Community-Based Corrections

Book Description

Up-to-date, comprehensive, and objective, COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS gives you essential information on the wide array of punishment and treatment programs that constitute alternatives to incarceration. You'll be introduced into a number of programs--such as probation, parole, electronic monitoring, house arrest, day-treatment centers, boot camps, restitution, and fines-designed to meet the needs and levels of risk posed by the individual offender. Additionally, you will learn about the practical and legal matters involved in running these programs, and you'll gain insight into their historical, philosophical, social, and legal underpinnings.

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Media Mail

Community-Based Corrections
Paul F. Cromwell , Leanne Fiftal Alarid , and Rolando V. del Carmen
Manufacturer: Wadsworth Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0534628761

Book Description

The prison system is changing. But what's the best direction? COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS shows you how the prison system can help more people and cost taxpayers less by starting to put some types of felons in supervised programs. Programs discussed include probation, parole, electronic monitoring, house arrest, day-treatment centers, bootcamps, restitution, and fines. With a balanced approach, this text reflects a strong emphasis on practical and legal matters related to alternatives to prison and jail.

Customer Reviews:

Media Mail.......2007-01-30

The book was alright - although it described it as still in the plastic, but the plastic was very loose. Also, I paid for expedited shipping for the product (5.00)- and it came to me later than I had anticipated by regular media mail - (1.28). When I pay for express shipping, I want the book quicker than media mail delivers. Frustrating.

Hand Rehabilitation in Occupational Therapy

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Hand Rehabilitation in Occupational Therapy
Florence S. Cromwell
Manufacturer: Haworth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Public Health | Administration & Policy | Medicine | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0866566988

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A good read
The more exciting bits from the reformation
First-rate novel of Tudor England
Great mystery with religious background
The Larger Dissolution

Dissolution
C. J. Sansom
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142004308
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Book Description

Exciting and elegantly written, Dissolution is an utterly compelling first novel and a riveting portrayal of Tudor England. The year is 1537, and the country is divided between those faithful to the Catholic Church and those loyal to the king and the newly established Church of England. When a royal commissioner is brutally murdered in a monastery on the south coast of England, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIIIÂ's feared vicar general, summons fellow reformer Matthew Shardlake to lead the inquiry. Shardlake and his young protÃ©gÃ© uncover evidence of sexual misconduct, embezzlement, and treason, and when two other murders are revealed, they must move quickly to prevent the killer from striking again.

Customer Reviews:

A good read.......2007-09-07

This is an excellent first book - it's not up to the standard of Pérez-Reverte - but it's a thoroughly good read.

The more exciting bits from the reformation.......2007-08-01

Sansom's Shardlake series should be used as a teaching aide for history students studying Henry V111. When I was at school I found this part of British history to be no more interesting than any other. If I had had the chance to read this book then it would have cast a new light on the subject.

What Sansom does is write a thriller which even taken on its own would be a welcome addition to the mystery/thriller genre, but he peppers it with facts about this most turbulent period in history that really bring to life what it must have been like to have actually lived through the period. The fear the characters live with is so palpable you can draw parrallels with the world today where religious differences are at the forefront of our minds. This was published in 2003 so it's entirely possible that the dissolution of the monasteries and the distrust of all things Catholic serves as a metaphor for the current distrust of Islam. The xenophobia that Brother Guy experiences (being of dark skin, very rarely seen in England at this time) also reminds us that even 450 years later some of society's shameful facets have not even yet been entirely eradicated - we haven't progressed as far as we think we have!

I would have awarded this book 5 stars but, when you read the sequel, Dark Fire, you will be glad as I am that I kept the extra star in reserve for such a cracking good read! Start with this as an introduction to Matthew Shardlake and you won't regret it. I received the third in the series, Sovereign, today in the mail and I cannot wait to start it.

