Twisted Dream: Capitalist Development in the U. S. Since 1776
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    Twisted Dream: Capitalist Development in the U. S. Since 1776
    Douglas F. Dowd
    Manufacturer: Little Brown & Company
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback
    ASIN: 0316191612
    The twisted dream: Capitalist development in the United States since 1776
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      The twisted dream: Capitalist development in the United States since 1776
      Douglas Fitzgerald Dowd
      Manufacturer: Winthrop Publishers
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Unknown Binding

      GeneralGeneral | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
      ASIN: 0876268831

      The Mauritian Economy: A Reader
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        The Mauritian Economy: A Reader

        Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Hardcover

        Policy & Current EventsPolicy & Current Events | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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        ASIN: 0333699653

        Book Description

        This book arises from a collaboration between the University of Mauritus and the University of Nottingham. It includes detailed analysis of the main aspects of the Mauritian Economy including microeconomic topics, macroeconomic policy questions and external trade and international issues.

        Farming in Britain today
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          Farming in Britain today
          John George Stuart Donaldson
          Manufacturer: Allen Lane
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Unknown Binding

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          ASIN: 071390061X
          Farming (Britain Today)
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            Farming (Britain Today)
            Roy Woodcock
            Manufacturer: Hodder Children's Books
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Hardcover

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            ASIN: 0750215348

            Signs of Meaning in the Universe (Advances in Semiotics)
            Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
            • J. Hoffmeyer's "Signs of Meaning in the Universe"
            • inventive, interesting signs <-->meaning <-->observer
            • biochemistry and information theory by dynamite philosopher
            • A must read on biosemiotics
            Signs of Meaning in the Universe (Advances in Semiotics)
            Jesper Hoffmeyer
            Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
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            Binding: Hardcover

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            ASIN: 0253332338

            Amazon.com

            Jesper Hoffmeyer is on to something significant. Whereas semiotics is often a dull analysis of formal symbols, Hoffmeyer's biosemiotics is a lively natural history of signs that interprets evolution as a continuous advance in semiotic freedom. All living things, according to Hoffmeyer, are constantly reacting to their environment by interpreting the signs in their own unwelt,, or interior representation of the surrounding world. Freedom and chaotic self-organization thus become the hallmarks of all life. Based on sound research and written in a delightfully accessible style, Signs of Meaning in the Universe should be interpreted as an advance in both philosophy and science.

            Customer Reviews:

            5 out of 5 stars J. Hoffmeyer's "Signs of Meaning in the Universe".......2003-12-20

            In the preface Hoffmeyer's writes:

            "The semiosphere is a sphere just like the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the biosphere. It penetrates to every corner of these other spheres, incorporating all forms of communication: sounds, smells, movements, colors, shapes, electrical fields, thermal radiation, waves of all kinds, chemical signals, touching, and so on. In short, signs of life.... We tend to overlook the fact that all plants and animals - all organisms, come to that - live, first and foremost, in a world of signification."

            Hoffmeyer observes that the process that gives birth to these communications cannot be explained in mere mechanistic terms that remove the subject. The concept of "not" is fundamental to communication, and this "not" sets up an exclusion that permits a frame of reference. Speaking of birth of the universe, Hoffmeyer writes on page 3 that: "... this nothing exploded and became something.... so far so good, but why was the matter not evenly distributed? Why is the same amount of matter and energy not found everywhere throughout the universe?" It can not be the case that cosmic evolution unfolded only as a by-product of cosmic expansion.

            And on page 5 Hoffmeyer writes: "If we then ask what this nothingness is or was we are actually denying our denial and to some extent re-creating the universe. Nothing becomes not not- something which, it follows, must be something.... only by being conceived of can nothingness exist."

