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Baqir Sadr has brilliantly written this book as an introductory text for university level students. The language is very accessible. Ideas and arguments presented are clear, well organized, and coherent. Above all, Baqir Sadr has not let students go baffled at any point while discussing ancient, medieval, and the modern philosophical doctrines.

Part one contains discussion on Theory of Knowledge; on sources and scope of Knowledge. The author critically examines the different philosophical doctrines including the ancient, rational, empirical, and marxist ones, and presents the Islamic philosophical doctrine on Knowledge that as I understood can be characterized as rational but is different from other rational doctrines (for example, from that of Descartes'). The author in part two moves on to expound the realist world view advanced by Islamic philosophers and contrasts it with others including the idealist, empiricist, relativists, and marxist ones.

Baqir Sadr, surely a great Islamic scholar of this century, intended this book as first of a series that remained incomplete due to his sad martyrdom by the ruthless ruler of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. The second of this series is "Our Economy", another original work this time on Islamic economy. Much information on Sadr's biography, his struggle, and his publications is available on net.

This book is one of the most relaible and readable book on the philosophy of Knowledge. Although it donot explain Islamic point of view regarding philosophy of Knowledge but it critisize the western and Marxist views and provides a foundation for more thinking and research. Readers who are able to read persian or Arabic must read "principles of Philosophy and Realism" by Ayattollah Mutahhary to get the Islamic view regarding the philosophy of Knowledge.

i have read this book twice, also in original language (Arabic), this book and our economie are the best books of the auther that i ever read! if someone want a discussion about this book or others, you can join by email, enjoy it, ahmed!

My son is now eight months old. I received this book as a christening gift. I read it at work during my ten to fifteen minute pumping breaks and I ususlly end up crying. Crying not because I am sad - but because the voices of the author and the parents reach out and touch my soul..holding me gently while I fumble my way through these early months. In a world that often feels so isolating the words and stories in this book make me feel part of a larger community. It reminds me of the Mary Oliver poem, Wild Geese, "You don't have to walk on your knees...you just have to love...recognizing your place in the family of things." This book is helping me to feel my place in the family of parents; a family that is both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time.

So often styles of parenting are overly politicized...It makes it hard to listen to that still voice within that guides us better than any book. Rabbi Kreimer has managed to articulate the power that comes when we listen to ourselves and our children. The beauty and transformative power of these stories is precisely in many of the places where we feel so inadequate - our so called weaknesses...Please bless yourself and all the parents and parents-to-be you love with this book - it is, to quote St. Augustine, "soaked through with grace."

This delightful book is written from a spiritual and maternal perspective. It explores parenting in the frame of reference of a single day beginning with the middle-of-the-night feeding of an infant. The story of "one day" has a "parallel theme" of raising children from infancy through adulthood. The author addresses the beauty and joy of daily life as well as illness, loss, and grieving in the context of parenting. I've read the book a number of times and enjoyed it immensely. It would also work well for a discussion group. Her writing is very insightful and provacative. Enjoy!

This book will make you remember the reason you had children and make you forget diapers, cholic and 2 am feedings.

I have found that even bilingual people with excellent articulation skills and few pronunciation problems nevertheless suffer from a limited vocabulary, especially for daily activity. So I recommend ESL students and teachers start with a picture dictionary. I recommend the Oxford Picture Dictionary because it is the most comprehensive. The New Oxford Picture Dictionary is also on my recommended list, but the original is much better. For travelers, bilingual editions double as survival kits.

The Oxford Picture Dictionary is one of the best books I have ever seen. The authors classify their book to be based on beginning and lower intermediate level English. If you have studied English as a foreign language for several years, and put a mentionable number of words and verbs in your vocabulary in the fields that are related with your job and hobbies, you might at first think that this book will be too easy for you. However, I believe this is not the real case.

Imagine yourself in a hairdresser in America. How would you describe the way you want your hair to be cut or arranged. Or suppose you need to stay in America for sometime and you have some household problems, for example the roof is leaking, or the wall is cracked, or the faucet is dripping... How will you describe the problem on the phone to the related companies? You will find the way in the corresponding topics.