First-rate novel of Tudor England.......2007-07-06

I bought this book based on the reviews posted here and if, in turn, my lowly opinion inspires someone else to indulge, then I'll be more than happy. What a fantastic read this was. The characters were so spot on believable. Not one came across as anything but three dimensional with complex dispositions and attitudes and perfectly flawed. The character of Matthew Shardlake is an inspired creation; a hunchback solicitor at the service of his Majesty King Henry VIII and Vicar General, Thomas Cromwell. Shardlake, along with his assistance Matthew Poer, at the behest of Cromwell is dispatched to an isolated monastery in the village of Scarnsea in the south of England to investigate the brutal murder of Commissioner Singleton sent to review the house's finances prior to the dissolution of the monasteries during the English reformation. Upon their arrival they are met with suspicion, apprehension and feigned cooperation by not only the Abbot and Prior but by all those in position in that insular world and for good reason: The monastery is nothing short of a seething pit of corruption, thievery, lies, sexual misconduct and, of course now, murder. However, it's only the beginning. Shortly upon their arrival at Scarnsea, a novice monk is murdered and the tale of a missing orphaned girl surfaces further complicating matters and casting suspicion upon almost everyone. Soon another murder slowly starts bringing down this fragile house of cards. This is first rate storytelling, with historical figures and facts and fictional characters and settings, expertly melded, creating a wholly believable premise that neither lags nor incites boredom. Sansom expertly brings the novel to a wonderful conclusion, never rushing to unmask the culprit but rather allowing the denouement to unfold with stunning ease and confidence. I certainly look forward to reading more of Sansom's novels featuring the intrepid hunchback. If you love historical fiction in general or Tudor England in particular you will find much to enjoy in this wonderful debut novel.

Great mystery with religious background.......2007-07-03

What a great book! Not only is the main character interesting and the mystery solid, the time and place are well portrayed.

England under Henry VII and Cromwell was transitioning from Catholic to Protestant -- with the king as the head of the church as well as the country. This book treats all points of view fairly, but also without any rose colored glasses. It's as interesting to read for its portrayal of rich and poor, papist and reformer as it is for its plot.

If you liked "the Name of the Rose" (which I found tedious) then this book should make you leap for joy.

The Larger Dissolution.......2007-06-27

Until I read this intriguing mystery, I just assumed that Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries was a pure power grab by an insensitive, greedy monarch. While that perception remains somewhat true, the novel allows us to see all of the paradoxes present, and to experience much of the ambiguity of those times. Matthew Shardlake is an altogether likable and convincing sleuth and person of principal. The late 1530s in England came alive with such color and immediacy that I then went on to read the next two equally well presented mysteries in this series by C. J. Sansom.

Great Tales from English History (Book 2): Joan of Arc, the Princes in the Tower, Bloody Mary, Oliver Cromwell, Sir Isaac Newton, and More

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A real treat as an audiobook (a history teacher's review)
volume 2 as fun as volume 1.
History in Shorts
Accessible history
The Nightstand History of England

Great Tales from English History (Book 2): Joan of Arc, the Princes in the Tower, Bloody Mary, Oliver Cromwell, Sir Isaac Newton, and More
Robert Lacey
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 031610924X

Book Description

Unforgettable stories from the England of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and beyond-the rich second volume of great tales by a master of British popular history.

Customer Reviews:

A real treat as an audiobook (a history teacher's review).......2007-04-18

Robert Lacey has done something that many writers have failed to do (unfortunately) - he has written history in a fun, accessible, easy to grasp manner. After all, as Lacey points out in his introduction to Volume 1, the "history" and "story" come from the same Latin root word. Essentially, history should be the simple story of how things happened, to the best of the teller's knowledge.

Lacey's power as a storyteller is highlighted here in spades. He narrates his audiobook as well so there is the added bonus of hearing the author add nuance to the reading - essentially reading it the way he meant it to be heard.

The stories are short and entertaining. Only a couple of times in nearly six hours of listening did I find my attention wandering. This is a terrificly fun experience for any history lover. Full of interesting tidbits but not lacking in the larger themes or commentaries.

I am going to look for volume 3 and hopefully he has written or is writing his promised volumes on Scotland and Ireland as well.

Bravo!

