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Index Archive 2007

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2007 Reviewed Titles

Intertextuality in the Tales of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav: A Close Reading of Sippurey Ma'asiyot by Marianne Schleicher (Numen Book Series: Brill Academic Publishers) Until 1806, Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav (1772-1810) disseminated his thoughts on redemption through homilies. In 1806, however, Nahman chose the genre of tales as an additional and innovative means of religious discourse. An academic close reading of all of the tales, known as Sippurey Ma'asiyot, has not yet been undertaken. As the first comprehensive scholarly work on the whole selection of tales and contrary to previous scholarship, this book does not reduce the tales to biographical expressions of Nahman's tormented soul and messianic aspirations. Instead, it treats them as religious literature where the concept of "intertextuality" is considered essential to explain how Nahman defines his theology of redemption and invites his listeners and readers to appropriate his religious world-view.  More

The Concealed Art of the Soul: Theories of the Self and Practices of Truth in Indian Ethics and Epistemology by Jonardon Ganeri (Oxford University Press) presents a variety of perspectives on the nature of the self as seen by major schools of classical Indian philosophy. For Indian thinkers, a philosophical treatise about the self should not only reveal the truth about the nature of the soul, but should also engage the reader in a process of study and contemplation that will eventually lead to self-transformation. By combining careful attention to philosophical content and sensitivity to literary form, Ganeri deepens our understanding of some of the greatest works in Indian literary history. His magisterial survey includes the Upanisads, the Buddha's discourses, the epic Mahabharata, and the writings of Candrakirti, whose work was later to provide the foundation for Tibetan Buddhism. Ganeri argues that many Western theories of selfhood are not only present in, but are developed to high degree of sophistication in these writings, and that there are other ideas about the self found in the work of classical Indian thinkers which present-day analytic philosophers have not yet begun to explore. Scholars and students of philosophy and religious studies, particularly those with an interest in Indian and Western conceptions of the self, will find this book fascinating reading. More

A Companion to Greek Religion edited by Daniel Ogden (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World: Blackwell) covers all aspects of religion in the ancient Greek world from the archaic, through the classical and into the Hellenistic period. Each of the volume’s 29 essays is written by an international expert and provides a survey of a particular area that reflects contemporary scholarship. All the contributions place an emphasis on religious life as it was experienced by Greek men and women at different times and in different places. Myth is considered alongside religion throughout. The Companion opens with a series of contextual essays devoted to the Near-Eastern and Minoan backgrounds to Greek religion, the religious structures of Greek society, women and sex in religious life, and mystery cults and magic. There follow major sections on local religious systems, sacred space and ritual, and the divine. Other chapters consider the interactions between religion and art, literature and philosophy, and look at particular topics, such as time in Greek religion, whether the Greeks can be said to have had religious wars, and representations of Greek religion in cinema. More

Fifty Years of Philosophy of Religion: A Select Bibliography (1955-2005) by Andy F. Sanders, Kristof De Ridder (Brill Academic Publishers) Excerpt: In the mid-1970s, my teacher Huib Hubbeling, professor of the philosophy of religion, launched a bibliographical project that was meant to give advanced students the opportunity to get acquainted with the preparatory stages of inquiry. As a result, a systematic, selected bibliography of works in the field of the logic, epistemology and analysis of religious language appeared in 1974.' Listing nearly 920 titles of hooks and articles from 72 journals, its terminus a quo was 1955, the year in which the influential collection New Essays in Philosophical Theology was published for the first time. A sequel with a broader category system, covering the years from 1975 until 1986 and listing almost 2300 entries, appeared in 1988. The present vol­ume not only includes most of the material contained in these ear­lier bibliographies but has been updated for the period 1987 -2005 with nearly 4800 additional entries. More

The Character of the Self in Ancient India: Priests, Kings, and Women in the Early Upanisads by Brian Black (SUNY Series in Hindu Studies: State University of New York Press) Explores the narratives and dialogues of the Upanisads and shows that these literary elements are central to an understanding of Upanishadic philosophy.

This groundbreaking book is an elegant exploration of the Upanisads, often considered the fountainhead of the rich, varied philosophical tradition in India. The Upanisads, in addition to their philosophical content, have a number of sections that contain narratives and dialogues--a literary dimension largely ignored by the Indian philosophical tradition, as well as by modern scholars. Brian Black draws attention to these literary elements and demonstrates that they are fundamental to understanding the philosophical claims of the text.
Focusing on the Upanishadic notion of the self (atman), the book is organized into four main sections that feature a lesson taught by a brahmin teacher to a brahmin student, debates between brahmins, discussions between brahmins and kings, and conversations between brahmins and women. These dialogical situations feature dramatic elements that bring attention to both the participants and the social contexts of Upanishadic philosophy, characterizing philosophy as something achieved through discussion and debate. In addition to making a number of innovative arguments, the author also guides the reader through these profound and engaging texts, offering ways of reading the Upanisads that make them more understandable and accessible. More

The Moral Wager: Evolution and Contract by Malcolm Murray (Philosophical Studies Series: Springer) illuminates and sharpens moral theory, by analyzing the evolutionary dynamics of interpersonal relations as analyzed in a variety of games. We discover that successful players in evolutionary games operate as if following this piece of normative advice: Don't do unto others without their consent.

From this advice, some significant implications for moral theory follow. First, we cannot view morality as a categorical imperative. Secondly, we cannot hope to offer rational justification for adopting moral advice. This is where Glaucon and Adeimantus went astray: they wanted a proof of the benefits of morality in every single case. That is not possible. Moral constraint is a bad bet taken in and of itself. But there is some good news: moral constraint is a good bet when examined statistically. Murray’s game-theory ethics offers some practical calculus for a more nuanced use of contract theory in the development of moral norms. His theory is less compelling when he attempts to account for altruism within this evolutionary nexus. It is hoped that Murray’s analysis of relativism become widely known as he avoids both extremes of unnecessary subjective nihilism and moral objectivism. More

Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morals: Critical Essays edited by Christa Davis Acampora (Critical Essays on the Classics: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.) This astonishingly rich volume collects the work of an international group of scholars, including some of the best known in academia. Experts in ethics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, political theory, aesthetics, history, critical theory, and hermeneutics bring to light the best philosophical scholarship on what is arguably Friedrich Nietzsche's most challenging text. Including essays that were commissioned specifically for the volume as well as essays revised and edited by their authors this collection showcases definitive works that have shaped Nietzsche studies alongside new work: of interest to students and experts alike. Sections are devoted to the topic of genealogy generally, the numerous essays on specific passages, the applications of genealogy in later thinkers, and the import of Nietzsche's Genealogy in contemporary politics, ethics, and aesthetics. A lengthy introduction, annotated bibliography, and comprehensive index make this an extremely useful guide for the classroom and advanced research. More

The Word Has Been Abroad: A Guide Through Balthasar's Aesthetics by Aidan Nichols (Introduction to Hans Urs Von Balthasar: T. & T. Clark Publishers) (Hardcover) 

No Bloodless Myth: A Guide Through Balthasar's Dramatics by Aidan Nichols (Introduction to Hans Urs Von Balthasar: T. & T. Clark Publishers) (Hardcover) 

Say It Is Pentecost: A Guide Through Balthasar's Logic (Introduction to Hans Urs Von Balthasar) by Aidan Nichols (Introduction to Hans Urs Von Balthasar: T. & T. Clark Publishers) (Hardcover) 

Scattering the Seed: A Guide Through Balthasar's Early Writings on Philosophy And the Arts by Aidan Nichols (Introduction to Hans Urs Von Balthasar: T. & T. Clark Publishers) (Hardcover) 

Divine Fruitfulness: A Guide to Balthasar's Theology beyond the Trilogy by Aidan Nichols (Introduction to Hans Urs Von Balthasar: T. & T. Clark Publishers) (Hardcover)  

With the present work Nichols concludes the five-volume Introduction to Hans Urs von Balthasar which has offered readers a series of 'guides' to the different parts of his corpus. In calling this fifth and final installment a 'Guide to Balthasar's Theology', Nichols means to institute a contrast with the fourth book in the series, Scattering the Seed, which took as subject his early writings on philosophy and the arts. In Balthasar's mature theology we see the seed there sown springing up, flowering and fruiting in an abundance of theological applications. Hence the title of the book: Divine Fruitfulness. Its subtitle also includes the words, 'Beyond the Trilogy'. To Nichols' three studies dedicated to Balthasar's great Trilogy (The Word has been Abroad on his theological aesthetics, No Bloodless Myth on his theological dramatics, Say it is Pentecost on his theological logic), Divine Fruitfulness goes further in four respects.

First, while at the opening of my three-part commentary on the Trilogy Nichols offered an introduction to Balthasar's life-story as well as to the works of the Trilogy itself, here in the opening chapter, 'Introduction to the Wider Oeuvre', Nichols ventures to consider not only other aspects of his literary production but also the Church-political context of his work. How did he see contemporary Catholicism – and, for that matter, how did it see him? Secondly, whereas the studies of the Trilogy touch wherever appropriate on the literally dozens of writers – both Christian and non-Christians – of whom Balthasar makes occasional use, this book identifies the principal origins of his architectonic approach to the structure, content and ethos of theology as a whole.  Thirdly, though the Trilogy contains, no doubt, Balthasar's richest theological fare, to grasp the bread-and-butter of his theological doctrine the remaining writings are frequently more helpful. To alter the metaphor from gastronomy to optics: the aesthetics, dramatics and logic offer three perspectives on revelation, perspectives that correspond to the three 'transcendentals', the beautiful, the good, the true. But that is not to say that the great affirmations of revelation, and the major motifs of the Christian life, are incapable of exhibition by a multi-focal approach which prescinds from these particular 'formalities' – to use the more precise Scholastic expression in place of the somewhat impressionistic contemporary term 'perspective'.  Fourthly, while Say it is Pentecost included a brief 'Postword', Divine Fruitfulness offers a Conclusion to the whole five-part series, asking at greater length the question, What will the Catholic theology of the twenty-first century (and later) owe to this enormously ambitious oeuvre? More

Passions and Tempers: A History of the Humours by Noga Arikha (Ecco) The humours—blood, phlegm, black bile, and choler—were substances thought to circulate within the body and determine a person's health, mood, and character. For example, an excess of black bile was considered a cause of melancholy. The theory of humours remained an inexact but powerful tool for centuries, surviving scientific changes and offering clarity to physicians. More

Emotion Explained by Edmund T. Rolls (Series in Affective Science: Oxford University Press) excerpt: What produces emotions? Why do we have emotions? How do we have emotions? Why do emotional states feel like something? This book seeks explanations of emotion by considering these questions.

One of the distinctive properties of this book is that it develops a conceptual and evolutionary approach (see for example Chapters 2 and 3) to emotion. This approach shows how cognitive states can produce and modulate emotion, and in turn how emotional states can influence cognition. Another distinctive property is that this book links these approaches to studies on the brain, at the level of neuronal neurophysiology, which provides much of the primary data about how the brain operates; but also to neuropsychological studies of patients with brain damage; to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) (and other neuroimaging) approaches; and to computational neuroscience approaches. The author per­forms research in all these areas, and this may help the approach to emotion described here to span many levels of investigation. The empirical evidence that is brought to bear is largely from non-human primates and from humans, because of the considerable similarity of their visual and emotional systems associated with the great development of the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes in primates, and because the overall aim is to understand how emotion is implemented in the human brain, and the disorders that arise after brain damage. More 

Curious Emotions by Ralph D. Ellis (John Benjamins ) Emotion drives all cognitive processes, largely determining their qualitative feel, their structure, and in part even their content. Action-initiating centers deep in the emotional brain ground our understanding of the world by enabling us to imagine how we could act relative to it, based on endogenous motivations to engage certain levels of energy and complexity. Thus understanding personality, cognition, consciousness and action requires examining the workings of dynamical systems applied to emotional processes in living organisms. If an object's meaning depends on its action affordances, then understanding intentionality in emotion or cognition requires exploring why emotion is the bridge between action and representational processes such as thought or imagery; and this requires integrating phenomenology with neurophysiology. The resulting viewpoint, "enactivism," entails specific new predictions, and suggests that emotions are about the self-initiated actions of dynamical systems, not reactive "responses" to external events; consciousness is more about motivated anticipation than reaction to inputs. More

Does God Believe in Human Rights?: Essays on Religion and Human Rights by Nazila Ghanea, Alan Stephens, and Raphael Walden (Studies in Religion, Secular Beliefs and Human Rights: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers / Brill Academic)

Where can religions find sources of legitimacy for human rights? How do, and how should, religious leaders and communities respond to human rights as defined in modern International Law? When religious precepts contradict human rights standards - for example in relation to freedom of expression or in relation to punishments - which should trump the other, and why? Can human rights and religious teachings be interpreted in a manner which brings reconciliation closer? Do the modern concept and system of human rights undermine the very vision of society that religions aim to impart? Is a reference to God in the discussion of human rights misplaced? Do human fallibilities with respect to interpretation, judicial reasoning and the understanding of human oneness and dignity provide the key to the undeniable and sometimes devastating conflicts that have arisen between, and within, religions and the human rights movement?

In this volume, academics and lawyers tackle these most difficult questions head-on, with candour and creativity, and the collection is rendered unique by the further contributions of a remarkable range of other professionals, including senior religious leaders and representatives, journalists, diplomats and civil servants, both national and international. Most notably, the contributors do not shy away from the boldest question of all - summed up in the book's title.  More 

Religion, Human Rights and International Law: A Critical Examination of Islamic State Practices Edited by Javaid Rehman, Susan Breau (Studies in Religion, Secular Beliefs and Human Rights: Martinus Nijhoff [Brill])
Excerpt: The first substantive area of analysis in this study is the relationship between religion, human rights and international law and the problems arising from a universally recognised right of freedom of religion. Kevin Boyle provides an excellent beginning to the discussion by an introduction to the international legal background on the freedom of religion.' His chapter fulfils the promise to serve as a reference point for the discussion of practice on freedom of religion elsewhere in the volume, specifically Islamic state practices. The initial problem with the content of freedom of religion is that of the historical and political context in which these human rights standards were negotiated. Whilst originally established during the cold-war period, they now operate in the wholly different environment of the opening decade of the twenty-first Century. Notwithstanding the different historical roots of the standards, Boyle argues that it is imperative that the universal standards on human rights, sustained despite the cold-war are not jettisoned in the crisis generated by the 'global war on terror: International law signifies the commitment of all states to defend freedom of religion as the right of the individual to hold and to practice a faith. The critical point that Boyle makes in his chapter is that human rights law, as a part of the corpus of international law does not place itself at some higher level above religion or non-religious beliefs. Rather, he argues that the purpose of the right to freedom of religion is to accommodate the plurality of such beliefs in the world while drawing its inspiration from the principles of justice and ethics shared by all religions and humanist beliefs. To advance religious freedom and to end religious persecution in this first decade of the twenty-first century, an understanding of that freedom that is inclusive of all religions is urgently needed. The international norms of freedom of conscience, freedom of thought and freedom of religion will remain lifeless until they are invoked as a framework for much needed sustained dialogue and action by the world's religions. More

Religion Past And Present: Encyclopedia of Theology And Religion (Complete 10 volume set)

Religion Past & Present: A-Bhu: Encyclopedia of Theology and Religion by Hans Dieter Betz, Don S. Browning, Bernd Janowski, Eberhard Jungel (Religion Past and Present: Brill Academic Publishers) At this time I’ve only seen the first volume, but this eventually 10 volume set offers a very fundamental  survey of Christian religious thought with a reasonable representation of Jewish and Islamic influences. The volumes do not represent Eastern religious traditions except in a once over lightly fashion. I have included the subject areas because it best describes the strengths of this reference book which is in its theological considerations of major religious themes as institutionally defined primarily by Christian dogmatics, secondarily considered is the Jewish tradition, with some nods to the Islamic especially in its historical modes.  There are articles on the major non-Western religions but for the most part none are representative or integrated into the theological discussions that the reference chronicles. Perhaps some future edition, where comparative theologies have wrangled with the nature of Buddha and the divine, the paramitas and virtues, the nature of prayer, the rise of Pentecostalism and other features of our global religious outlook. More

Theorizing Rituals: Classical Topics, Theoretical Approaches, Analytical Concepts edited by Jens Kreinath, Joannes Augustinus Maria Snoek, Michael Stausberg (Numen Book Series: Brill Academic Publishers) Volume one of Theorizing Rituals assembles 34 leading scholars from various countries and disciplines working within this field. The authors review main methodological and meta-theoretical problems (part I) followed by some of the classical issues (part II). Further chapters discuss main approaches to theorizing rituals (part III) and explore some key analytical concepts for theorizing rituals (part IV). The volume is provided with extensive indices. More

When Rituals Go Wrong: Mistakes, Failure, and the Dynamics of Ritual by Ute Hüsken (Numen Book: Brill Academic Publishers) The present volume is dedicated entirely to the investigation of the implications and effects of breaking ritual rules, of failed performances and of the extinction of ritual systems.

While rituals are often seen as infallible mechanisms which 'work' irrespective of the individual motivations of the performers, it is clearly visible here that rituals can fail, and that improper performances are a cause for concern. These essays break new ground in their respective fields, and the comparative analysis of rituals that go wrong introduces new perspectives to ritual studies. As the first book-length study on ritual mistakes and failure, this volume begins to fill a significant gap in the existing literature. Contributors include: Claus Ambos, Christiane Brosius, Johanna Buss, Burckhard Dücker, Christoph Emmrich, Brigitta Hauser-Schãublin, Maren Hoffmeister, Ute HUsken, Brigitte Merz, Axel Michaels, Karin Polit, Michael Rudolph, Edward L. Schieffelin, Jan A.M. Snoek, Eftychia Stavrianopoulou, and Jan Weinhold. More

Luminal Darkness: Imaginal Gleanings from Zoharic Literature by Elliot Wolfson (One World)  Since 1945, scholarship and interest in the ancient tradition of Kabbalah have reached unprecedented heights. What originated as an esoteric ritual, secretly studied by a select elite, is yielding increasingly widespread interest.
Renowned as one of the world's most astute interpreters of Kabbalistic texts, Elliot Wolfson offers an illuminating and original presentation of Kabbalah. Combining its wisdom with Western philosophical heritage from Plato to Heidegger and beyond, synergy guides his elucidation of the fundamentals of Jewish mysticism and shapes his taxonomy of Kabbalistic thought. More

Venturing Beyond: Law and Morality in Kabbalistic Mysticism by Elliot R. Wolfson (Oxford University Press) Review pending. Are mysticism and morality compatible or at odds with one another? If mystical experience embraces a form of non-dual consciousness, then in such a state of mind, the regulative dichotomy so basic to ethical discretion would seemingly be transcended and the very foundation for ethical decisions undermined. Venturing Beyond - Law and Morality in Kabbalistic Mysticism is an investigation of the relationship of the mystical and moral as it is expressed in the particular tradition of Jewish mysticism known as the Kabbalah. The particular themes discussed include the denigration of the non-Jew as the ontic other in kabbalistic anthropology and the eschatological crossing of that boundary anticipated in the instituition of religious conversion; the overcoming of the distinction between good and evil in the mystical experience of the underlying unity of all things; divine suffering and the ideal of spiritual poverty as the foundation for transmoral ethics and hypernomian lawfulness. More.