Some of the topics might be really very easy. But they just collect the related nouns and verbs together and give you a good chance to refresh your mind by seeing them all together. Especially the verbs, for each topic, are generally organised in a very logical manner and they describe most actions you might need to take in such a situation. Do this, and that, and then those...

As the easiest example, of which we are all familiar, I will give the topic 'A classrom'. On a very nice colorful picture which illustrates everything exeptionally well, you will see a number of 'numbers', which number the nouns, and below the picture you will see the corresponding names including: chalkboard, screen, student, overhead projector, teacher, desk, chair/seat, bookcase, globe, clock, cassette player, map, pencil sharpener, bulletin board, computer, chalk, pen, marker, pencil, textbook, workbook, binder/notebook, ruler, dictionary. On other pictures you will find the illustration of a list of verbs which are 'lettered' instead of numbered. And the corresponding explanations, with the verb in bold typeface, raise your hand, talk to the teacher, listen to a cassette, stand up, sit down/take a seat, point to the picture, write on the board, erase the board, open your book, close your book, take out your pencil, put away your pencil. This is only topic one, and there are 139 more topics.

Another topic which is about shoes and accessories, lists a number of words that might sound less familiar to a foreigner, for example sole, pumps, loafers, oxfords. But a picture is worth a thousand words! Now, I know what they mean.

Yet another topic, 'Symptoms and Injuries', besides many words which I already knew, like headache, toothache, etc, contains some others that I heard for the first time. For example: chills, bruise, blister. The related verbs were the things I learned once, but since I have not used them at all, I just forgot. I had the chance to see them all together and refresh my mind very easily. I can not find any words to explain how much I like the graphical illustrations in this book!

In my opinion, in this dictionary each picture has just enough number of items to be explained. If much more details are tried to be given, you might easily be overwhelmed. As an example I can give The Oxford-Duden Pictorial English Dictionary, which I bought some time ago, and which now I completely regret. It might be suitable for an extra-advanced native English speaker, I don't know. But I know quite well that it is not for an intermediate speaker for whom English is a foreign language. It contains many words which I don't know even in my native language and I don't think I will ever need to learn them.

As a conclusion, after these very long comments, I can say in short, "If you were searching for a very nice pictorial dictionary, you have already found one, just buy it and you will not regret. If somehow you find it very easy for yourself, or if you finish it in a very short time, give it to your children or your friends' children. They will 'enjoy' learning English with this book..."

As a last comment, this is a monolingual edition, so it is completely in English. If you are interested with other foreign languages, like Spanish, Polish, Chinese, etc, this series has bilingual editions, too. Therefore, I don't think it will be necessary to buy this monolingual edition, if you will buy one of those bilingual editions, which as far as I understand contain and teach both the corresponding language and English... Besides, the prices are very close to each other. So, think twice...

Even though I give this advice, I, myself, have already bought the monolingual edition and now, having realized the presence of the bilingual editions 'a little bit' late, am thinking about buying the Polish edition also. After buying it I will see if it really teaches English also, or what... You might find the answer to this question in my future comments for that book...

Aren't there any drawbacks of this book? Well, until now I could not find anything very important. Just as a small note I can mention the mistake on page 144, where item number one was called as CPU even though it is the computer case, not the CPU. The inside of the case is not seen in the picture and a CPU is for sure only one of the components inside a case. However I guess just one mistake in some thousands of words is not that important...

There was a time when I wasn't very impressed by the Oxford Picture Dictionary, especially compared to the WORD BY WORD Picture Dictionary. As an English teacher I used to get free copies of it, but I'd actually go out and buy other versions because it wasn't as topical as Word By Word. Suddenly however, they seem to have caught on. My students LOVE this latest version (which has a black not blue cover and is much thicker.) In smaller less structured classes, I'll actually let them pick out chapters then base the grammar lesson I was going to teach on that theme and topic, that way insuring personal relevence. It also helps keep the classes in English... dictionaries can be valuable tools, but often they keep students from communicating with each other - - they sort of burry their heads in the dictionaries and the safety of their own langauge, but with the latest version of the Oxford Picture Dictionary, I'll find students of different nationalities hudling over the book, trying to get the point across. The pictures serve as a universal langauge that induces communication across cultures.