            On page 8 Hoffmeyer reviews French psychoanalyst Jacque Lacan's work on childhood development, and writes: "this process (development) also involves an alienation or denigration of the child's self, since its self is just what it does not encounter, but an image of itself reflected in the other. So we see a fundamental split in our perception of the self, the egocentric interior and the not-self or "outside". Though Hoffmeyer does not say it, this is the same split that has brought us Descartes dualism, and Teilhard de Chardin's within and without. But Hoffmeyer does indicate that: "... it is this split, this fundamental yearning, that endows the world with signification, that makes us desire it. ... So the not-rule is the very first requirement for making any sense of this world. And if we then look more closely at what lies behind this not-rule, we will see that we are dealing with something quite fundamental." Hoffmeyer presents a Gestalt diagram to make his point, showing a white circle on a black background. Hoffmeyer writes: ".... the boundary is not part of the world unless someone chooses to picture it." Looking at the same Gestalt diagram I can ask my own questions: Are we the inside looking out? Or are we the forgetful outside looking in? These questions are symmetrical and cannot be answered directly. If these questions cannot be answered how can we be so sure that mind is contained in the brain? Or for that matter can we be sure that Teilhard's interior is not really the forgetful without, and this his exterior not really the all-knowing within? Nevertheless, I agree with Hoffmeyer that it is here we find conflict and the creativity that springs forward. And it is on this background, this not-something that we find the birth of the universe and the answer to the first ready-state (see Chapter 6 of David Albert's book "Time and Chance").

            In Chapter 2 Hoffmeyer takes up the topic of forgetting. He writes: "not everything is remembered, only those things that are of significance. .... Inheritance testifies to the past ... Every single life-form in existence today has, lodged inside its genetic material, the sinuous trail of its evolutionary past harking all the way back to the dawn of life - while it is itself busy incorporating the experiences of today into the future.... forgetting holds the key to life's knack of incorporating the present into the future.... living systems carry out a selection process, forgetting somewhat more of what is unimportant than of what is important." And speaking of DNA, Hoffmeyer refers to it as a code description of the self, and only the fertilized egg is capable of reading/translating this code and building an organism.

            To his credit, Hoffmeyer writes much (starting on page 16) on the work of C.S. Pierce: "The great thing Pierce perceived was that any form of logic which is based on two-factor, dyadic, relations is too limited.... it cannot be made to branch out. ... A network can be arrived at by combining three-factor relations, triads... Valid thought always presupposes a relation between three things.... This could be, for example, cause and effect plus the observer who connects these two."

            To connect Pierce's three factor sign relations to a DNA strand, Hoffmeyer writes on page 20: "Embryogenesis, or ontogenesis, is a sign operation in the sense that a one-dimensional DNA inscription containing - as mentioned above- a coded version of its parents is converted into a three-dimensional organism of flesh and blood. The genome (the sum total of an individual's genetic material) is therefore a sign vehicle, or even better: a set of sign vehicles, referring to the construction of an organism, the ontogenetic trajectory. The question is, for whom? Who, in this case, is the someone who can interpret the sign?... It is the fertilized egg cell which is responsible for the deciphering or interpretation. As the egg gradually interprets the genome it splits up into billions of cell lines, becoming, in other words, an organism."

            The DNA is therefore incomplete in a cause and effect world of one-way dyadic transitions. There needs to be something that interprets and represents and object of some kind, and this is minimally a three-way interaction.

            In Hoffmeyer view these three-way interactions are everywhere, and he provides many examples in his book ranging from biology to consciousness. I would also point out that insistence on a one-way chain of mindless transitions cannot explain the origination problem of mind, and it ultimately leads to a meaningless search back to the beginning of time in a futile search to find the answer to David Albert's ready-state paradox. To his credit Hoffmeyer makes mention of Gödel and his incompleteness theorem, and including the issues of a deeper subjectivity and self-referral. But what Hoffmeyer is describing is Panpsychism, though he does not mention it as such, and he gives not mention of the works of early philosophers beyond Pierce. A.N. Whitehead's process metaphysics is strangely missing from the references. I found Hoffmeyer version of reality to be less agreeable with the atheistic panpsychism supported by D.S. Clarke (see "Panpsychism and the Religious Attitude"), though Hoffmeyer says little about the issue of a God.

            Here are some of Hoffmeyer's closing remarks:

            "From a biosemiotic point of view life is not something that ever has a beginning."

            "Evil, too, presupposes an ability to empathize."

            "The tendency to make mistakes lies at the root of all true development in this world."

            "Signification and fallibility being two inseparable sides of the same elementary phenomenon."

            "We wish to live in the present, yet we carry the traces of the past within us. In some respects these traces stretch back over fifteen billion years and, in their inner form, our cells contain information that is at least three billion years old. The arches and vaults of the brain harbor memories going back hundreds of millions of years. And half a million years ago humanity's existential drama was started to take shape."

