Product Description
Sir William Jones was one of the greatest polymaths in history. At the time of his early death, in 1794, he knew 13 languages thoroughly and another 28 moderately well. But languages were for him only a means of reaching a deeper understanding, in contrasting cultures, of law, history, literature, music, botany, and other disciplines. Elected at the age of 26 to Johnson's Literary Club and knighted at 37, Jones was a close friend to many leading English luminaries of his time. He was called "Oriental Jones" by some, and his study of middle-eastern cultures, his championship of American independence, and finally his appointment as high court judge in Calcutta, made him a truly universal figure. On the bicentenary of his death, several scholars met at University College, Oxford--his old college--to commemorate his outstanding career and achievements. They found representative themes in Jones's life and work, aiming to strike a balance therein, and to remember, especially, the view taken of Jones by his informed contemporaries. This collection of fascinating papers is a result of that meeting. ... Read more

Product Description
When it was originally published in 1987, An Incomplete Education became a surprise bestseller. Now this instant classic has been completely updated, outfitted with a whole new arsenal of indispensable knowledge on global affairs, popular culture, economic trends, scientific principles, and modern arts. Here’s your chance to brush up on all those subjects you slept through in school, reacquaint yourself with all the facts you once knew (then promptly forgot), catch up on major developments in the world today, and become the Renaissance man or woman you always knew you could be!

How do you tell the Balkans from the Caucasus? What’s the difference between fission and fusion? Whigs and Tories? Shiites and Sunnis? Deduction and induction? Why aren’t all Shakespearean comedies necessarily thigh-slappers? What are transcendental numbers and what are they good for? What really happened in Plato’s cave? Is postmodernism dead or just having a bad hair day? And for extra credit, when should you use the adjective continual and when should you use continuous?

An Incomplete Education answers these and thousands of other questions with incomparable wit, style, and clarity. American Studies, Art History, Economics, Film, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, Science, and World History: Here’s the bottom line on each of these major disciplines, distilled to its essence and served up with consummate flair.

In this revised edition you’ll find a vitally expanded treatment of international issues, reflecting the seismic geopolitical upheavals of the past decade, from economic free-fall in South America to Central Africa’s world war, and from violent radicalization in the Muslim world to the crucial trade agreements that are defining globalization for the twenty-first century. And don’t forget to read the section A Nervous American’s Guide to Living and Loving on Five Continents before you answer a personal ad in the International Herald Tribune.

As delightful as it is illuminating, An Incomplete Education packs ten thousand years of culture into a single superbly readable volume. This is a book to celebrate, to share, to give and receive, to pore over and browse through, and to return to again and again.Amazon.com Review
You'll find everything you forgot from school--as well as plenty you never even learned--in this all-purpose reference book, an instant classic when it first appeared in 1987. The updated version takes a whirlwind tour through 12 different disciplines, from American studies to philosophy to world history. Along the way, Judy Jones and William Wilson provide a plethora of useful information, from the plot of Othello to the difference between fission and fusion. It's not a shortcut to cultural literacy, the authors write in their introduction, but it's an excellent "way in" to the building blocks of Western civilization: the "books, music, art, philosophy, and discoveries that have, for one reason or another, managed to endure." Think of it as finishing school for your brain; study up and you'll gain a lifetime's worth of cocktail conversation--as well as a new list of books you simply must read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (113)

Esse quam videri (or not)
Like a handbook that lets you fake having gone to college, even if you did. Jones and Wilson (and a stable of guest experts) review literature, art, economics, philosophy, science (political and actual), religion, psychology, and history - in short, all those topics you might be feeling you should know something about, especially if you spent $100,000 getting a degree. All of the major intellectual players make an appearance, however brief, plus there is the occasional weirdness detour (e.g., a comparison of horse carriages appearing in 19th-century literature, the chairs of important historical Louis, a list of aphorisms from Boswell's Life of Johnson) to keep things saucy. Dense with facts, highly opinionated, and written with a sly sense of style. Never again be ignorant of the purpose of the international monetary fund, or the difference between pathetic fallacy and intentional fallacy, or that there exists not only a Chicago School of Architecture, but also a Chicago School of Criticism and a Chicago School of Economics.