I give this one an enthusiastic A+.

volume 2 as fun as volume 1........2007-02-12

i read the first volume of "great tales from english history," and had to immediately dive into the 2nd volume. this book covers the years 1387 to 1689, and is every bit as fun as its predecessor. these books are completely addicting. I just got the 3rd volume and having it here in the house waiting to be read has made life seem worth living a bit longer. buy all 3 of them and read them. you really should.

History in Shorts.......2005-09-08

Great Tales from English History Volume II, written by Robert Lacey, covers a wide section of history. Starting in the year 1387 with Geoffry Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales, Lacey continues until the year 1687. He includes smaller stories about various topics such as the first children's book. In Great Tales, Lacey also writes about the Plague, the London Fire, beheading, and burning traders.

Great Tales from English History Volume II covers all of the Kings ranging from Richard to James. It includes their multiple wives (especially in King Henry VIII) and children (King Charles II's 14 illegitimate children) who fought over the chance to become the next king or queen. Lacey also writes about the number of wars, both with other countries and the civil war. Religion also plays a big role in the book.

Robert Lacey's Great Tales from English History Volume II is definitely a nonfiction history book but he keeps a cheerful story telling prospective. Lacey manages to keep interest by including several smaller sections in between wars and kings. He includes smaller incidents and people to add to a person's understanding of history. Not a history person, I learned plenty about the history, most which is not taught in school.

Accessible history.......2005-09-04

I first discovered Robert Lacey as an author from his book 'The Year 1000'. Interesting, accessible, easy to follow, with a good balance of detail and breadth (always a tricky task when writing a popular history), that book was one of my favourites around the turn of the second millennium. I discovered this book on the shelves of my local library, and have found it equally worthwhile and fun to read.

This book concentrates on the late Middle Ages to the post-Reformation era in English history - in royal terms, the times of the end of the Plantagenets, the Tudors, the Stuarts, the Interregnum and Glorious Revolution (which a history professor of mine once intoned dramatically, 'was neither glorious nor a revolution'). In years, this goes from the late 1300s to the late 1600s.

One of the things that I like a lot about this particular history is that the stories are brief and self-contained while being part of the overall flow of the history of England. They make for good bed-time reading (the longest of the stories is barely seven pages long, in easy print and easy, storytelling language). Many of the characters are already familiar figures even to those who aren't Anglophiles - Joan of Arc, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth the First, Shakespeare, King James and the English Bible. Then there will be figures that are lesser known but just as interesting - the Roundheads and Cavaliers, Rabbi Manasseh, Titus Oates, the Bloody Assizes. These are tales told in a simplified but memorable manner, and could serve for younger and older readers as a stimulus for further reading and investigation about topics brought up in the text.

There are a few maps, royal lineage charts, and woodcut/line art drawings throughout the text. Lacey includes a bibliography for further reading (this contains a good number of website addresses for making further research very easy). There is also an index, which many popular histories forget, but Lacey is to be highly praised for including one here, making looking up particular names, places and events very easy.

The Nightstand History of England.......2005-08-31

A second collection of vignettes from English history by Robert Lacy, pithy and enjoyable. The drawings and layout give the book a cozy, old-fashioned feel. The stories are presented simply and clearly, and make the book an ideal choice for bedtime reading.

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Not as good as DISSOLUTION, but better than many in this genre ...
Great service
Charming Whodunit
Sansom does it again!
Somewhat contrived and slow off the mark, but . . .

Dark Fire: A Novel
C. J. Sansom
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0670033723

Book Description

It is 1540, and Matthew Shardlake, the lawyer renowned as Â“the sharpest hunchback in the courts of England,Â” is pressed to help a friendÂ's young niece who is charged with murder. Despite threats of torture and death by the rack, the girl is inexplicably silent. Shardlake is about to lose her case when he is suddenly granted a reprieveÂ—one that will ensnare him in the dangerous schemes of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIIIÂ's feared vicar-general.

In exchange for two more weeks to investigate the murder, Shardlake accepts CromwellÂ's dangerous assignment to find a lost cache of Â“dark fire,Â” a legendary weapon of mass destruction. Cromwell, out of favor since HenryÂ's disastrous marriage to Anne of Cleves, is relying on Shardlake to save his position at court, which is rife with treasonous conspiracies.