            I am happy to give Hoffmeyer's book a strong recommendation for reading. I wrote a similar book, "Trinity":

            Trinity: The Scientific Basis of Vitalism and Transcendentalism

            4 out of 5 stars inventive, interesting signs <-->meaning <-->observer.......2003-08-05

            _signs of meaning in the universe_
            jesper hoffmeyer
            translated from the danish by barbara haveland

            The first question ought to be, what is it about? what is the genre? It's science, it's philosophy. The word pathfinder, speculative, thoughtful, leading-edge come to mind. The flipside of the book is lack of detail, lack of explicit substance and explanation. He defines new words, gives a hint about what he is thinking, then moves on in a few paragraphs, which leaves the reader gasping for breath and more. Yet you understand that here is a deep thinker, a considerable intellect that has something important to say, something i am interested in, yet it is hard to follow and even harder to grasp. Mostly due to lack of detail, lack of specificity, lack of metaphors and things that would lead the reader in a ever-tightening spiral around the ideas, to eventually get to the point that the writer has reached. Don't get my feeling of missing something put you off, the book is worth the reading.

            But again what is it about?

            He introduces several specific, but odd terms. The biggie is semiotics and a series of derivatives. All built on a triad of: primary sign, the object, the interpretant (pg20ff) to which he credits the philosopher Charles S. Pierce. The example he uses is that the fertilized egg takes DNA and uses it to create the "ontogenetic trajectory"; as he puts it, the machinery of the egg takes DNA and decipers or interprets it to form the being, the embryo. From here he builds a concept of a semiosphere which is the sum total of all the signs and the significance they represent for living things and their environment. One extended example from biochemistry is very good, and illustrates the value of his ideas, chapter 6 and the discussion of receptors on cell surfaces. He could easily write a whole book with this chapter as a guide, and signal theory and signal transduction and the main theme, as handled by his semiotic triads. But unfortunately he doesn't and leaves the reader, at least me, asking for more detail and specificity.

            The second term he introduces is umwelt which he credits to Jakob von Uexhull, which he defends as ecological niche as the organism itself apprehends it. pg54 The two terms kindof dance through the book, covering especially the topic of the evolution of human beings with attention to human self-awareness and/or consciousness until he reaches the topic of ecology. This is his planned destination for the book, it becomes apparent that his major concern is to allow the reader to review his travels in the field and understand that the semiosphere is a way to introduce morality and responsibility into human affairs and our relationship with the biosphere and the creatures that inhabit it. This is neat, for it is historically his intellectual journey, from the first glimmer in Pierce's triad to the things that push the evolution of human beings, to the full blown human responsibility to living things. That is why the book seems so sketchy, so bare of detail and examples. He desires us to follow his adventure but not distracted by the particulars but in a position to see the big picture that the semiotic viewpoint can yield.

            But all the while there are literally dozens of places where he starts topics that would make for another book in themselves. For example, he shows that DNA is digital, organisms are analogy, he calls this code duality and it is the topic of chapter 4. Another place i screamed for more detail was near the end of chapter 6 where he is talking about neuropeptides and the way the immunological system interacts with the nervous system, amazing and thought-provoking stuff, the basis for another really good book, i think.

            Its a good book, buy it and get out your yellow highlighter, because you will need to review this book several more times before it really sinks in.

            4 out of 5 stars biochemistry and information theory by dynamite philosopher.......2003-08-02

            signs of meaning in the universe_
            jesper hoffmeyer
            translated from the danish by barbara haveland

            The first question ought to be, what is it about? what is the genre? It's science, it's philosophy. The word pathfinder, speculative, thoughtful, leading-edge come to mind. The flipside of the book is lack of detail, lack of explicit substance and explanation. He defines new words, gives a hint about what he is thinking, then moves on in a few paragraphs, which leaves the reader gasping for breath and more. Yet you understand that here is a deep thinker, a considerable intellect that has something important to say, something i am interested in, yet it is hard to follow and even harder to grasp. Mostly due to lack of detail, lack of specificity, lack of metaphors and things that would lead the reader in a ever-tightening spiral around the ideas, to eventually get to the point that the writer has reached. Don't get my feeling of missing something put you off, the book is worth the reading.

            But again what is it about?