Entertaining Read
Being a 'math weenie', I picked this book up off the sale table because I didn't get much of an education, with the exception of the sciences.

What a complete delight!If you don't expect to learn anything in depth, it's a decent introduction to most everything.Although, I've only gotten to page 128.

It's not a page-turner.Personally, I read it until it gives me a laugh or two (and some information), then, put it down until I want another chuckle.

The authors don't take anything too seriously, which I find to be a good thing.Buy this book and you'll be reading it for years.

Kindle version has mismatched photos and captions
The physical book is wonderful and I recommend it. My rating specifically applies to the Kindle version, which has many mismatched photos and captions. For example, the caption "Washington Irving's house" appears beneath a picture of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Ridiculous.

Great read, easily digested
It's a great volume, and thoroughly interesting. Basically short reviews across a number of subjects, heavy on the history and art. It's probably a reading level above a "Dummies" summary, but still not difficult to digest on the go.

kindle version formatted funny - right edge cut off
4.5-stars for the book.2-stars for the kindle version.i had purchased the first version in hardback & loved it.a fun way to review &/or fill in gaps in a basic set of knowledge with lots of imbedded pictures.the fairly consistent pro/con or HS-vs-college expectations per listing can get a little tired.

i thought it would be a good addition to my kindle library particularly since it said it was optimized for DX.in the sample i was already a little put off by just the table of contents, which is literally in a table mode, which you need to first enter as a table, & then select the section you want to go to.then i noted that the space-wasting two column approach of titles/heading in one column & narrative in second column has a second penalty in kindle.

the width sets vary & some columns exhibit only 2-3 words per line of substantive text hugging the right edge with lots of blank space to the left.this means you have to hit next-page a lot.beyond the scope of the sample, i ran into a listing that actually had the right edge of text (4-5 characters) chopped off, even on the DX turned sideways (landscape).

my experience of amazon as an amazing customer service company continued as they gave me an uncomplicated & swift refund.i find them to be very responsive to critique & they may fix these problems thereby making my review obsolete. ... Read more

Product Description
What exactly can you eat if you have a yeast-related problem? Here, in The Yeast Connection Cookbook, are hundreds of answers to that question.

The Yeast Connection Cookbook begins with a discussion of yeast-related disorders and the important role diet plays in their management. It also provides general information on the effects--both positive and negative--that some common foods can have on yeast sufferers, and crucial instructions on detecting the specific foods to which you are particularly sensitive or allergic. The authors then present over 225 recipes--for breads, soups, entrées, desserts, and more--that eliminate most common food allergens while providing beneficial complex carbohydrates. Throughout, tips and suggestions guide you in adopting a diet that is both healthful and satisfying. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

not reccomended
based on a lie, the only people that get candida are those with extreme wasting disease

Good Resource
Found very helpful when my doctor suggested I cut out refined sugars, vinegars and simple carbohydrates in order to help recover from a yeast allergy. While I have not stayed as strict as The Yeast Connection diet suggests, it really helped the first month I needed to cut back.

surprisingly useless
I was hoping to find recipes to help me get through what promises to be a challenging period of no refined sugar or carbohydrates, and very limited amounts of foods with natural sugars and carbs. However, I haven't used this book AT ALL because every recipe I read includes fruits and, in some cases, honey or other sweeteners. It was a waste of money and is collecting dust...

Very Informative
This book has helped answer a lot of questions about yeast allergy.And is helpful in knowing what to eat when it hits.I have had this yeast allergy for 30 yrs. and it comes and goes.This time was by far the worst that it has ever been.