With its wonderful attention to period detail and its brilliant handling of suspense, Dark Fire is sure to win comparisons with Margaret GeorgeÂ's Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles and captivate readers of Philippa Gregory and David Liss.

Customer Reviews:

Not as good as DISSOLUTION, but better than many in this genre ..........2007-08-04

Sansom made a strong start out of the gate with DISSOLUTION. So, perhaps I had inflated expectations for the second book. But while it doesn't live up to DISSOLUTION, it is a better historical mystery than many I have read.

The author goes into great detail about the times, which I like. But the main mystery - in this case, there were two - seemed contrived. As he explains at the end of the book, no one knows what prompted Cromwell's sudden removal from office.

Certainly, he had lost credibility with Henry VIII over his position on the Cleves marriage. But why so public and dramatic a removal, no one knows. The "mystery" fills in the blanks, and unfortunately, it's too contrived.

I think the strengths of the book are in the historical setting and the feel the reader gets for the society and politics of the times. If you like Bruce Alexander, you will probably like this book.

Great service.......2007-08-04

Thank you for the great service...quick shipping, the book was just as described. I would be happy to use your services again. Thank you

Charming Whodunit.......2007-08-02

This is the second of author Sansom's historical mysteries, both set in Tudor England at the time of the Reformation, and this one equals or surpasses the first, Dissolution. Sansom has created an engaging sleuth, attorney Matthew Shardlake, who has a brilliant intellect in a crippled body. I am delighted to get to know Shardlake, as he is one of the more engaging personalities I have encountered in the many works of historical fiction I have read. In this episode, Shardlake and his new sidekick are commissioned by the redoubtable Thomas Cromwell to recover a stash of the old time weapon of mass destruction "Greek Fire" and its ancient formula which are in the hands of viscious unknown enemies. At the same time, Shardlake is retained by a despairing uncle to defend his niece who has been charged with murder and is incarcerated in Newgate Prison, refusing to speak in her own defense.

The plot unfolds as our indefatigable hero to's and fro's across London in his efforts to uncover the Greek Fire plotters while simultaneously working to discover the identity of the true murderer and exonerate the wrongly accused niece. This is pretty standard stuff. I appreciate, however, that Sansom is careful to wrap up all loose ends, does not drop red herrings that are never woven into the story, and bothers to give the reader closure as to the ultimate fates of all the players. Not all mystery writers are this scrupulous of their readers' concerns.

The best part of this novel, however, is Shardlake himself. The author clearly has much affection for his creation and our hardworking hunchback is a fellow I would like to meet. He is a man of conscience and integrity at a time when most men were scrambling to protect themselves and their interests in the chaos of political and religious upheaval. We are allowed into Shardlake's own private conflicts about faith, morality and the law - - not in a dry, but in a very human, way. I found Shardlake's shy courtship of Lady Honor to be endearing, as his self-consciousness and uncertainty are a welcome relief from the swaggering bravado of too many fictional "heros." I look forward to reading the next installment and spending more time with our mild-mannered detective.

This is not exactly Tolstoy, but is a very entertaining and well-written read. Highly recommended.

Sansom does it again!.......2007-04-26

After the stunning debut of DISSOLUTION, Sansom continues his saga of Tudor politics and intrigue. Wonderful plotting. Meticulously drawn characters. More of the deliciously vivid description that draws you in and keeps you reading.

Matthew Shardlake is, without a doubt, one of the most fascinating fictional characters in ages.

Somewhat contrived and slow off the mark, but . . . .......2006-09-25

This historical mystery places a hunchbacked lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, in the time of King Henry VIII's London as reformist Protestantism contests for religious supremacy with the Roman Catholic Church in the wake of King Henry's break with the papacy over marital matters. Shardlake, formerly a minion of the Earl of Essex, Thomas Cromwell, is engaged in a number of mundane legal matters when he is recruited to help an eighteen year old girl condemned to death for killing her younger cousin, the lad Ralph, heir to the Wentworth clan's fortune, a self-made family keen on moving up the social ladder. With barely time to save the girl he is inducted back into Thomas Cromwell's orbit to help sort out still another mystery: who controls a potentially world shaking state secret, the rediscovered formula and mechanism for the long lost Byzantine 'super weapon,' Greek Fire?