Alef, Mem, Tau: Kabbalistic Musings on Time, Truth, and Death by Elliot R. Wolfson (Taubman Lectures in Jewish Studies: University of California Press) This highly original, provocative, and poetic work explores the nexus of time, truth, and death in the symbolic world of medieval kabbalah. Demonstrating that the historical and theoretical relationship between kabbalah and western philosophy is far more intimate and extensive than any previous scholar has ever suggested, Elliot R. Wolfson draws an extraordinary range of thinkers such as Frederic Jameson, Martin Heidegger, Franz Rosenzweig, William Blake, Julia Kristeva, Friedrich Schelling, and a host of kabbalistic figures into deep conversation with one another. Alef, Mem, Tau also discusses Islamic mysticism and Buddhist thought in relation to the Jewish esoteric tradition as it opens the possibility of a temporal triumph of temporality and the conquering of time through time.
The framework for Wolfson's examination is the rabbinic teaching that the word emet, "truth," comprises the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, alef, mem, and tau, which serve, in turn, as semiotic signposts for the three tenses of time--past, present, and future. By heeding the letters of emet we discern the truth of time manifestly concealed in the time of truth, the beginning that cannot begin if it is to be the beginning, the middle that re/marks the place of origin and destiny, and the end that is the figuration of the impossible disclosing the impossibility of figuration, the finitude of death that facilitates the possibility of rebirth. The time of death does not mark the death of time, but time immortal, the moment of truth that bestows on the truth of the moment an endless beginning of a beginningless end, the truth of death encountered incessantly in retracing steps of time yet to be taken--between, before, beyond. More

Man and Theogony in the Lurianic Cabala by Daphne Freedman (Gorgias Press) After the establishment of the Zoharic corpus amongst leading rabbis, no major changes took place in Jewish esoterism until the middle of the 16th century, when in Safed (in Upper Galilee, Palestine; present-day Zefat, Israel) a religious centre of extreme importance for Judaism was established, which was mainly inspired by teachers coming from families expelled from Spain. Until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain (1492) and during the two generations that followed it, the Kabbalistic literary output had certainly been abundant, in Spain till the expulsion as well as in Italy and the Middle East; but it was primarily a matter of systematizing or even popularizing the Zohar or of extending the speculation already developed in the 13th century; there were also some attempts at reconciling philosophy and Kabbala. It should be noted that even the traditionalist theologians adopted a careful and rather reserved attitude toward Kabbala.  More

Art

New Vintage Type: Classic Fonts for the Digital Age by Steven Heller (Watson-Guptill) Retro is the new modern. And nowhere is that fact more evident than in typography, which today uses vintage type in ads, book and magazine design, movies, and everywhere words convey meaning. Viewers may not even realize that the type itself conveys mood, information, and a sense of style, but graphic designers know the power of vintage type. Now the world’s foremost historian of graphic design presents New Vintage Type, a remarkable rethinking and rediscovery of old and classic typefaces for today’s modern needs. Hundreds of amazing, astounding, and obscure examples from around the world are gathered here, organized into five historically and stylistically grouped sections: the Victorian Age, the Woodtype Era, Art Deco Style, Modern Movement, and the Eccentric Movement. With hundreds of lively and one-of-a-kind examples, plus informed, intriguing text, New Vintage Type is the graphic designer’s guide to choosing and using vintage type for maximum impact. More

Manet, Baudelaire and Photography Book 1 & Manet, Baudelaire and Photography Book 2 by Larry Leroy Ligo (Edwin Mellen Press) Professor Ligo s defense and illustration of his claim that Manet s work represents an intelligent and active attempt to embody`the modernist aesthetic of his friend, the poet and art critic Charles Baudelaire, makes for absorbing reading. Well aware of the many reasons why Baudelaire may not have been either willing or able to write a full-length essay on Manet in the years 1863-1866 when he knew him best (hard years for Baudelaire, who would die in 1867 and who had lived in Brussels since 1864, in a desperate search for funds and publishers), Professor Ligo fills in the background details both on the friendship between the two men and the artistic life of the times. There are fascinating parallels between specific works by the two artists (Baudelaire’s essay on Wagner s "Tannhauser", for instance, seen in tandem with Manet s "D’jeuner sur l herbe" and particularly interesting arguments about photography and the place of the crowd for both Baudelaire and Manet. Dr. Ligo makes a strong and well-documented case for his conviction that Manet consciously decided to take up the challenge to contemporary painters that Baudelaire sets down in his famous and influential essay, “The Painter of Modern Life”. There is much here for scholars of both Baudelaire and Manet (the parallels enable us to see each in a different light) and for the general reader interested in impressionism, the influence of photography and/or aesthetics more broadly. More

Cézanne in Provence edited by Philip Conisbee and Denis Coutagne (Yale University Press) It was in Paris, not Provence, that Cézanne's art history was made. The centre of the artworld has since been shifted from Paris by the rise of America, but power relations between periphery and centre prevail. The major exhibition that gave rise to this catalogue (available in English and French) would not have been possible without the power of the centre, Washington's National Gallery of Art. The Musée Granet in Aix was thereby able to offer a blockbuster show as a major tourist magnet for the Midi during summer 2006, when the Jas de Bouffan opened to the public. All this is part of a project, 'Cézanne 2006', backed by various development agencies. What is represented for cultural tourism is 'Cézanne's Provence', a short-circuit of nature and painter in which the genius loci of the Aixois landscape supposedly formed Cézanne's approach and the art then forged how we came to see this terrain. More

Renaissance in China: The Culture And Art of the Song Dynasty by Yuheng Bao, Ben Liao (Edwin Mellen Press) Art historians are much more like horticulturists than government clerks when assigning date to art movement. Events such as births or deaths, treaties, or declarations of hostilities have sufficient witnesses, or evidence, to record not only the year but also the month, the day, even at times, the hour. Whereas the creation of art is a solitary experience that evolves from perception and contemplation. More

Philosophy

Arabic Theology, Arabic Philosophy: From the Many to the One: Essays in Celebration of Richard M. Frank edited by James E. Montgomery (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta: Peeters) The final sentence of the last scholarly work by Professor Richard M. Frank to have been published runs:
Ontology and logic are not separable the one from the other.

This remarkable statement concludes an incisive and authoritative exposition of the term hukm, plural ahkäm, in the writings of the classical Ash`arite masters, the architects of the formal theological system posterior to the eponym's death in 324/935 and prior to the floruit of al-Ghazali. It forms one panel of a triptych of remarkable surveys of Ash`arite ontology, stemming from the final stages of Professor Frank's professional career, the others being The As'arite Ontology: I. Primary Entities, and The Non-Existent and the Possible in Classical Ash'arite Teaching. These works are characterized by scrupulosity in the recording of source references, subtlety and ingenuity in the exposition of ideas, and an astonishing sensitivity to the systematic implications and supple delimitations of Classical Arabic as a formal language for the speculative exploration of existence. Taken together they represent one of the most sustained endeavors to-date by any scholar to penetrate the formidable formalism of this system, predicated upon a reluctance to establish philosophical reasoning as an autonomous principle of theological speculation, a reluctance inherited from al-Ash'ari's refusal to commit himself on a number of questions or to subject the godhead to an over-reductive analysis. More

Husserl's Phenomenology: Knowledge, Objectivity And Others by Kevin Hermberg (Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy: Continuum International Publishing Group) fills a gap in previous Husserl scholarship by offering a treatment of the problems of intersubjectivity and empathy that goes beyond their mere possibility to explore the questions of whether and how empathy contributes to the attainment of knowledge. Hermberg focuses his investigation on Husserl's introductions to phenomenology (Ideas, Cartesian Meditations, and The Crisis of the European Sciences) and offers a new look at both Husserl's epistemology and his position in the Western philosophical tradition.  

Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) was one of the most important and influential philosophers of the twentieth century. One would be justified in calling Husserl both the last great representative of classical modern philosophy and the transition by which a new philosophical world came into being. The list of thinkers who claim Husserl as influential to their work is impressive and includes leading figures from every "school" of contemporary Continental philosophy as well as many "analytical" philosophers. Husserl achieved this influence in spite of his texts, which are notoriously difficult and with which he was rarely completely satisfied. So dissatisfied was he that he offered three separate texts labeled "introduction" to phenomenology. In this book Hermberg offers an examination of the interplay between empathy and knowledge as presented in the introductions published by Husserl. Those three introductions are: Ideas: A General Introduction to Pure Phenomenology (Springer) which first appeared in German in the 1913 inaugural issue of Jahrbuch fur Philosophie and Phenomenologische Forschung; Cartesian Meditations: An Introduction to Phenomenology (Springer) which is an outgrowth of a set of lectures which was given in Paris in 1929 and published in French in 1931; and The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology: An Introduction to Phenomenological Philosophy (Northwestern University Press) which was written between 1934 and 1937 but of which only the first two parts were published during his lifetime. (More)

Being and Event by Alain Badiou, translated by Oliver Feltham (Continuum International Publishing Group) Being and Event is the greatest work of Alain Badiou, France's most important living philosopher. Long-awaited in translation, Being and Event makes available to an English-speaking readership Badiou's groundbreaking work on set theory - the cornerstone of his whole philosophy. The book makes the scope and aim of Badiou's whole philosophical project clear, enabling full comprehension of Badiou's significance for contemporary philosophy. Badiou draws upon and is fully engaged with the European philosophical tradition from Plato onwards; Being and Event deals with such key figures as Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hegel, Rousseau, Heidegger and Lacan.

This wide-ranging book is organized in a careful, precise and novel manner, reflecting the philosophical rigor of Badiou's thought. Unlike many contemporary Continental philosophers, Badiou -- who is also a novelist and dramatist - writes lucidly and cogently, making his work far more accessible and engaging than much philosophy, and actually a pleasure to read. This English language edition includes a new preface, written by Badiou himself, especially for this translation. More

The Parallax View by Slavoj Zizek (Short Circuits: The MIT Press) is his most substantial theoretical work to appear in many years; Zizek himself describes it as his magnum opus. Parallax can be defined as the apparent displacement of an object, caused by a change in observational position. Zizek is interested in the "parallax gap" separating two points between which no synthesis or mediation is possible, linked by an "impossible short circuit" of levels that can never meet. From this consideration of parallax, Zizek begins a rehabilitation of dialectical materialism. More

Hegel's Epistemology: A Philosophical Introduction to the Phenomenology of Spirit by Kenneth R. Westphal (Hackett Publishing Company) I Hegel's Phenomenology is notoriously challenging, in form and struc­ture as well as in content. His apparent ambitions in the Phenomenology and his highly unusual presentation have often made it difficult to relate it to more familiar philosophical views and issues. Hegel demands much of his readers. At the beginning of a chapter or subsection, for example, Hegel states a philosophical view often to argue (by indirect proof or re­ductio ad absurdum) against that view, though sometimes only to argue against a defective account or justification of that view. Precisely what view he criticizes can at times be difficult to determine, often because he states some essential points of an historical philosopher's view without men­tioning whose view it is. Hegel unfortunately tends to refer to passages from the history of philosophy the way Medieval philosophers referred to Aristotle. They would write "the philosopher says ... ," expecting, and knowing they could expect. the reader to know exactly which passage from which work of Aristotle's was being quoted or paraphrased. Hegel, however, only rarely mentions his frequent paraphrasing or quotation—though his use of such references should not have misfired nearly so often as it has. More

Descartes And the Metaphysics of Human Nature by Justin Skirry (Continuum Studies in Philosophy: Continuum International Publishing) The traditional account of mind/body union attributed to Descartes supposes that the immaterial, thinking mind and the material, non-thinking body interact by means of efficient causation. But this gives rise to a notorious philosophical problem: how can this causal interaction occur between the spiritual mind and the physical body since they have absolutely nothing in common and cannot come into contact with one another? Justin Skirry's book shows how Descartes in fact avoids this enormous problem. Skirry argues, through a critical re-examination of Cartesian metaphysics, that the union of mind and body is not, as most scholars have always maintained, constituted by efficient causal interaction for Descartes, because this would result not in one, complete human nature but in an aggregate of two numerically distinct natures. More

The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Philosophy by Frank Jackson, Michael Smith (Oxford Handbooks: Oxford University Press) is the definitive guide to what's going on in this lively and fascinating subject. Jackson and Smith, themselves two of the world's most eminent philosophers, have assembled more than thirty distinguished scholars to contribute incisive and up-to-date critical surveys of the principal areas of research. The coverage is broad, with sections devoted to moral philosophy, social and political philosophy, philosophy of mind and action, philosophy of language, metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of the sciences. This Handbook will be a rich source of insight and stimulation for philosophers, students of philosophy, and for people working in other disciplines of the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, who are interested in the state of philosophy today More

Uncorrected Papers: Diverse Philosophical Dissents by Wallace Matson (Humanity Books) These incisive, witty, and completely accessible essays on a wide range of topics by historian of philosophy Wallace Matson admirably demonstrate that philosophy can still be based on careful reasoning and presented with clarity of expression. Against fashionable contemporary views, Matson asserts that philosophy is "the most important subject in the college curriculum," because it is the investigation into what rationality is. Getting the answer wrong to the question "What does it mean to be reasonable?" is the most catastrophic of errors. The motivation for most of the essays in this collection is his perception that this error is being widely committed and that received opinion on many topics is dead wrong.  More

Critique of Everyday Life, Volume III: From Modernity to Modernism by Henri Lefebvre, translated by Michel Trebitsch (Towards a Metaphilosophy of Daily Life: Verso) Critique of Everyday Life, Volume II by Henri Lefebvre, Translated by John Moore (Verso) The more needs a human being has, the more he exists," quips Lefebvre in a savage critique of consumerist society, first published in 1947. The French philosopher, historian and Marxist sociologist, who died this summer at age 90, meditates on the dehumanization and ugliness smuggled into daily life under cover of purity, utility, beauty. He deconstructs leisure as a form of social control, spanks surrealism for its turning away from reality, and attempts to get past the "mystification" inherent in bourgeois life by analyzing Chaplin's films, Brecht's epic theater, peasant festivals, daydreams, Rimbaud and the rhythms of work and relaxation. Rejecting the inauthentic, which he perceives in a church service or in rote work from which one is alienated, Lefebvre nevertheless seeks to unearth the human potential that may be inherent in such rituals. More

Rousseau's Theory of Human Association: Transparent and Opaque Communities by Greg Hill (Palgrave Macmillan) This book examines Rousseau's ideas about the natural transparency of human intention, the loss of this transparency in the opaque cities of Europe, and the possibility of its restoration within small republican communities. The author weaves together Rousseau's provocative conjectures about transparency and opaqueness to provide an original interpretation of Rousseau's political thought and its bearing on several con­temporary controversies. He also argues that civic cooperation in Rousseau's model republic requires mutual surveillance; that Hobbes's argu­ment for a sovereign state assumes the natural opacity of human intention; and that Adam Smith's "invisible hand" cannot efficiently coordi­nate the self-interested choices of opaque traders.  More

The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory edited by John S. Dryzek, Bonnie Honig, Anne Philips (Oxford Handbooks of Political Science: Oxford University Press) The Oxford Handbooks of Political Science is a ten-volume set of reference books offering authoritative and engaging critical overviews of the state of political science. This volume, The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory, provides comprehensive and critical coverage of the lively and contested field of political theory, and will help set the agenda for the field for years to come. Long recognized as one of the main branches of political science, political theory has in recent years burgeoned in many different directions. Forty-five chapters by distinguished political theorists look at the state of the field, where it has been in the recent past, and where it is likely to go in future. They examine political theory's edges as well as its core, the globalizing context of the field, and the challenges presented by social, economic, and technological changes. More

All the Power in the World by Peter Unger (Oxford University Press) This bold and original work of philosophy presents an exciting new picture of concrete reality. Peter Unger provocatively breaks with what he terms the conservatism of present-day philosophy, and returns to central themes from Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Russell. Wiping the slate clean, Unger works, from the ground up, to formulate a new metaphysic capable of accommodating our distinctly human perspective. He proposes a world with inherently powerful particulars of two basic sorts: one mental but not physical, the other physical but not mental. More

Philosophical Papers: Volume One; Philosophical Papers: Volume Two by Peter Unger (Oxford University Press) While well-known for his book-length work, philosopher Peter Unger's articles have been less widely accessible. These two volumes of Unger's Philosophical Papers include articles spanning more than 35 years of Unger's long and fruitful career. Dividing the articles thematically, this first volume collects work in epistemology and ethics, among other topics, while the second volume focuses on metaphysics. More

Tocqueville, Covenant, and the Democratic Revolution: Harmonizing Earth with Heaven by Barbara Allen (Lexington Books) When I first read Tocqueville's Democracy in America back in college, it was taught to me, unfortunately, as it has usually been taught in twentieth-century America: volume 2 of the book is interesting, while volume 1 is not. Volume 2, the part that a contemporary American so much likes to read, supports a kind of semi-intellectual parlor game—did Tocqueville get a particular prediction right or not? Whatever the answer, volume 2 has been much preferred to the dry, dusty, unerringly accurate institutional analysis of the first half of the book. More

Five Metaphysical Paradoxes by Howard P. Kainz (Aquinas Lecture: Marquette University Press) Excerpt: In the Oxford English Dictionary, the first meaning of "paradox" is given as "a statement or tenet contrary to received opinion or belief:' But this is paradox in the widest possible sense—similar to the way we use and overuse the word, "oxymoron," to indicate things or states of affairs that we simply consider contradictory. For example, a Democrat might say that compassionate conservative" is an oxymoron, a Republican might say the same thing about a "pro-life liberal"—in both cases with the meaning that such phrases are obviously self-contradictory. But strictly speaking, an oxymoron is something that sounds contradictory but is true—as, for example, the familiar literary expressions,"a deafening silence: "living death", "lonely crowd," or the descriptions by Shakespeare's Romeo of romantic passion as "cold fire," "feather of lead" and "sick health." More

The Divine Lawmaker: Lectures on Induction, Laws of Nature, and the Existence of God by John Foster (Oxford University Press) presents a clear and powerful discussion of a range of topics relating to our understanding of the universe: induction, laws of nature, and the existence of God. He begins by developing a solution to the problem of induction—a solution whose key idea is that the regularities in the workings of nature that have held in our experience hitherto are to he explained by appeal to the controlling influence of laws, as forms of natural necessity. His second line of argument focuses on the issue of what we should take such necessitational laws to be, and whether we can even make sense of them at all. Having considered and rejected various alternatives, Foster puts forward his own proposal: the obtaining of a law consists in the causal imposing of a regularity on the universe as a regularity. With this causal account of laws in place, he is now equipped to offer an argument for theism. His claim is that natural regularities call for explanation, and that, whatever explanatory role we may initially assign to laws, the only plausible ultimate explanation is in terms of the agency of God. Finally, he argues that, once we accept the existence of God, we need to think of him as creating the universe by a method which imposes regularities on it in the relevant law-yielding way. In this new perspective, the original nomological-explanatory solution to the problem of induction becomes a theological-explanatory solution. More

Does God Believe in Human Rights?: Essays on Religion and Human Rights by Nazila Ghanea, Alan Stephens, and Raphael Walden (Studies in Religion, Secular Beliefs and Human Rights: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers / Brill Academic)

Where can religions find sources of legitimacy for human rights? How do, and how should, religious leaders and communities respond to human rights as defined in modern International Law? When religious precepts contradict human rights standards - for example in relation to freedom of expression or in relation to punishments - which should trump the other, and why? Can human rights and religious teachings be interpreted in a manner which brings reconciliation closer? Do the modern concept and system of human rights undermine the very vision of society that religions aim to impart? Is a reference to God in the discussion of human rights misplaced? Do human fallibilities with respect to interpretation, judicial reasoning and the understanding of human oneness and dignity provide the key to the undeniable and sometimes devastating conflicts that have arisen between, and within, religions and the human rights movement?

In this volume, academics and lawyers tackle these most difficult questions head-on, with candour and creativity, and the collection is rendered unique by the further contributions of a remarkable range of other professionals, including senior religious leaders and representatives, journalists, diplomats and civil servants, both national and international. Most notably, the contributors do not shy away from the boldest question of all - summed up in the book's title.  More 

Politics

Between the Rule of Power and the Power of Rule: In Search of an Effective World Order by Alfred Van Staden (International Relations Studies Series: MNP [Matinus Nihoff Publishers], Brill Academic) This treatise on world order builds on the paper Power and legitimacy. The quest for order in a unipolar world, which the author wrote during the final stage (2004-2005) of his directorship at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations, Clingendael in The Hague. The publication attracted a large number of responses, and these encouraged him to expand the paper into a fully fledged book. In doing so, he has been able to elaborate more key arguments and include more historical references. The study of world order is at the heart of international studies. The area concerned here focuses on power, law and legitimacy. Therefore, this study is at the interface of international politics and international law, but is written from the perspective of a student of international relations. Among all international actors, the role of the United States and, to a lesser degree, the European Union in building a sustainable world order is highlighted. The book analyzes not only the institutional dimension of world order, but also the underlying substantive issues. More

United Nations As Peacekeeper And Nation-Builder edited by Li Lin Chang, Nassrine Azimi  (UNITAR-IPS Peacekeeping Conference: Martinus Nijhoff) In the wake of the Iraq War, what lies ahead for the United Nations as peacekeeper and nation-builder? What lessons were learnt in Afghanistan and Iraq, what reforms could they entail, how do UN efforts fare as compared with those of the United States, and what will be, in the next decade, the most pressing challenges confronting the Organization? Will the United Nations, in its current form and within the new global power structure, be able to remain relevant, retain its ideals and still respond meaningfully to mounting international tensions? More

Children's Human Rights: Progress And Challenges for Children Worldwide edited by Mark Ensalaco, Linda C. Majka (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) (Paperback) Each day, countless children around the world are exposed to dangers that hamper their growth and development. They suffer immensely as casualties of war. . . . Each day, millions of children suffer from the scourges of poverty and economic crisis—from hunger and homelessness, from epi­demics and illiteracy, from the degradation of the environment. . . . Each day 40,000 die from malnutrition and disease, including immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), from lack of clean water and inadequate sanitation. —World Declaration on the Survival, Protection, and Development of Children and Plan of Action for Implementing the World Declaration (adopted by the World Summit for Children in New York, 30 September 1990) Children are the future. Investing in children's education, health, and well­being and protecting them from harm and exploitation strengthens local com­munities and contributes to sustainable national development. Nothing could be simpler. But the reality for children in much of the world is stark, and pow­erlessness obscures their condition. In 1990 world leaders taking part in the World Summit for Children noted that "each day, countless children around the world are exposed to dangers that hamper their growth and development." Twelve years later, when the UN General Assembly met in a special session to renew the appeal to the international community to give every child a bet­ter future, the condition of many of the world's children had not appreciably changed. More

Sentencing: A Reference Handbook by Dean Champion, Mildred Vasan (Contemporary World Issues: ABC-CLIO) examines the sentencing process in detail. The initial chapter on history and development defines sentencing and its goals. Sentencing is the application of one or more punishments / sanctions following a criminal conviction. These punishments include fines and / or incarceration, or placement under the super­vision of probation officers. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 restated a number of sentencing objectives that have guided sentencing judges in their leniency or harshness toward convicted defendants. More

Pot Politics: Marijuana and the Costs of Prohibition edited by Mitch Earleywine (Oxford University Press) Marijuana use continues to attract interest and fuel controversy. Big, green pot leaves have adorned the covers of Time, National Review, and Forbes. Almost 100 million Americans have tried marijuana at least once. Groups such as The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana (NORML) and The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) have tens of thousands of members. Polls suggest that 70-80% of Americans support medicinal marijuana. At least 11 U.S. states have experimented with decriminalization and medical marijuana laws, with new initiatives appearing each year. Meanwhile, other groups such as Partnership for a Drug Free America and Mothers Against Drugs protest legalization. Clearly, debate about marijuana policy shows no sign of abating. More

For God And Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire by James Yee, Aimee Molloy (PublicAffairs) is a memoir by James Yee, who served as a United States Army Muslim chaplain at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility during the post-9/11 time of war. The book is coauthored by Aimee Molloy. The first chapter of the book recounts Yee's arrest by a U.S. government agent. Yee then goes back in time and proceeds to tell the story of his entire eventful life, including his childhood in New Jersey as a third-generation Chinese-American, education at West Point, conversion to Islam as a 23-year old, service in the Army as an air defense artillery officer, deployment to Saudi Arabia, Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, marriage, Islamic studies in Syria, and Army service as a pioneering Muslim chaplain.  More