For this reason, I have to rank the latest version of the OPD as one of the greatest learning sources as an English teacher I've ever encountered. Its popular among the students, activity friendly and you can transfer the lesson objectives over from almost any book to meet the needs of your students.

As a word of advice, be sure to get the MONOLINGUAL version regardless of where you're teaching. This is a PICTURE dictionary. Have your student's native language in the book sabotages the purpose of getting them to think in English !

Colin Clayton demonstrates that every moment contains the challenge to be real. Pete (a fictional character Clayton has created*) is for Clayton the personification of those who desperately seek a personally meaningful way out of the destructive indifference and nihilism of our commercial age.

Clayton returns us to the human dimension by 'the questioning' until its presence awakens a sense of the plight facing those whose primary hunger is to attain that integrity that lies at the core of what it is to be human. It is his thoughtfulness and decisiveness in engaging the moment with a sense of fairness that is personally restorative to individuals because it brings one to a presence of being simply oneself. No artificial techniques for Clayton, he brings out of the actual moment a sense of being that returns one to oneself.

This is the challenge that confronts us, it is inherent in every moment, and to respond to it requires a sincerity and a kind of bravery uncommon in today's world.

The German Philosopher Martin Heidegger has influenced Clayton. However, with his insistence on bravery and personal integrity as the condition for change Clayton separates himself from Heidegger's need to find one's being in history.

His similarity with Heidegger is in his approach because Clayton seizes upon what is possible in the actual which brings those about him to a transforming decision about how one shall truly be since one must boldly confront one's fears and hopes or escape the decision to be. This is his own way of being that in turn brings others into a similar condition with themselves. Here is an actual face to face experience."

Clayton's approach can be seen to be a product of a learning that is remote from academia and continues to open the way to a kind of learning that has implications for today's society and humankind.
Pierre Grimes Ph.D Academy for Philosophical Midwifery.

"Dr Clayton Has been a colleague for more than ten years..he founded the first Philosophically oriented Drug Rehabilitation Clinic....is one of the pioneers of the philosophical counseling movement. His groundbreaking work in philosophical counseling reflects his high level of scholarship as well as his commitment to contemporary social problems"
Dr N Dianuzzo Montclair State University New Jersey USA

"If the Philosophical approach to therapy can continue to be developed along such lines then it will make an important alternative to traditional approaches which are often non-empowering and a form of thought control, rather than a liberating experience for many individuals".
Dr P M Fleming Consultant Psychiatrist
Wessex Health Authority Substance Abuse Addictions Team UK

As granmother you may wonder why I am writing a review of a book that is no longerin my area of need.There is useful advice that can be put to good use in granparenting areas. It is also my gift of choice for all who are in need of good sound common sense voices of experience. It is most helpful in the area of life today. Education,hands on help for parents to know how to approach gifted children and those who are only seen as gifted by their grandmothers. I found each area covered to be of value.If only this book had been around when my children were young.

The original Mentor had a tough job: taking care of the teen-aged Telemachus for ten years while father Odysseus roamed the world and mother Penelope stuck to her loom. But modern parents have an even tougher job: guiding their children, for about 18 years each, through the wonders and pitfalls of the 21st century. Luckily for them, they now have this book to assist them with that heroic task. The authors' witty and wry advice can help parents steer between the Scylla of neglect and the Charybdis of over-involvement. Had Odyseuss followed the authors' advice, maybe his son, as well as the family dog, would have recognized him when he finally came home.

The authors provide the best possible example of mentoring support with this readable, thoughtful, creative, and practical guide for parents. Perhaps this book's greatest gift is its ideas for parents on discovering and nurturing each child's special talents, not just sports and school and arts, but talents like leadership, empathy, problem-solving, and humor. With engaging real-life examples and detailed resources for more information, this book is a treasure for parents and children.

What made you take those photographs in the first place? Why do you spend so many hours preserving them? Just what are you trying to express?

