program in T-SQL
* anything with numbers in it, ex. performance evaluation

because it's not there. The book is about SQL Server internals. It's not a manual, not by any chance. It's on the theoretical side if you like. Upon reading this book I have actually said to myself "Hey, I know how it works ! I can tell !". Still I will have to answer different questions and come up with specific decisions in any of my future applications.

Although much of the information explained in this book I have already read somewhere else, this one book is worth many others. Why ? Because it's deep and extensive. Every topic is covered to its depth. This is probably the reason why this book has a mixed feeling to it after all. It feels like the amount of information the author had to cope with was so overwhelming that she had no time to add a plot to it.

Still, highly recommended reading for any SQL Server developer.

Best for SQL Server internals.......2006-07-21

The best book I've seen. I've been working on SQL Server since 1997. Great for a technically inclined DBA or developer.

Excellent Book by the master.......2005-09-26

I attended one of the seminars of the author and was thoroughly impressed by her knowledge on the matter and decided to buy her book. I am very pleased that I decided to do that. This is a very good book and a very good buy.

Decent Surface Overview.......2005-04-01

I've been scouring this book and found that the there is well written overview of SQL, much like a whitepaper. You'll learn about the types of backup/recovery or replication, but you won't learn the how.

Given the "Inside" in the title, I was hoping this was more in depth and perhaps presented the "HOW". I would recommend this for the sales force for SQL Server or general casual reading, but not for people that want to actually do stuff and need to learn that.

I did like the history of SQL Server section, which I think is invaluable being a history buff, but I thought that it was unnecessarily defensive about Microsoft's business practices. One has to assume that if we are using the product, we are not openly hostile at Microsoft.

Extremely useful and a pleasure to read........2004-12-09

What I love about this book is that it really shows you the full story of SQL Server, starting with a broad history of the product, and eventually delving down into the deep internals of the system.

I recently had to to deal with an old Sybase database, and found this book helpful, because Kalen's discussion of the internal storage and retrieval of data really applies across many database technologies. And of course, it has also proven invaluable for working with SQL Server too!

This book is directed to people who want to know what SQL Server can do and how to use it. No marketing hype here, just good solid material.

The only downside is the index, which for MS Press books, is in a too-large text, does not indent things well, and does not always group things in the most useful fashion. But this is not a fault of the author, and does not lessen the greateness of this book.

Average customer rating:

Great Gift

Good review of 1959

What A Year It Was! 1959
Beverly Cohn
Manufacturer: Mms Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Reference | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
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What A Year It Was! 1960

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ASIN: 0922658145

Book Description

WHAT A YEAR IT WAS! 1959 is a beautiful 176-page hardcover cocktail table book packed with hundreds of original photos, magazine ads and consumer pricing. It is loaded with facts on new products and inventions, advances in science and medicine, hit songs and films, popular radio and television programs, Broadway plays, famous people, the latest look in fashion and, of course, sports winners. Laid out like a college yearbook with zany illustrations, WHAT A YEAR IT WAS! 1959 will instantly take you back in time for a lively, fun look at the people, places and events that shaped world history and changed our lives forever.

Customer Reviews:

Great Gift.......2007-09-11

Know anyone born in 1959?..This book makes a great book and a wonderful stroll down memory lane.

Good review of 1959.......2007-05-16

I purchased this book because my high school class of '59 will be having a reunion in a couple of years. Our memories will be kicked up a notch just by reading some of the items in this book. It covers a lot of areas without being too wordy. After all, we're not doing a study; we just want to be reminded.

A plan for the people: What the Soviet citizen will gain from the 7-year plan (Soviet booklet)

Average customer rating:

A plan for the people: What the Soviet citizen will gain from the 7-year plan (Soviet booklet)
Viktor Zhukov
Manufacturer: Soviet Booklets
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Production & Operations | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007J546E

Book Description

Over a period of several centuries, Europeans developed an intricate system of plantation agriculture overseas that was quite different from the agricultural system used at home. Though the plantation complex centered on the American tropics, its influence was much wider. Much more than an economic order for the Americas, the plantation complex had an important place in world history. These essays concentrate on the intercontinental impact.