Good overall,... with some snags.....
I have begun my journey with Candida Related Complex. This was the first book I purchased and I found that the inforamtion gets "jumbled up" from time to time. One section may say it's OK to eat a certain food,another sais it's not, and often it neglets to mention which foods are not to be eaten in the "elimination phase"... Recepies are alright, but many are not for the the elimination phase... Much of the ingredients are rather expensive and not always easily found locally (or only in healthfood stores). Overall,I found it to be a decent guide, but much more acurate information is needed on this condition. ... Read more

Product Description
Europe, 1783-1914 is an accessible history of Europe from the advent of the French Revolution to the origins of the First World War, covering political, economic, and social aspects of the period. Each chapter is structured with concise backgrounds to events including tables of key dates, a selection of primary documents and questions to test current interpretations of important themes, and a guide to further reading.Highly illustrated with maps, contemporary cartoons and portraits. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

better than expected
My son needed this book for a college class. The price was 1/2 that of a used book in the book store. The book arrived in a couple of days. ... Read more

Product Description
WE ARE ADRIFT IN A SEA OF INFORMATION. We need information to make good decisions, to get things done, to learn, and to gain better mastery of the world around us. But we do not always have good control of our information - not even in the "home waters" of an office or on the hard drive of a computer. Instead, information may be controlling us - keeping us from doing the things we need to do, getting us to waste money and precious time. The growth of available information, plus the technologies for its creation, storage, retrieval, distribution and use, is astonishing and sometimes bewildering. Can there be a similar growth in our understanding for how best to manage information and informational tools?

This book provides a comprehensive overview of personal information management (PIM) as both a study and a practice of the activities people do and need to be doing so that information can work for them in their daily lives.

Introductory chapters of Keeping Found Things Found: The Study and Practice of Personal Information Management provide an overview of PIM and a sense for its many facets. The next chapters look more closely at the essential challenges of PIM, including finding, keeping, organizing, maintaining, managing privacy, and managing information flow. The book also contains chapters on search, email, mobile PIM, web-based support, and other technologies relevant to PIM.

*For more information and author blog visit http://www.keepingthingsfound.com/.

* Focuses exclusively on one of the most interesting and challenging problems in today's world
* Explores what good and better PIM looks like, and how to measure improvements
* Presents key questions to consider when evaluating any new PIM informational tools or systems ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

excellent foundation for learning about a new field
As someone who thinks a lot about strategies for dealing with personal information -- and someone who helps design computational tools to do so -- I found this book to be a wonderful map of the subject.It's a book that I had been looking for a long time.

I will be using it as a textbook in my summer course on personal information management.I'm looking forward to sharing it with my students.

Great product, good service
The book arrived in a timely manner and its condition was better than described. Great price too! Thanks

essential tool
"Keeping Found Things Found", is a must buy, an essential tool, as we all struggle to keep on top of, rather than be buried by, information. The book's premise is excellent, explaining as it does how to organize web information into our lives in ways that help rather than just adding to the clutter.

In today's frenetic pace, when we are swamped with information, this book gave me highly valuable suggestions. But, as importantly, it also gave me some very useful questions to ask. It seems as though every day I run across new Web initiatives or gadgets or software tools. Which are worth my time and trouble (and money)?The book gives a checklist of questions to consider.

"Keeping Found Things Found" is thorough and extremely readable.

Ahh now I get it
I'm a college dropout(Information Studies), now working in IT as a Systems Admin at a fair sized hotel. When I left college to pursue other at that time more interesting things. I couldn't really see the big picture in why we had to learn what they wanted us to.
Now I do, thanks to this book.

I keep feeling inspired about the management of my information. Both as PIM in my own department, but mostly also for my users. I can suddenly see some meaning in the way they manage their PIM. I as the IT department have to facilitate their professional PIM. I have to give them the tools to make sure they don't lose stuff, but also so they don't drown in information. Suddenly I have a much more nuanced view of my job. Being the geek who loves his tech stuff, can do everything to keep servers and computer running, is not really enough. I have to know my place in the business of managing information and information flow in the company.

This book could teach many programmers, much on how they can make their products more usable to the users. Make them understand some of how people look at the information being processed, stored, shared, pushed by the programs they write. We have to facilitate more styles of PIM than just our own, not everyone works like we do.