Public Intellectuals: An Endangered Species? by Etzioni Amitai (Rights and Responsibilities: Communitarian Responses: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) investigates the definition, role, and decline of public intellectuals in American society. Drawing from a wide range of commentaries and studies, this edited volume demonstrates the unique importance of public intellectuals and probes the timely question of how their voices can continue to be effective in our ever-changing social, academic and political climates. More

The Social Scientist as Public Intellectual: Critical Reflections in a Changing World by Charles Gattone (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) addresses the question of the public role of the social scientist by reviewing the work of several key social thinkers, from Max Weber to Pierre Bourdieu. Drawing on the analyses of these scholars, Gattone argues that although political and economic institutions continue to influence the course of academic knowledge, opportunities remain for social scientists to act independently of these constraints, and approach their work as public intellectuals. More

Unconquerable Nation: Knowing Our Enemy, Strengthening Ourselves by Brian Michael Jenkins (RAND Corporation) On the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Brian Jenkins, one of the world's leading experts on terrorism and counterterrorism strategies, presents a concise and compelling overview of where we are today in the struggle against terrorism. He offers personal reflections on how some of our recent approaches to counterterrorism have been counterproductive. He presents an overview of the jihadists, particularly al Qaeda, and their operational code. He proposes strategies to counteract this adversary and to avoid reinforcing it further. Finally, he clarifies the American and Western values that we must strive to uphold, as well as ways that we might do so today and in the future. More

Guide to U.S. Elections 5th Edition 2 volumes (CQ Press) In Volume One, part one examines the evolution of the U.S. electoral system and includes material on the franchise and voting rights. It also explores the impact of major post–World War II political issues. Part two examines the evolution of campaign finance, traces the development of political parties, profiles major and minor parties, and discusses the historical significance of southern primaries. Part three features an overview and chronology of presidential elections along with information and data on presidential primaries, nominating conventions, popular and electoral voting, and the Electoral College. More

Guide To Political Campaigns In America by Paul S. Herrnson (CQ Press) is the first complete resource for scholarly and practical insight into every important aspect of political campaigns and campaign activities. Campaigns are a critical part of the political process in the United States, and this unique volume provides students, researchers, scholars, and others interested in campaigns and politics with a broad foundation of knowledge about the history of campaigns and the issues, people, processes, and types and levels of races involved. More

On the Three Types of Juristic Thought by Carl Schmitt, edited and translated by Joseph W. Bendersky (Contributions in Political Science: Praeger Publishers) Bendersky provides the only English-language translation, with extensive notes and introduction, to one of Carl Schmitt's most controversial works. At the time of its publication in 1934 and during the war and post-war years, the treatise was seen as a rationalization of the Nazi legal order. With the renaissance of Schmitt studies beginning in the 1980s, the man and his work, and this work in particular, was reinterpreted. While some maintained that it was a foundation of Nazi legal theory and practice, others see it as a failed attempt at a conservative counterweight to the most extreme tendencies in National Socialism. More

Religion

Religion Past And Present: Encyclopedia of Theology And Religion (Complete 10 volume set)

Religion Past & Present: A-Bhu: Encyclopedia of Theology and Religion by Hans Dieter Betz, Don S. Browning, Bernd Janowski, Eberhard Jungel (Religion Past and Present: Brill Academic Publishers) At this time I’ve only seen the first volume, but this eventually 10 volume set offers a very fundamental  survey of Christian religious thought with a reasonable representation of Jewish and Islamic influences. The volumes do not represent Eastern religious traditions except in a once over lightly fashion. I have included the subject areas because it best describes the strengths of this reference book which is in its theological considerations of major religious themes as institutionally defined primarily by Christian dogmatics, secondarily considered is the Jewish tradition, with some nods to the Islamic especially in its historical modes.  There are articles on the major non-Western religions but for the most part none are representative or integrated into the theological discussions that the reference chronicles. Perhaps some future edition, where comparative theologies have wrangled with the nature of Buddha and the divine, the paramitas and virtues, the nature of prayer, the rise of Pentecostalism and other features of our global religious outlook. More

World Religions, 5th edition by Warren Matthews (Wadsworth Publishing) Presenting both the histories and the prevalent worldviews of the major world religions, Matthews' WORLD RELIGIONS methodically introduces students to the richness and diversity of these traditions. The "Worldview" sections in particular make this textbook the most helpful textbook when it comes to comparative analyses of the religions. In these sections students can see how the different religions understand a common set of ten human concerns that are fundamental to all religions. Furthermore, this text combines insightful, engaging prose with maps, photographs, timelines, excerpts from sacred texts, and other helpful pedagogical aids, to employ a scholarly approach that neither shields students from current research nor encumbers them with it. Students are encouraged, individually and collectively, to pursue their own dialogues with the voices and nuances of these religions. More

World Religions And Social Evolution Of The Old World Oikumene Civilizations: A Cross-cultural Perspective by Andrey Korotayev (Edwin Mellen Press) is a book of startling simplicity and depth that suggests an empirical solution to viewing the subjectivist/objectivist dilemmas in the social sciences and history.
It will have a profound effect on how comparison is done in the future in anthropology, and suggests an answer to why some anthropologists, starting with Geertz, are reluctant to suggest comparison as an adequate method.
The Murdockian comparative approach, up to Korotayev, had developed to the point where the nonindependence of cultures was well-recognized, and ways of taking the larger configurations of cultural systems into account had been reckoned to lie, in the latest iteration, along lines of high-order proto-linguistic communities. More

The Brill Dictionary of Religion, 4 volume set edited by Kocku Von Stuckrad (Brill Academic Publishers) given the size of this dictionary, one might be led to consider that the entries would be more inclusive of the unique features of each religion, their special terms, unique theologies, traditional metaphysics, rituals and festivities, lifecycle events, history and philosophy.  Instead the editors have focused on how religion is studied academically in the West through social scientific, anthropological, phenomenological, sociological, historical and humanistic studies.  In some ways this dictionary is how religion can be look at non-religiously.  However this dictionary is not written with the view that religion will eventually wither away in human experience but rather with a renewed appreciation of the traditional strengths and esoteric vigor of religious studies today and of the religions as they affect history and culture.  These volumes act as a nearly encyclopedic overview of the pattern of religious studies in Europe and America.  It is possible that the English edition of this German original has been slightly ‘dumbed-down’ for its new audience but only a detailed comparison with the German original could give an answer to this qualm.  All in all, this dictionary will provide students of religious studies a healthy panorama of the way real religions are approached academically.  Highly recommended.  More

Introduction to Asian Religions by Bradley K. Hawkins (Longman) Introduction to Asian Religions provides a straightforward and accessible overview of the religions of Asia, including Islam. More

Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia (3 Volume Set) edited by Phyllis Jestice (ABC-CLIO) How does a person become holy? In nearly every religion and culture throughout history; women and men have been recognized for their unusual connection to the divine or for their exceptional service to faith and humanity. Spanning all major religions of the world, Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia is the first reference to provide a cross-cultural perspective on the subject, presenting the most significant holy individuals in history and examining their impact across religions, cultures, regions, and time periods. More

Theorizing Rituals: Classical Topics, Theoretical Approaches, Analytical Concepts edited by Jens Kreinath, Joannes Augustinus Maria Snoek, Michael Stausberg (Numen Book Series: Brill Academic Publishers) Volume one of Theorizing Rituals assembles 34 leading scholars from various countries and disciplines working within this field. The authors review main methodological and meta-theoretical problems (part I) followed by some of the classical issues (part II). Further chapters discuss main approaches to theorizing rituals (part III) and explore some key analytical concepts for theorizing rituals (part IV). The volume is provided with extensive indices. More

Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals and Festivals edited by Frank A. Salamone (Religion and Society: Routledge) Religious beliefs are expressed through ritualized behavior and festivals. Many rituals and festivals take place in public, meaning that such expressions of faith are societal as well as individual forms of human behavior. The similarity in the general patterns of rituals and festivals across cultures and religions`is striking. For example, most cultures and religions mark major life-course transitions such as birth, marriage, and death with public ritual expressions, and numerous festivals are tied to food-producing activities such as planting and harvesting. Where religions and societies vary is in the meanings associated with ritual behavior and the specific forms those behaviors take.  More

Divination and Healing: Potent Vision by Michael Winkelman, Philip M. Peek (University of Arizona Press) Some of the world's leading authorities draw on their own participation in ritual to present detailed case studies demonstrating that divination can have therapeutic effects. In this wide-ranging volume, readers will find coverage of classic Ifa systems; Buddhist-influenced shamanic practices in the former Soviet Union; the reconciliation of Muslim beliefs and divinatory practices in Thailand; Native American divination used in diagnosis; Maya calendrical divination in Guatemala; mediumistic and chicken oracle divination among the Sukuma of Tanzania; Ndembu divination, focusing on the process of collective healing; and divination among the Samburu (Maasai) of Kenya. More

Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Maya: The Great Classic of Central American Spirituality, Translated from the Original Maya Text edited, translated by Allen J. Christenson (University of Okalahoma Press) Popol Vuh, the Quiché Mayan book of creation, is not only the most important text in the native languages of the Americas, it is also an extraordinary document of the human imagination. It begins with the deeds of Mayan gods in the darkness of a primeval sea and ends with the radiant splendor of the Mayan lords who founded the Quiché kingdom in the Guatemalan highlands. Originally written in Mayan hieroglyphs, it was transcribed into the Roman alphabet in the sixteenth century. The poetic edition of Dennis Tedlock's unabridged, widely praised translation includes new notes and commentary, newly translated passages, newly deciphered hieroglyphs, and over forty new illustrations. Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition Of The Mayan Book Of The Dawn Of Life by Dennis Tedlock (Touchstone) still has the poetic panash if not the up–to-the-minute variants based on recent scholarship   The Popol Vuh is the most important example of Maya literature to have survived the Spanish conquest. It is also one of the world's great creation accounts, comparable to the beauty and power of Genesis.  More

San Spirituality: Roots, Expression, and Social Consequences by J. David Lewis-Williams, D. G. Pearce (The African Archaeology Series: Altamira Press) At the intersection of Western culture and Africa are the San people of the Kalahari Desert. Once called bushmen, the San have survived various characterizations—from prehuman animals by the early European colonials to aboriginal conservationists in perfect`harmony with nature by recent New Age adherents. Neither carica­ture does justice to the complex worldview of the San. Eminent anthropologists J. D. Lewis-Williams and D. G. Pearce present a balanced view of the spiritual life of this much-studied culture, examining the interplay of their cosmology, myths, rituals, and art. Integrating archaeological finds, historical accounts, ethnographic information, and interpretation of rock art, the authors discuss San cosmic geography, the role of shamans and mind-altering substances, the ritual of the trance dance, the legends recorded on stone, and other intriguing accounts of other-worldly experiences. From this, Lewis-Williams and Pearce detail the worldview of the San, how it plays out in their society, and how it has been challenged and altered by the modern world. For students of anthropology, archaeology, religion, and African studies, this volume is essential and fascinating reading. More

Life After Death: A History of the Afterlife in Western Religion by Alan Segal (Doubleday) A magisterial work of social history, Life After Death illuminates the many different ways ancient civilizations grappled with the question of what exactly happens to us after we die. More

Death And Afterlife In A Tamil Village: Discourses Of Low Caste Women by Nathalie Peyer (Perfromanzen/Performances: Interkulturelle Studien Zu Ritual, Spiel Und Theate ... cultural Studies on Ritual, Play and Theatre: Lit Verlag) Studies of death rituals and of beliefs about the afterlife in India have mainly been carried out from the perspective of male members of high castes following the Sanskritic tradition. Contrary to this, the present study focuses on rural low caste women's discourses about death and afterlife. Their talk about death and afterlife is analyzed in a wider social context. This reveals that death is symbolically related to and meaningful for the social order, the recreation of life, and the status of women. It is important to control death as it is considered a vulnerable state of transition that is constantly endangered by impurity and by attacks of malign ghosts. More

Returning to the Essential: Selected Writings of Jean Bies by Jean Bies (Perennial Philosophy Series: World Wisdom) Bies introduces readers to metaphysical, esoteric, and spiritual teachings from diverse scared sources. His words are rooted in the inexhaustible ground of the Perennial Philosophy, the language of the Essential to which this book invites us to return. More

The Barddas of Iolo Morganwg: A Collection of Original Documents, Illustrative of the Theology Wisdom, and Usages of the Bardo-Druidic Systems of the Isle of Britain by J. Williams Ab Ithel (Weiser Books) Serious students of Druidism and Paganism, as well as Celtic historians, are sure to include Barddas in their libraries. Barddas contains the only extant description of Bardo-Druidic Celtic philosophy. It is a metaphysical and spiritual description of beliefs handed down by word of mouth by Druidic initiates from before the Roman occupation of the British Isles. More

Coming to the Edge of the Circle: A Wiccan Initiation Ritual by Nikki Bado-Fralick (AAR Academy Series: Oxford University Press) Imagine yourself sitting on the cool damp earth, surrounded by deep night sky and fields full of fireflies, anticipating the ritual of initiation that you are about to undergo. Suddenly you hear the sounds of far-off singing and chanting, drums booming, rattles "snaking," voices raised in harmony. The casting of the Circle is complete. You are led to the edge of the Circle, where Death, your challenge, is waiting for you. With the passwords of "perfect love" and "perfect trust" you enter Death's realm. The Guardians of the four quarters purify you, and you are finally reborn into the Circle as a newly made Witch. More

Soul, Psyche, Brain: New Directions in the Study of Religion and Brain-Mind Science edited by Kelly Bulkeley (Palgrave) is a collection of essays that address the relationships between neuroscience, religion and human nature. The book highlights some startling new developments in neuroscience that have many people rethinking spirituality, the mind-body connection, and cognition in general. Soul, Psyche, Brain explores questions like: What are the neurological effects of meditation and prayer? How does the mind develop psychological and spiritual self-awareness? And what are the practical implications of brain-mind science for religious faith and moral reasoning? More

Minding Spirituality by Randall Lehmann Sorenson (Analytic Press) Learned and chatty Sorenson considers the ambivalent roles the various psychoanalyses play in regards self-knowledge and that peculiar longing for authentic living usually named “spirituality” when one does not too much want to be bothered with the accumulated bric-a-brac more usually identified as religion. The well-asserted atheism of founder Freud has in the last century warped into more accommodating views of religion and the problematic family resemblance of psychoanalysis to religion. Sorenson’s exploration of this complex should be refreshing to therapists and offers a workable accommodation for patient and doctor.   In Minding Spirituality, Randall Sorenson, a clinical psychoanalyst, invites us to take an interest in our patients’ spirituality that is "respectful but not diffident, curious but not reductionistic, welcoming but not indoctrinating." Out of this invitation emerges a fascinating and broadening investigation of how contemporary psychoanalysis can "mind" spirituality in the threefold sense of being bothered by it, of attending to it, and of cultivating it.  More

House of the Hidden Places & the Book of the Master by W. Marsham Adams (Ibis Publishing: Nicolas-Hays) In The House of the Hidden Places, first published in 1895, Adams clearly lays out evidence that the Great Pyramid in Giza corresponds architecturally to the initiation ritual detailed in the Egyptian Book of the Dead (which Adams preferred to call what he felt was its rightful title, The Book of the Master). The House of the Hidden Places was the first book to go beyond the current speculations on the astronomical purpose of the pyramid to reveal its deeper meaning. The Book of the Master, first published in 1898, is an in-depth exploration of the religious beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians. His penetrating study revealed startling insights for his day, pointing to the origins of Christian theology as well as those of humanity itself. Long before Dr. Leakey discovered proof of our African origins, Adams theorized, based on his Egyptian studies, that civilization began in Africa, rather than Asia, which was the accepted theory in his time. The work is important for its insights into the influence of Masonic symbolism and ritual on understanding Egyptian religion. More

Judaism

The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism by Dana Evan Kaplan (Cambridge Companions to Religion: Cambridge University Press) provides readers with a comprehensive introduction to the most important and interesting historical and contemporary facets of Judaism in America. The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism is a comprehensive survey that attempts to cover Judaism as a religion in the United States rather than Jewishness as an ethnicity in this country. The title of this volume thus requires a word of explanation. In popular usage today, Judaism usually implies a broad sociological approach to the subject of Jewish life and culture, while the term Jewish religion suggests a more specific concern with beliefs and practices that are somehow associated with a supernatural reality. Although this collection uses the more general term in its title, its focus is on American Jewish religious phenomena. It is, however, an appropriate title, I believe, because the volume's essays describe a quite inclusive Jewish religious experience in America. This includes aspects that frequently have been neglected or ignored or are understood as outside the purview of religion by a largely Christian America, which sometimes draws different and more impenetrable boundaries between the sacred and the secular. Understanding the subject in such broad terms, one can see that Jewish religion in America means much more than just religious ritual or belief. Contributors also discuss the sociology, psychology, theology, and history of American Judaism. A number of essays concentrate on the culture of American Judaism, including musical, artistic, and literary expressions. More

Rereading the Mishnah: A New Approach to Ancient Jewish Texts by Judith Hauptman (Texts & Studies in Ancient Judaism: Paul Mohr Verlag) An important historical reworking of the development of the tradition.

There are two main arguments to this volume. The first is that not only are individual passages of the Mishnah based on individual, parallel passages of the Tosefta, but even entire chapters of the Mishnah are based on entire chapters of the Tosefta. If one were to line up all the Tosefta paragraphs that give rise to Mishnah paragraphs, they would join together to form a vast net­work. It is, therefore, reasonable to conclude that there existed an ordered collection of tannaitic passages that preceded the Mishnah and served as one of its sources. That collection was the Tosefta. More 

The Musical Tradition of the Eastern European Synagogue, Volume 1: History and Definition by Sholom Kalib (Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art: Syracuse University Press) Volume set fourth a comprehensive introduction to the various forms of worship music in historical perspective. The planned five volume work will be a monument to Eastern European Jewish music and worship practice.

The Musical Tradition of the Eastern European Synagogue, Volume 2: The Weekday Services by Sholom Kalib (Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art: Syracuse University Press) Provides the most comprehensive coverage to date of the intonation of prayers of all services of the Jewish calendar year, except those of the Sabbath and Biblically ordained holidays.  More

Early Judaism and its Modern Interpreters edited by Robert A Kraft, George W.E. Nickelsburg (The Bible and its modern interpreters: Scholars Press) This volume documents the major developments in the study of "early Judaism" (ca. 330 B.C.E. to ca. 138 C.E.) from about the mid-1940s. Because this field of investigation is not as clearly defined or as well established as the areas covered in the other volumes of this trilogy (Hebrew Bible and New Testament), we have included a lengthy introduction that discusses the field itself and current interest in it, new tools and approaches, major topics and problems, and the types of study we feel are needed in the future. The introductory essay was drafted primarily by George Nickelsburg and edited into its current form by Robert Kraft. More

The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Jewish Philosophy edited by Daniel H. Frank, Oliver Leaman (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy: Cambridge University Press) Influenced originally by Islamic theological speculation, classical philosophers and Christian Scholasticism of the Middle Ages, Jewish thinkers living in Islamic and Christian lands philosophized about Judaism from the ninth to fifteenth centuries. They reflected on the nature of language about God, the creation of the world, the possibility of human freedom and the relationship between divine and human law. This Companion presents major medieval Jewish thinkers in a comprehensive introduction to a vital period of Jewish intellectual history. See

A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy by Isaac Husik (Dover) In this enlightening study, a noted scholar elucidates the distinguishing characteristics of the works of several Jewish thinkers of the Middle Ages. In addition to summaries of the main arguments and teachings of Moses Maimonides, Isaac Israeli, Judah Halevi, Abraham Ibn Daud, Hillel ben Samuel, Levi ben Gerson, Joseph Albo, and many others, the author offers insightful analyses and commentary. Of particular value to beginners, this volume is also an ever-relevant resource for many issues of scholarly debate. See

Judaism, Science, and Moral Responsibility edited by Yitzhak Berger (The Orthodox Forum: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) (Paperback) Do human beings have free will? Are they genuinely responsible for their actions? These questions have persisted throughout the history of philosophy, but in the twenty-first century they have become more sharply and clearly defined than ever. Indeed, a vivid and mighty tension impacts today's intellectual struggles over free will. On the one hand, the rapid advances of several empirical disciplines, notably neuropsychology and genetics, threaten our instinctive affirmation that free will and moral responsibility exist. On the other hand, the depth and force of our instincts—our powerful intuition that there is free will, that there is moral responsibility—present, for most people, an almost impenetrable barrier against the sweeping denial of free will suggested by empirical research. The chapters in this volume address this tension from a dual vantage point. While drawing heavily upon traditional Jewish texts and teachings, they also offer a blend of scientific, philosophical, psychological, and social insights into this most mystifying of topics. In addition, they illuminate the concept of repentance, a transformation of character that ranks in much of Jewish literature as the highest expression of free will. More

Samuel David Luzzatto, Prolegomena to a Grammar of the Hebrew Language by Aaron D. Rubin (Gorgias Press) is primarily an annotated translation of a little-known Italian work about Hebrew grammar by Luzzatto. First published in 1836, Prolegomeni ad una grammatica ragionata della lingua ebraica, is perhaps the most important grammatical work of the influential Italian scholar, Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865). Never reprinted, and never before fully translated, this long inaccessible work has become almost unknown. This book, which was intended to serve as an introduction to a comprehensive grammar of Hebrew, treats the history of Hebrew in a variety of ways. Luzzatto begins with a history of Hebrew scholarship, from Talmudic times through the early nineteenth century, including both Jewish and Christian grammarians. Following this wide-ranging survey, which has yet to be superseded, is a brief history of the Hebrew language itself, from its origins to its later manifestations. The remainder of the book is comprised of chapters on various linguistic phenomena`of both Hebrew and Aramaic. Among the subjects treated are the nature of the Hebrew and Aramaic vowels (including Syriac), the development of the pointing tradition, and an important treatment of the accentual system. In each of its various chapters, the book is replete with information and innovative insight that is still valuable to the modern scholar. Moreover, in addition to the translation and copious annotations, the translator has added an appendix containing biographical sketches of the roughly 275 Hebrew scholars mentioned by Luzzatto. The book will be of great use to anyone interested in the Hebrew language and its fascinating history. More