Customer Reviews:

History on a huge scale.......2005-03-23

In a way I shudder at the idea of reviewing a book like Philip D. Curtin's "The Rise and Fall of the Plantation Complex: Essays in Atlantic History" for the simple fact that a book containing fourteen detailed essays is daunting to summarize. Which essay should receive the most attention? The reviewer of Curtin's book soon realizes that such a question does not have an easy answer. Nearly all of the articles contained in this slim volume warrant far more attention than I can give them in a 1000 word review. I'll have to resort to sweeping generalization in the main, most likely, but that's acceptable considering the focus of these writings deals with a sweeping topic. Atlantic history is metahistory, encompassing as it does some three or four hundred years and stretching through Europe, Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and North America. It is also a story filled with tales of exploration, greed, bondage, and freedom. Atlantic history is a hot topic from what I've gathered, what with books like Marcus Rediker's "The Many Headed Hydra" gaining quite a lot of attention in the academic world. Then again, maybe I think it's a pressing subject since I've read several books on the theme for a class at school.

Curtin focuses on the rise and spread of the plantation complex, which he calls an "entity," beginning with the discovery of sugar in the Mediterranean during the time of the Crusades. Located primarily on the island of Cyprus, Europeans harvested sugar there for roughly two hundred years. With the reconquest of the Levant by Muslims, growers and consumers sought out new sources of the product. Enter the slow move into the New World and the introduction of a plantation structure that was feudalistic in nature, relied on slave labor, and was controlled by a political system overseas. The "true" plantation existed solely for profit, for supplying goods for distant markets, and needed slaves to operate the fields because the European populations had not yet overcome the numerous diseases and hardships found in the harsh climes of South America, the Caribbean, and Africa. Had Europeans merely waited until they built up immunity to diseases, argues Curtin, it's quite possible slavery as we recognize it today might never have existed. He also posits the interesting observation that plantations in the American South were not "true" plantations and as such receive little mention in his articles. He's more interested in the large European concerns spreading like a plague through South America and the Caribbean.

Curtin doesn't solely examine the structure of the plantation, although he does spend some time discussing the geography of a typical sugar plantation, the types of buildings found there, how the goods went to market, and how the same forms adapted to different climates. He throws in a detailed examination of the African slave trade, how it arose, who participated in it (both Europeans and Africans readily engaged in the selling of human beings), and argues that the decline and fall of powerful African states led to an increase in the number of people available for the slave markets. The author also argues that the plantation, no matter what its location, represented a form of "cultural demography" in that the Europeans who built them moved into a region and supplanted the local population (most of them died) with non-native inhabitants. The racial and social composition of our world today is largely a result of the plantation system and the demographic changes it wrought. It's an amazing claim and one that, if accepted, equals in importance the barbarian migrations that rocked the Roman world in the fourth and fifth centuries.

Curtin postulates some theories to help explain the demise of the plantation complex, too. He contends that the democratic revolutions in the New World and Europe put an end to these exploitative economic enterprises, primarily the series of rebellions that resulted in an independent Haitian state in 1804 but also including the American and French Revolutions. Even moderate attempts at democratization in England helped bring about the abolishment of slavery (remember, American plantations don't count) and thus sealed the plantation complex's doom. Also lending a hand was the emergence of the European Enlightenment, which tended to look at non-western lands and people as "exotic," a view that planted the seeds for later anti-slavery movements and increased attention to what was going on in the mother country's backwaters. By the 1880s Brazil was freeing slaves to SAVE money because droughts and laws aimed at preventing the importation of new slaves decreased their value to the point that it was too expensive to keep them around.

