Westerns Books

More a curiosity and an exploration in the mental discipline of standing rigor up to total relativism. Read this classic if you're (a) interested in the roots of the nascent deconstruction movement (b) thick skinned enough not to be distracted by the author's biases.

I read it out of a desire to see my suppositions challenged; it succeeded well for that.

The 1994 Random House / Vintage edition astonishingly does not include an index. Without an index, the text is virtually useless for students and academics. One is forced to rely on Google Books in order to find terms in the text. If you intend to use this book for anything more than casual reading, avoid this edition.

Foucault's stuff is hardly pleasure reading, but it rewards in other ways, more subtly. If you don't read Foucault without coming away with a deeper sense of the world around you, how power and knowledge is diffuse and not central, you would be a rare person. This book isn't so much concerned with power as it is the history of ideas, though.

This book has dramatically changed the way I conceptualize reality. It is hard to follow but incredibly insightful. It will hurt to get through but once you do, you might consider practising your best Mr.Universe pose and claiming -- in the words of the the "Governator" -- "No pain, no gain."

I recommend the following steps to understanding this book:
1) read once;
2) see a psychiatrist;
3) read again;
4) think;
5) read again
6) understand.

Im only considering step two. I might just skip it and go strait to step 3.

Good luck.

This book is one of the most important philosophy texts of the 20th century, if for no other reason than as an eye-opener. The text is a difficult read (although nowhere near as opaque as Derrida). The section on how our culture and, hence, our world-view has been "set" by accepted taxonomies is worth the read all by itself. I have come back to these comments again and again. Taxonomies are useful, but we need to understand the constraints on understanding imposed by such

Rich Steves gives the best advice you can get on travel in Europe. He was right on the money with all that he suggested as far as rooms, price and what to see. We loved this book! We took it with us to Germany, Switzerland and Denmark. While doing a walking tour of the quaint little town of Bacharach, Germany, we saw a young girl walking along with the SAME BOOK! She had the same kind of praises we had. We plan to buy the next version for our next European trip.

This book was very helpful with lots of useful tips on travel through Europe. We took the advice on several of the hotels and were very pleased with the recommendations.

Ricke Steves always gives excellent advice to the budget traveler. His advice is comprehensive and and at times humorous.

If Rick Steves has a book for your destination(s), then do yourself a favor - buy it. You do not need any other guide for your trip. We've just returned from a trip through much of western Europe (London, Paris, Milan, Florence, Venice, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona and Brugge) and this guide was indispensable.

We avoided long lines to visit museums in Venice and Florence, lived in great local hotels and dined in non-touristy and cheap restaurants serving amazing local food. We also had Frommer's with us at the beginning of the trip but we threw it half way through the trip - it was too bulky and did not add any value to our experience.

Rick Steve's conversational style is non-intimidating and makes for a much more interesting read compared to the cut-and-dry, facts only style of other guides. All guides will have some out of date information but this guide is very current. In fact, a tour-guide with a company in Rome that is recommended by Rick Steves' told us that while other publishers just call them every year to verify that they are still in business, only Rick Steves' company actually sends someone to take part in the tours to make sure that the experience is still consistent with the description in the book.

This book is a must have for your Europe trip.

Rick Steves' does a great job taking you to the hot spots and off the beaten path. Has a ton of info on each area (ie phone numbers, addresses, names, etc).

This book is the text for a course I took. Although there is some interesting material, the majority of it is way overdone.

If you want to learn pretty much everything you could hope to learn in a basic real estate class, this is a great book to do it with.

My professor basically rambled the whole class, but I read the book and still made an easy A in the class.

All of the details are covered completely, but are easy to read. The beginning of each chapter lists all the definitions for that chapter on one page, which makes for an easy review.

There aren't any color picture, but the black and white diagrams do just fine, and it keeps the cost down, which is fine with me.

This is one textbook I'm actually considering keeping.

This book is used as a college text for Basic Real Estate 101. It covers just about every Real Estate topic you can imagine, from brokerage to finance to appraisal and so on. Whether you are trying to learn about the profession of Real Estate and the types of jobs that entails or if you are trying to improve your knowledge of the sales process, this book will give you an excellent overview.

This is a really horrible textbook, it lacks any obvious method of organization and instead of picking out the most important points every detail is hit making it very hard to focus your attention. Also, if you aren't already familiar with this material you will spend a lot of time doing outside research so that you can clarify terms that are simply presented in this text. I would not recommend this book for anyone looking to learn anything, it simply won't happen.

I used this book here at UNC Charlotte for our Western History and Culture class. It isn't a very good book for actually learning the religions because it is very broad. But when the class only lasts a semester it is fine for hitting all the main points. I still dont like the class though.

This is a horrible text book for university. If you are taking a class using this book, drop it. The book is way too broad. The author seems to get way off topic in most paragraphs. Starts on one subject, talks about three others then concludes on something else. Scattered to say the least. Very difficult to learn from and I spent way too much time researching topics on the internet instead.