The Song of Songs: A Philological Analysis of the Hebrew Book by P. W. T. Stoop-van Paridon (Ancient Near Eastern Studies: Peeters) Since time immemorial the Song of Songs (SofS) has been a source of amazement and inspiration. The countless translations and interpretations of this book differ strongly from each other. Does the Hebrew text indeed justify this? To answer this question, an unprejudiced philological analysis is necessary that keeps strictly to the text, which does justice to the context, and approaches the book intrinsically as rationally as possible. More

Kabbalah

Intertextuality in the Tales of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav: A Close Reading of Sippurey Ma'asiyot by Marianne Schleicher (Numen Book Series: Brill Academic Publishers) Until 1806, Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav (1772-1810) disseminated his thoughts on redemption through homilies. In 1806, however, Nahman chose the genre of tales as an additional and innovative means of religious discourse. An academic close reading of all of the tales, known as Sippurey Ma'asiyot, has not yet been undertaken. As the first comprehensive scholarly work on the whole selection of tales and contrary to previous scholarship, this book does not reduce the tales to biographical expressions of Nahman's tormented soul and messianic aspirations. Instead, it treats them as religious literature where the concept of "intertextuality" is considered essential to explain how Nahman defines his theology of redemption and invites his listeners and readers to appropriate his religious world-view.  More

Man and Theogony in the Lurianic Cabala by Daphne Freedman (Gorgias Press) After the establishment of the Zoharic corpus amongst leading rabbis, no major changes took place in Jewish esoterism until the middle of the 16th century, when in Safed (in Upper Galilee, Palestine; present-day Zefat, Israel) a religious centre of extreme importance for Judaism was established, which was mainly inspired by teachers coming from families expelled from Spain. Until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain (1492) and during the two generations that followed it, the Kabbalistic literary output had certainly been abundant, in Spain till the expulsion as well as in Italy and the Middle East; but it was primarily a matter of systematizing or even popularizing the Zohar or of extending the speculation already developed in the 13th century; there were also some attempts at reconciling philosophy and Kabbala. It should be noted that even the traditionalist theologians adopted a careful and rather reserved attitude toward Kabbala.  More

Alef, Mem, Tau: Kabbalistic Musings on Time, Truth, and Death by Elliot R. Wolfson (Taubman Lectures in Jewish Studies: University of California Press) This highly original, provocative, and poetic work explores the nexus of time, truth, and death in the symbolic world of medieval kabbalah. Demonstrating that the historical and theoretical relationship between kabbalah and western philosophy is far more intimate and extensive than any previous scholar has ever suggested, Elliot R. Wolfson draws an extraordinary range of thinkers such as Frederic Jameson, Martin Heidegger, Franz Rosenzweig, William Blake, Julia Kristeva, Friedrich Schelling, and a host of kabbalistic figures into deep conversation with one another. Alef, Mem, Tau also discusses Islamic mysticism and Buddhist thought in relation to the Jewish esoteric tradition as it opens the possibility of a temporal triumph of temporality and the conquering of time through time.
The framework for Wolfson's examination is the rabbinic teaching that the word emet, "truth," comprises the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, alef, mem, and tau, which serve, in turn, as semiotic signposts for the three tenses of time--past, present, and future. By heeding the letters of emet we discern the truth of time manifestly concealed in the time of truth, the beginning that cannot begin if it is to be the beginning, the middle that re/marks the place of origin and destiny, and the end that is the figuration of the impossible disclosing the impossibility of figuration, the finitude of death that facilitates the possibility of rebirth. The time of death does not mark the death of time, but time immortal, the moment of truth that bestows on the truth of the moment an endless beginning of a beginningless end, the truth of death encountered incessantly in retracing steps of time yet to be taken--between, before, beyond. More

Language, Eros, Being: Kabbalistic Hermeneutics And Poetic Imagination Eliot Wolfson (Fordham University Press) This long-awaited, magisterial study—an unparalleled blend of philosophy, poetry, and philology—draws on theories of sexuality, phenomenology, comparative religion, philological writings on Kabbalah, Russian formalism, Wittgenstein, Rosenzweig, William Blake, and the very physics of the time-space continuum to establish what will surely be a highwater mark in work on Kabbalah. Not only a study of texts, Language, Eros, Being is perhaps the fullest confrontation of the body in Jewish studies, if not in religious studies as a whole. More

The Book of the Pomegranate: Moses de Leon's Sefer Ha-Rimmon by Elliot R. Wolfson (Brown Judaic Studies) The critical edition of Moses de León's Sefer ha-Rimmon was Wolfson’s Ph.D. dissertation in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University in 1984-86. This study is an edited edition of the Hebrew text with introduction only in English. The author of Sefer ha-Rimmon, Moses ben Shem Tob de León, is best known from the controversy which surrounds him concerning his assumed involvement with either the authorship or editing of the crowning work of medieval Spanish kabbalah, the Zohar. As with many classical and medieval personalities, more is known about de León's literary career than about his personal life. It is assumed that he was born circa 1240 in León and died in 1305 in Arevalo. The first dated piece of biographical information that we know of with certainty, however, is the Hebrew copy of Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed which was made for him in 1264. More

Moses Maimonides: The Man and His Works by Herbert A. Davidson (Oxford University Press) offers a thorough survey of the life and writings of this most influential Jewish thinker. The work gives a refreshing account of his life and influence with a close survey of all existent writings. In the process some surprising facts about his life and times come to the fore as well as some common myths are dispelled. Important for beginner and scholars alike. More

The Seven Beggars & Other Kabbalistic Tales Of Rebbe Nachman Of Breslov translated by Aryeh Rabbi Kaplan (Jewish Lights Publishing) Rebbe Nachman was a Kabbalist and a mystic, yet at the same time practical and down-to-earth. He told tales of princes and princesses, beggars and kings, demons and saints, and encouraged those around him to live life with faith, honesty, and simplicity. More

Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers: An Intimate Journey Among Hasidic Girls by Stephanie Wellen Levine (New York University Press) From the ardently religious young woman who longs for the life of a male scholar to the young rebel who visits a strip club, smokes pot, and agonizes over her loss of faith to the proud Lubavitcher with a desire for a high-powered career, Stephanie Wellen Levine provides a rare glimpse into the inner worlds and daily lives of these Hasidic girls. More

Judaism, Physics and God: Searching for Sacred Metaphors in a Post-Einstein World by Rabbi David W. Nelson (Jewish Lights Publishing) Hear the Voices of Ancient Wisdom in the Modern Language of Science: Ancient traditions, whose only claim to authenticity is that they are old, run the risk of becoming old-fashioned. But if an ancient tradition can claim to be not only ancient but also timeless and contemporary, it has a far greater chance of convincing each new, young generation of its value. Such a claim requires that each generation’s retelling use the new metaphors of the new generation. More

Likutei Amarim Tanya in Hebrew and English by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (Kehot Publication Society) Because the Tanya is considered a 'written Torah'  by Chabad Hassidim it requires, in every generation, an 'oral Torah' to accompany it and to serve as an usher and guide. Written by the great Hasidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi in the late eighteenth century, the Tanya is considered to be one of the most extraordinary books of moral teachings ever written.  More

Opening the Tanya: Discovering the Moral and Mystical Teachings of a Classic Work of Kabbalah by Adin Steinsaltz (Jossey-Bass) is a groundbreaking book that offers a definitive introduction, explanation, and commentary upon the Tanya. For more than two hundred years, the Tanya has been studied by those who know of its insight and wisdom with the devotion and the intensity usually associated with the Bible, the Talmud, the Koran, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita. Now internationally acclaimed author, scholar, and teacher Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz has written an illuminating and inspiring introduction to the Tanya. Opening the Tanya offers an overview of the Tanya’s broad philosophical and spiritual messages as well as point-by-point commentary on the text itself. More

Learning From the Tanya : Volume Two in the Definitive Commentary on the Moral and Mystical Teachings of a Classic Work of Kabbalah by Adin Steinsaltz (Jossey-Bass) offers a key for unlocking the mysteries of one of the most extraordinary books of moral teachings ever written. A seminal document in the study of Kabbalah, the Tanya explores and solves the dilemmas of the human soul by arriving at the root causes of its struggles. Though it is a classic Jewish spiritual text, the Tanya and its commentary take a broad and comprehensive approach that is neither specific to Judaism nor tied to a particular personality type or time or point of view. The internationally celebrated Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who has dedicated his life to the study, teaching, and writing of books that explain Jewish scripture, religious practice, spirituality, and mysticism to Jews and non-Jews throughout the world, is the author of this explanation and line-by-line commentary on the Tanya. As relevant today as it was two hundred years ago, the Tanya helps us to understand the many thousands of complexities, doubts, and drives within us as a single basic problem—the struggle between our Godly soul and our animal soul. More

We Jews: Who Are We and What Should We Do by Adin Steinsaltz (Jossey-Bass) Thirteen million Jews throughout the United States and the world are famously divided and contentious about their identity, political position, social role, and spiritual goals. However, if there is one authentic voice of leadership in the Jewish community, it is scholar, teacher, mystic, scientist, and social critic Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. He is internationally regarded as one of the greatest rabbis of this century and of the last. More

On the Road with Rabbi Steinsaltz: 25 Years of Pre-Dawn Car Trips, Mind-Blowing Encounters, and Inspiring Conversations with a Man of Wisdom by Adin Steinsaltz, Arthur Kurzweil (Jossey-Bass)  Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is internationally regarded as one of the most brilliant and influential rabbis of our time. He has been lauded by Time magazine as a “once-in-a-millennium scholar” and by Ted Koppel of Night Line as “one of the very few wise men that I’ve ever met.”   More

Reincarnation in Jewish Mysticism and Gnosticism (Volume 25) by Dina Ripsman Eylon (Jewish Studies Series: The Edwin Mellen Press) There is a popular misconception that Judaism does not advocate and endorse the idea of reincarnation. Reincarnation in Jewish Mysticism and Gnosticism does much to dispel this fallacy. Reincarnation entered the mainstream of medieval European Jewish thought in the 13th century. By the 17th century it had become so pervasive that R. Manasseh b. Israel in his Sefer Nislzmat Hayyim could claim that all rabbinic authorities accepted this doctrine, with a few historical exceptions. Eylon focuses on the starting point of this process. In doing so she provides an important window into how reincarnation became integrated into medieval Jewish thought.

Gnosticism

Echoes from the Gnosis: 100th Anniversary Edition of the Spiritual Classics by G.R.S. Mead edited by John Algeo, introduction Robert Gilbert, Commentary by Stephan Hoeller (Quest Books) Long before the mid-twentieth-century discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library, G. R. S. Mead had translated ancient Gnostic texts. Here in one book is the entire collection of his eleven volumes first published between 1906 and 1908, including "The Hymn of Jesus" and "The Wedding Song of Wisdom."
Each Gnostic text has added historical background, source information, literary comment, and spiritual interpretation. Mead, who devoted his life to esoteric studies and was a pioneer in the Gnostic revival, uniquely understood the complex symbolism of his subject. The reader may be surprised to learn that some of these texts were originally not books, but instead initiatory mystery rituals.
Editor John Algeo preserves Mead's own inspired language. To enhance the texts for today's readers, the volume includes new explanatory essays by contemporary Gnostic Stephan Hoeller and a biography by Robert Gilbert, a world authority on Mead. More

Gnostic Revisions of Genesis Stories And Early Jesus Traditions by Gerard P. Luttikhuizen (Nag Hammadi & Manichaean Studies: Brill Academic) argues that the intellectuals behind early Gnostic revisions of Genesis stories were second-century Christians with an ideological background in Greek-Hellenistic philosophy, who adopted and reinterpreted biblical narrative materials with a view to exposing the inferiority of the creator-God of Genesis and the ignorance of those Christians who continued to worship this God. It also discusses controversies between Gnostic and early orthodox Christians about the person and the mission of Jesus Christ. More

The Gospel Of Mary: Beyond A Gnostic And A Biblical Mary Magdalene by Esther A. De Boer (Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series: T. & T. Clark Publishers) Two basic viewpoints are usually distinguished in recent scholarly work on the Biblical and Gnostic Mary Magdalene: (1) Gnostic authors have constructed a Gnostic Mary Magdalene using the biblical portrait of her as a vehicle for Gnostic teaching, and, (2) biblical authors neglected the important role of Mary Magdalene, of which Gnostic authors preserved evidence. In addition, on the one hand the Gnostic Mary Magdalene is valued as a female apostolic leader, as an advocate of women and of egalitarian discipleship, and as a revealer of Gnostic insights. On the other hand, scholars point to the specific dualism, and the subsequently negative female imagery in Gnostic writings, and reject a positive evaluation of the Gnostic Mary Magdalene. More

Nahuatl Theater: Our Lady of Guadalupe edited by Barry D. Sell, Louise M. Burkhart, Stafford Poole (University of Oklahoma Press) Rare Guadalupan dramas based on the Virgin of Guadalupe story are published in English for the first time and accompanied by introductory essays.

The foundation legend of the Mexican devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most appealing and beloved of all religious stories. In this volume, editors Barry D. Sell, Louise M. Burkhart, and Stafford Poole present the only known colonial Nahuatl-language dramas based on the Virgin of Guadalupe story: the Dialogue of the Apparition of the Virgin Saint Mary of Guadalupe, an anonymous work from the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century, and The Mexican Portent, authored by creole priest Joseph Perez de la Fuente in the early eighteenth century. The plays, never before published in English translation, are vital works in the history of the Guadalupe devotion, for they show how her story was presented to native people at a time when it was not universally known. More

Sex And Salvation: Virginity As A Soteriological Paradigm In Ancient Christianity by Roger Steven Evans (University Press of America) explores the growth and development of virginity in the cultural context of the ancient church. An examination of Greek, Roman, and Jewish literature, which speaks to the issue of virginity, reveals that the Christian understanding of life-long virginity was a foreign concept to the peoples and cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world. In a time when families and authorities demanded that women follow the ancient tradition of marriage and motherhood, a growing number of important Christian authors were calling for a life free from the "dangerous" sexual passions that beset all women. More

Christians As A Religious Minority In A Multicultural City: Modes Of Interaction And Identity Formation In Early Imperial Rome edited by Jurgen Zangenberg, Michael Labahn (Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series: T. & T. Clark Publishers) Early Imperial Rome truly was one of the most `multicultural' cities in antiquity. Juvenal even dubbed it `Greek Rome' and complained that `the waters of the Syrian Orontes flow into the Tiber' (Sat. 3,61f). Syrians, Africans, Gauls, Egyptians, Jews and other groups flocked into the city and formed their communities – as well as Christians. How did these ethnic and religious minority groups maintain and develop their identity? How did the `cultural majority' react towards these sometimes exotic groups? It turns out that early Imperial Rome did not simply function as a giant `melting pot' that levelled off all individuality, the city rather provided a big stage on which these groups were able to interact with each other or disassociate from each other and, by that, express and develop their own identity. The early Christian group(s) in Rome are no exception here. More

Coptica—Gnostica—Manichaica: mélanges offerts A Wolf-Peter Funk edited by Louis Painchaud, Paul-Hubert Poirier (Peeters) Summary: Volume is mostly written in French, then English and German. On December 5, 2001, we launched the project of the publication of a “Festschrift” intended to honour our colleague and friendly Wolf-Peter Funk. The publication of this volume was then announced for December 30, 2003, date of the 60e birthday of the dedicatee. But various reasons, the first of which figure the generosity with which one answered our invitation, made that these mixtures appear with two years of delay. But with something misfortune is good: the readers will appreciate the richness, the high scientific behaviour and the diversity of these forty seven contributions which, written in French, English or German by fifty authors coming from thirteen countries, testify eloquently to the regard and of the friendship which Wolf-Peter Funk enjoys. The editors of this volume wanted to open it with the fields to which particularly Wolf-Peter Funk devoted himself: Gnostic philology and linguistics Copts, studies and Manicheans. The contributions which make this homage in addition illustrate rather well what was the scientific and university activity of Wolf-Peter Funk since his arrival at the Laval University at the summer 1986. If it continued the work undertaken in Berlin there, it engaged more and more, as from this moment, in the edition and the interpretation of the texts of Nag Hammadi at the same time as he opened a vast building site Manichean while becoming the editor of the manuscripts Manicheans of the Museums of State of Berlin and while joining the Australian team in charge of the publication of the excavations of the oasis of Dakhleh (Kellis). More

Christianity

The Spirituality of the Christian East, A Systematic Handbook, Volume One by Tomás Spidlík SJ; translated by Anthony P. Gythiel (Cistercian Publications) Prayer: The Spirituality of the Christian East, Volume 2 by Tomás Spidlík SJ, translated by Anthony P. Gythiel Cistercian Publications) Professor-emeritus of the Pontifical Oriental Institute at Rome, Tomas Spidlík dedicated his scholarly life to studying and teaching the theology and spirituality of the Christian East in the hope of reconciling Eastern and Western Christian traditions. In this encyclopaedic overview of Eastern spiritual teaching he has created a bridge by which Western Christians may pass over centuries of misunderstanding and obliviousness. This second volume on Eastern Christian spirituality amplifies in depth the final two chapters of the earlier The Spirituality of the Christian East: A Systematic Handbook. Like Cassian in writing his Conferences, Cardinal Spidlík does not advocate any particular pattern of prayer, but sets out faithfully to collect and share the teachings of generations of eastern monks and spiritual writers. More

Jean Gerson And the Last Medieval Reformation by Brian Patrick McGuire (Hardcover) (Pennsylvania State University Press) One of the problems of dividing our history into epochs, such as ancient, medieval, Renaissance and Reformation; is that these great divisions of time cast a shadow on transitional people who belong to their place in history without the prescience of future history's flow. Jean Gerson, the major French religious reformer, educator, and theologian who lived between the 14th and 15th century is such a transitional figure.  McGuire's intensive biography and study of Gerson, the first since 1929, provides a rich overview of the life and times of this visionary scholar by giving a summary account of his writings that were very influential on Luther and to a lesser extent, Calvin in the generation after Gerson’s death.  Gerson played an important role in attempts to heal the Great Schism which culminated in the Council of Constance (1414 – 1418) More

A Biographical Dictionary of Christian Theologians edited by Patrick Carey, Joseph Lienhard (Hendrickson) (hardcover) The last 20 centuries of Christian history have witnessed the emergence of numerous theological traditions. This reference provides alphabetically arranged entries for more than 450 Christian theologians. Included are entries for those individuals whose work was primarily in systematic and spiritual theology, or who were church historians chiefly concerned with theological matters. Whenever possible, each entry provides basic biographical information, a brief account of the theologian's education and career, and a summary of the person's most important contributions to theology. The entries end with bibliographies of primary and secondary sources, while the volume concludes with a selected, general bibliography. More

Doing The Works of Abraham: Mormon Polygamy: Its Origin, Practice, and Demise edited by B. Carmon Hardy (Kingdom in the West: the Mormons and the American Frontier, Volume 9: Arthur H. Clark Company) Celestial Marriage—the "doctrine of the plurality of wives"—polygamy. No issue in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (popularly known as the Mormon Church) has attracted more attention. From its contentious and secretive beginnings in the 1830s to its public proclamation in 1852, and through almost four decades of bitter conflict with the federal government to Church renunciation of the practice in 1890, this belief helped define a new religious identity and unify the Mormon people, just as it scandalized their neighbors and handed their enemies the most effective weapon they wielded in their battle against Mormon theocracy. More

Practices of Dialogue in the Roman Catholic Church: Aims and Obstacles, Lessons and Laments by Bradford E. Hinze (Continuum International Publishing) is a substantively informative, academically rigorous, thought-provoking study of the history of the various practices of dialogue and their effectiveness at every level of the Roman Catholic Church around the globe in the past forty years. Descriptively analyzing variations and themes of modern church history's often controversial developments in ritual and theology, dogma and doctrine, Practices Of Dialogue In The Roman Catholic Church offers readers documentation drawn from the premise of the influence of American and western European influences on papacy and the cardinals, particularly, the dialogical and democratic processes in decision making and the institutional, hierarchical structure of the church. Practices of Dialogue in The Roman Catholic Church is particularly recommended reading for seminarians, clergy, theologians, and the laity in their study of the practices and specifics of the Catholic Church during the last half of the twentieth century and the opening decade of the twenty-first. More

The Constant Dialogue: Reinhold Niebuhr and American Intellectual Culture by Martin Halliwell (American Intellectual Culture: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) In this important new work, Martin Halliwell focuses on the tensions between the two dimensions of Reinhold Niebuhr's thought: his political role as a radical social critic and his conservative and largely private belief in the values of neo-orthodox Christianity. In order to better examine Niebuhr's philosophy, Halliwell positions him in a series of debates on political, religious, ethical, and cultural themes with other eminent intellectuals. In doing so, Halliwell reassesses the important contributions that Reinhold Niebuhr made to 20th century American culture. More

The Spirit of Jesus in Scripture and Prayer by James W. Kinn (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) (Paperback) The Holy Spirit has frequently been called "the unknown God." Western theology has largely neglected the study of the Spirit of God: "Perhaps the most neglected area of theology in the West is that of the Holy Spirit." 2 Several popes have urged a renewed devotion to and study of the Holy Spirit. Pope Leo XIII, in his encyclical on the Holy Spirit, deplores that the "Christians have only a very poor knowledge of the Holy Spirit. They often use his name . . . but their faith is encompassed with great darkness." In 1973, Pope Paul VI asked the question: "What is the greatest need of the church today?" His own succinct response was, "The Holy Spirit." Then, Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical on the Holy Spirit, urged: "the ecclesiology of the [Second Vatican] Council must be succeeded by a new study of and devotion to the Holy Spirit, precisely as the indispensable complement of the teaching of the Council." More