"The Rise and Fall of the Plantation Complex" makes abundant use of detailed maps and graphs, something that, as incredible as it sounds, many history books fail to do. I did have two quibbles with the book. The first is the atrocious editing, or should I say lack of editing, that plagues nearly every page of this book. Errors are so numerous that the flow of the text is seriously hampered. And none other than Cambridge University Press published it! My second problem centers on Curtin's complaints about "Eurocentric" history and how historians ought to look beyond that bias. That might have been a problem in 1990 when the book first appeared, but even a cursory glance at the history section in the local bookstore today will reveal dozens of titles written from a decidedly non-European point of view. Despite these niggling problems, Curtin's book is a good read for both historians and interested laypersons (laypeople?) intrigued by the subject.

Illuminating dissection of the embryonic "global economy.".......2000-05-20

Despite being laced with annoying typos (this is from Cambridge Univ. Press?), I found the substance of the book to be most informative. The slave-labor sugar/cotton/tobacco plantation is a familar feature of early modern history, and is usually encountered in regional histories of, say, the Caribbean, or Brazil, or the United States. But this book traces the "plantation complex" from its beginnings in the eastern Mediterranean, on Cyprus, through its spread across the Atlantic, to its final last gasps in this century. People who are used to thinking of "slave plantations" exclusively in the context of the United States will be disappointed. For reasons explained by the author, his primary focus is on the sugar plantations of the New World--these tended to be purer examples of the phenomenon. He also spends a good deal of time analyzing the impact on African societies and economies; material which I found especially instructive. The account of the stepwise demise of slavery in Brazil was also very enlightening, especially how emancipation became an economic opportunity for entire classes of slaveholding plantation owners in the 1870's, similar to "mass layoffs" today. I think this book is crucial to understanding where the "New World" stands today--racially, economically and socially. You just have to ignore the typos.

Illuminating dissection of the embryonic "global economy.".......1997-11-21

Despite being laced with annoying typos (this is from Cambridge Univ. Press?), I found the substance of the book to be most informative. The slave-labor sugar/cotton/tobacco plantation is a familar feature of early modern history, and is usually encountered in regional histories of, say, the Caribbean, or Brazil, or the United States. But this book traces the "plantation complex" from its beginnings in the eastern Mediterranean, on Cyprus, through its spread across the Atlantic, and its final last gasps in this century. People who are used to thinking of "slave plantations" exclusively in the context of the United States will be disappointed. For reasons explained by the author, his primary focus is on the sugar plantations of the New World--these tended to be purer examples of the phenomenon. He also spends a good deal of time analyzing the impact on African societies and economies; material which I found especially instructive. The account of the stepwise demise of slavery in Brazil was also very enlightening, especially how emancipation became an economic opportunity for entire classes of slaveholding plantation owners in the 1870's, similar to "mass layoffs" today. I think this book is crucial to understanding where the "New World" stands today--racially, economically and socially. You just have to ignore the typos.

Book Description

"The best introduction to logic you will find."—Martin Gardner

"Professor Bennett entertains as she instructs," writes Publishers Weekly about the penetrating yet practical Logic Made Easy. This brilliantly clear and gratifyingly concise treatment of the ancient Greek discipline identifies the illogical in everything from street signs to tax forms. Complete with puzzles you can try yourself, Logic Made Easy invites readers to identify and ultimately remedy logical slips in everyday life. Designed with dozens of visual examples, the book guides you through those hair-raising times when logic is at odds with our language and common sense. Logic Made Easy is indeed one of those rare books that will actually make you a more logical human being. 36 illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Lies are easy; the logic of truth requires effort.......2006-09-08

"Logic Made Easy" by Deborah J. Bennett

A peculiar shortcoming of rationalism, is that it is no better than the people who practice it. There are those who claim to be rationalists, and who pride themselves, thinking that they are embodiments of logic, but who still embrace flawed propositions. Why? The method may be a perfect science, but those who practice the method may operate with errors, bias, and ulterior motives. This is why books like "LOGIC MADE EASY" can help us.