I have to stop myself, I just love this book and the ideas it keeps inspiring to pop up in my head.
There is so much for so many people in this book..

Personal Information Management
This book is a great introduction and a consummate summary of the field of personal information management. Its comprehensive nature makes it useful for people familiar with the field, while at the same time it's a great primer for someone new to this area. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first full-scale study of the career of late-eighteenth century entrepreneur William Duer. A member of the New York State Convention and the Continental Congress, and Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury when the Federal government was organized, Duer had a role in all the significant changes that occurred during the revolutionary period. In addition, Duer was a stock speculator, a land promoter, an army contractor, and merchant. While he was Secretary to the Board of Treasury, Duer floated the Scioto Land Comapny, one of the biggest speculations ever attempted in the United States. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Publisher: Leyden, E.J. Brill; Publication date: 1917; Subjects: Ojibwa language; Ojibwa Indians; ... Read more

Product Description
Eldritch Explorations in the Ancient Kingdom

In the remote reaches of the world are hidden secrets and dangerous mysterious. Learn of the ancient tradtions of Morocco, of its war torn cities, and its rebels. Venture through the land as it was in the 1920s and 1930s. This Call of Cthulhu roleplaying sourcebook contains the historical information and the Lovecraftian Mythos details to adventure in one of the world's most exotic lands. Included are maps, NPCs, new character occupation templates, several mini-adventures, and two adventures that can be combinded as a campaign, or readily used with existing campaigns. From the white houses of Casablanca to the dangerous Rift Mountains to the deadly depths of the Sahara desert, all of a land haunted by eldritch horrors will be revealed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Yes...more secrets!
Very nice book. Great production value and chock full of useful information and adventure. It even has Rick's Place in Casablanca. ... Read more

Product Description
Examines the life of William Turner, a pivotal figure in Tudor religious history who was also the "father of English botany" and an important physician. ... Read more

Product Description
All great music has a birthplace. Temples of Sound tells the stories of the legendary studios where musical genius and a magical space came together to capture some of the most exciting jazz, pop, funk, soul, and country records ever made. From the celebrated Southern studios of Sun and Stax, to the John Coltrane/Miles Davis sessions in producer Rudy Van Gelder’s living room, to Frank Sinatra’s swinging cuts at state-of-the-art Capitol Records, each of the 15 profiles in this book brings great music to life at the moment of its creation. With a trove of never-before-seen photographs and fascinating, all-new interviews with the musicians and producers who made the records, Temples of Sound is a rich inspiration for music fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

+1/2 -- Fails to deliver on its excellent thematic promise
The book's stated theme, "inside the great recording studios," is a tantalizing one. Unfortunately the authors rarely deliver the reader inside the temples themselves. Instead, they spend an inordinate amount of text rehashing introductory material about artists, songs, labels, musical genres and scenes. It's not necessarily uninteresting, but it leaves readers in the lobby, rather than actually taking them into the studio.

Worse, the writing is hugely uneven. The chapter on Atlantic is just that, a chapter on the Atlantic label, with tidbits about the studios they used. The chapter on Columbia, on the other hand, does a nice job of communicating the label's producers' emotional attachment to their studios. The text itself ranges from well-written to hyperbolic ("It is indisputable: there is no one label that had as much impact on the development of rock from the 1950s to the 1970s as Chess.") and overly clever ("Everyone wanted in, and the [Chess] brothers, refashioned as record men, kept adding more pawns to the Chess set.").

What this book does accomplish is a grounding of hit songs at their physical points of creation. It untangles the juxtaposition of Top-40 radio and strips away the music industry's placelessness by re-contextualizing songs with the writers, producers, engineers and musicians who created them. Who knew that Eric Clapton's "Layla" was recorded in Florida, within the same studios that reverberated with Hank Ballard's "The Twist," The Eagles' "Hotel California," and The Bee Gees "How Deep is Your Love?"

The book's photos provide intimate views of studios in use (not to mention, under construction), it's a shame that the accompanying text isn't as fully detailed on the technical and artistic inner-workings of these "temples of sound."