Perspectives on the Rule of St. Benedict: Expanding Our Hearts In Christ by Aquinata Bockmann (Liturgical Press) Written by Sister Aquinata Bockmann, a member of the Benedictine Missionary Sisters of Tutzing, Germany and experienced professor of spirituality and theology, Perspectives on the Rule of Saint Benedict: Expanding Our Hearts in Christ is a blend of scholarly scrutiny and Benedictine love in examining the Rule`of Saint Benedict, specifically vv. 1-4, 45-50 of the prologue and chapters 72, 73, 58, and 53. Line by line, the ancient text is scrutinized from both past and contemporary viewpoints, while never losing sight of the christological nature of the Rule itself. Researched in depth and heavily annotated, Perspectives on the Rule of Saint Benedict is methodical in its dissection of intent word by word as it is passionate about the needs of the spirit. A deeply theological and worshipful treatise. More

Loving Jesus by Mark Allan Powell (Augsburg Fortress Publishers) In this biblical spirituality for today, Powell's earnest plea is for Christians to revisit their faith not by blazing in religious enthusiasm but by harboring a steadier flame and deeper commitment. Living at the poetic heart of faith, he argues, entails seeing the coordinates of religious life—love, under-standing, truth, hope, and especially devotion—in a new way. Powell espouses the old-fashioned idea of piety. Drawing on his wide knowledge of the Bible and Christian tradition, as well as insights from his own journey, he shows how simple religious practices move us beyond the old certitudes of a naïve and youthful faith into the less certain but more bracing terrain of a second naïveté, a closer walk with Jesus. More

Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church by Barbara A. Holmes (Augsburg Fortress Publishers) This book focuses on the aspects of the black church that point beyond particular congregational gatherings toward a mystical and communal spirituality not within the exclusive domain of any denomination. This mystical aspect of the black church is deeply implicated in the well-being of African American people but is not the focus of their intentional reflection. Moreover, its tradi­tions are deeply ensconced within the historical memory of the wider society and can be found in Coltrane's riffs and Malcolm's exhortations, in the Step Brothers' dance routines and the forti­tude of Thurgood Marshall. More

Theologia Deutsch--Theologia Germanica: The Book of the Perfect Life. Edited, translated with introduction and notes by David Blamires. (Sacred Literature Series: Altamira Press) (Hardcover). Reviewed for H-German by R. Emmet McLaughlin, Department of History, Villanova University. The Theologia Deutsch (or Theologia Germanica) is known by name to most historians of early modern Europe, though few have actually read it. An anonymous fourteenth-century mystical tract, it owes its notoriety to Martin Luther's publication of it in 1516 and 1518. 190 editions in German, English, Dutch, Latin, Swedish, Danish, Russian, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese followed by 1961. It was a staple of the Radical Reformation and Pietism. In the sixteenth century, Ludwig Haetzer republished it in 1528 along with interpretive "Propositions" by Hans Denck that were often found in later editions. Sebastian Franck produced a Latin paraphrase of the Haetzer version at the end of his life (1541-42). In the wake of his clash with Calvin over the execution of Michael Servetus (1553), Sebastian Castellio published Latin (1557) and French (1558) translations. A little more than a decade later, Valentin Weigel, long under the influence of medieval mysticism, provided a "Short Account and Introduction to the German Theology" (1571). Johannes Arndt published an edition and Philip Jakob Spener recommended it. Given a cloud of such witnesses, Luther may have come to regret making the book available to a larger public. Nonetheless, his 1518 edition remained the standard version until the nineteenth century. More

The Word Made Flesh: towards an Incarnational Missiology by Ross Langmead (University Press of America) (Paperback) is thorough, well researched and readable. Langmead has provided a critical sweep of historical research engaging with writers from Catholic, Anabaptist, Liberal and Evangelical traditions. The book also looks forward with prophetic challenge and points to the contours Christians must follow in order to flesh out and continue the radical example of Jesus. More

New Testament and Early Christian Literature in Greco-Roman Context: Studies in Honor of David E. Aune edited by John Fotopoulos (Supplements to Novum Testamentum, Vol. 122: Brill Academic) is a collection of scholarly studies honoring Prof.Dr. David. E. Aune on his 65th birthday. Its title, The New Testament and Early Christian Literature in Greco-Roman Context: Studies in Honor of David E. Aune, reflects Prof. Aune's academic training, interests, and extensive publications. The volume's studies investigate a range of topics within the Pauline correspondence, Gospels, Apocalypse of John, and other early Christian writings with insights drawn from Greco-Roman culture and Hellenistic Judaism. Thus, the studies make use of Greco-Roman literature, rhetoric, magic, medicine, moral philosophy, iconography, archaeology, religious cults, and social conventions while also utilizing social-historical, social-scientific, literary-critical, and rhetorical-critical methodologies, thereby adding an interdisciplinary dimension to the volume. These groundbreaking studies have been written by prominent international scholars and are published here for the first time. More

Constructive Theology: A Contemporary Approach to Classic Themes: A Project of The Workgroup On Constructive Christian Theology includes A CD-ROM by Serene Jones, Paul Lakeland (Augsburg Fortress Publishers) Coordinated by Serene Jones of Yale Divinity School and Paul Lakeland of Fairfield University, fifty of North America's top teaching theologians (members of the Workgroup on Constructive Christian Theology) have devised a text that allows students to experience the deeper point of theological questions, to delve into the fractures and disagreements that figured in the development of traditional Christian doctrines, and to sample the diverse and conflicting theological voices that vie for allegiance today. The accompanying CD-ROM not only contains the fully searchable text but also includes chapter summaries, discussion questions, a glossary, weblinks, and a guide to writing research papers in theology.  More

Foundations of Christian Faith by Karl Rahner (Herder & Herder) This challenging, original, helpful, and rich volume is a work of rare intellectual power and profound religious sensitivity. Karl Rahner's Foundations of Christian Faith has been described as a "summa" of Catholic theology for the twentieth century. Rahner said the book has a "more comprehensive and systematic character" than his other writings. This paraphrase, now published, outlines the Foundations from the view point of the pastoral minister. More

Understanding Christian Theology: A Clear, Comprehensive Introduction to Basic Biblical Doctrines by Charles R. Swindoll, Roy B. Zuck (Thomas Nelson Reference) Experts in their respective fields provide an authoritative perspective on the fundamentals of theology as derived from the traditional readings of scripture from an evangelical standpoint. Extensive treatment of all the classic areas of theological concern—God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, man, sin, salvation, sanctification, the Scriptures, the church, and more is offered in easy to follow prose. Makes a good introduction to normative evangelical theology. Contributing authors include: Robert Gromacki, Earl Radmacher, John Witmer, Robert Saucy, John Walvoord, Robert Lightner, J. Carl Laney, Robert Pyne, Ed Hayes, Henry Holloman. More

Asian Christian Theologies: A Research Guide to Authors, Movements, Sources by John C. England et al (Orbis Books) Co-sponsored by the Christian Conference of Asia, the Asian Pacific Missiology and Research Programme, Missio (Aachen) and The Council for World Mission, London, this ecumenical reference work provides information essential to every serious scholar and library of world Christianity, mission and religion in Asia. Each volume opens with an historical survey of its region then focuses on individul areas, generally by present-day nations. Along with extensive bibliographies and indexes, each volume includes brief biographies of area theologians. More

Perspectives on Church Government: Five Views of Chruch Polity by Daniel Akin (Broadman & Holman Publishers) presents in counterpoint form the basic models of church government which have developed over the course of church history with a view toward determining which is most faithful to Scripture. Each chapter is written by a prominent person from within each tradition—with specific guidelines dealing with the biblical, historical, and theological issues within each governance tradition. In addition, each writer provides a brief response to the other traditions. More

Death and Dying: A Reader by Thomas A. Shannon (Readings in Bioethics: Sheed and Ward, Rowman & Littlefield) (Hardcover) Ten readings represent current and historical legal, ethical, and medical thinking on issues like the definition of death, prolonging life, tube feeding, palliative care, and physician-assisted suicide. Contributors include philosophers, psychiatrists, and medical doctors. More

Theological Milton: Deity, Discourse And Heresy in the Miltonic Canon by Michael Lieb (Medieval & Renaissance Literary Studies Duquesne University Press) In lively, forceful, and at times witty language, Michael Lieb has written an illuminating study of the figure of God as a literary character in the writings of John Milton. Milton's God has always been a provocative and controversial figure, and Lieb offers a fresh way to look at the relationship between the language of theology and the language of poetry in Milton's works. He draws into the discussion previous authors on the subjectPatrides, Hunter, Kelley, Empson, Danielson, Rumrich and others—resulting in a dynamic debate about Milton's multifarious God. By stressing God's multivalent qualities, Theological Milton offers an innovative perspective on the darker side of the divinity. Lieb allows us to see a Miltonic God of hate as well as a God of love, a God who is a destroyer as well as a creator. Lieb directly confronts the more troubling faces of God in a manner richly informed by Milton's own theology. Against the theoretical framework for the idea of addressing God as a distinctly literary figure, Lieb presents Milton in the historical milieu prior to and contemporaneous with his works. More

Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints Revised by Matthew Bunson, Margaret Bunson, Stephen Bunson, Timothy M. Dolan (Our Sunday Visitor) The Encyclopedia of Saints by Rosemary Ellen Guiley (Facts on File) compete as comprehensive, single-volume reference to the fascinating lives of holy men and women of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. More Bunson
Drawing on extensive research, they each offer detailed accounts of the lives and experiences of more than 400 principal saints, from early martyrs such as Lucy of Syracuse to recently can­onized saints such as Katherine Drexel. Entries provide a biographical overview, a record of the saint's religious journeys and mystical experiences, a discussion of personal philosophies and important theological influences, as well as his or her patronage, feast days and popular role with­in the Church. Entries include extensive appendices include information on patron saints by topic, a calendar of feast days, beatified and canonized popes, an explanation of the canonization process, a glossary of terms and a glossary of heresies. The Encyclopedia of Saints brings to light both the religious heroism and colorful, little-known facts of the lives of saints for a comprehensive, in-depth exploration of sainthood. More Guiley

Doing Theology And Philosophy In The African Context/Faire la Theologie et la Philosophie en Contexte Africain by Luke G. Mlilo, Nathanael Y. Soede (Denktraditionen Im Dialog: Studien Zur Befreiung Und Interkilturalitat: Iko) English/French  essays on doing theology in Africa. More

Islam

God's Terrorists: The Wahhabi Cult And the Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad by Charles Allen (Da Capo Press) An important study of the little-known history of the Wahhabi, a fundamentalist Islamic tribe whose teachings influence today's extreme Islamic terrorists, including the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. More

Al-Hidayah: The Guide: A Classical Manual of Hanafi Law - VOLUME 1 by Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani, translated by Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee (Amal Press) The Hidayah represents the refined, distilled and authentic version of a legal tradition developed over many centuries. It presents the corpus of Hanafi law in its approved and preferred form and forges an organic link with the other schools of law.  There is no book that can match the power of al-Hidayah as a teaching manual. Education in Islamic law is not complete without this book. More

The Reflective Heart : Discovering Spiritual Intelligence in Ibn 'Arabi's 'Meccan Illuminations' by James Winston Morris (Fons Vitae) For centuries Ibn ‘Arabi has been considered the “Greatest Master” of Islamic spiritual teaching, but Western readers have only recently had access to his greatest writings. This introduction to Ibn ‘Arabi’s Meccan Illuminations highlights the mysticism and realization of Sufi spiritual life, providing an intellectually penetrating look without requiring specialized knowledge. The development of several key themes and modes of reflection in Ibn ‘Arabi’s spiritual teachings are explored as are the gradually unfolding meanings that distinguish this important classical text of Sufi practice. More

Ibn Arabi by William Chittick (Makers of the Muslim World: Oneworld Publications) Bulent Rauf, the inspiration behind the British esoteric school Beshara, was often quoted as saying  Muhyi ad-Din Ibn Arabi is not so much a person as a meaning.  William Chittick who is easily the foremost interpreter of the greatest Sheik in America, and who has written two massive studies of ibn Arabi, seems to come into agreement with Bulent.  Muhyi ad-Din Ibn Arabi is an encyclopedic writer, whose contribution to the mystical meaning of Islam and the Qur'an is as central to Islam as the theology of Thomas Aquinas is foundational for Western Catholicism.  However unlike Thomas Aquinas, Muhyi ad-Din Ibn Arabi has never known such entrenched institutional support.  In fact, about a century after his death, the central tenets of his writings were subtly and effectively vilified and misrepresented by Ibn Taymiyya,  the spiritual godfather of all literalistic and fundamentalist, authoritarian and even terrorist forms of Islam. More

Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the Land of Prophecy by Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Suny Series in Islam: State University of New York Press) offers a comprehensive overview of Islamic philosophy from the ninth century to the present day. As Seyyed Hossein Nasr attests, within this tradition, philosophizing is done in a world in which prophecy is the central reality of life—a reality related not only to the realms of action and ethics but also to the realm of knowledge. Comparisons with Jewish and Christian philosophies highlight the relation between reason and revelation, that is, philosophy and religion. More

A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages edited by Jorge J. E. Gracia, Timothy B. Noone (Blackwell Companions to Philosophy: Blackwell Publishers) This comprehensive reference volume features essays by some of the most distinguished scholars in the field.
The volume is organized into two sections. In the first, essays cover the historical context within which philosophy in the Middle Ages developed. Topics include the ancient philosophical legacy, the patristic background, the School of Chartres, religious orders, scholasticism, and the condemnation of various views in Paris in the thirteenth century. Within these clear, jargon-free expositions, the authors make the latest scholarship available while also presenting their own distinctive perspectives.
The second section is composed of alphabetically arranged entries on 138 philosophically significant authors – European, Jewish, and Arabic – living between the fourth and fifteenth centuries. These essays contain biographical information, summaries of significant philosophical arguments and viewpoints, and conclude with bibliographies of both primary and secondary sources.
A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages is extensively cross-referenced and indexed, constituting a complete source of information for students and professionals alike. More

Encyclopedia of the Qur'an - Set Volumes 1-5 plus Index Volume edited by Jane Dammen McAuliffe (Brill Academic) The Qur'ān is the primary religious text for one-sixth of the world’s population. Understood by Muslims to contain God's own words, it has been an object of reverence and of intense study for centuries. The thousands of volumes that Muslim scholars have devoted to qur'ānic interpretation and to the linguistic, rhetorical and narrative analysis of the text are sufficient to create entire libraries of qur'ānic studies.
Drawing upon a rich scholarly heritage, Brill's Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān (EQ) combines alphabetically-arranged articles about the contents of the Qur'ān. It is an encyclopaedic dictionary of qur'ānic terms, concepts, personalities, place names, cultural history and exegesis extended with essays on the most important themes and subjects within qur'ānic studies. With nearly 1000 entries in 5 volumes, the EQ is the first comprehensive, multi-volume reference work on the Qur'ān to appear in a Western language. More

Islamic Societies in Practice, 2nd Edition by Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (University Press of Florida) Originally written in the wake of the Gulf War, this book introduced the West to everyday Arab-Islamic cultures and societies, humanizing the region and its people. It ventured behind the headlines to offer a positive, constructive view of Islam and Muslims, showing how Islam is lived and practiced in daily life. Now revised and expanded in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Islamic Societies in Practice embraces the breadth of global Islam with significant new material on Islam in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States, as well as the Middle East. New maps and illustrations are included, detailing the diversity and representation of Islam and Muslims throughout the world. Additional material includes discussions of male and female relations; folk Islam, popular expressions of faith, and the five pillars; Sufism, including the Turkish Dervishes; ethnic and racial differences in the Muslim world; Islamic law and the application of harsh punishments; political Islam and the future of the state in the Islamic world; and the many voices of progressive Muslims--feminists, human rights activists, and anti-extremist writers. More

Role of Islam in the Legal System of Pakistan by Martin Lau (Martinus Nijhoff) The purpose and aim of this book is the exploration of the Islamisation of Pakistan's legal system. The focus will, however, not be on the introduction of Islamic laws during and following Lia-ul-Haq's martial law, but on the role of Islamic law in the legal system as a whole. The central thesis is that the Islamization of laws in Pakistan has been primarily a judge-led process, which was initiated to enhance the power of the judiciary and to expand the scope of constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights. It will be argued that the role of judges in the Islamization of the legal system has been largely obscured by the more visible manifestations of Islamization, namely the promulgation of the infamous Hudood Ordinances' and other isolated pieces of Islamic legislation, such as, for instance, the Enforcement of Shari'ah Act 1991. More

Bible

The New Testament and Its Modern Interpreters edited by Eldon Jay Epp, George W. MacRae (Scholars Press) (Hardcover) This volume has been designed both to survey and to evaluate New Testament scholarship since World War II. In several respects this period of about forty years comprises one of several eras in NT studies that were extraordinarily productive both in quantity and quality of work and also in significance of results. Similarly productive periods surely are to be identi­fied around 1835-1840, when David Friedrich Strauss stirred up a world-wide debate on the historical Jesus and when the priority of Mark seemed secure; or around 1865, when the basic Two-Source theory of Synoptic origins seemed assured and C. Tischendorf was discovering or publishing some of the most important NT manuscripts; or around 1900, when the impressive scholarship of Adolf Harnack and the other learned "Old Lib­erals" set the modern standard for excellence in critical scholarship and at the same time misled two generations on the kingdom of God and the histor­ical Jesus, and when Johannes Weiss and Albert Schweitzer effected a revolution in NT scholarship on the latter issues; or around 1920, when Karl Barth's Epistle to the Romans (1918) had appeared and when the stage was set by Martin Dibelius and Rudolf Bultmann for the form-critical analyses of the NT, but especially by Barth and Bultmann for new theological/ hermeneutical approaches that were to have far-reaching influence in the post-World War II period and down to our own times; or, finally, around the mid-1930s—just before the war — when Rudolf Otto and C. H. Dodd emphasized (and Dodd overemphasized) the reality of the present kingdom in the ministry of Jesus, and when the Chester Beatty papyri were published and brought new life to textual criticism. More

The New Testament and Literature: A Guide to Literary Patterns by Stephen Cox (Open Court) acts as a guide, focusing on the underlying patterns that combine ideas with literary devices. The book identifies the literary formulas in the New Testament and shows how these elements have shaped English and American literature.  More

Q: A Reconstruction and Commentary by Harry T. Fleddermann (Biblical Tools and Studies: Peeters) The first major commentary on the Sayings Source Q, the fruit of a lifelong intensive research on Q, the volume serves as a thorough introduction to the field of Q. studies. Fleddermann's commentary is written in critical dialogue with past and current scholarship and includes a substantial introduction and general treatment of all critical issus in Q studies because of its thoroughness in citation and measured new ones of its conclusions and summaries of arguments. This is the first volume in the new series 'Biblical Tools and Studies', edited by G. Van Belle, J. Verheyden, and B. Doyle. More

Rhetoric at the Boundaries: The Art And Theology of New Testament Chain-link Transitions by Bruce W. Longenecker (Baylor University Press) In the first section of his book, Longenecker actually takes the time to explain some different sorts of transitions that one comes across in Greek text of the New Testament period. He examines excerpts of Quintillian and of Lucian of Samosata, showing that the "chain-link" transition is something that was accepted rhetorical style of this period. He examines other non-canonical sources to establish that this transition style was used in different genres and by different writers. More

The Enemy Is Within: A Jungian Psychoanalytic Approach to the Book of Judith by Helen Efthimiadis-Keith (Biblical Interpretation Series: Brill Academic) Book of Judith, entitled after its heroine, is regarded by Jews and Protestants as apocryphal, and by Roman Catholics since the decrees of the Council of Trent in 1546 as deutero-canonical or apocrypha and the antilegomena. Judith is daughter of Merari and widow of Manasseh. Her gene­alogy, extending back 16 generations, is one of the longest in the OT and by far the longest for any woman in the Bible so it indicates her importance.
The Hebrew original of Judith is lost but evident in the Greek translation. It is unlikely that it was rep­resented in any of the Hebrew texts in circulation during the Middle Ages. The Greek texts take three widely divergent forms. The Vulgate presents yet another, very different, text; apparently Jerome merely revised an exist­ing Latin translation with the help of an Aramaic paraphrase.
Scholars have long been inclined either to read the Book of Judith as an historical narrative which gives rise to a number of problems or a folktale with a political foreword. The work provides plenty of problems when read as history and fits rather nicely into the folktale genre. More

Reading the Bible in Wesleyan Ways: Some Constructive Proposals by Barry L. Callen, Richard P. Thompson (Beacon Hill Press) Reading the Bible in Wesleyan Ways is comprised of significant essays by outstanding scholars. They represent and address the Wesleyan theological tradition and convey insights vital for today's Bible readers regardless of their denomination or tradition. The twelve essays of this collection are grouped under two categories, "Foundations for Interpretation" and "Frontiers for Interpretation." More

Magic in the Biblical World: From the Rod of Aaron to the Ring of Solomon edited by Todd Klutz (Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series: T. & T. Clark Publishers) (Hardcover) The category `magic', long used to signify an allegedly substantive type of activity distinguishable from `religion', has nearly been dismantled by recent theoretical developments in religious studies. While recognizing and at times reinforcing those developments, the essays in this collection show that there is still much to be learned about the cultural context of early Judaism and Christianity by analyzing ancient sources which either use `magic' as a label for deviant religiosity or valorize behavior of a broadly magicoreligious variety. Through sustained engagement with texts ranging from Exodus 7-9 and 18 to the Testament of Solomon and Sefer ha-Razim, this volume focuses on materials that challenge the familiar boundaries between miracle, magic and medicine; yet it also heightens awareness of the way unsuspecting use of a sick sign (e.g. `magic') can impede critical understanding of texts and their respective contexts of reception. More

Admonition And Curse: The Ancient Near Eastern Treaty/Covenant Form as a Problem in Inter-Cultural Relationships by Noel Weeks (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series: T. & T. Clark Publishers) In the history of scholarship focus changes from decade to decade. Topics become popular: topics fade from popularity. The reasons for such changes are complex and outside of the main interests of this work. What is significant is that they may fade from view before there has been a definitive resolution, or the resolution reached may be faulty. Yet who wants to return to an old, tired and exhausted topic? More