The story is marred by a certain heavy handedness in the use of detail in the descriptions as the author endeavours to recreate the lost world of London of that era in all its gross unpleasantries. He seemingly leaves no stone unturned and no opportunity overlooked to call to our attention the vileness of the era, though it's reasonable to suppose that the narrator would not have been so attuned to such things since it was the world he knew, after all. Matthew Shardlake who tells this tale is also somewhat tiresome, particularly in how he refers to his horse, almost as though it were another character in the story, and in his endless complaints about the back pain he must endure. He is also a bit too naive, it seems to me, in dealing with the London underworld, but this is a not uncommon occurrence among certain protagonists of mysteries these days. There's also a certain artificiality about the plot and how it's constructed which grates and much about the tale that is predictable. Sometimes our intrepid heroes (Shardlake has the benefits of one of Cromwell's personal minions as well) seem to waste an awful lot of time going back and forth to do the same things more than once, making their efforts seem all the more bizarre as an investigation since this obviously puts them in the position of alerting those they are investigating way more than they should.

And yet, after I had pushed my way through the first half, I must admit to having become curious enough about matters to see how Sansom solves the mystery of the missing Greek Fire as well as how our hero clears the name and saves the life of poor Elizabeth Wentworth, locked away in the hideous "Hole" beneath London's most notorious prison, chained and condemned to lie in her own filth for twelve days as Shardlake scurries about day after day in the mean London streets, chasing chimeras, juggling cases and fighting for his life against thugs, hooligans and the rascals of the nobility. Will Cromwell triumph? Will Greek Fire be rediscovered? Will Henry VIII take a new wife? The story actually started to work for me though it was certainly marred earlier on. I ended up reading it through and glad enough to learn about the awful culture and civilization out of which our own eventually arose.

SWM

In Their Own Words: Criminals On Crime (An Anthology)

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In Their Own Words: Criminals On Crime (An Anthology)

Manufacturer: Roxbury Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1931719551

The Age of Louis XIV: A History of European Civilization in the Period of Pascal, Moliere, Cromwell, Milton, Peter the Great, Newton, and Spinoza: 1648-1715 (Story of Civilization)

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ABSOLUTELY CAPTIVATING
The Eighth Volume in The Story of Civilization!
Sunrise, Sunset!
Amazing masterpiece.
Another masterful volume of the landmark series

The Age of Louis XIV: A History of European Civilization in the Period of Pascal, Moliere, Cromwell, Milton, Peter the Great, Newton, and Spinoza: 1648-1715 (Story of Civilization)
Will Durant , and Ariel Durant
Manufacturer: MJF Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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17th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1567310192

Book Description

(8th Volume of Civilization series)

In the eighth volume of their Story of Civilization, the Durants explore the apex of European civilization to that time, the years 1648 to 1715. It is the era of the "Sun King," Louis XIV, one of the most powerful rulers in Western history. It is also the pinnacle of Dutch culture, the heyday of Vermeer and William of Orange, later King of England. All this forms the backdrop for the Durants' real focus: the intellectual character of the age. Encompassing Newton and Leibniz, among others, THE AGE OF LOUIS XIV marks a momentous transition: the passage from superstition and intolerance to science and philosophy. This is the period on which the foundation for modernity rests.

"Informed and highly readable ... eloquently partisan for the dignity of man and the decencies of life." (Saturday Review)

Customer Reviews:

ABSOLUTELY CAPTIVATING.......2006-01-16

Will Durant continues his wonderful series with this volume covering and important era which is quite often overlooked by our educational system. Much of what we are today has it's origins during this era. The Durants bring history to like with their wonderful text and use of language. These volumes, this one included, read more like a novel than a dry and dusty book of forgetable facts. I hate to use the word "lyrical" is describing Durant's style, but it is certainly close. The expierence of reading this volume, along with the others has been a wonderful expierence, one I would have not wanted to miss. Recommend this one, quite highly as I do the others.