            He introduces several specific, but odd terms. The biggie is semiotics and a series of derivatives. All built on a triad of: primary sign, the object, the interpretant (pg20ff) to which he credits the philosopher Charles S. Pierce. The example he uses is that the fertilized egg takes DNA and uses it to create the "ontogenetic trajectory"; as he puts it, the machinery of the egg takes DNA and decipers or interprets it to form the being, the embryo. From here he builds a concept of a semiosphere which is the sum total of all the signs and the significance they represent for living things and their environment. One extended example from biochemistry is very good, and illustrates the value of his ideas, chapter 6 and the discussion of receptors on cell surfaces. He could easily write a whole book with this chapter as a guide, and signal theory and signal transduction and the main theme, as handled by his semiotic triads. But unfortunately he doesn't and leaves the reader, at least me, asking for more detail and specificity.

            The second term he introduces is umwelt which he credits to Jakob von Uexhull, which he defends as ecological niche as the organism itself apprehends it. pg54 The two terms kindof dance through the book, covering especially the topic of the evolution of human beings with attention to human self-awareness and/or consciousness until he reaches the topic of ecology. This is his planned destination for the book, it becomes apparent that his major concern is to allow the reader to review his travels in the field and understand that the semiosphere is a way to introduce morality and responsibility into human affairs and our relationship with the biosphere and the creatures that inhabit it. This is neat, for it is historically his intellectual journey, from the first glimmer in Pierce's triad to the things that push the evolution of human beings, to the full blown human responsibility to living things. That is why the book seems so sketchy, so bare of detail and examples. He desires us to follow his adventure but not distracted by the particulars but in a position to see the big picture that the semiotic viewpoint can yield.

            But all the while there are literally dozens of places where he starts topics that would make for another book in themselves. For example, he shows that DNA is digital, organisms are analogy, he calls this code duality and it is the topic of chapter 4. Another place i screamed for more detail was near the end of chapter 6 where he is talking about neuropeptides and the way the immunological system interacts with the nervous system, amazing and thought-provoking stuff, the basis for another really good book, i think.

            Its a good book, buy it and get out your yellow highlighter, because you will need to review this book several more times before it really sinks in.

            4 out of 5 stars A must read on biosemiotics.......1997-04-04

            This book is neccesary reading. The thoughts and topicsdiscussed in this book are fresh, and opens your mind for a new way ofseeing the world. The danish original is very hard to read. If only the author had made richer use of metaphors, the understanding of this book would be better - faster (Like Dawkins/selfisg Gene) However I would highly recommend this book.

            If Only They Could Speak: Stories about Pets and Their People
            Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
            • The pit bull from hell?
            • I agree- Poor Writing and Ego Ruin It
            • Excellent resource for dog behavior
            • Poor Writing Gets in the Way
            • James Herriott Returns
            If Only They Could Speak: Stories about Pets and Their People
            Nicholas H. Dodman
            Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Paperback

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            ASIN: 0393324680

            Book Description

            A San Francisco Chronicle bestseller: a veterinary behaviorist evokes James Herriot with these remarkable stories of distressed pets and their equally troubled owners.

            With humor and compassion, renowned animal behaviorist Dr. Nicholas Dodman explores the complex emotional problems of troubled animals and their (often) equally distressed owners, creating a classic of animal literature, with stories as wise, and almost as human, as the lives of the animals they portray. Did you hear about the dog who always arranged exactly six pieces of kibble in buttonhole depressions in the couch before he could lie down? Or the cat who compulsively hoarded shiny objects? Fifteen years ago Dodman began studying the psychological maladies that afflict our pets, helping to launch a field of animal psychotherapy and psychopharmacology that suggests that animals' emotional problems are often as complex, heartrending, and treatable as those of their human counterparts. If Only They Could Speak, with thirteen true stories culled from Dr. Dodman's own practice, echoes the wisdom of writers like Elizabeth Marshall Thomas and Jane Goodall. The stories here are as wise, and almost as human, as the lives of the disturbed animals they portray. Animal Personality Assessment Guide included. 15 b/w photographs.