S/He Created Them: Feminist Retellings of Biblical Stories by Naomi Graetz (Gorgias Press) is a feminist retelling of biblical tales, the purpose of which is to make the Bible contemporaneous, relevant and religiously meaningful. The tales look at the intimate lives and thoughts of the characters who populate the Bible by retelling each story in contemporary language, sometimes adding dialogue and description, and at other times recovering and reinventing tales. Some of the stories deal with the typical feminine concerns of motherhood, barrenness, resentment about polygamy, the after-effects of being raped, the joys of shared gossip, the tribulations of the aging process, and the unique relationship of siblings. The stories also dwell on the tensions between relatives such as Isaac and Ishmael, Rachel and Leah, Sarah and Mrs. Lot, Miriam and her mother Yocheved.., The characters being portrayed are complete persons without being idealized, often petty and troublesome. More

Interpretation of the Gospel of Luke: From Apostolic Times Through the 19th Century by Sean P. Kealy (Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity: Edwin Mellen Press) The Interpretation of the Gospel of Luke In The 20th Century by Sean P. Kealy (Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity: Edwin Mellen Press) is a long and-thorough compilation of various approaches of interpretation to the Gospel of Luke.  Kealy is liberal in his quotations of scholars in this field but light on drawing definitive conclusions of his own. More

Acts by Jaroslav Pelikan (Brazos Theological Commentary of the Bible: Brazos Press) This significant commentary kicks off the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible series, which will eventually grow to a library of 40 volumes. Unlike other commentaries that are written mostly by biblical scholars, these books will be penned by theologians interested in what the Bible has to say about enduring theological questions; as series editor R.R. Reno puts it, the series "was born out of the conviction that dogma clarifies rather than obscures." Pelikan's contribution, for example, is less about the socioeconomic conditions that informed Paul's missionary journeys than it is about systematic theology, Christian doctrine and the formation of the early church. Pelikan asks big questions: what is sin? what were the earliest creeds? what is the nature of apostleship? He is sensitive to nuances of Greek but not obsessed by them. As such, this book will be helpful to preachers and, to a lesser extent, general readers who are sometimes flummoxed by more specialized and technical biblical commentaries. More

The Gospel of John by Francis J. Moloney (Sacra Pagina: Liturgical Press) (Hardcover) The expression Sacra Pagina ("Sacred Page") originally referred to the text of Scripture. In the Middle Ages it also described the study of Scripture to which the interpreter brought the tools of grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, and philosophy. More

John by Gail R. O'Day, Susan E. Hylen (Westminster Bible Companion Westminster John Knox Press) The Gospel of John is one of the most beloved books in the Christian canon. Its stories and images have long captured the imaginations of Christians. Not only is it one of the most popular writings of the New Testament, but many aspects of its style and outlook are distinctive. In this clear, thorough, and accessible commentary on the Gospel of John, scholars Gail O’Day and Susan Hylen explore and explain the Gospel’s distinctive qualities. This accessible study of the Gospel of John is written for clergy and laypeople who wish to deepen their understanding of the Fourth Gospel. It is informed by the best contemporary scholarship on John but is free of obscure details and jargon.  More

Revelation of St. John: The Path to Soul Initiation by Zachary F. Lansdowne (Red Wheel/Weiser) is a verse-by-verse guide toward unlocking the divine wisdom that is hidden within the pregnant symbolical language of the last book in the Christian Bible. The author, a Theosophist who is well read in the classics of Theosophy and the Alice Bailey Arcane School, as well as some of the best of metaphysical interpretations of a revelation, by Charles Fillmore, Joel Goldsmith,Yogananada, Krishnamuriti, Mabel Collins, Edgar Cayce, Frits Perls, Carl Jung, Charles Leadbeater, Helena Blavatsky, Rudolph Stiener, Sir Aurobindo and even seldom cited esoteric writers like James Pryse. It offers a synthetic and psychologically scintillating commentary into the levels of Soul Initiation represented by this universal dream of the Christian epoch. More

The Riddles of Jesus in John: A Study in Tradition and Folklore by Tom Thatcher (Society of Biblical Literature) At the end of his exhaustive study of Gospel Of John's tradition, C. H. Dodd confessed, “I do not at present see any way of identifying further traditional material in the Fourth Gospel, where comparison with the other gospels fails us, without giving undue weight to subjective impressions.” More

Prophets, Prophecy, And Prophetic Texts in Second Temple Judaism edited by Michael H. Floyd, Robert D. Haak (Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies: T. & T. Clark Publishers) This volume grew out of the program of the "Prophetic Texts and Their Ancient Contexts" (PTAC) group at the 2003 annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Atlanta. Yairah Amit, Matthias Henze, Armin Lange, Christoph Levin, Martti Nissinen, and I presented essays on that occasion that became the core of the collection. Pancratius Beentjes, George Brooke, Naomi Cohen, Lester Grabbe, John Kessler, John Levison, and Joachim Schaper were invited to contribute essays, so that the stated theme of prophets, prophecy, and prophetic texts in Second Temple Judaism would be more comprehensively covered. We were kindly given permission to reprint Louis Feldman's article, which helpfully lays out the evidence regarding prophecy in Josephus's works. This book is one of several that have been generated by the ongoing work of the PTAC group. More

Handbook on the Wisdom Books And Psalms: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiates, Song of Songs by Daniel J. Estes   (Baker Academic)  The Old Testament wisdom literature contains beautiful songs of worship and praise (Psalms), pithy and moralistic aphorisms (Proverbs), lyrical erotic poems (Song of Songs), world-weary philosophical reflections (Ecclesiastes) and probing poetry about the nature of evil (Job). In this engaging and helpful survey of the types and themes of wisdom literature, Estes, who teaches at Cedarville College in Cedarville, Ohio, provides a generous introduction for readers interested in the interpretation of these books. Each chapter examines the authorship and date of a particular book and proceeds to discuss its structure, style and major themes. Estes then provides an illuminating exposition of the writing and an invaluable bibliography that students of wisdom literature can use to enhance their understanding. Estes's survey represents all major positions on introductory matters in judicious fashion. Thus, while Solomon is traditionally thought to be the author of Proverbs, Estes concludes that Solomon cannot be the final compiler of the collection even though he might have played a role in the beginning of the process. Estes's book joins the other volumes in this series in providing significant introductions to the literature of the Old Testament. More

Judges by David Gunn (Blackwell Bible Commentaries: Blackwell Publishers) (Paperback) The commentary is constructed around the biblical book's main constituent stories and characters. The first chapter deals with the entry into the land and includes the cameo stories of Adoni-bezek who lost thumbs and big toes, Achsah who asked for water, and Othniel the first "judge" (Judg 1:1–3:11); the second chapter is on Ehud's assassination of Ehud (Judg 3:12–31); the third chapter covers Deborah and Barak defeating Sisera, and Jael putting a spike through his head (Judges 4–5); the fourth chapter discusses Gideon testing God and defeating the Ammonites (Judges 6–8), and the next its sequel, Abimelech's abortive kingship (Judges 9); the sixth chapter examines Jephthah, his vow, and his daughter's sacrifice (Judges 10–12); the seventh chapter deals with Samson the Nazirite, from annunciation to self-immolation, and, of course, his Timnite bride, the prostitute of Gaza, and Delilah (Judges 13–16); the eighth chapter treats Micah, his Levite, and the rampaging Danites (Judges 17–18); and the ninth chapter closes with a story of rape writ large, the Levite's woman and the Benjamite war (Judges 19–21). More

Slaves in the New Testament: Literary, Social, And Moral Dimensions by J. Albert Harrill (Fortress Press) (Hardcover) In this exciting new analysis of slaves and slavery in the New Testament, Harrill breaks new ground with his extensive use of Greco-Roman evidence, discussion of hermeneutics, and treatment of the use of the New Testament in antebellum U.S. slavery debates. He examines in detail Philemon, 1 Corinthians, Romans, Luke-Acts, and the household codes. More

Ugaritic Narrative Poetry edited by Mark S. Smith, Edward L. Greenstein, Theodore J. Lewis, David Marcus, Simon B. Parker (Society of Biblical Literature) (Paperback) The Ugaritic narrative poems all come from the ancient city of Ugarit, which lies half a mile inland from the Syrian coast opposite the eastern tip of Cyprus. The city was discovered after a farmer's accidental exposure of an ancient tomb nearby in 1928 and has been excavated almost annually since 1929. The excavators have uncovered a large palace; an acropolis with two temples, the house of the high priest, and the house of a divination priest; and numerous other large and small buildings, both sacred and secu­lar. These all date from the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries B.C.E. The levels from this period lie closest to the surface, have been most extensively excavated, and have yielded several archives and libraries. The uninscribed and inscribed remains together disclose many aspects of the city's culture during the Late Bronze Age. More

Physics

An Introduction to Materials Science by Wenceslao Gonzalez-Vinas, Hector L. Mancini (Princeton University Press) Textbook that shows how the emergence of materials science is leading the way in technical innovation. Useful for anyone wanting to get a sense of the field. Materials science has undergone a revolutionary transformation in the past two decades. It is an interdisciplinary field that has grown out of chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering departments. In this book, González-Viñas and Mancini provide an introduction to the field, one that emphasizes a qualitative understanding of the subject, rather than an intensely mathematical one. More

Understanding Solids: The Science of Materials by Richard J. D. Tilley (John Wiley & Sons) (Paperback) is a modern introduction to the structures and properties of solids. Taking an integrated approach, designed to appeal to both science and engineering students, the book develops an understanding of the origin of both physical and chemical properties of solids from a foundation of chemical bonding, which leads naturally to an appreciation of the ways in which atoms can aggregate and so generate solid structures.  More

Kinetic Processes: Crystal Growth, Diffusion, and Phase Transitions in Materials by Kenneth A. Jackson (John Wiley & Sons) The formation of solids is governed by kinetic processes, which are closely related to the macroscopic behaviour of the resulting materials. With the main focus on ease of understanding, the author begins with the basic processes at the atomic level to illustrate their connections to material properties. Diffusion processes during crystal growth and phase transformations are examined in detail. Since the underlying mathematics are very complex, approximation methods typically used in practice are the prime choice of approach. Apart from metals and alloys, the book places special emphasis on the growth of thin films and bulk crystals, which are the two main pillars of modern device and semiconductor technology. All the presented phenomena are tied back to the basic thermodynamic properties of the materials and to the underlying physical processes for clarity. More

The Quantum Challenge, Second Edition: Modern Research on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics by George Greenstein, Arthur G. Zajonc (Physics and Astronomy: Jones and Bartlett Publishers) is an engaging and thorough treatment of the extraordinary phenomena of quantum mechanics, and of the enormous challenge they present to our conception of the physical world. Traditionally, the thrill of grappling with such issues is reserved for practicing scientists, while physical science, mathematics, and engineering students are often isolated from these inspiring questions. This book was written to remove this isolation. George Greenstein and Arthur G. Zajonc present the puzzles of quantum mechanics using vivid references to contemporary experiments. The authors focus on the most striking and conceptually significant quantum phenomena, together with a clear theoretical treatment of each. The depth and extent of the challenge of quantum mechanics become increasingly compelling as they move from the simplest experiments involving single photons or particles, to the famous Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen effect and Bell's Theorem, and then to macroscopic quantum phenomena. More

What is What in the Nanoworld: A Handbook on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology by Victor E. Borisenko, Stefano Ossicini (John Wiley & Sons) This introductory, reference handbook summarizes the terms and definitions, most important phenomena, and regulations discovered in the physics, chemistry, technology, and application of nanostructures. These nanostructures are typically inorganic and organic structures at the atomic scale. Fast progressing nanoelectronics and optoelectronics, molecular electronics and spintronics, nanotechnology and quantum processing of information, are of strategic importance for the information society of the 21st century.
The short form of information taken from textbooks, special encyclopedias, recent original books and papers provides fast support in understanding "old" and new terms of nanoscience and technology widely used in scientific literature on recent developments. Such support is indeed important when one reads a scientific paper presenting new results in nanoscience. A representative collection of fundamental terms and definitions from quantum physics, and quantum chemistry, special mathematics, organic and inorganic chemistry, solid state physics, material science and technology accompanies recommended second sources (books, reviews, websites) for an extended study of a subject. More

Nanophysics and Nanotechnology: An Introduction to Modern Concepts in Nanoscience by Edward L. Wolf (John Wiley & Sons) Providing the first self-contained introduction to the physical concepts, techniques and applications of nanotechnology, this is of interest to readers grounded in college chemistry and physics. As such, it is suitable for students and professionals of engineering, science, and materials science and to research workers of varied backgrounds in the interdisciplinary areas that make up nanotechnology.
The author covers the spectrum from the latest examples of nanoscale systems, quantum concepts and effects, self-assembled nanosystems, manufacturing, scanning probe methods of observation and fabrication, to single-electron and molecular electronics. In so doing, he not only comprehensively presents the scientific background, but also concludes with a look at the long-term outcomes.  More

Statistical Mechanics by Donald A. McQuarrie (University Science Books) is the extended version of my earlier text, Statistical Thermody­namics. The present volume is intended primarily for a two-semester course or for a sec­ond one-semester course in statistical mechanics. Whereas Statistical Thermodynamics deals principally with equilibrium systems whose particles are either independent or effectively independent, Statistical Mechanics treats equilibrium systems whose particles are strongly interacting as well as nonequilibrium systems. The first twelve chapters of this book also form the first chapters in Statistical Thermodynamics, while the next ten chaptèrs, 13-22, appear only in Statistical Mechanics. Chapter 13 deals with the radial distribution function approach to liquids, and Chapter 14 is a fairly detailed discussion of statistical mechanical perturbation theories of liquids. These theories were developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s and have brought the numerical calculation of the thermodynamic properties of sim­ple dense fluids to a practical level. A number of the problems at the end of the Chapter 14 require the student to calculate such properties and compare the results to experimental data. Chapter 15, on ionic solutions, is the last chapter on equilibrium systems. Section 15-2 is an introduction to advances in ionic solution theory that were developed in the 1970s and that now allow one to calculate the thermodynamic properties of simple ionic solutions up to concentrations of 2 molar. More

Frontiers in Superconductivity Research by Barry P. Martins (Nova Science Publishers) Superconductivity is the ability of certain materials to conduct electrical current with no resistance and extremely low losses. High temperature superconductors, such as La2-xSrxCuOx (Tc=40K) and YBa2Cu3O7-x (Tc=90K), were discovered in 1987 and have been actively studied since. In spite of an intense, worldwide, research effort during this time, a complete understanding of the copper oxide (cuprate) ma­terials is still lacking. Many fundamental questions are unanswered, particularly the mechanism by which high-Tc superconductivity occurs. More broadly, the cuprates are in a class of solids with strong electron-electron interactions. An understand­ing of such "strongly correlated" solids is perhaps the major unsolved problem of condensed matter physics with over ten thousand researchers working on this topic. More

Chemistry

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, edition, 2005-2006 edited by David R. Lide (CRC Press) For more than 90 years, researchers around the world have relied on the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics for authoritative, up-to-date data. This year will be no exception. Many of the most heavily used tables in the book receive major updates and expansions, most notably: Physical Properties of Inorganic Compounds features nearly 25% more compounds; Bond Dissociation Energies includes 70% more compounds, including for the first time more than 1200 molecular ions; and Chemical Carcinogens was updated in accordance with the recent report from the National Toxicology Program. New references will also help keep readers up to date. Not seen.

Electrochemistry, Second Edition by Carl H. Hamann, Andrew Hamnett, Wolf Vielstich (Wiley-VCH) This second, completely updated edition of a classic textbook provides a concise introduction to the fundamental principles of modern electrochemistry, with an emphasis on applications in energy technology. The renowned and experienced scientist authors present the material in a didactically skilful and lucid manner. More

The Structural Stabilization of Polymers: Fractal Models by G. V. Kozlov, G. E. Zaikov (New Concepts in Polymer Science: VSP International (Brill) This monograph deals with the structural aspects of transport processes of gases, physical ageing and thermo-oxidative degradation of polymers in detail. Fractal analysis, cluster models of the polymer structure's amorphous state as well as irreversible aggregation models are used as main structural models. It is shown that the polymer structure is often a more important parameter than its chemical construction. Another significant aspect is the structural role in polymer melts oxidation.
The basis for understanding of structural stabilization gives anomalous diffusion of oxidant molecules on the fractal structure for both solid state polymers and polymeric melts. The important part of this problem is structure connectivity characterized by its spectral dimension. Therefore branched (cross-linked) polymers have smaller diffusivity in comparison with linear polymers. Fractal mathematics is used throughout to sharpen measures and tighten explanations. The volume could have used an English-language editor. More

CRC Handbook Of Thermodynamic Data Of Polymer Solutions At Elevated Pressures by Christian Wohlfarth (CRC Press) This handbook provides the only complete collection of high-pressure thermodynamic data pertaining to polymer solutions at elevated pressures to date — all critical data for understanding the physical nature of these mixtures and applicable to a number of industrial and laboratory processes in polymer science, physical chemistry, chemical engineering, and biotechnology. More

Elementorganic Monomers: Technology, Properties, Applications by L. M. Khananashvili, O. V. Mukbaniani, G. E. Zaikov (New Concepts in Polymer Science: Brill Academic Publishers) The chemical industry in our country and abroad is rapidly developing. It is only natural that the young industry of elementorganic monomers, oligomers and polymers should develop at the same rate. The numerous valuable and sometimes unique properties of these substances account for their wide application in various industries, households, medicine and cutting-edge technologies. That is why contemporary industry produces more than 500 types of silicone monomers, oligomers and polymers, to say nothing of other elementorganic compounds. The synthesis of these elementorganic compounds is based on many different reactions. More

Handbook of Physical-Chemical Properties and Environmental Fate for Organic Chemicals, Second Edition edited by Donald Mackay (CRC) The Handbook of Physical-Chemical Properties and Environmental Fate for Organic Chemicals, Second Edition is a massive 4 volume essential reference for university libraries, regulatory agencies, consultants, and industry professionals, particularly those concerned with chemical synthesis, emissions, fate, persistence, long-range transport, bioaccumulation, exposure, and biological effects of chemicals in the environment. The handbook contains physical-chemical property data on over 1200 chemicals of environmental concern. It offers approximately 30 percent new and updated information from previous edition. An enhancement to this new edition is the inclusion of measured temperature-dependent data for selected physical-chemical properties. Transport and transformation processes are key for determining how humans and other organisms are exposed to chemicals. These processes are largely controlled by the chemicals' physical-chemical properties. This new edition of the Handbook of Physical-Chemical Properties and Environmental Fate for Organic Chemicals is a comprehensive series in four volumes that serves as a reference source for environmentally relevant physical-chemical property data of numerous groups of chemical substances. More

Environmentalism

Environmental Justice and the Rights of Unborn and Future Generations: Law, Environmental Harm and the Right to Health by Laura Westra (Earthscan)  The traditional concept of social justice is increasingly being challenged by the notion of a humankind that spans current and future generations. This book, with a foreword by Roger Brownsword, is the first systematic examination of how the rights of the unborn and future generations are handled in common law and under international legal instruments. It provides comprehensive coverage of the arguments over international legal instruments, key legal cases and examples including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, industrial disasters, clean water provision, diet, HIV/AIDS, environmental racism and climate change. Also covered are international agreements and objectives as diverse as the Kyoto Protocol, the Millennium Development Goals and international trade. The result is the most controversial and thorough examination to date of the subject and the enormous ramifications and challenges it poses to every aspect of international and domestic environmental, human rights, trade and public health law and policy. More

Ancient Agriculture: Roots and Application of Sustainable Farming by Gabriel Alonso De Herrera (Ancient City Press) is the first English translation of the book that carried traditional farming techniques from the Old World of Europe to the New World of the Americas. The original book, Obra de Agricultura by Gabriel Alonso de Herrera, was initially published in 1513 as an instruction`manual for the farmers of Talavera de la Reina in central Spain. It was revised several times as the author learned increasingly more about land use and sophisticated irrigation techniques beyond the Iberian Peninsula, which Moorish farmers of the day had blanketed in exotic fruits and vegetables.  More

Tropical Deforestation edited by Sharon L. Spray, Matthew D. Moran (Exploring Environmental Challenges: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) Tropical Deforestation introduces readers to the important concepts for understanding the environmental challenges and consequences of deforestation. Contributions from scientists and academics in the social sciences and humanities provide readers with an initial "tool kit" for understanding the central con­cepts in each disciplinary perspective and the multidimensional aspects of deforestation. More

The Behavior And Ecology Of Pacific Salmon And Trout by Thomas P. Quinn (University of Washington Press) (Hardcover) Pacific salmon are a remarkable group of animals, and the connections to their ecosys­tems and to humans may be more complex and profound than any other group of ani­mals, and certainly more than any other group of fishes. First, though perhaps not foremost, they are collectively among the most valuable commercial fishery resources of the United States, with annual landed values that averaged $390 million from 1992 to 2001 according to U.S. Department of Commerce statistical reports. This is matched only by taxa such as crabs and shrimp that are taken from both oceans and include many diverse species. The finfish species that dominate the tonnage landed, walleye pollock and Atlantic menhaden in recent years, are lower in value than salmon despite their volume. More

Social Science

Encyclopedia of Communities of Practice in Information And Knowledge Management edited by Steve Clarke, Elayne Coakes (Idea Group Publishing) is the leading reference source for dynamic and innovative research in the field of communities of practice (CoPs) in information and knowledge management. With knowledge management work on the increase, this single volume encyclopedia provides a comprehensive, critical, and descriptive examination of all facets of CoPs, and includes 550 terms and definitions as well as 1,950 references to additional research. More than 120 researchers from over 20 countries provide in-depth coverage of conceptual and practical issues as well as topics regarding learning, leadership, ethics, social, intellectual, rewards, and language challenges.  More