At some point, you must have decided who your "audience" would be - guests in your home, for whom you write cute and clever quips as captions to your photos? You could create albums just for entertainment. A dry historical record of the names, dates and events you are preserving? Well at least you are helping the family genealogist at some future date. Or something deeper...perhaps a heritage for your descendants someday, in which you express your personal life's story?

The Photo Scribe will teach you to do just that; to examine and organize your memories, building a file of "lifestory" experiences until you can journal the real stories behind your photographs. It is a process that you can't rush through quickly, which may be offputting at first to some who (like me) are used to speed scrapping or scrapping with the intent to display photos first and journal as an afterthought. You will learn that even those precious pictures are really just secondary players to the memories you are expressing in your journaling. Think of the lifestory you are writing as the cake and the photos as icing - mere illustrations. You could even journal and scrap a few pages of lifestory without photos at all, where necessary.

I will admit to having some problems with these concepts when I started reading The Photo Scribe. The implication that I had breezed through my journaling impatiently and missed the entire point of scrapbooking was a bit depressing. For example, I had never examined my underlying goals for my albums when I started them. If I had, I might have realized that "Jake and Eric, July 2002. My Watermelon Patch Kids!" didn't go far enough in conveying the kind of thoughts and emotions I had while taking that photo of my children among the melon vines. The real memory I wanted to preserve was in how precious and fleeting these early years are and the pure enjoyment of playing in the dirt and sunlight with ladybugs and butterflies alighting on our hair. After my older child had recovered from a serious viral illness just two months earlier, the vignette of them playing together robust and happy that afternoon was what had really inspired me to grab the camera in the first place. If I had planned my page to focus on that, rather than a fun quip, it would have been quite different, not to mention more meaningful to me and to my children.

Take heart, you don't have to redo all your old pages. There are ways to incorporate new journaling into existing areas, as the author explains later on. You can even create alternate albums to amuse and delight the casual onlooker and reserve the lifestory albums for your intimate circle of family and friends. The most important thing is that you are creating albums that satisfy not only your need to show off pictures, but the deeper need to share your thoughts and memories.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle.

I have also read numerous books and articles on how to improve your writing skills and telling your life's story. This one is simply the best. It takes you through exercises that are simple, yet effective. I read the book once, and without consciously trying, my writing effectively quadrupled. A few more reads, and I now routinely write 4-5 pages to describe a day's event. Not only that, but the writing style is much tighter, and I have learned not to focus on the obvious, but to focus on the thoughts and feelings of the participants as well.

Incidentally, I have also read Joanna Campbell Slan's book. It is different in focus, but if you must choose one, this is definitely the one. Everything else I've read is covered in this book, usually more thoroughly.

Note to scrapbookers: this book is definitely useful to scrappers. However, it is *not* a layout book. This is a book about how to write, not how to compose your writing into your scrapbooks. Don't let that turn you off, however.

This is easily one of the best purchases I've made.

I've looked at several books written to help the scrapbooker improve the journaling in photo albums, but this is by far the best. Mr. LeDoux covers the basics of journaling styles, but goes well beyond these to inspire readers to really give some meaningful thought to what they want others to know about the experiences displayed in the scrapbook. He provides food for thought, as in his caution that "cliches will never tell you or your children's children the story behind the photograph." It is easy to caption a picture with such phrases as "oh, where's the sunblock." Go beyond these lines, and really tell about the events, feelings or outcomes of that trip to the beach. Mr. LeDoux's book will help you move toward truly thoughtful and reflective photo-journaling.

Wendy Palmer has captured what it feels like in your body to be off center and to get re-centered. She has transformed Aikido into much more than a maritial art - a way of being in relationship to others without losing yourself. This is a great book for couples as well as those who too often find themselves thrown by strong emotions and reactions. It will give you a physical sense, rather than just intellectual or analytic, of what it means to hold your own space in the world and in relation to others

Most of us get involved in the repeating "stories" of our interactions and our lives, and stop noticing our deeper connections to ourselves and to the universe.

To me, Wendy Palmer's book offers a doorway to that deeper experience -- through the Aikido practices she teaches, and the ways she describes our interactions.

Surprisingly revealing, the book tells about Wendy Palmer's own life experiences, and suggests ways to touch-in to the more universal connections we often ignore.