            Customer Reviews:

            3 out of 5 stars The pit bull from hell?.......2007-05-05

            I enjoyed "The Dog who Loved too Much" (which might have been better titled "the Dog Owner who Loved too Much") so I picked this book up for more engaging stories of animal behavior and problem resolutions. My interest was further piqued by the chapter heading, "The Pit Bull from Hell". As the owner of a 9 year old pit bull, I have to say that Mr Dodman does not really "get" pit bulls. It's probably because the people who tend to have pit bulls cannot afford fancy schmancy animal behaviorist sessions.

            Mr Dodson seems to imply that aggression against people is something normal in pit bulls, just lying beneath the surface of even those "cupcake" pit bulls he mentions in passing. I have lived in a densely populated urban neighborhood where pit bulls are popular for over 30 years, and I have never felt threatened by any of the local pit bulls including those used for dog fighting. I have been menaced by rottweilers, a rott-GSD mutt, and GSD mixed breeds running off leash in a local park.

            The author describes a somewhat naive young man who tries to adopt a pit bull at a shelter but is directed to a pit bull breeder (WHY? with so many pit bull puppies ending up in shelters everywhere!) The dog he acquired seemed to be a product of careless dog breeding, but we are told nothing of the breeder. The animal developed a decidedly atypical aggression towards adult humans, probably a genetic error compounded by the ignorant owner's lack of understanding of dominant dog behavior.

            I'm surprised that Mr Dodson didn't take this opportunity to point out the extreme importance of training puppies not to exhibit food aggression, as I did with my little pit bull. Food aggression causes so many dangerous problems with dogs and people that every dog, not just pit bulls, should be trained to allow people to take his food, bone, or whatever away from him at any time. This is most easily done when the animal is very young! I think Mr Dodson needs to get out and meet some good pit bulls, those entertaining and loyal companions which will never find their way to an animal behaviorist.

            3 out of 5 stars I agree- Poor Writing and Ego Ruin It.......2006-07-13

            As if we don't have enough to worry about in regards to the children of today being overmedicated...now our pets, too?! His solution to almost every problem was prescribing an antidepressant. Also, his writing of his patients' owners came across as very egotistical and condescending. Some of the stuff had merit, but it was the same thing any trainer or behaviorist would tell you to do...establish dominance, ignore bad behaviors and reward good, etc.

            5 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for dog behavior.......2005-08-07

            Dr. Dodman is a world renowned animal psychiatrist and his and all of his books are great sources for information about understanding dogs and correcting bad behavior.

            2 out of 5 stars Poor Writing Gets in the Way.......2004-09-17

            This should have been a fine book, but the author's stilted prose and misuse of words on every second page nearly ruined it for me. Dodman swings wildly from overly prim writing to embarrassingly slangy, a sure sign of a bad writer.

            Oliver Sacks, please report to the Veterinary School!

            5 out of 5 stars James Herriott Returns.......2003-08-02

            I picked this book up on a whim, since I own two neurotic miniature Dachshunds. I was captivated from the first paragraph of the preface. Dr. Dodman writes eloquently, with wit, compassion, and common sense about the pitfalls we fallible humans fall into when it comes to interacting with our beloved pets. Most importantly for me was the reassurance it gave that there are millions of dedicated animal-lovers who know that animals are not "just pets." They have feelings and emotional needs, too. Thank you, Dr. Dodman, for a wonderful read, and a confirmation that there lots of cherished doggies out there!!!
            If Only They Could Speak: Stories About Pets and Their People
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              If Only They Could Speak: Stories About Pets and Their People
              Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman
              Manufacturer: W W Norton & Co Inc
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback
              ASIN: 0965444473
              If Only They Could Speak: Stories about Pets and Their People
              Average customer rating: Not rated
                If Only They Could Speak: Stories about Pets and Their People

                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Hardcover
                ASIN: 0641566417

                Product Description

                From the Publisher Did you hear about the dog who always arranged exactly six pieces of kibble in buttonhole depressions in the couch before he could lie down? Or the cat who compulsively hoarded shiny objects? In If Only They Could Speak, Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman, a renowned animal behaviorist, presents fourteen true stories about troubled pets and their distressed owners, revealing that the emotional problems of animals are often as complex, heartrending, and treatable as those of their human counterparts. Sadly, just fifteen years ago, euthanasia, which still today remains a so-called solution for millions of pets, was the only way to deal with a pet who was untrainable or unresponsive to human commands. A dog with a propensity to bite or a cat who constantly urinated indoors would have been sent to the proverbial pound, and almost always to a premature death. Dodman, believing that animal psychopharmacology could yield results as promising as those experienced by humans, began studying a wide array of psychological maladies that afflict pets, believing that careful drug use, be it Prozac, Valium, or newer psychiatric medications, could help save the lives of even the most profoundly troubled dogs and cats.
                If Only They Could Speak: Stories about Pets and Their People
                Average customer rating: Not rated
                  If Only They Could Speak: Stories about Pets and Their People