Cross-cultural Communication: Perspectives in Theory and Practice by Thomas L. Warren (Baywood) is a collection of essays that examines how practitioners can improve the acceptance of their documentation when communicating to cultures other than their own. The essays begin by examining the cross-cultural issues relating to quality in documentation. From there, the essays look at examples of common documents, analyzing them from several perspectives. Specifically, the author uses communication theories (such as Bernstein's Elaborated and Restricted Code theory and Marwell and Schmidt's Compliance-Gaining theory) to show how documents used by readers who are not native speakers of English can be written and organized to increase their effectiveness. The principal assumption about how practitioners create their documents is that, while large organizations can afford to write, translate, and then localize, small- to medium-size organizations produce many documents that are used directly by people in other cultures-often without translating and localizing. More

The Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought edited by William Outhwaite (Blackwell Publishing) Modern social thought ranges widely from the social sciences to philosophy, political theories and doctrines, cultural ideas and movements, and the influence of the natural sciences. This dictionary provides an authoritative and comprehensive overview of the main themes of social thought, principal schools and movements of thought and those institutions that have been the subject of social analysis or engendered significant doctrines and ideas. Detailed entries cover major currents of thought, philosophical and cultural trends, and the individual social sciences from anthropology to welfare economics. These are supplemented by shorter accounts of specific concepts and phenomena. This second edition updates about 200 entries and includes new entries on the Internet, ethnic cleansing and other topics. Each entry includes suggestions for further reading, and the volume contains a bibliography of all sources cited within the text. More

Trust, Risk, and Uncertainty edited by Sean Watson, Anthony Moran (Palgrave Macmillan) This edited collection focuses on recently emerging debates around the themes of "risk", "trust", "uncertainty", and "ambivalence." Where much of the work on these themes in the social sciences has been theory based and driven, this book combines theoretical sophistication with close to the ground analysis and research in the fields of philosophy, education, social policy, government, health and social care, politics and cultural studies. More

The New Challenges of Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts edited by Pablo Antonio Fernandez-Sanchez (International Humanitarian Law: Martinus Nijhoff) represents an analysis of and a reflection on the new challenges of humanitarian law in armed conflicts. It covers the jurisprudential dimension not only of the International Court of Justice, but also all the different legal bodies, including the ad hoc tribunals created by the United Nations. It analyses the purely doctrinal dimension of general aspects such as the solutions to world disorder in this field, the relationship between jus in bello and jus ad bellum, the principles of universal and international jurisdiction, and the notion of justice and peace. More concrete aspects include the situation of foreigners and journalists in armed conflicts, terrorist acts in terms of international humanitarian law and sexual violence as a war crime. More

Gendered Bodies: Feminist Perspectives by Lisa Jean Moore, Judith Lorber, Alexander M. Holsinger (Roxbury Publishing Company) The human body has been an object of fascination from the beginning of the human species, judging from the little prehistoric statues we see in museums. In this book, we explore feminist contributions to contemporary social studies of the human body. We present the ways bodies are constructed in Western society, which is ordered by gender. More

Class Questions: Feminist Answers by Joan Acker (Gender Lens Series: AltaMira Press) (Paperback) Class questions is an urgent task at the beginning of the twenty-first cen­tury as global, national, and local inequalities escalate. Yet conventional conceptualizations of class are inadequate to the task because they illumi­nate the economic experiences of white men more clearly than those of white women or people of color. In this book, Joan Acker sounds the call for a return to questions of class while she deftly articulates a carefully reasoned resolution to the conceptualization problem. Acker proposes that we see class and capitalism as fundamentally gendered and racialized and powerfully shaped in work organizations. More

The Blackwell Companion to Social Inequalities by Mary Romero, Eric Margolis (Blackwell Companions to Sociology: Blackwell Publishing) The discipline of sociology that arose in nineteenth-century Europe was in very large part developed as an inquiry into the persistent inequalities the founders perceived as the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism decimated the medieval world. Marx saw the increasing emiseration of the proletariat and the monopolization of wealth and power in a few hands as the inevitable contradiction of capitalism. Weber's dialogue with Marx's ghost separated class from social status, and power. He also investigated the economic inequalities of Catholic and Protestant societies in his most famous work (Weber 1958 [1906]). Durkeim, though less interested in inequality than in the basis for social solidarity, was also concerned that increasing conflict between capital and labor threatened the social order: "the working classes are not really satisfied with the conditions under which they live, but very often accept them only as constrained and forced, since they have not the means to change them" (1964 [1893]). It is curious, then, that a recent "Dictionary of Sociology," promising definitions for everything from "Anomie to Zeitgeist," has no entry for "inequality" and the only entry for equality defines it as "Equality of Opportunity" (Jary and Jary 1991). This is very much in keeping with the American sociological view that was developed in the (in)famous "debate on equality" that took place in the American Sociological Review, beginning in the 1940s and continuing into the 1960s (Davis 1942, 1953; Davis and Moore 1945; Tumin 1953, 1963; Wrong 1959). In the continuing attempt to refute Marx and demonstrate, as George Homans sanctimoniously quipped, that the proletariat had no intellectual or moral right to demand his money or his life, American sociologists vigorously attempted to reduce the issues of inequality to social stratification; and then they sought to demonstrate the inevitability – in fact, the benefits – of stratification in any advanced technological social system. Every human quality came to be ranked on a`scale: income, wealth, intelligence, education level, status, and so on. The individuals' rel­ative position on these different dimensions – and mobility in the great social race – then boiled down to "equality of opportunity," as competitive individuals lined up at the starting blocks. All of this intended to create a science demonstrating that Western democratic capitalist societies had developed into meritocracies, and that the few examples of illegitimate inequality were on their way to being eliminated. More

Washing the Brain - Metaphor and Hidden Ideology by Andrew Goatly (Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture: John Benjamins Publishing) What is meant by the notoriously vague term 'ideology'? Defining this could take a whole book, so Goatly provisionally adopts van Dijk's definition and description in Ideol­ogy: "the basis of the social representations shared by members of a group. This means that ideologies allow people, as group members, to organise the multitude of social beliefs about what is the case, good or bad, right or wrong, for them and to act accordingly.” One major determinant of these social representations will be "the material and symbolic interests of the group ... power over other groups (or resistance against the domination by other groups) may have a central role and hence function as a major condition and purpose for the development of ideologies". This emphasis on power is central to my use of the term, and, for brevity's sake one might adopt Thompson's definition "meaning in the service of power". More

Understanding Social Problems by Linda A. Mooney, David Knox, Caroline Schacht (Wadsworth Publishing) This is a comprehensive mid-level paperback text that takes a theoretically balanced, student-centered approach to social problems. The text progresses from a micro- to macro-level of analysis, focusing first on such problems as illness and health care, drugs and alcohol, and family problems and then broadening to the larger issues of poverty and inequality, population growth, environmental problems, and conflict around the world. The social problem in each chapter is framed in a global as well as U.S. context. In every chapter, the three major theoretical perspectives are applied to the social problem under discussion, and the consequences of the problem, as well as alternative solutions, are explored. Pedagogical features such as The Human Side and Self and Society enable students to grasp how social problems affect the lives of individuals and apply their understanding of social problems to their own lives. More

Resisting Racism And Xenophobia: Global Perspectives on Race, Gender And Human Rights by Faye V. Harrison (AltaMira) (Paperback) excerpt: The concept of globalization is used and abused in a number of different ways, sometimes muddling issues that urgently need to be clarified. Arguing that globalization has a history that goes back centuries, Ted Lewellen under­scores the historical specificity of contemporary globalization. He defines the`most current phase or moment of globalization as the increasing flow of trade, finance, culture, ideas, and people brought about by the sophisticated technology of communications and travel and by the worldwide spread of neoliberal capitalism, and it is the local and regional adaptations to and resistance to these flows. More

I Media and Minorities: The Politics of Race in News and Entertainment by Stephanie Greco Larson (Spectrum Series: Rowman & Littlefield) looks at the media's racial tendencies with an eye to identifying the system supportive messages conveyed and offering challenges to them. The book covers all major media--including television, film, newspapers, radio, magazines, and the Internet--and systematically analyzes their representation of the four largest minority groups in the U.S. African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans. Entertainment media are compared and contrasted with news media, and special attention is devoted to coverage of social movements for racial justice and politicians of color. More

Forensic Human Identification: An Introduction edited by Tim Thompson, Sue Black (CRC Press) In philosophy, "identity" is whatever makes an entity definable and recognizable, in terms of possessing a set of qualities or characteristics that distinguish it from entities of a different type. "Identification," therefore, is the act of establishing that identity. In the 17th century, John Locke proposed his tabula rasa (blank slate) philosophy, which concluded that the newborn child is without identity and that it is entirely defined by society and circumstances after birth. While this may have some basis for discussion in the worlds of metaphysics, psychology, and social anthropology it has restricted relevance in the worlds of disaster-victim identification, biometrics, and forensic science. It is, however, true to say that, although many of our parameters of biological identity may be acquired after birth (tattoos, trauma, disease, dental intervention, etc.), many are biologically inherent and established in the period between conception and birth (DNA profile, sex, fingerprints, blood group, etc.). More

Murdering Myths: The Story Behind the Death Penalty by Judith W. Kay (Polemics: Rowman and Littlefield) (Paperback) goes beyond the hype and statistics to examine Americans' deep-seated beliefs about crime and punishment. She argues that Americans share a counter-productive idea of justice--that punishment corrects bad behavior, suffering pays for wrong deeds, and victims' desire for revenge is natural and inevitable. Drawing on interviews with both victims and inmates, Kay shows how this belief harms perpetrators, victims, and society and calls for a new narrative that recognizes the humanity in all of us. More

Criminal Responsibility by Victor Tadros (Oxford Monographs on Criminal Law and Justice: Oxford University Press) considers the proper nature and scope of criminal responsibility in the light of its institutional and political role. Tadros begins by providing a general account of criminal responsibility which is based on the relationship between the action that the defendant has performed and his or her character. He then moves on to reconsider some of the central doctrines of criminal responsibility in the light of that account. More

Defining Crimes: Essays on the Special Part of the Criminal Law edited by R.A. Duff, Stuart Green (Oxford Monographs on Criminal Law and Justice: Oxford University Press) This collection of original essays, by some of the best known contemporary criminal law theorists, tackles a range of issues about the criminal law's 'special part'—the part of the criminal law that defines specific offences. One of its aims is to show the importance, for theory as well as for practice, of focusing on the special part as well as on the general part, which usually receives much more theoretical attention. More

Theorizing Feminisms: A Reader by Elizabeth Hackett, Sally Haslanger (Oxford University Press) "What is sexist oppression?" "What should be done about it?" Organized around these questions, Theorizing Feminisms: A Reader provides an overview of theoretical feminist writing about the quest for gender justice. Incorporating both classic and cutting-edge material, the reader takes into account the full diversity of women, highlighting the effects of race, ethnicity, nationality, class, sexuality, and religion on women's experience. More

Listening to the Silences: Women And War edited by Helen Durham, Tracey Gurd (International Humanitarian Law: Brill Academic) Challenging the perception that women are exclusively the victims, the caregivers or the passive supporters of men in times of armed conflict, Listening to the Silences: Women and War exposes the reader to a diversity of women’s voices. These voices, both personal and academic, demonstrate that women are increasingly taking on less ‘traditional’ roles during war, and that these roles are multifaceted, complicated and sometimes contradictory. More

Accountability of Peace Support Operations by Marten Zwanenburg (International Humanitarian Law: Springer) Quis custodiet ipsos custodies? In other words, who guards the guardians? At a time when the mandate of many peace support operations includes halting violations of international humanitarian law by third parties, there is still a lack of clarity concerning accountability of peace support operations themselves. This book addresses that accountability, focusing on peace support operations under the command and control of the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It is concerned with the accountability of international organizations as well as troops contributing and member states, but not of individuals. More

Handbook Of Archaeological Methods edited by Herbert D. G. Maschner, Christopher Chippindale (Altamira Press) comprises 37 articles by leading archaeologists on the key methods used by archaeologists in the field, in analysis, in theory building, and in managing cultural resources. The book is destined to become the key reference work for archaeologists and their advanced students on contemporary archaeological methods. More

Archaeology In Practice: A Student Guide To Archaeological Analyses by Jane Balme, Alistair Paterson (Blackwell Publishing Professional) (Paperback) This volume is intended for archaeology students who are learning how to analyze archaeological materials. For many years, we have been involved in teaching university courses in field and laboratory techniques in archaeology. Over a cup of coffee during one of these courses, we were bemoaning the fact that, although there are many books on field methods (especially excavation techniques), much less is available on archaeological analysis techniques beyond the introductory first-year archaeology level. What we wanted was a series of essays that showed students how different kinds of archaeological materials are used to answer research questions. In our experience, students are more likely to understand this link when they learn from archaeologists who are talking about their own research problems and how they solved them. It brings a sense of immediacy to the work that makes it much more fun for them to read. Thus, to remedy the problem of the lack of such materials for students to read, we decided to assemble a collection of essays by experts on archaeological analysis. More

Philosophy of Science

Contemporary Debates in the Philosophy of Science by Christopher Hitchcock (Contemporary Debates in Philosophy: Blackwell) Teachers: Has this ever happened to you? You arc teaching a philosophy class that covers a number of different topics. You want to spend a week or so on, let's say, sci­entific realism. Naturally, you want to provide the students with some accessible read­ings on the subject. Moreover, you want to choose readings from both realists and anti-realists, partly so that the students will see both sides of the issue, and partly to give the students a glimpse of philosophers engaging in debate with one another. What you end up with, however, are readings that end up talking past one another: no two authors agree on what scientific realism is, so the realists are defending views that the anti-realists are not attacking. The students come away confused, and without any sense of the constructive value of debate. More

After Collapse: The Regeneration of Complex Societies edited by Glenn M. Schwartz, John J. Nichols (University of Arizona Press) From the Euphrates Valley to the southern Peruvian Andes, early complex societies have risen and fallen, but in some cases they have also been reborn. Prior archaeological investigation of these societies has focused primarily on emergence and collapse. After Collapse: The Regeneration of Complex Societies is the first book-length work to examine the question of how and why early complex urban societies have reappeared after periods of decentralization and collapse. More

Brain And Being: At The Boundary Between Science, Philosophy, Language, And Arts edited by Gordon G. Globus, Karl H. Pribram, Giuseppe Vitiello (Advances in Consciousness Research, 58: John Benjamins Publishing) This book is the outgrowth of the meeting "Quantum brain dynamics and the humanities: A new perspective for the 21st century"; which was held at the Institute for Scientific Interchange (ISI) in Torino, Italy, in November 2002. The meeting was born from an idea of Globus Gordon, to gather those involved in the formulation of the quantum model of brain, initiated by Luigi Maria Ricciardi and Hiroomi Umezawa in the middle of 1960s, to discuss in some informal but productive way the model implications for literature, philosophy, and the arts. His conviction was that the quantum model of brain could be in some sense the prototype of a new conception of making science: without loosing its characteristics and the powerfulness of the Galilean method, sci­ence must recover its merging with humanities, from which it has diverged during its development. On the other hand, humanities cannot ignore the logical and formal (mathematical and methodological) apparatus of science. Knowledge should not continue to suffer a conceptual splitting between human science and natural science. New ways of thinking are needed to effect a rapprochement. More

Biomedia by Eugene Thacker (Electronic Mediations, V. 11: University of Minnesota Press) As biotechnology defines the new millennium, genetic codes and computer codes increasingly merge—life understood as data, flesh rendered programmable. Where this trend will take us, and what it might mean, is what concerns Eugene Thacker in this timely book, a penetrating look into the intersection of molecular biology and computer science in our day and its likely ramifications for the future. More

The Divine Lawmaker: Lectures on Induction, Laws of Nature, and the Existence of God by John Foster (Oxford University Press) presents a clear and powerful discussion of a range of topics relating to our understanding of the universe: induction, laws of nature, and the existence of God. He begins by developing a solution to the problem of induction—a solution whose key idea is that the regularities in the workings of nature that have held in our experience hitherto are to he explained by appeal to the controlling influence of laws, as forms of natural necessity. His second line of argument focuses on the issue of what we should take such necessitational laws to be, and whether we can even make sense of them at all. Having considered and rejected various alternatives, Foster puts forward his own proposal: the obtaining of a law consists in the causal imposing of a regularity on the universe as a regularity. With this causal account of laws in place, he is now equipped to offer an argument for theism. His claim is that natural regularities call for explanation, and that, whatever explanatory role we may initially assign to laws, the only plausible ultimate explanation is in terms of the agency of God. Finally, he argues that, once we accept the existence of God, we need to think of him as creating the universe by a method which imposes regularities on it in the relevant law-yielding way. In this new perspective, the original nomological-explanatory solution to the problem of induction becomes a theological-explanatory solution. More

Scientists Confront Intelligent Design and Creationism edited by Andrew J. Petto, Laurie R. Godfrey (W. W. Norton) From leading scientists, lawyers, and educators, a new and decisive rebuttal to the assault on evolution from proponents of "intelligent design." With the pseudoscience of creationism rising again under the guise of "intelligent design," this powerful collection eviscerates the new assault on evolution and reveals the pervasive and insidious threat posed to genuine science by ID proponents like Phillip Johnson, Michael Behe, and William Dembski. The sixteen original essays address two key issues: the overwhelming scientific evidence for evolution gathered over 150 years and the dubious underpinnings of creationism; and how society can mount better educational and legal policies to prevent a theological takeover of our public and scientific institutions. The book includes powerful voices in the modern culture war against ID, including Kevin Padian, paleontologist and expert witness in the landmark lawsuit of Kitzmiller v. Dover. With creationist arguments forever morphing and reappearing under new aliases, this new confrontation is a must-read for teachers, students, and general readers, and a ringing and lasting refutation of creationism's fraudulent claims. More

Life Science

Handbook of Nutrition and Food, Second Edition edited by Carolyn D. Berdanier, Johanna Dwyer, Elaine B. Feldman (CRC) Covering an incredible range of information from basic biochemistry, to population studies, to nutrition intervention, and medical concerns, Handbook of Nutrition and Food, Second Edition is an indispensable reference for any professional library. Significantly revised and updated, this second edition of the bestselling original welcomes contributions from several new authors, including Elaine B. Feldman and Johanna Dwyer, all notable leaders in nutritional science. Retaining the high level of scientific research, accessible language, and attention to detail of the original, this new edition reflects the changes and developments of the past six years in nutrition research by adding 12 new chapters and tripling the number of referential web addresses. More

Food Processing Handbook by James G. Brennan (Wiley-VCH) focusing on the technology involved, this handbook describes the principles as well as the equipment used and the changes – physical, chemical, microbiological and organoleptic – that occur during food preservation. In doing so the text covers in detail such techniques as post-harvest handling, thermal processing, evaporation and dehydration, freezing, irradiation, high pressure processing, emerging technologies, baking, extrusion, frying and packaging. In addition current concerns about the safety of processed foods and control of food processes are addressed, as are the impact of processing on the environment and separation and conversion operations widely used in the food industry.
Scientists and engineers involved in food manufacture, research and development in both industry and academia will benefit greatly from the contents as will students studying food related topics at undergradu­ate and postgraduate levels. More

Cheese Problems Solved edited by P. McSweeny (CRC) Cheese is a unique food product which requires a significant amount of scientific knowledge to be produced successfully. However, due to the many complex and inter-related changes which occur during cheese manufacture and ripening, it is still not possible to guarantee the production of premium quality cheese. Written by an international team of renowned contributors, Cheese problems solved provides responses to around 200 of the most frequently asked questions about cheese and the cheesemaking process, in a unique and practical question-and-answer format. Opening chapters concentrate on queries regarding the preparation of cheesemilk, the conversion of milk to curd, the ripening process, pathogens, cheese analysis and the nutritional aspects of cheese, among other issues. The latter part of the book discusses particular types of cheeses including Cheddar, Grana-type cheeses, Mozzarella, Blue, Swiss and Dutch cheeses, to name but a few. More

Molecular Biotechnology: Principles and Practices by Channarayappa (CRC) Providing a strong base in this emerging and highly promising field, Molecular Biotechnology: Principles and Practice strikes a balance between two important aspects of the science - the theory of molecular biology and the experimental approach to the study of biological processes. The main feature of this book is that it covers a wide range of molecular techniques in biotechnology and is designed to be a student- and teacher-friendly textbook. Each technique is described conceptually, followed by a detailed experimental account of the steps involved. The book can also serve as reference to the interested reader who is venturing into the field of biotechnology for the first time. More

Liberation Biology: The Scientific And Moral Case For The Biotech Revolution by Ronald Bailey (Prometheus Books) In this book the author argues that the coming biotechnology revolution will liberate human beings to achieve their full potentials by enabling more of us to live flourishing lives free of disease, disability, and the threat of early death. More

Meaningful Scents Around the World: Olfactory, Chemical, Biological, and Cultural Considerations by Roman Kaiser (Wiley-VCH) In recent years, our knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of olfaction has grown enormously, accompanied by a growing appreciation of scent. This is reflected in the fact that the 2004 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded for discoveries of 'Odorant Receptors and the Organization of the Olfactory System'. This book naturally supports such developments, and takes the reader on a fascinating fragrant journey around the world to some of the exciting places the author has visited during his 30 years of olfactory research. Following an introductory section to the world of natural scents, including their biological meaning and history, the fragrance and flavor chemist, Roman Kaiser, who is renowned for his 'headspace' analytical technique, revisits some memorable scents. In doing so, he leads us to such exotic places as Lower Amazonia, Papua New Guinea, India, and many rain-forest biotopes in his quest for new molecules and new scent concepts, showing us along the way how a scent like tatami can be linked to culture. The third and final section describes the analysis of the compositions of the presented scents. More

Taking Biology Seriously: What Biology Can and Cannot Tell Us About Moral and Public Policy by Inmaculada de Melo-Martin (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) (Paperback) Discussions of human biology and its consequences for ethics and public policy are often misguided. Both proponents and critics of behavioral genetics, reproductive cloning, and genetic testing have mistaken beliefs about the role of genes in human life. Taking Biology Seriously calls attention to the social context in which both the science and our ethical precepts and public policies play a role. More