The Eighth Volume in The Story of Civilization!.......2004-09-02

In this, the eighth volume in the landmark acclaimed series, "The Story of Civilization, Dr. Will & Ariel Durant have recounted the history of Europe's great age of kings.

The reader will be treated to a masterly exposition of: France's King Louis XIV. The dawn of modern drama, letters, and philosophy from Moliere, Spinoza, Locke, Hobbes, Berkeley and others. King Charles II of England. Isaac Netwon. Russia's Peter The Great. The War of Spanish Succession. And much, much more including plates and maps.

Written to stand alone or within the series, the Durants have written a prose of smooth flowing narrative that is easy to read and understand. In short, this unparalleled work is for everyone, both professional and layperson. I rate this work at five stars. Well done!

Sunrise, Sunset!.......2003-06-07

Over the past year I have read extensively about the 17th century. "The Age of Louis XIV" is the best book which I have found on the period. Volume VII of Will and Ariel Durant's multi-volume "Story of Civilization", this book documents more detail of the era than any others which I have read.

The book begins with sections on France and England. The next section is "The Periphery" dealing with Russia, Poland, Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, and Iberia. After the geographically oriented sections, the reader is treated to sections organized along intellectual topics, such as science, philosophy, and faith and reason, which contain chapters dealing with specific philosophers or scientists. The conclusion wraps it all up with the denouement of Louis XIV.

This book makes the 17th century understandable. The premier character of the era was Louis XIV, the Sun King of France. During his reign, the policies of he and his ministers established France's day in the sun. Absolute ruler of the most populous and powerful kingdom in Western Europe, Louis made France the center of Western Civilization. On these pages we learn about the Fronde, the revolt by the nobility at the rising of his Sun, from which Louis acquired his life long aversion to Paris, Louis' aggressive support of Catholicism, while at the same time maintaining illicit personal relationships, and his generous support for the arts. This era, rich in French literature and theatre, as represented in Moliere, is revealed.

The forces threatening to rend the Catholic Church further asunder, as well as the relationship between King and Pope, are dealt with in detail. I was surprised to learn that Louis exercised a power over the Church in France similar to that which Henry VIII had previously established over the Church in England.

England, meanwhile, endured Cromwell, The Stuart Restoration, and the Glorious Revolution, while spawning Milton, Dryden, Swift and other literary giants.

Interesting contrasts are illustrated. Whereas in France the monarchy was strengthened into absolutism, England was making hesitating steps toward democracy. Whereas Louis excluded much of the nobility from government and military service, essentially forcing them into the role of idle rich, the English nobility gradually gained power and responsibility for the governance of their country. We can see how these trends may have encouraged the resentment of the aristocrats on the part of the French peasantry, which may have contributed to the intensity of feeling during The Terror of the French Revolution. By contrast, the empowerment of the English nobility may have helped solidify the tradition of peaceful political maturation.

On the Periphery, Charles XII brought Sweden to the zenith of its international power, while Peter the great modernized Russia. Germany survived the onslaught of the Turks, while Italy and Iberia, the "Old Europe" of the day, slid through an era of decline.

Intellectually the era was one of giants. Many of the names with which we are familiar come alive as we read of Isaac Newton, Thomas Hobbes, John Lock, Spinoza, Leibniz and others.

The conclusion of the era was the sunset of the Sun King. Having exhausted his country with dynastic war, bled it with unequal taxation and incurred the enmity of the world, Louis negotiated a peace which left his kingdom a shattered hulk of its former greatness.

For anyone desiring an introduction to the history of the 17th century, this is a great place to start. It has me ready for other books in the Durants' "Story of Civilization".

Amazing masterpiece........2002-10-16

Though the central figure of this book is Louix XIV, this book is not about French history, but about European history as a whole.

The focus of this book is not on political and military history but on the history of religion, art, literature, science and philosophy. Or I can say politics is deeply involved in religion, art, literature and philosophy. I have never studied European philosophy before, and I thought it would be exttremely difficult to understand philosophy. But while I was reading this book, I found that phlosophy could be much easier when it was explained in a political context of the times.