                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Hardcover
                  ASIN: 0641583192

                  Product Description

                  From the Publisher Did you hear about the dog who always arranged exactly six pieces of kibble in buttonhole depressions in the couch before he could lie down? Or the cat who compulsively hoarded shiny objects? In If Only They Could Speak, Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman, a renowned animal behaviorist, presents fourteen true stories about troubled pets and their distressed owners, revealing that the emotional problems of animals are often as complex, heartrending, and treatable as those of their human counterparts. Sadly, just fifteen years ago, euthanasia, which still today remains a so-called solution for millions of pets, was the only way to deal with a pet who was untrainable or unresponsive to human commands. A dog with a propensity to bite or a cat who constantly urinated indoors would have been sent to the proverbial pound, and almost always to a premature death. Dodman, believing that animal psychopharmacology could yield results as promising as those experienced by humans, began studying a wide array of psychological maladies that afflict pets, believing that careful drug use, be it Prozac, Valium, or newer psychiatric medications, could help save the lives of even the most profoundly troubled dogs and cats. These poignant, emotional stories reveal the fruits of Dodman's research, which he has carried out as the founder of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts Veterinary School in Grafton, Massachusetts. With characteristic humor, compassion, and a profound understanding of the way animals think and feel, Dodman explores how separation anxiety, jealousy, fear, and death all affect the lives of the animals he has treated.

                  Inside the Cage: A Season at West 4th Street's Legendary Tournament
                  Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                  • Indside the Cage rates a triple E
                  • A New York Book
                  • A Superb Story
                  Inside the Cage: A Season at West 4th Street's Legendary Tournament
                  Wight Martindale Jr.
                  Manufacturer: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Hardcover

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                  ASIN: 1416905391

                  Book Description

                  It is no wonder basketball purists love the kind of game that the Cage produces. Because of the court's small size, the action of the game is compact and intense. The short trip up and down the court produces a game with more shooting and more offense with less legwork. Big people moving quickly in a small area are bound to bump into one another, so the West 4th Street games remain the city's roughest. Over the years, basketball at West 4th Street has created a legion of enthusiasts who understand basketball and want to see it played well.

                  The most compelling aspect of a sport is that it never dies; it is always being reborn. The seasonal nature of West 4th Street brings fans and players back every year. One summer may end in disappointment or in victory, but the victors must prove themselves the following summer, and those who were defeated can try again.

                  The tip-off game on Saturday, June 1, officially begins the twenty-fifth season.The most popular outdoor basketball court in New York City is half the regulation size, offers no seating, and has sidelines bounded by a chain-link fence. The summer league on West 4th Street, in the heart of Greenwich Village, has developed its share of stars. But it has become known throughout the world for another reason: In the age of commercialized sports, West 4th Street stands out as a last bastion of true sportsmanship, a rare place where the only thing that matters is the game.

                  Inside the Cage follows a single season from start to climactic finish, chronicling its unlikely twenty-five-year history along the way. Founded and led by a limousine driver from Brooklyn, Ken Graham's West 4th Street Pro-Classic tournament receives virtually no support from the government. Still, the Cage is home to the city's longest continually running tourney, attracts thirty thousand spectators annually, is featured in one of PlayStation 2's hottest games, and was recently named the number-one playground court in America.

                  Martindale captures the extremes of the playground game with the scrupulous intensity of our best sports writers. But perhaps more remarkably, he introduces readers to the men on and around the court with the insight of a prize-winning novelist. From 1970s playground legend Fly Williams to NBA veteran Anthony Mason and rookie Smush Parker, three generations of players mastered their game at West 4th Street.

                  Inside the Cage asks how it is that a seemingly unorganized league, populated by men from Harlem, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, has flourished in a neighborhood where less than 10 percent of the residents are African American or Hispanic. The answer: Play, for its own sake, matters. In an age when even the NBA is plagued by violence, how else could a tournament loaded with ambition, intensity, and aggression thrive for more than a quarter century?