What Makes Biology Unique? Considerations on the Autonomy of a Scientific Discipline by Ernst Mayr (Cambridge University Press) is a crowning survey of the claims of biology, defining it as an independent science, not a secondary offspring of physics and chemistry. “His mind is still remarkably sharp.” Science  More

Paleontological Data Analysis by Oyvind Hammer, David A. T. Harper (Blackwell Publishing Professional) During the last 10 years numerical methods have begun to dominate paleontology. These methods now reach far beyond the fields of morphological and phylogenetic analyses to embrace biostratigraphy, paleobiogeography, and paleoecology. The availability of cheap computing power, together with a wide range of software products, have made increasingly complex algorithms accessible to the vast majority of paleontologists. More

Equids In Time And Space: Papers in Hounour of Vera Eisenmann by Marjan Mashkour (Oxbow Books Limited) This book is one of several volumes which form the pub­lished proceedings of the 9th meeting of the International Council of Archaeozoology (ICAZ), which was held in Durham (UK) 23rd-28th August 2002. ICAZ was founded in the early '70s and has ever since acted as the main international organisation for the study of animal remains from archaeological sites. The main international conferences are held every four years, and the Durham meeting – the largest ever – follows those in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, England (London), France, USA, Germany and Canada. The next meeting will be held in Mexico in 2006. The Durham conference – which was attended by about 500 delegates from 46 countries –was organised in 23 thematic sessions, which attracted, in addition to zooarchaeologists, scholars from related disciplines such as palaeoanthropology, archaeobotany, bone chemistry, genetics, mainstream archaeology etc. More

Laser Ablation-ICP-MS in Archaeological Research edited by Robert J. Speakman, Hector Neff (University of New Mexico Press) These fifteen essays explore the archaeological applications of an exciting new field of research in materials science. Since the first archaeometric uses of inductively coupled plasma (ICP) in the early 1980s, most applications have required the processing of solid samples with heat and/or strong acids. This is time consuming, expensive, and sometimes dangerous.  More

Plant by Janet Martinelli (DK) From cultivating plants that are on the international endangered list or already extinct in the wild, to avoiding invasive species, gardeners can play a vital role in conservation. A groundbreaking reference for both plant enthusiasts and gardeners, Plant is a new-generation encyclopedia designed to provide environmental and horticultural information so that gardeners can make the right decisions about what to grow in their gardens. The planet is poised on the brink of a modern extinction episode, says Janet Marinelli, editor-in-chief of the new book PLANT, "that would rival anything in evolutionary history, including the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago." Marinelli explained, "If current trends continue, two-thirds of all plant species will disappear before the end of the 21st century — more than 55 percent of conifers, 52 percent of cycads, 38 percent of cacti, about a third of all members of the lily family, and almost all 800 orchid species are at risk for extinction in the coming decades." But the good news is that "as gardeners, we can play a very personal and important role in the survival of these beautiful and fascinating creatures." More

Biotechnology Research in an Age of Terrorism: Confronting the "Fual Use" Dilemma (National Academy Press) The fact that the anthrax used in the October 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States was genetically identical to that developed by the U.S. government is evidence that almost all biotechnology can be subverted for hostile use. This report by the National Research Council considers ways to balance national security and scientific openness in the development of biotechnologies. The report reviews current rules and regulations related to oversight of dangerous pathogens and potentially dangerous research in the U.S., assesses their efficacy, and recommends changes. The authors propose a system for research oversight based on the earlier National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Research Involving rDNA Molecules. More

Encyclopedia of Bioterrorism Defense edited by Richard F. Pilch, Raymond A. Zilinskas (Wiley) This groundbreaking reference marks the first time a publication has attempted to provide complete coverage in the field of bioterrorism.  Articles review current knowledge across various disciplines within the context of bioterrorism, covering the most recent developments in areas including bioterrorism agents, biodefense infrastructure, biotechnology, preparedness, threats, threat analysis, and legislation.  Relevant biological warfare events are included with a through analysis.

Evolution of the Insects by David Grimaldi, Michael S. Engel (Cambridge University Press) Insects are the most diverse group of organisms to appear in the 3-billion-year history of life on Earth, and the most ecologically dominant animals on land. This book chronicles, for the first time, the complete evolutionary history`of insects: their living diversity, relationships, and 400 million years of fossils. Whereas other volumes have focused on either living species or fossils, this is the first comprehensive synthesis of all aspects of insect evolution. Current estimates of phylogeny are used to interpret the 400-million-year fossil record of insects, their extinctions, and radiations. Introductory sections include the living species, diversity of insects, methods of reconstructing evolutionary relationships, basic insect structure, and the diverse modes of insect fossilization and major fossil deposits. Major sections cover the relationships and evolution of each order of hexapod. The book also chronicles major episodes in the evolutionary history of insects: their modest beginnings in the Devonian, the origin of wings hundreds of millions of years before pterosaurs and birds, the impact that mass extinctions and the explosive radiation of angiosperms had on insects, and how insects evolved the most complex societies in nature. More

Circadian Physiology 2nd Edition with CD-ROM by Roberto Refinetti (CRC Press) Long before Apollo 11 blasted off for the moon, astronauts Neil Armstrong, "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins simulated actual space conditions to prepare their bodies for the long voyage to earth's only natural satellite. And before some U.S. professional athletes compete on another continent, they alter their eating and sleeping patterns to adapt themselves for the shift in time zones. Practices such as these are all related to the regulation of the human body's biological rhythms, which are controlled by the 'body clock'.Circadian Physiology highlights the basic processes and latest research findings in circadian biology, and describes how this knowledge applies to the prevention of jet lag and the malaise associated with shift work, the treatment of sleep disorders and depression, the timing for effective administration of medicines, and the planning of astronaut schedules for space exploration.Targeted at life scientists who are not specialists in biological rhythms, the book is also accessible to general readers who have an interest in scientific issues and their applicability to health and business problems. To provide the in-depth understanding of circadian phenomena required for the analysis of actual research data, the author has included software for data analysis and simulation that will allow readers to put into practice the formal knowledge acquired through the disciplinary chapters. With its accessible, up-to-date review of scientific and medical advances, Circadian Physiology is a valuable addition to the growing field of circadian biology. More

Biomimetics: Biologically Inspired Technologies edited by Yoseph Bar-Cohen (CRC Press) Nature is the world's foremost designer. With billions of years of experience and boasting the most extensive laboratory available, it conducts research in every branch of engineering and science. Nature's designs and capabilities have always inspired technology, from the use of tongs and tweezers to genetic algorithms and autonomous legged robots. Taking a systems perspective rather than focusing narrowly on materials or chemistry aspects. Biomimetics: Biologically Inspired Technologies examines the field from every angle. More

Biology of Floral Scent edited by Natalia Dudareva, Eran Pichersky (CRC) The first book of its kind, Biology of Floral Scent provides comprehensive coverage of state-of-the-art floral scent research. This book explores the major aspects of floral scent biology including its function and significance for plants and pollinators, composition, enzymology, evolution, and commercial aspects. It employs a modern approach that incorporates molecular biology, enzymology, chemistry, entomology, genetic engineering, and functional genomics. By combining literature on plant reproduction into a single volume, this text provides an easy reference for plant biologists, natural products chemists, cell and molecular biologists, ecologists, and entomologists. More

Plant Abiotic Stress edited by Matthew A. Jenks, Paul M. Hasegawa (Biological Sciences: Blackwell Publishers) Over the past decade, our understanding of plant adaptation to environmental stress, including both constitutive and inducible determinants, has grown con­siderably. This book focuses on stress caused by the inanimate components of the environment associated with climatic, edaphic and physiographic factors that substantially limit plant growth and survival. Categorically these are abiotic stresses, which include drought, salinity, non-optimal temperatures and poor soil nutrition. Another stress, herbicides, is covered in this book to highlight how plants are impacted by abiotic stress originating from anthropogenic sources. Indeed, it is an important consideration that, to some degree, the impact of abiotic stress is influenced by human activities. The book also addresses the high degree to which plant responses to quite diverse forms of environmental stress are interconnected. Thus the final two chapters uniquely describe the ways in which the plant utilizes and integrates many common signals and subsequent pathways to cope with less favorable conditions. The many linkages between the diverse stress responses provide ample evidence that the environment impacts plant growth and development in a very fundamental way. More

Antioxidants And Reactive Oxygen Species In Plants by Nicholas Smirnoff (Biological Science: Blackwell Publishers) Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced during the interaction of metabolism with oxygen. As ROS have the potential to cause oxidative damage by reacting with biomolecules, research on ROS has concentrated on the oxidative damage that results from exposure to environmental stresses and on the role of ROS in defense against pathogens. However, more recently, it has become apparent that ROS also have important roles as signaling molecules. A complex network of enzymatic and small molecule antioxidants controls the concentration of ROS and repairs oxidative damage, and research is revealing the complex and subtle interplay between ROS and antioxidants in controlling plant growth, development and response to the environment. More

Litchi and Longan: Botany, Production and Uses edited by C. M. Menzel , G. K. Waite (CABI Publishing) Litchi (lychee) and the related fruit longan are grown extensively in China and South-East Asia, as well as in Australia, Florida (USA), Southern Europe and Southern Africa. This book represents the only comprehensive, balanced and internationally focused publication on these fruit. It covers all aspects of production, from taxonomy and breeding, to propagation, flowering and fruit set, to diseases, pests and postharvest storage and processing. Written by leading scientists from Australia, China, India, Israel, Thailand and the USA, the book represents the standard work on its subject. As the fruit are imported to many developed countries, the book will be of interest to a wide audience. More

Prions by Claudio Soto (CRC) offers a well-organized overview of prion-related diseases. It reviews the symptoms, epidemiology, and neuropathology of the disease, and focuses on the idea that TSEs result from a novel mechanism involving transmission by replication of the misfolding of a single protein. The author, a renowned innovator in the area of neurodegenerative diseases, examines the structure, conversion, and mechanism of prion propagation and details its cellular biology. He also looks at other diseases that display folding aberrations, considers how common such aberrations are, and speculates on the impact of prions on broader areas of biology, public health, and biotechnological strategies. More

Clinical Malignant Hematology by Mikkael A. Sekeres, Matt Kalacyio, Brian Bolwell (McGraw-Hill Just the Facts: McGraw-Hill Professional) The only comprehensive guide to the clinical management of hematologic and lymphatic cancers.
Filling an unmet need in the clinical literature, this commanding, just-in-time reference sheds light on the full spectrum of cancers in the blood, bone marrow, and lymphatic system (leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma). Clinical Malignant Hematology is edited by staff members from the renowned Taussig Cancer Center at the Cleveland Clinic, which has pioneered some of the most important clinical discoveries and treatment trends in recent years. More

Fundamentals of Nuclear Pharmacy, 5th Edition by Gopal B. Saha (Springer-Verlag) Upon publication of the First Edition, Fundamentals of Nuclear Pharmacy emerged as the standard text and reference in nuclear medicine. Generously supplemented with charts, tables, and more than 100 illustrations, the revised Fifth Edition of this classic text has been thoroughly updated by judiciously replacing obsolete sections with new, cutting-edge material. Each chapter provides the reader with well-delineated descriptions of the subject matter from the basic atomic structure to the clinical uses of radiopharmaceuticals. Previous editions were highly acclaimed for their clarity and accuracy since Dr. Saha sets new standards for making complex theoretical concepts readily understandable for students and practitioners in nuclear pharmacy and nuclear medicine. More

Atlas Of Clinical Gross Anatomy edited by Kenneth Moses, Pedro Nava, John Banks, Darrell Petersen (Mosby Elsevier) Gain a full and clear three dimensional understanding of anatomical structures with almost 500 large, high-quality photographs and a clear clinical focus, this atlas does a more effective job of presenting gross anatomy than any other single pictorial resource. Consistent, templated chapter organization guides you smoothly through the material

• Large page format allows all the photographs, many close to life size, to be displayed in full for effortless orientation and comprehension. No more confusion and peering at small, closely cropped pictures!

• Succinct introductions efficiently preview the key features in each chapter Over 200 artworks support descriptions in the introductory text

• Clinical correlations describe common situations where anatomy is relevant for medical practice

• Surface anatomy is brought to life with illustration overlays showing how interior anatomy relates to external features

• Specially commissioned dissections, shown one per page, guide you through superficial, intermediate and deep dissections, all performed to a uniformly high standard

• Color enhancements of selected structures make these easier to identify in the photographs Outstanding osteology and radiology images complete your understanding and knowledge. More

Psychology

Emotions: Their Rationality & Consistency by Marion Ledwig (Peter Lang Publishing) stands in the tradition of current emotion theorists, such as Elster, Damasio, de Sousa, Greenspan, Nussbaum, and Solomon, who advance the rationality of the emotions. Yet this book goes beyond their accounts, for it not only defends the view that emotions can be termed rational, but also considers in which different senses emotions can be termed rational. Besides discussing whether emotional intelligence and emotional consistency are forms of emotional rationality, this book makes clear how far this view on the rationality of the emotions can be generalized: whether it can, for instance, be generalized to computers having rational emotions and whether emotional responses to art can be considered to be rational. This book draws not only on knowledge from neuroscience, cognitive science, and philosophy of mind, but also on evolutionary theory and developmental psychology, to substantiate its position. More

Rational Animals? edited by Susan Hurley, Matthew Nudds (Oxford University Press) Are any nonhuman animals rational? What issues are we raising when we ask this question? Are there different kinds or levels of rationality, some of which fall short of full human rationality? Should any behaviour by nonhuman animals be regarded as rational? What kinds of tasks can animals successfully perform? From what kinds of processes does their behaviour result, and do they count as rational processes? Is it useful or theoretically justified to raise questions about the rationality of animals at all? Should we be interested in whether they are rational? Why does it matter? More

Neuropsychology: Clinical and Experimental Foundations by Lorin Elias, Deborah Saucier (Allyn & Bacon) Combining a unique organizational approach with an engaging writing style, Neuropsychology: Clinical and Experimental Foundations offers a comprehensive and reader-friendly introduction to the functions of the brain. Chapters take a functional perspective, weaving together discussions on intact and dysfunctional systems. Lorin Elias and Deborah Saucier address critical issues in the field, including neuroanatomy, sensation and perception, memory, and emotion. The text also incorporates helpful pedagogical features, including Real World and Current Controversy boxes as well as self-tests and internal previews and reviews, all of which are valuable tools for teaching and learning. Thorough and up-to-date, Neuropsychology: Clinical and Experimental Foundations is the ideal text to introduce students to the dynamic workings of the brain. More

Resolution Of Inner Conflict: An Introduction To Psychoanalytic Therapy by Frank Auld, Marvin Hyman, Donald Rudzinski (American Psychological Association) In the several years since the publication of the first edition of this book, psychoanalysis has undergone continuing and expanding changes in theory and practice. These changes have included an increased emphasis on so-called preoedipal issues, attention to object-relations theory and practice, the conceptualization of psychoanalysis as a "two-person" psychology, and the ex-tension of psychoanalytic thinking into areas of practice that are not psycho-therapeutic. Although we have not given up our "conservative" view of psycho-analysis, we attempt in this work to describe, discuss, and evaluate the more recent trends appearing in the psychoanalytic community. We urge each reader of this introduction to familiarize herself or himself with these trends in order to judge their merit or lack of merit. More

Thick Description and Fine Texture: Studies in the History of Psychology edited by David B. Baker (University of Akron Press) to honor the contributions of significant persons, the academic world has at its disposal any number of award mechanisms. Most ubiquitous are items that become the private property of the recipient, including honorary degrees, all manner of chronometers, and countless variations of engraved decorative icons. Once bestowed, the gift and recipient are often relinquished to a restive setting, removed from the currents they once occupied.
In the hierarchy of academic acknowledgment, being honored with a collection of essays generally indicates that a person's legacy is lasting`and relevant. Unlike acknowledgments that inhabit personal spaces, these works reside in the public domain and serve as a perpetual reminder of past accomplishment and contribution. And so it is with this volume that pays tribute to two pioneers in the history of psychology, John A. Popplestone and Marion White McPherson. More

Cultural Competence In Clinical Psychiatry by Wen-Shing Tseng (American Psychiatric Association) Building on their previous works in clinical areas and in psychotherapy, the editors here take ari entirely new approach to cultural competency. Instead of examining populations of different ethnic groups, this illuminating volume examines cultural issues as applied to virtually every psychiatric service (e.g., inpatient, outpatient, consultation-liaison, pain management, and emergency) and specialty (e.g., child and adolescent, geriatric, addiction, and forensic psychiatry) and to both psychopharmacology and psychotherapy. Distinguished contributors bring the issues to life with numerous case vignettes in all chapters. More

Adolescent Psychiatry: Developmental and Clinical Studies edited by Lois T. Flaherty (Adolescent Psychiatry, Vol 27: Analytic Press) Much of this volume of Adolescent Psychiatry focuses on trauma and violence. These are not new issues to psychiatrists, especially those who work with adolescents. Indeed, they are hardly new issues for the world. What is new is a growing awareness of the psychological, biological, and social impact of trauma on its victims, especially on the young. What awaits is the translation of this new knowledge into public policy, so that the effects of trauma can be mitigated and, ultimately, so that children and adolescents can be protected from harm. More

Child And Adolescent Psychiatry edited by Sandra Sexson (Blackwell's Neurology and Psychiatry Access Series: Blackwell Publishing Professional) Traditional textbooks convey knowledge. It is the goal of this text in the Blackwell's Neurology and Psychiatry Access Series to convey not only essential knowledge but also the collected wisdom of its many highly regarded contributors. To achieve the goal of conveying not only knowledge but also wisdom, each book in this series is built on a structural framework that was well received by critics and readers alike in David: Pediatric Neurology for the Clinician and the first editions of Child and Adolescent Neurology, Adult Neurology, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Adult Psychiatry (Mosby). More

Issues in Aging by Mark Novak (Allyn & Bacon) presents facts and information about aging today. It covers the issues that most older people and their families will face, and it deals with issues that an aging society will raise for all of us. Whether you are older yourself, have older parents, relatives and friends, or plan to work with older people, the information in this text will help you understand again today. This book first looks first at large-scale social issues — social attitudes, the study of aging, and demographic issues. It then shows how these conditions affect individuals and social institutions. The book concludes with a look at political responses to aging and how individuals can create a better old age for themselves and the people they know. More

Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology by S Alexander Haslam, Craig McGarty (Sage Publications)The revised edition of a text formerly known as Doing Psychology takes the approach that students who understand the logic of research will be able to see more clearly exactly what they need statistics for, and will then be motivated to understand more clearly what statistics can do for them, as well as what they cannot do. New chapters provide an introduction to analysis of variance, chi-square and distribution-free procedures, qualitative measures, and the writing of research reports. More

Introduction to Behavioral Research Methods, Fourth Research Edition by Mark R. Leary (Pearson Allyn & Bacon) shows students how to conceptualize questions, measure variables, design studies, and analyze data. More

Ecrits: A Selection by Jacques Lacan, translated by Bruce Fink (W.W. Norton & Company) The experience of reading Lacan can be difficult for some, if not most of us; his work requires us to be active in our comprehension and imagination. For many years there has only been one translation of this important work, which has hampered Lacan's introduction to the Anglophone world. We now have a new translation and splendid it is! It does not give instant access to Lacan and the book still needs "active" reading, but it certainly helps. This modern translation - worked on by three people close to the work of Lacan - is fully annotated and referenced to give the reader a complete entry into the work as composed at the time (a hermeneutics of Lacan, perhaps?). We have many books about the work of this important psychoanalyst and thinker - but eventually the desire comes to read his original work and this translation certainly allows, supports and encourages this. This translation of the Ecrits will prove valuable for many years to come. More

Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy  edited by Len Sperry, Edward P. Shafranske (American Psychological Association) Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy is the first book to critically and coherently survey how spirituality can be incorporated into a range of psychotherapeutic approaches, including psychoanalytic, cognitive—behavioral, humanistic, interpersonal, transpersonal, and others. Volume editors Len Sperry and Edward P. Shafranske, both well recognized as outstanding scholars, bring together a stellar group of contributors to describe the theoretical and clinical basis for their approaches and to illustrate their clinical application. A uniform structure across chapters and an integrative final chapter allow for easy comparison of the approaches. The volume editors examine current and future issues as well as the legacy of the psychoanalytic and Jungian foundations of spiritually oriented psychotherapy. This volume demonstrates the utility and accessibility of examining the spiritual dimension in therapy. It is likely to become a vital resource for the experienced clinician and the standard text for graduate programs in clinical, counseling, and consulting psychology and clinical social work. More

Handbook Of Spirituality And Worldview In Clinical Practice by Allan M. Josephson, John R. Peteet (American Psychiatric Association) Unlike works that focus primarily on spiritual experience, this clearly written volume focuses on worldview - the cognitive aspects of belief - and how it affects the behavior of both patient and clinician. Also unlike other works, this remarkable volume summarizes assessment, formulation, and treatment principles, using powerful case vignettes to illustrate how these principles can be applied to any individual of any faith or "non-faith," including practical clinical information on major faith traditions and on the secular (i.e., atheist/agnostic) worldview. This refreshing text sheds much-needed light on an area too often obscure to many clinicians. Because it bridges several disciplines in a novel way, this thought-provoking volume will find a diverse audience among mental health care students, educators, and professionals everywhere concerned with religious and spiritual aspects of their patients' lives. More

Lighter Side

Circumference of Darkness by Jack Henderson (Bantam) In 1993, a legendary hacker known only as 'phr33k" outlined a far-fetched plan for the ultimate terrorist attack, in a members-only online chat room. Eight years later, he awoke on September 11, 2001 to see the World Trade Center in flames and his casual brainstorm materializing into a murderous reality.  More

 

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Esoteric Studies

Jean-Luc Marion

Guide to Recent Briefs

• Popular Histories of Physics
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• Secrets of Symmetry and Other Popular Excursions into Mathematics
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• Jung & White Struggle over Evil
• Basic Developments in Jungian Thought

 

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