The virtue of this book is that it is large enough to carry substantial detail, more than appears in books with more pictures and less text. While it might seem a bit stodgy for someone who wants a light read, there is no escape from considering a lot of facts if one wants to achieve any understanding at all of such a complicated subject as religion.

As far as fairness goes, it is only fair to consider each religion on its own terms according to its own self-description and self-interpretation. Religions change constantly, as shown by the history of Judaism in this book, and no mistake can be bigger than reducing a world religion to some single essence. When done by followers of a particular religion, such reductionism represents an exclusionary sectarianism, when directed against other religions, it simply becomes abuse. This work by Oxtoby, on the other hand, shows these religions to have many different expressions, so that I am pleased to recommend it.

There is no such thing as a completely unbiased and objective text on religious studies. As other commentators on this volume have noted, there are some definite biases in this volume, but one must also allow for biases on the part of the readers, too. This book, edited by Willard Oxtoby of the University of Toronto, is the kind of book often used for introduction to world religions courses. This is part of a two-volume set; this volume deals with the three major religions to come out of the ancient Near/Middle East, as well as a few lesser-prominent traditions, such as Zoroastrianism and the Greek/Roman/Egyptian religious varieties.

In his introduction, Oxtoby addresses the issue of objectivity and the insider/outsider consideration about religious studies writing. The other authors, Alan Segal and Mahmoud Ayoub, write of Judaism and Islam respectively, and Oxtoby is a Christian. We are not given the specifics of denomination or sectarian affiliation here, but given the purpose of writing broadly-useful texts, such classifications might hinder rather than help progress.

Oxtoby has the majority of the writing in this volume, taking not only the task of the Christian section, but also Zoroastrianism, the introduction, and concluding chapters with forward-looking ideas. Segal and Ayoub write on their traditions of Judaism and Islam. Each chapter incorporates history, particularly the beginnings of the religions, and the fundamental belief structures. For each major faith, a description of the current state of affairs is also included.

There are photographs throughout, but not so many for a 500+ page book. There are maps, diagrams and charts relating to the subjects. Perhaps the most useful are the highlighted text boxes, which often draw into greater relief key scriptures, historical events, personalities or ideas -- the Ten Commandments is drawn out, as are pieces of Midrash and Talmud; gospel passages and liturgical prayers are highlighted in the Christian section; portions of the Koran and key terms in Islam are also developed in this manner.

The concluding chapters on New Horizons and Traditions in Contact look at developments at work in the modern West today (Bahai, Native American religions, etc.) as well as key areas of inter-religious contact, conflict and dialogue.

Each major section begins with a timeline of key dates in the development of that tradition. Each section concludes with lists for further reading, references, and useful study questions for those who use this as a text book or conversation partner. The book has a very good index, and is well constructed to stand up to regular student use (and abuse).

I would like my money back, because I have been waiting for this book over a month now, and had to go buy one from the bookstore after having had a quiz and still no book. I am sadly disappointed in my affiliations with Amazon and this seller. I have had no complaints up until this point and now would definitely reconsider before buying anything else!

Great if you like that sort of thing to read. I have to read it for my req'd college class, so I'm not in love with it, but it's good if you have to read it.

I have been laying the groundwork for putting together a two-semester Humanities course, which has meant checking out potential textbooks. What attracted me to "The Western Humanities" by Roy T. Matthews and F. DeWitt Platt was that in addition to the two textbooks, there were not only a pair of additional books with readings from literature and philosophy, but also a pair of CDs with music. So, for example, when students are studying the High Middle Ages, students learn all about feudalism, medieval Christianity and the church, and the equilibrium between the spiritual and the secular in the text of the chapter, which includes looks at the art and architecture of the period. The corresponding readings for this chapter would include "The Song of Roland," Chretien de Troyes' "Lancelot," Marie de France's "Lais" (Lays), Thomas Aquinas' "Summa Theologica," and Dante's "The Divine Comedy." Then on the CD there is the hymn "O Pastor Animarum" by Hildegard of Bingen (obviously, music selections are rarer when you are dealing with the Renaissance and earlier periods).

This is the fifth edition of "The Western Humanities, Volume I: Beginnings Through the Renaissance," which places the achievements of Western culture within their historical contexts, emphasizing the linkages between cultural expression and historical conditions. Previous editions had expanded coverage of the contributions of women and other artists outside the traditional canon and added a multicultural dimension that looked at what was happening outside the Western tradition. This fifth edition expands coverage of Islamic civilization, obviously in response to current events.

"The Western Humanities" is organized chronologically into twenty-one chapters, the first 12 of which are in this first volume, with the two Renaissance chapters reprinted in the second volume to adjust for where it comes in the curriculum of various institutions. The first six chapters in the first volume includes the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome and constitute the initial "ancient" period of Western civilization (3000 B.C. to A.D. 500). The next two chapters constitute a transitional period, with the end of the Roman Empire and the rise of Islam. The second period (500 to 1500) looks at when the West became centered in Europe and was largely dominated by the Christian church. The third period (1400 to present) is the story of the birth of the modern world.