                  The Cage is a rare place where men stand on equal ground. It is a place where movie stars rub elbows with high school dropouts, evangelical Christians mix it up with convicted drug dealers, and hungry players receive support and encouragement from NBA greats.

                  It is no surprise that Nike's new Battle-Grounds clothing line adopted the Cage as a logo. West 4th Street is a battleground, a hallowed place where men can be perfect for all the right reasons.

                  Customer Reviews:

                  5 out of 5 stars Indside the Cage rates a triple E.......2005-06-27

                  I rate Inside the Cage a triple E: it's entertaining, educational, edifying. I'm not much of a basketball fan, but I enjoyed Martindale's blow by blow accounts of the tournament games. I particlarly admired his sparse but vivid writing style, which contrasts with today's media's overcharged, over-hyped sports reporting. Martindale obviously knows what made Hemmingway great. But Martindale's perspective extends beyond the games and into the personalities of the people in the background. As a white man talking about mostly black guys, Martindale is honest and avoids the patronizing tone that characterizes so much of the literature written by white people about African-Americans. His portrait of Kenny Graham, the main man behind the tournament, is true and will linger in my mind long after I have put this book down. And what makes Inside the Cage great is that it extends the perspective even further, looking past the games, the memorable characters in and around it, and places the West 4th Street Tournament within a cultural and social context. Martindale's inquiry as to whether basketball is good for the inner-city was one of the most incisive, thoughtful, provocative pieces of sports journalism that I have ever read.

                  5 out of 5 stars A New York Book.......2005-06-08

                  Having spent many summers watching games at W. 4th st., I recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding New York City basketball. In the course of describing one season at the Cage, the book skillfully portrays the colorful characters that make the Cage what it is. The book documents a community of basketball enthusiasts and players who have made this small court in Greenwhich Village their home for over 25 summers. Martindale's portrayal of the lives of these people off the court is just as fascinating as the game time action. The essays on play and city basketball towards the end of the book show just how important the culture of the Cage is. W. 4th st is a NYC summer institution and Inside the Cage is a must read for anyone who really wants to know about it.

                  5 out of 5 stars A Superb Story.......2005-06-07

                  Anyone who has watched games at the cage on west fourth street can attest to Martindale's vivid descriptions of the basketball talent and intense competition on display on any summer day.

                  Behind the scenes is an even more compelling story, unknown to casual fans but brought to life through an insider's view of the legendary tournament. The story of the cage is strengthened by the author's meticulous research, historical perspective and lucid style.

                  Martindale writes with a keen insight into not just the power and athleticism of the game of street ball, but with an equal focus on the men who make inner city leagues succeed despite improbable odds. Inside The Cage brings city basketball to life and honors those dedicated to making it work. It is a great, fast, informative read.

                  Index To Brown Driver and Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
                  Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                  • A much needed tool.
                  • A big help
                  • Excellent
                  • soooo helpful for using BDB
                  Index To Brown Driver and Briggs Hebrew Lexicon

                  Manufacturer: Moody Publishers
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Paperback

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                  Similar Items:
                  1. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
                  2. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
                  3. Old Testament Parsing Guide: Revised and Updated Edition Old Testament Parsing Guide: Revised and Updated Edition
                  4. A Simplified Guide to Bhs: Critical Apparatus, Masora, Accents, Unusual Letters & Other Markings A Simplified Guide to Bhs: Critical Apparatus, Masora, Accents, Unusual Letters & Other Markings
                  5. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia

                  ASIN: 0802440827

                  Book Description

                  A sequential listing of every significant Hebrew word throughout the Old Testament.

                  Customer Reviews:

                  5 out of 5 stars A much needed tool........2007-07-11

                  If you are studying a Hebrew passage using BDB then you need this book. This book makes it a lot easier and faster to locate a particular word in BDB.

                  The print is on the small side, but if you are using BDB, you are dealing with that already.

                  Some use this book without BDB, because they are attempting to make a rough translation. This will work well, but there are times when the English equivalent given is more appropriate the Hebrew word in general rather than the particular usage.

                  While there are some mistakes in this book, this is not much of a problem when you consider the scope of this book.