There is other generalized information that I wish to communicate to you. From an early age, I have been fascinated by matters of LOGIC. Learn from me, so that you do not enter into discouragement. I have taken up and failed at studying LOGIC many times. Allow me to tell you why. It is because in normal day to day activities, our minds do not function in the Logical manner suggested by the books. Why is that? How does our Mind operate? Only formal efforts produce book-like syllogisms. Life itself, operates on the principle of a hidden syllogism. We have the conclusion of logic, without the syllogism being made explicit, or objectively clear.

Pause and think for a moment. The Greeks postulated CHAOS. Even now, from the swirling CHAOS around us, Life itself has no stated propositions, empirically observable. Physical matter itself does not speak to us. It offers only silence. From that silence, our mind must operate selectively, choosing Primary Assumptions, and from this will follow logical corrollaries, or extensions by logic. This is why the book of life is readeable. It is for us to discover the Hidden Syllogisms. There are more obscure obstacles.

The authors of books on formal logic almost never write about the fundamental duality of life; that only part of life is Objective. That the greater manifestation of life is entirely Subjective.

Then there are the myths that logic ought to make us into some kind of perfectly logical automaton, like a robot. I'm sorry, but that is silly. One of the shortcomings of Logic books is that they almost never clarify the Subjective side of Life, and the relationship between the Objective and the Subjective. That is why we have books by some, proclaiming themselves to be "rationalists" (and scientists), that they have proven the NON-EXISTENCE of the Super-Subjective, otherwise known as "God". Worse still is the implication that sometimes creeps into writings by "rationalists" who infer that pure rationalism prohibits belief or faith in our spiritual life.

Moreover, the role of FEELINGS are also left unclear. Logic books are their own worst enemy. When people find that they have FEELINGS, and operate in a world where logic is all very fine and nice, but POWER is the rule of the day, they become very discouraged with the idea that Logic is of any real use. "What's the point?" they demand, and angrily toss aside the books on Logic. Logic books rarely clarify the role of subjective principles such as Power, Feeling, Intuition, and the like. Losing a student in this manner is the fault of the expert teacher, not the fault of the student, who will wrongfully conclude that he or she is "stupid".

I rate this 5 stars, but I do not agree with the cover language that this is:

"The best and the most lucid introduction to logic you will find." --Martin Gardner (from the book cover)

Much struggle with complex ideas has taught me that we often do better to start simple and work up to the more definitive lessons. I have reviewed 2 other INTRODUCTIONS to logic in the past few months. Both are simpler, but I must make the observation that "LOGIC MADE EASY" is more thorough, more complete, including SET THEORY and SYMBOLIC LOGIC and LME is profoundly rich in historical background material. For those of us who are fascinated by What Aristotle learned from Plato concerning Logic, this is of interest. Credit Deborah J. Bennett for including this historial material. It shows good scholarship.

Allow me to clarify some of these remarks, lest the reader think that my review is intended to suggest that you PREFER one book to the exclusion of others. I recommend buying several books. If you see three book reviews, rating all 5 Stars, I mean to say that you should buy all three, not just one. These must be studied patiently. The goal is Truth, and the great difficulty in Life, is that Truth requires work, always, whereas Lies are quick and easy. The student of Truth must literally sacrifice himself and his opinions to reach the Truth. This is the reason why not everyone claiming to be a "scientist" or a "rationalist" is an Einstein, or a Faraday.

Our inclinations may lead us in one direction, whereas the logic of basic facts tend to go in the other. Let me remind with a serious WARNING also, that there is much published in books today by authors who are very biased, who have no regard for facts, whose popular literature on hot issues of public debate is rife with logical and philosophical error. Logic has nothing to do with "shouting louder" than the other fellow. In fact, C.G. Jung liked to point out that when argumentation passes a particular point in emotionality, it no longer is rationally useful. Truly, men can function as beasts at times, losing sight of their heritage.

very good intro.......2006-05-23

If you read this book, you'll be sure to understand that 'All S are P' does not imply that 'All P are S.' If you don't read this book, you may understand this anyway. But if you don't understand this, then you must not have read this book (modus tollens!). Most of the book covers basic syllogisms and All/Not/Some/If statements.