And in this book English history was emphasized as much as French history. It is quite natural because Louis himself was deeply involved in and greatly responsible for the 17th century English history, and Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were Englishmen.

I believe that this book is the best book I've ever read. I'd like to read all 12 volumes of Will & Ariel Durant's "The History of Civilization" series.

By the way, I found 2 trivial mistakes in this book.
According to p 505, Halley identified another comet, seen in 1680, with one observed in the year of Christ's death; he traced its recurrence every 575 years, and from the periodicity he computed its orbit and speed around the sun. According to my own calculation, however, 575 x 2 + 33 = 1183, while 575 x 3 + 33 = 1758.
According to p 513, Mariotte amused his friends by showing that "cold" could burn: with a concave slab of ice he focused sunlight upon gunpowder, causing it to explode. To focus sunlight, however, we need a convex lens, not a concave lens.

Another masterful volume of the landmark series.......2002-03-08

The Durants succeed again in encapsulating the 17th century in Europe. They label it as the landmark century intellectually and scientifically and there is much truth to their assessment: the 18th Century, the "Enlightenment" and "Aufklarung" usually takes pride of place given the American and French Revolutions that dominated them and the general retreat of superstition and obscurantism that marred both Catholicism and Protestantism in the previous centuries. The Durants clearly show that all the 18th century did was develop themes initially sounded and expounded by 17th century thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, Newton, Leibniz, Spinoza and the English Deists. These writers, and others, laid the bedrock for the various revolutions that shook Europe in the 1700 and 1800s and which have culminated in our own day: The Industrial, Political and Scientific.

Thematically, the book is erected upon the scaffolding of the Le Roi Soleil's life. They present his wars, mistresses, patronage of art, political autocracy as well as murderous bigotry. In my opinion, in their conclusion they let Louis off far too lightly. He was a man who countenanced, nay, actually encouraged and gloried not only in wars to dominate Europe--a common enough failing amongst the crowned--but in the Persecution of the Huguenots he left a blot on his record that, in light of the deadly century we just left and the religious fanaticism of 11 September, should sink his record in the humanitarian sense.

His vanity and thirst for "la glorie" (which he admitted himself to have been his worst failing) bankrupted France and left the Peasants in a savage and degrading poverty they hadn't experienced since the calamities of the 14th century. His refusal to use his power to actually reform government and tax the nobility mark his reign as regressive and disastrous in many ways. Still his impeccable taste in the visual and plastic arts-as opposed to his love of second-rate playwrights and third-rate opera--make him the supreme art patron in history. And the prestige and admiration that accumulated acted as a sort of bank that his incompetent, worthless successor cruised upon. Only under sixteenth Louis did the credit of the Sun King's name finally run out...

Customer Reviews:

Unbearable........2000-11-22

This book presumes that you are an Oxford history professor. It presumes facts not in the book. Meaning it presumes you come to the subject with a vast array of knowledge and therefore spends all of its time on the grand academic questions rather than the chronology of Cromwell. If you are looking for a book to answer the question - who is Cromwell and why was he important - look elsewhere. If you want to know what are the most esoteric academic questions posed by Cromwell, this book is for you.

Book Description

Knot theory is the study of embeddings of circles in space. Peter Cromwell has written a textbook on knot theory designed for use in advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate-level courses. The exposition is detailed and careful yet engaging and full of motivation. Numerous examples and exercises serve to help students through the material, while an instructor's manual is available online.

Customer Reviews:

Not exactly friendly for beginners (closer to 3 stars, actually).......2007-09-27

The topics covered in this book are terrific. The presentation is disappointing. Since there weren't yet any other reviews, I'd posted one when I was midway through, unsure if I'd finish the book; I gave it 3.5 stars. Amazon doesn't let you change the number of stars when you edit a review, but now that I have completed a first reading of the book, I'd give it closer to 3.