One way to seek balance, she suggests, is to focus attention on our vertical connection with earth (grounding) and sky (spirit) so that it becomes as strong as our horizontal connection to our "life stories."

I am prompted to drop you a note thanking you for your new book, "The Practice of Freedom"; it struck a strong, resonant chord in me. I, too, attempt to follow the Tao (for many years)
and practice aikido (for four years). Many of your thoughtful insights are ones I have felt but have been unable to articulate to friends and family regarding the value of aikido to my life.

Recently, I was challenged by the deaths of my parents; my father's 15 year long decline from heart disease and Altsheimer's and my mother's 1 year battle with a horrific brain disease, both dying within 3 months of each other. The aikido principles of entering and blending helped me not only summon up the courage to engage death but also to "dance" with it, to make peace with it, thus enabling my latent compassion and deep love for my parents and, hopefully, giving them a measure of comfort and peace as their lives wound down. I then felt I was able to be the loving caregiver my father never had (which made me rethink Wordworth's line, "The child is father to the man").

By "surrendering" to what was being offered (as you note in your book), I feel my true self, my soul if you will, benefited greatly; I was able to be emotionally and spiritually engaged with my parents during that ultimate transition. Paradoxically, through this engaged experience with death, I now better appreciate my life and my close relationships and have attained a level of serenity.

As you elegantly mention in your book, I see us all as fellow travelers; each a separate universe, yet united in a larger continuum. You acknowledge Mitsugi Saotome in your book and I must mention that when I was researching aikido, before I started practicing, I was fortunate to read "The Principles of Aikido" and "Aikido and the Harmony of Nature" as my theoretical introduction to aikido. Both books, like yours, struck a deep chord. Some day I hope to attend one of his seminars when he comes into my area (Los Angeles).

Thank you again for articulating and validating important themes of spiritual growth that can mean so much to so many people.

our little guy (now 10 months) has loved this book since he got it at 4 months of age. I've had to change the picture 2x since he sticks his fingers all the way through and scratches the picture. This will put a smile on his face like no other book. I am going to buy a bunch of 'picture me birthday' to give out as party favors for his 1st birthday. you will not regret this purchase!

I love this book. It was bought as a gift for my baby, now I have given it as a gift to several of my friends. My 7 month old loved seeing the baby faces and the bright colorful pictures

My 2 year old loves looking at this book. She seems fascinated at seeing herself dressed as a bee, a flower, etc. This is one of our favorite books. I think everyone would love this little book.

As any player who responds to 1. e4 with 1. . . e5 will tell you, its really irritating to hope for an Italian Game and instead find yourself in a strange variation of the King's Gambit with no prior experience. Wandering around on a clifftop while blindfolded is a godd analogy. Emms' book is very useful in preparing a player for every white opening following 1 e4 e5 except for the Ruy Lopez. While a short book (only 224 pages) it is well worth the purchase price for the sheer density of its analysis. SImply put, this book consists of 200 pages of analysis with the occaisional sentence interspersed between moves (I exaggerate, but this is close to the truth). For an experienced player willing to spend hours poring over analysis and memoriing lines, this book is ideal. For a novice or a player with limited time for study, it should probably be avoided.

I am one of these players who is constantly changing openings. I play 1. d4 because it seems more in line with my cautious nature. Then I get frustrated because there are so many reposnses to prepare for (Dutch, Benoni, Stonewall, and all those King's Indians, Grunfeld's, Nimzos, etc.). So then I try flank openings like the English or the Nimzo-Larsen; but I get frustrated because of the tame positions with no advantage that often result. So, time and time again, I come back to 1. e4. Along with this, I usually go back to 1... e5 in response to 1. e4, so as to be improving by playing similar things as white and black. This Emms book is really wonderful. First, it is modern and recent, so you are not limited to reviewing games by Steinitz and Anderssen in reponse to the Italian, the Scotch, etc.; second, it has top-notch production and editorial qualities. Emms is a great chess writer, and GAMBIT's production and editing are the best in the business. Third, Emms gives you solid and exciting lines; fourth, these open games are what I really need to study to become better overall at chess. So, in sum, when you decide to play 1...e5, this is the most important book for you, in addition to whatever you have to face the Ruy Lopez. At my level (around 1600), you will see far more Italian games than Ruy Lopez', so you will have plenty of chances to play the Two Knights Defence.