Throughout the book are a number of logic problems from standardized tests. The book discusses modus ponens and affirming the consequent, and gives an overview of common fallacies, such as begging the question. I would have liked to see more of the latter, however. Bennett further spends many pages addressing the issue of why people are illogical, frequently citing recent research. This is nice, but repetitive. How many times does she have to mention the common problem caused by bringing external knowledge into logical reasoning?

I disagree with those who say this book is advanced. It seems simple enough to me. For example, although Bennett mentions Barbara, Celarent, etc., she clearly doesn't think the average reader needs to memorize this. Nor does she spend much time on symbols used in formal logic.

The book is fine, but on page 125..........2005-07-18

On page 125 Bennet writes: "This [Modus Ponens] is a valid inference as long as the two premises are true". But the sentence should read: "This is a valid inference, and as long as the two premises are true the conclusion will be true".
The original formulation is in fact mistaken. Modus Ponens, like all valid inferences, is valid also in the case in which the two premises are false.
The standard definition of validity says that an argument is valid if and only if if the premises are true, then the conclusion must also be true. Since "if the premises are true, then the conclusion must also be true" is a conditional statement, it is true in the case in which its antecedent is false (and therefore the premises are false). So the original formulation confuses validity with truth.

Off the Mark.......2005-02-16

The selection of topics for discussion in this book is a bit mystifying. One would think that this book would attempt to make logic simple. Bennett has chosen to discuss mnemonics for 64 moods of syllogisms (of which only 4 are valid), but does not elaborate (significantly) on such concepts as "maldistributed middle" or the fallacy of four terms, which seem to me to be much more relevant to avoiding errors in logic. There is a lot of historical discussion about who invented what method of diagraming syllogisms and the psychological problems with being logical, but there is relatively little about informal fallacies. Perhaps the problem is that the title of the book should be "The Topic of Logic Made Simple" instead of one that implies "Being Logical Made Simple."

Good But By No Means Easy.......2004-08-18

I wish I could say I agreed with this title 100%. As a teacher of math and science, I am always looking for books that can make these subjects a little easier for my students. I am also a big believer in math and science books for the general reader. Unfortunately, I don't think this book qualifies.

That is not to say that this is not a good book. For a college student in a logic course, this book is a godsend. It is certainly a clear and concise development of the subject. Indeed, for anyone with a solid background in college level math who is interested in the subject of logic, this book is excellent. It is full of historical background (which I love) and it gives a lot of practical examples in logic, many from standardized exams but also some everyday stuff. And Ms. Bennett does point out many common logical fallacies, which is important.

However, when it comes right down to it, this is a book in pure logic. If you're not familiar with the p's and q's of symbolic logic, this is going to be tough going after awhile. By the time we reach the truth tables, the book will seem to be a flurry of variables. The fact is, no general reader is going to make it this far.

It's unfortunate, because I can see in places that Ms. Bennett has the ability to write a book about logic that anyone could pick up, read and enjoy. But this is not that book. If you are interested in mathematics and have the background, read this book. Otherwise, this book is not for you.

Becoming a Better Reasoner.(Logic Made Easy: How to Know When Language Deceives You)(Book Review): An article from: American Scientist

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Becoming a Better Reasoner.(Logic Made Easy: How to Know When Language Deceives You)(Book Review): An article from: American Scientist

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This digital document is an article from Parks & Recreation, published by National Recreation and Park Association on June 1, 2005. The length of the article is 3158 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.

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Title: How and why: partnership's unanswered questions: before undergoing a parttnership, agencies need to look at previous research to uncover the answer to whether it will work.(Research Update)(Park and recreation partnerships )
Author: Kim S. Uhlik
Publication: Parks & Recreation (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2005
Publisher: National Recreation and Park Association
Volume: 40 Issue: 6 Page: 26(7)

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