Some pluses: Peter Cromwell's (PC's) stated aim is to make the topic accessible to advanced undergraduates without a prerequisite course in topology. Necessary results from that field are presented as "facts" in Chapter 2. (Nonetheless, a course in graph theory is a stated prerequisite, and is often relied on in the text. Judging by Harvard's current catalogue this doesn't seem to be standard in US undergrad curricula, thought it may be more common in the UK and Europe.) The bibliography is quite extensive. A publisher's blurb somewhere trumpets the "hundreds" of diagrams in the book -- an accurate figure, thanks to the Appendix of 86 knot diagrams, a bit more than a third.

So why disappointed? Because, among other things, the diagrams in the main text aren't nearly enough. PC's style is to minimize the number of diagrams used, and to rely instead on terse, abstract, formal mathematical descriptions as much as possible. Chapter 2's long recital of definitions and theorems from topology -- which, by hypothesis, are subjects in which his expected reader lacks background -- is a relative desert of diagrams. Chapter 3's description of companion and satellite knots is accompanied by an unlabeled diagram that leaves one confused as to which knot is which. The description of Seifert surfaces in Chapter 6 is so abstract I found it impossible to visualize even on repeated readings, before I consulted another text. The description of the construction of Seifert matrices is also a bit Delphic in its concision. And even if a diagram were too much to ask, would it really have stressed PC to include a sentence saying that a "meridian" wraps round the torus the short way and a "longitude" the long way, instead of leaving these non-intuitive defnitions implicit in equations (@10)? In many cases when PC does refer to a diagram, it's in an earlier chapter, thus chopping up your concentration by making you flip pages. The section that comes closest to being adequately illustrated is the discussion of arc presentations of braids in Ch. 10, a really interesting subject on which PC has published extensively, though even this presentation has its trying moments.

By contrast, compare Colin Adams's "The Knot Book", published by Freeman or any book by Kauffman (or even his original papers). They're very generous with diagrams, even incorporating them into lines of a proof. The original 1998 paper by Bar-Natan, Fulman & Kauffman, written for pros,is a much clearer exposition of the important concept of "surgery equivalence" than is PC's description for beginners (Chapter 6 @114-118). Even though most of PC's diagrams are based on the paper's, there are far fewer of them and they have been stripped of helpful labels. (The paper is available for free online as I write this.) Adams's book, although written more like a popularization than a math textbook, has significant overlap with this one, even including some of the material on braids in PC's chapter 10. It made it relatively easy to grasp satellites/companions, the Seifert algortithm and many other topics, including the Kauffman bracket polynomial, another instance where PC is confusing despite his use of diagrams. I srongly recommend it as an adjunct read.

The book under review also lacks solutions or even hints to exercises. This problem is made more urgent by the fact that the proofs of many significant theorems are left as exercises. Apparently the publisher promises solutions will be available, but PC's own website disclaims that they will be available anytime soon, if ever. Also, many of the exercises say "show" and others say "prove", but the distinction, if any, is not clear in context; often you're asked to "show" certain things are true "for any knot", e.g. @Ex.3.10.5. (Another broken promise from the publisher: although the blurb pays lip service to the applications of knot theory to chemistry, biology, etc., you will find less than 1.5 pages out of 280+ of text describing any such application. In this case, it's to biology, but rather than fleshing out the example, PC merely refers you to some papers (@212-213).)

Lack of solutions and hints is an automatic 1-point deduction. When I was halfway through I was inclined to give PC the benefit of the doubt about the confusion factor, but now I would deduct a full 1 point for the book's obscure style, which PC could have mitigated without sacrificing rigor. To give credit where credit is due, PC very swiftly and graciously replied to an email inquiry from me about a point that I'd misunderstood. I very much appreciate that, and it says good things about the author. But it's not a workable solution for all points of difficulty for one reader, much less all of them. I hope that PC will be a bit more indulgent to beginners in a future edition of this book.

Finally, one more wag of the finger to the publisher. When I bought this book in 2005, the cover price was $40; as of this review it's gone up 30%, if we ignore Amazon's discount. It's a handsome book, printed on expensive coated stock, a kind Cambridge also uses for textbooks with lots of color. But all the illustrations are black-and-white line drawings -- no need for such fancy paper at all. Had the publisher made a more sensible production choice, maybe the price for the paperback could have stayed at a more student-friendly level.

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