This book provides a repetoire for black after 1.e4 e5 (excluding the Ruy Lopez, the addition of which would add at least 200 pages). The coverage is very good and recomendations are top of the line.

The recommendation against the King's Gambit is: 1.e5 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 (3.Bc4 --coverage is of ...Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4!? and 4. ...c6. The first is a reversed Schliemann Attack in the Ruy Lopez. After 5.e5 d5! a position is reached in which it is favorable for white to have played with an extre tempo as in the regular version, there would not be a bishop available to attack. 4. ...c6 is the trusted main line where black plans d5.) g5! 4.h4 (against 4.d4 and 4.Bc4, Emms gives the option of Bg7! holding on to the pawn.) g4 5.Ne5 (5.Ng5?! h6 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 is recommended) Nf6 (the Berlin Defense! This would definitely be my choice for black. I have played the white side of the King's Gambit before and studied it using Neil McDonald's "The King's Gambit." This move appears to be stronger than 5. ...d6!?) 6.Bc4 d5 7.exd5 Bd6 (also the move I would choose over Bg7.) Emms goes on to cover the rest of the lines and even covers a line not in McDonald's book, the Rice Gambit. I was very pleased to see such good recommendations made here. For those who enjoy treading off the beaten path, the Becker defense (1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 h6!?) is also given as another defense(!) to the King's Gambit.

The Two Knights Defence is the recommendation against the Italian Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6). At first I was put off by the combativeness of this opening and wished Emms had recommended the positional Guioco Piano instead (3. ...Bc5). However, I soon realized that I was learning how to play the open games and one should fight for any advantage one can get when playing this type of opening. Developement is important and one should be ready to sacrifice a pawn or two to accelerate it. A complete repetoire for the Two Knights Defence is given. Against 4.Ng5 the recommendation is 4. ...d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bc6 c6 7.dxc6 bxc6. The Traxler (Wilkes-Barre) variation is not covered, i.e., instead of 4. ...d5 one plays 4. ...Bc5. For 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.0-0 Emms gives both the more simple Nxe4 and the more complicated Bc5. The latter can lead to the Max Lange Attack. If you have heard of this opening and wondered what it was, here is your chance to play it.

I have just realized that if I don't stop talking about the specifics with this book I will never shutup. Here is some more general information about the book: In almost every major variation, more than one option is given to black. Both declining and accepting various gambits is covered. Generally, one option is given for the adventurous player and one is given for the positional player. Emms does a great deal of home analysis and provides good background information on each opening. He really does cover every option available to white from second move alternatives to move 30 and beyond of the Max Lange Attack.

If you are interested in playing the black side of 1.e4 e5, you really do need this book to have a coherent repetoire. Besides, it is one of the best openings repetoire books you will ever find.

This book is a compilation of all three of Parker's books of poetry as well as her published book of short stories. As for the price, it can't be beat, especially considering it's in hardcover. Plus, you also don't have to worry about buying 2 or 3 books to make sure you've got all of the poems you wanted.

Dorothy Parker's writing is fantastic anyway, and uses cynical wit to draw the reader into the poem. The reader laughs, but manages to feel empathetic. Her style is unique and doesn't seem outdated, even though most of this was written at least half a century ago. If you've ever wanted to laugh about being broken-hearted, this is the book for you.

Great book. Ideal for any Dorothy Parker fan

Having been exposed only to the most famous few of Parker's poems and quips, I was surprised to find she had written so much poetry and that, in fact, she was an accomplished short story writer as well. It's her short fiction which has engrossed me. Her dialogues are killingly accurate in their pacing and cadences. Her take on human nature is razor sharp as always. I'm finding her fiction more rewarding than her poetry because it is less self-indulgent and her range of subjects is broader. It's only a shame she never got it together to write more stories or a novel. Most definitely worth exploring if you haven't read her before.