It's a FUN Read
With all the documentaries out there today, it's sometimes easy to forget the expression "The Joy of Music".Thankfully, Mr. Clark stays away from trying to overanalyze every note and decision, and at times delights in the instantaneous, spur of the moment happenings that create great hits. (ie.,How the song Hold On, I'm Coming by Sam & Dave was written in about 30 minutes by Isaac Hayes!Will never hear that song the same way again.)

Each chapter is devoted to one particular studio, and some of the giants who recorded there, what gave the studio that particular sound, but more often than not, what accidental happening's created the soundtrack to so many of our lives.

With each studio covered in only a chapter, there are probablythousand's of untold stories that go along with each studio, however once again Mr. Clark hits on the highlights, and does a good job of figuring out what the reader really wants to know.

After reading a chapter, found myself pulling out various cd's of the respective studio's and enjoying them all over again.

Those were the days
"Temples of Sound" is an interesting and inspiring look at some popular American recording studios, mostly from the late 1950s and early 60s, but with a few nods to the later sixties and early 70s. (Sorry, no British studios. Abbey Road, Olympic, and Trident spring to mind - anyone want to write one?) Each chapter picks a particular studio (Sun, Chess, Motown, Western, Columbia, etc.) and gives a brief overview of its history (down to the present day; alas many of the studios no longer exist), its features, and the people who made it special, both artists and engineers. Indeed, the authors have interviewed a number of studio owners and engineers, which adds much to the text. The book certainly succeeds in being evocative - these were the days when echo chambers could be someone's bathroom, when everything was recorded on glorious analog tape, when most basic tracks were done live all in the same room with sonic leakage, and cigarette smoking in the studio was glamorous. Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Muddy Waters, Elvis Presley, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, John Coltrane, the Doors, and other greats make walk-on appearances, and there are good photographs of many of them at work. (Actually, I could have used even more photos.) The book also rescues from relative obscurity one Bill Putnam, who apparently designed many of the sweetest-sounding rooms in the country. Often there are anecdotes about the history of studio owners and their labels, which are interesting, though one might hope for even more anecdotes about the artists and recording sessions. I found myself wishing for a little bit more technical information too, about how each room was set up and what specific gear they had, though some of this is mentioned briefly. And, of course, they can't cram every studio in here - for instance, there is no chapter on Muscle Shoals. However, the book ends with a nice discography of tracks to hunt down and listen to, each associated with one of the studios, and all of which I want to listen to after reading about these places' heydays.I find this book fascinating for what it does tell us, and inspiring in its depiction of an era when artistic talent, engineering skill, and human warmth made sometimes low-tech rooms into hallowed cathedrals of sound. A good gift for anyone interested in recording, or in the 50s-60s period.

It's OK, not great
I just can't muster the enthusiasm of other reviewers for this book.Perhaps most interesting and informative are the stories of how some of the best recordings of the golden days of analogwere made on a shoe string, over garages on third hand equipment. There are some insights into what made some of the studios sound unique.

The early chapters dwell lovingly on some details of the lives of the produces, engineers and some of the artists. But by the end the facts are marshaled and rushed past, leaving the reader with the distinct impression that they were included so as not to offend some egos or just to drop some names.In some cases the fact that the producers were flat out ignorant of music, rather unlikable individuals and driven by the Wall-Street motives of fear and greed are all too clear, but left between the lines.

All in all the book it left me with more questions than answers about the recording process. A decent compendium of facts about who did what when and where with a smattering of favorite artists and a few pictures to keep pop audiences happy. The authors are weakest when the crass business of the music industry intrudes into their picture of the studio as a crucible of pop art. I'd rather have more detail (even if it hurts) about a few studios or a focus on just a few top engineers and specific recording sessions.

Really interesting!
Great book, especially after recently seeing the movie, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown." A must-read for any musicologist, especially one who grew up with all of these tunes blasting from the car radio on WKNR, WXYZ and CKLW back in the 60's. And I was AMAZED by the Rudy Van Gelder story, being a fan of traditional jazz (Coltrane, et al.)

