General-Order

Prof. Holsti's book is a must for students of conflict studies. The very thorough and well organized review of sources of conflict is broken into logical groupings of history. The study's end at the end of the Cold War makes it an excellent, self contained reference for understanding principle sources of conflict during the predominately statist view of the world from Westphalia to the demise of the Soviet Union. Though one may debate about the direction of the world today, Holsti's study is still relevant, as states won't disappear overnight, and will likely remain players for our lifetimes. And likely remain disposed to conflict during that time, too.

Not a bed-time story book, but certainly a must for serious students of war and peace.

You and your siblings probably grew up together in the same areas, attending relatively the same schools, with the same set of parents/step-parents/step-siblings, etc., and you both were set in probably a similar socioeconomic background for most of your lives before the age of 18. Yet you are very different people, with very different careers, experiences, higher education backgrounds, and families.

Why. Some researchers claim that birth order makes all the difference- others like to throw gender into the equation. Even others say that the ever mystifying gene pool is responsible for every difference between siblings.

In "The Pecking Order", Dalton Conley proposes a new idea; Not so much that one variable is responsible for all differences, but that many variables factor into siblings' different experiences growing up and make them the adults they grow to be. You say, this is common sense! Yes it is, and it's hard to believe it's taken this long for a researcher to propose that idea.

The extensive research of Conley and his team is manifested in this book. Conley explains the many different variables in detail and how they affect siblings- the gene pool, birth order, family size, gender, death, desertion, divorce, immigration, family migration, socioeconomic change, and random acts of kindness/cruelty performed by those not within the family circle.

The book not only contains the factual research of Conley's team but also the interviews and stories of sets of siblings from every background imaginable, and how their different experiences affected their outcome as an adult. The interviews add a level of the personal to the book, and they validate the authenticity of the research findings.

The information is impressive in and of itself, but Conley's writing style makes for a casual, one-on-one teacher to student type reading environment. He also includes an expansive, 100+ page assortment of his appendix, notes, sources, and index. These are very helpful if you'd like to dive more into the subject.

Conley also reminds us that how siblings turn out is truly subjective- to all of the reasons he lists as well as how people turn out in general.

Very well-written, very informative, and by the end you are examining yours and your siblings' childhood experiences in a new light.

JK

Saint Ignatius was a Basque military officer from Loyola, a great saint, and the founder of one of the most influential religious orders in world history: the Society of Jesus(the Jesuits). His personal writings reveal a truly gentle, emotional man who gave up all the pleasures of nobility to become a poor, wretched pilgrim for the sake of Christ. His Reminisces recounts all the main events of his life, from his bravery in the battle that left him crippled for life, to his conversion in his recovery bed, and finally to his founding of the Jesuit order. His journal reveals his spirituality and describes his mystical experiences, his letters reveal his patience, wisdom, and kindness, and his tremendously popular Spiritual Exercises gives advice on how to dedicate your life to God and see His action all around you. Ignatius's writings resonate with the tender devotion and the firmness of purpose found only in the writings of the Saints. Reading this book, one can see the guiding hand of Providence in the life of Ignatius and in the history of the Church, a hand that can use even the worst sinner to bring a shattered world back to His Son.

This groundbreaking study is a must-read for anyone interested in Catholic, women's, American, or African-American history. It's extremely well-written, and I believe that both scholars and casual readers will appreciate and enjoy this significant work.

This excellent biography of St. Philip Neri presents a complete portrait of the great 16th century "Apostle of Rome", St. Philip Neri. Rather than stressing the excessive asceticism of the time, St. Philip emphasised the great love and mercy of God, thus bringing back many people to the practise of the faith and and inspiring many to lead holy lives.

It presents the reader with a picture of St. Philip, a man both on fire for the Lord and a saint with an immense sense of humour. This is one of the best biographies of St. Philip that I've found and I reccommend it highly.

The only book in the English language on Polish military and civilian decorations from 1705-1985. It contains 1,300 photos, some in color of all Polish orders,medals,badges and insignia. It also contains the history of Polish decorations and award statistics. 404 pages,large format

This book has basically to do with answering two critical questions."Can the impending transition to multipolarity be managed peacefully?" If yes, "under what conditions and through what causal mechanisms can power transitions occur peacefully?" (P.2) The book offers three factors that make peaceful power transition possible. First, benignity or benign images that current hegemon and rising power have vis-à-vis each other. Second, order that these powers negotiate about power transition. Third, legitimacy that rising power will have over upcoming order in the eyes of current hegemon and other world powers. While strategic restraint and mutual accommodation lead to emergence of benign images, similar or shared identities, cultures also result in benignity. Hierarchy of prestige, rules about trade and about use of force, procedures for managing territorial change, and mutual recognition of spheres of influence are basic elements of order that should be negotiated between current hegemon and challenging power. Legitimacy as leading element for socialized instability in international system is mostly dealt with multilateral framework, in which hegemonic power has to do with other states and/or actors in world politics. On the basis of these three fundamental concepts, Power in Transition tests and illustrates its theoretical arguments with three historical cases; rapprochement between the United States and Great Britain in the late 19th century, the Concert of Europe (1815-1848), and ASEAN. In all these historical illustrations benignity, order and legitimacy play significant role though not equally. This work also has a fundamental assumption that power, institutions, identities and ideas altogether significantly matter in peaceful transition of international order. Although the authors have argued that this book is not a definitive study rather it is just brainstorming about peaceful systemic change it is well beyond this modest standing. It deserves close attention by all students of systemic change and international relations.

It is easy to see why this book made Fr. Conrad famous when he first wrote it. For all the English-speaking lovers of St. Therese who have seen the footnote "Dynamique de la confiance," it is here in English at last. Traces the development of Therese's way with delicacy, detail, and unflinching attention to chronology; yields a harvest worthy of the care with which it was gathered.

I'm not given to gushing, but i must do so for the Practice of the Presence of God. Lawrence is simple and straight forward about seeking an awareness of God's presence. Even more practical than St. Teresa's writings (which is saying a lot), Lawrence explains that "pleasures" or "spiritual consolations" (to use Teresa's term) are all well and good, but that these are not the REASON for seeking the presence. Rather the awareness of the presence IS one's reward. It is not to make you a better person or more just, etc. It simply is to give you an awareness of God, which nothing can then take away from you.

Excellent read!!

"I would have dropped dead if I hadn't mentioned it, my conscience would have given me no peace." The words of a passionate orator, no? Bernardino, the subject of this academic work, is quite the colourful and influential character. The author reveals how powerful these wandering preachers were by inciting intolerance and hatred into the masses who flocked to their dramatic sermons. Particularly thought-provoking is the author's message of how we must not be too quick to ignore the individuality of a given personality within a peer group.

As is common with books written in this genre, from the world of Academia, it becomes a bit 'scholarly' at times, a potential drawback for the more casual reader. Because of Mormando's readable prose and his rare subject matter, it is nonetheless a wonderful choice for anyone interested in Italian Renaissance history.