Each chapter begins by establishing the material conditions of the era (historical, political, economic, and social) and then presenting the crucial points that defined the culture during that period (major themes, issues, and problems of the period). The second half of each chapter focuses on the cultural expression of the period, including not only ideas in philosophy, history, religion, and science, but also the cultural artifacts of art, music, drama, literature, and (eventually) film. This shows the attempt to balance the historical background with the cultural and artistic achievements, and each chapter concludes with a brief section covering the cultural legacy of that period.

Among the special features are "Windows on the World," a series of two-page timelines that outline the most important historical events and cultural achievements in Africa, the Americas, and Asia, which appear between most of the chapters. "Personal Perspectives" are excerpts from primary sources and original documents that allow students to hear the voices of participants and witnesses in the historical and cultural events described in the text. At the start of the book there is "A Humanities Primer: How to Understand the Arts," that introduces readers to the understanding and appreciation of cultural works (defining and explaining terms and concepts). The back of the book includes an "Appendix, Writing for the Humanities: Research Papers and Essay Examinations," an eleven-page Glossary, and an Index.

I was surprised that the main part of this textbook is only 351 pages long, even with all the photographs, most of which are in color (and most of which are big enough that you can pick out some of the important details). The focus here is on the essential elements and works of the Western tradition, which I see as being less information translating into more understanding and retention, which is certainly something I can appreciate. But as I indicated earlier, what I especially like is how students will get to read extended excerpts from the literature of these times and listen to the music. Now, if I can just get these classes scheduled...

Land art was a controversial movement that came out of the 1960's and 1970's. Artists like Robert Smithson, Nancy Holt and Walter DeMaria tore apart the concept of art being individual works displayed in a gallery or sculpture garden independent of surroundings and time. They went to the most remote corners of the American west and southwest and created huge installations that are wedded to the landscape with an expectation that time and elements, as well as the viewers' physical perspective, can change their work and statement.

A generation later, an urbanite armed with a doctorate in art history, who was well read on the debate about land art realized that since its entire point is about where it is, she ought to go out and see these icons for herself. Erin Hogan may have been intellectually equipped, but going to land art is nothing like donning heels and a black dress and going to a gallery opening in Chicago. Thus her book is an amalgam of art history, art criticism and a frequently funny travelogue of an innocent who had never traveled solo before. The title of the book incorporates this range: the first earthwork she visits is Smithson's "Spiral Jetty" on Salt Lake, and the car she drives to remote, off-road locations requiring high-riding all-wheel drive vehicles is a VW Jetta.

This book works on many accounts: Hogan is a natural storyteller and she is an accessible interpreter of art history and criticism. Due to very poor directions, not to mention a scary evening in a bar called the Saddle Sore, she does not find Holt's "Sun Tunnels" and later, a conversation with a Navajo ranger convinces her that it would be foolhardy in gun country to seek James Turrell's "Roden Crater." Although that's disappointing, she achieves some major experiences, especially a transformative overnight at De Maria's "Lightening Field." However inauspicious their start on the trip, she and the Jetta survive, and she provides revised travel directions for those who would like to make their own pilgrimages without the slapstick.

As a woman who also took a road trip (well, OK, it was in a converted bus with my husband, pets, 200 pairs of shoes - and I still had to be dragged kicking and screaming), and lived to write about it, I had high expectations for this book. I was not disappointed. Even though I've never been that interested in "land art," Hogan nevertheless manages to bring it to life with humor and grace. I could also relate to her many misadventures as well as her growth during the trip, and I'm certain other readers will love going along for this ride.

Many art historians have written about the great modern earthworks of the American West and Southwest, but this is the first travel book to do so. What sets this book apart from others of its kind is the quality of the writing and the personality of the author, Erin Hogan. Hogan, an avowed urbanista from Chicago, writes with real comedic flair about the road trip she took in her trusty VW Jetta to visit the legendary Spiral Jetty, Lightning Field, Double Negative, Rodencrater, and Donald Judd's Chinati Foundation in Marfa (almost all of them funded by the Dia Foundation). Writing in a picaresque mode, along the way she encounters some pretty hairy and scary characters straight out of the old Wild West, but gone wrong, terribly wron. While her discussions of the formidable works of Judd, Smithson et al are excellent and accessible for general readers, the account of her accidental discovery of a folk-art site known as Hole 'n' the Rock is absolutely transcendent, right up there on a par with Perelman, Benchley, Woody Allen. A fabulous read. I hope we'll be seeing more from this talented writer--and soon.

The book covered a lot of ground. I believe it offered a lot of insight into the world of human resources, primarily, the challenges faced by HR today. Some highlights were the concept of valuing human assets, the implications of globalization, federal regulations, the importance of well-designed and applicable feedback systems, employee separation and compensation. Overall, it was a fairly easy read. I would recommend this book to professors, students, and entrepreneurs.