Even you fans who weren't yet born when some of these stars had already begun passing away will appreciate the "inside stories" behind much of the music you still hear today. ... Read more

Product Description
Sir William Jones (1746-1794) is best known for his famous Third Discourse of 1786 in which he proposed that Sanskrit's affinity to Greek and Latin could be explained by positing a common, earlier source, one known today as Indo-European. This brilliant thesis laid the groundwork for modern comparative linguistics. Jones' interests and achievements, however, ranged far beyond language. He studied and made contributions to anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, botany, history, law, literature, music, physiology, politics, and religion. He served as a Supreme Court justice in India and founded the Asiatic Society, which stimulated world-wide interest in India and the Orient. He was friends with many of the leading intellectuals of his day and corresponded with Benjamin Franklin in America and with Burke, Gibbon, Johnson, Percy and Reynolds in Britain. In his short life he mastered so many languages that he was regarded even in his own time as a phenomenon, and so he was. Garland Cannon, editor of the much acclaimed The Letters of Sir William Jones, has written a new and definitive biography of this fascinating man, who in his life and works teaches us that the path to understanding and appreciating the art and literature of a great culture very different from our own is through devoted study, a tolerant spirit, and an unquenchably curious mind. ... Read more

Product Description
The celebrated Douglas Register is an indispensablecompilation of births, marriages, and deaths covering the period fromabout 1750 to 1797, with some miscellaneous records going back to1705. The registers are for the parishes of St. James Northam (DoverChurch) and King William, but they also concern individuals who wereresidents of the Virginia counties of Fluvanna, Goochland, Louisa,Orange, and Spotsylvania. Altogether the entries exceed severalthousand in number. The book further consists of lists of Huguenotsettlers at Manakin-Town and an index of Goochland County wills,1728-1840. ... Read more

Product Description
Carmilla is the story that created the modern day vampire. The House of White version is the only one to present the original unabridged tale (the real story) of Countess Carmilla Karnstein in its entirety with original illustrations, a glossary of Victorian terminology used by Le Fanu, and masterpieces of art that deepen one's understanding of who Carmilla was instead of merely relying on a third-hand account of young girl's jaded memory, twenty years lost in passing.

Carmilla was the vampire to break the mold of rotting flesh and foul stench. She was the very first romantic vampire, and after inspiring Bram Stoker’s Dracula, she has continued with us, always in the shadow, influencing culture with a subtlety that is as alluring as it is elitist. A multi-layered story of love, loss, and a yearning for both a past and a future unobtainable, and finally of great sacrifice. Carmilla ranks as one of the world’s greattragedies. A lonely young girl living in a desolate area in Austria
is befriended by a young countess after what seems a chance encounter. Laura’s innocence and sheltered life prevents her from seeing the obvious, that her new friend Carmilla is a demon of the highest order, and one who has fallen passionately in love with her. Over time, Carmilla’s lust for Laura, and her soul, overpower her caution, and the serenity of a life of seclusion becomes a
nightmarish existence for Laura as her world unravels in ways that can never be repaired. The tale of Carmilla is enchanting and hypnotic to this day. The prose is pure Victorian, alien but accessible, set in a fashion that forces you to forget your daily existence while you fall down the spiral danse macabre with
Carmilla, Laura, and her devoted father. Best read late at night and alone, this story seduces you into a world far from everyday life, a world that extends no further than a day’s ride to the next village. This volume contains the original unabridged 1872 tale. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This is my favorite vampire story

Carmilla was the inspiration for Braum Stoker's "Dracula." Carmilla was also the first vampire to appear in the English language and transformed the wampyr from a loathesome ghoul into a delicate and beautiful creature. Carmilla, as a vampire is the foundation for every modern vampire from Lestat to the Twilight series. This short story leaves more to the imagination than it spells out, which is why it stays with you long after you have closed the back cover.

Simply the most important vampire story--ever. ... Read more