                  4 out of 5 stars A big help.......2006-01-06

                  Brown Driver & Briggs (BDB) contains a lot of information, but its arrangement can cause a person to tear one's hair out in clumps, especially for those of us who do not use our Hebrew every day. Einspahr helps you find the listing and discussion on a particular vocable quickly and easily. Unfortunately, this volume list only words used ten times or more. I found myself making notes for words used less often. There are errors in the volume and I also found myself writing to the publisher to make them aware of the mistakes I found. On balance, this volume makes Hebrew less frustrating. I wish it had been available when I took my first year Hebrew course.

                  5 out of 5 stars Excellent.......2004-10-15

                  Ancient Hebrew is not an easy language to master, and so it is often useful to have a BDB Hebrew Lexicon at hand. But that too can be difficult to use (especially if you are relatively new to Hebrew). This Index is the link between the text you are working on, and the detailed knowledge "hidden" in the Lexicon. The trouble is, the Index is so helpful I feel almost guilty using it. (Hebrew shouldn't be easy!) Just one provision, if you are over 45 you will probably want to go out and buy a magnifying glass, the print is extremely small, and can be difficult to see.

                  5 out of 5 stars soooo helpful for using BDB.......1999-12-28

                  This index is so very helpful that it verges on cheating. Anyone who has translated Torah knows how very difficult it can be to strip out the grammatical parts of the word to get to the right root. BDB is useful and interesting, but my havurah still sometimes had difficulty getting to the right entry. I found this Index to BDB at a used book store, and it has really speeded up our translation! It lists each BDB reference in chapter-verse order. You can instantly see which words in the passage you are translating are defined in BDB, including page number and definition number. There are still difficult words that are not indexed (because they are not referred to in BDB), so we still get some practice in figuring out the roots! But the Index to BDB (along with the BDB, of course) is very useful in getting the surface translation so that we can start looking at the meaning of the text.
                  Indexes to All Editions of Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon and Thayer's Greek Lexicon
                  Average customer rating: Not rated
                    Indexes to All Editions of Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon and Thayer's Greek Lexicon
                    Maurice A. Robinson
                    Manufacturer: Sovereign Grace Publishers
                    ProductGroup: Book
                    Binding: Hardcover

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                    1. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
                    2. Basics of Biblical Hebrew Workbook Basics of Biblical Hebrew Workbook
                    3. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia

                    ASIN: 1589600738
                    Index to Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
                    Average customer rating: Not rated
                      Index to Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
                      Bruce Einspahr
                      Manufacturer: Moody Press
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Paperback
                      ASIN: B000J1KXIE
                      Index to Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
                      Average customer rating: Not rated
                        Index to Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
                        Bruce (compiled by) Einspahr
                        Manufacturer: Moody Press
                        ProductGroup: Book
                        Binding: Paperback
                        ASIN: B000O2ND0S
                        Index to Brown, Driver, and Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
                        Average customer rating: Not rated
                          Index to Brown, Driver, and Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
                          Bruce (compiled by) Einspahr
                          Manufacturer: Moody Press
                          ProductGroup: Book
                          Binding: Paperback
                          ASIN: B000O1SIW2
                          [Review of] Einspahr, Bruce. Index to Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew lexicon
                          Average customer rating: Not rated
                            [Review of] Einspahr, Bruce. Index to Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew lexicon
                            Werner Weinberg
                            Manufacturer: National Association of Professors of Hebrew in American Institutions of Higher Learning
                            ProductGroup: Book
                            Binding: Unknown Binding
                            ASIN: B0006XPMOK

                            Cutting Edge: 50 years of British fashion 1947-1997
                            Average customer rating: Not rated
                              Cutting Edge: 50 years of British fashion 1947-1997
                              Amy De La Haye
                              Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
                              ProductGroup: Book
                              Binding: Hardcover
                              ASIN: B000OMSXVM
                              The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion, 1947-1997
                              Average customer rating: Not rated
                                The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion, 1947-1997
                                Amy de la Haye
                                Manufacturer: Overlook Hardcover
                                ProductGroup: Book
                                Binding: Hardcover

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                                2. Works Councils: Consultation, Representation, and Cooperation in Industrial Relations (National Bureau of Economic Research--Comparative Labor Markets Series)
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