Open

Most post-modernist scholars, especially critical scholars, have probably already read The Open Work. It is considered a seminal work. Eco advances the theory that literary works necessarily leave much of the details of a story to the reader. Taking Moby Dick as an example, he notes that the book never mentions that the sailors on the Pequod have two legs. It is the work of the reader to reach such a conclusion based on the context of the novel. While Captain Ahab is mentioned as having only one leg, Melville never says which one, again leaving to the reader to fill in the details. In this sense, literature is "parasitic," according to Eco, because it requires the reader to fill in many of the details of a given story.

This corresponds with other post-modernists who claim that meaning resides in the receiver of a text. However, Eco establishes his own ground in claiming that authors can limit the reader's options for interpretation. For Eco, while much meaning resides in the interpretation of a text, the symbols employed by an author also have some meaning that a reasonable interpreter should understand. The "open work" then, is not an absolute condition. Some works will be more open than others.

While this may sound like a repudiation of many post-modernists (and it is), readers should rember that it was originally published quite some time ago. At the time, it was considered revolutionary. It stands today as a still-important work in the field of semiotics and critical theory. I gave it four stars not because it isn't excellent (it is) or well-written (it is, and far easier to read than, say, Foucault) but because it is no longer cutting edge.

After i read this book i could draw so much paralleles, concise ones, between the artists that i liked that i had never realised before that this was the real appeal to me in reading this book. I could see i line crossing between James Joyce, Bretch, Kubrick and Kafka. And all the modernism movement really took place in my mind. And it's a easy-reading book, beside the parts about semiology, wich are necessary to make some points clear. The two final parts of the book, about the zen mania of the 50's and the other about Marx, don't seem to be at the center of matter but are also good reading. I think anybody interested in arts should look at this book.

This is yet another book on a New Urbanist idea.

This one describes the idea of transit oriented communties. These are relatively dense planned communities that try to maintain what is seen as the essentials of small community life.

The density and distribution of these communities make them amenable to public transport. However more emphasis is placed on the development of community. Shopping facilities are centralized and made accessible to pedestrians. Public buildings and public space like squares are made central to the life of the community. The public buildings are given distinguished architecture to show their importance to the community. The public park or square is placed at the hub of planned pedestrian traffic to provide a place for unplanned meetings and interactions.

As it is this soert of community will probably work. The idea of the public square at a transportation crossroads as a means to creatre interaction is straight out of Bill Hillier's seminal work 'Space is the machine.' With proper attention to the principles presented by Hillier, there is no reason why a community designed in the way advocated here cannot produce the types of interactions advocated within this book.

However the book does not go far enough to truly identify what these principles are or even to state clearly and directly what basic principles are guiding the plans that it advocates. It would be possible to create developments that follow the plans described here that would work against the outcomes that it is advocating. Hillier's book, in its analysis of some modern housing estates based on similar goals, demosntrates this.

Yet there is something fundamentally wrong with this book. It is a basic statement of architectural determinism. Traditional suburbs are blamed for all problems in society from environmental pollution to school shootings and possibly even to asteroid impacts causing mass extinctions. There seems to be nothing wrong in society that is not the fault of suburbs and that cannot be fixed by these pedestrian-based communities.

The author acknowleges that the autonomy and privacy provided by the suburban form is attractive to many. He even states that his suggested community form is not antithetical to it. However following that one statement the remainder of the book is a jerimiad against suburban life. Privacy and autonomy references are replaced with descriptions of isolation and alienation.

The book would be more convincing if it remained an advocacy for its desired form. There is no doubt that this form if designed properly can foster the close community life that many people find very attractive. However not all people are attracted to this sort of life. Many people prefer the social autonomy that is provided to them in suburbs. With modern communication mechanisms like the telephone, Email, automobile etc, they can maintain multiple social netowkrs each with the social distance that they find comfortable. They are not forced to interact with a neighbor that they do not care for simply because his residence is nearby.

All in all this is a good book for its purpose. The unfortunate blathering about the short comings of suburbs distracts from its main purpsoe and weakens its argument. However many will find the small community life presented here very attractive.

It is worth reading despite these handicaps.

There is a very informative review by Suzannah Lessard in the February 18th issue of the New York Times Book Review. Not only does she provide interesting background to the issues surrounding urban growth in America, she also defines what these issues mean to us today, and the contribution this book makes to our understanding of the built world around us.

I first read this book while on holiday in Spain around 1996. I'd long ago forgotten the title, but the names of the characters stuck in my mind. Well needless to say I've found the book once again and intend to buy it. I was only 17 when I read the book and it made great reading, how it will do this time I really don't knowm so I'm giving it 4 stars - it at least deserves that if I can remember the character names after so long. Well worth reading!

After Silverberg's first "retirement," he returned to science
fiction with this book--constructed out of a series of novelettes
published by Fred Pohl in _If_. It is colorful, almost gaudy
science fiction; in a way, it seems to bridge Silverberg's pulp
work of the 50's with his more thoughtful work of the later 60's
and early 70's.

As is the case with most science fiction, it appears dated in
places. During the years 1964-65, when this book was written,
some of the concerns with mysticism and trancendence embedded in
the social unrest of the later 60's were already clearly in
evidence. Silverberg shows his awareness and sympathy for these
trends in this early book.

While the themes of the book are very much of its time, the
pure inventiveness points farther back, to works like
Alfred Bester's _Tyger! Tyger!_ (aka, _The Stars My
Destination_). The "Electromagnetic Litany: Stations of
the Spectrum_" is clever and funny and ingenious enough
in its own right to sway me in the book's favor.

The quality of the writing is more than competent, and sometimes
a great deal better than that. Silverberg, for all his excellent
novels (e.g., _Dying Inside_, _The Book of Skulls_, _Downward
to the Earth_), often seems to me happier at the novelette to
novella length. Thus a mosaic novel such as this one shows
him at his best advantage.

At the same time, despite its several excellences, the book
is not devoid of a certain immaturity by later Silverberg
standards. There are a few stock characters, as well as stock
reactions here. During the ten years after this book, Silverberg
showed us how much better he could do.

Still, all in all, I'm fond of this book. I *do* think it's
good entertainment of a high order. I'd really like to give
it 3.5 stars, because it isn't a masterwork. But it is diverting
reading, even if one isn't a devoted reader of Silverberg.

Great book for the serious investor. set ups are pretty consistant. Great tech.book

If your looking for a great technical book that shows you consistent set ups, this is the one for you. This book is way under rated.

Spells out so clearly the steps for opening up a self-contained classroom that one can easily follow her steps like ABC. This book teams with ideas that any elementary teacher will appreciate- Read this fascinating book. You'll like it!

Mcgrath and Spear do a decent job of summarizing what they feel are the problems of the community college. Although they argue their point in a concise manner and do an excellent jo at it, they sometimes seem to expect you to take them at their word. The problems they cite are very real. People who study community colleges will have little trouble seeing their points, it would still be refreshing to place the problems in community colleges in some sort of historical context. I would advise, however, that anyone who studies community colleges or works in one have this volume in their personal library.

Advanced Pick : Open Database and Operating System by Roger J. Bourdon is an excellent resource for Pick programmers of all experience levels. Rather than being a command reference, it is a learning tool. Speaking in plain language, Mr. Bourden explains some of the more difficult commands of Pick in a clear concise manner. Advanced Pick also contains an interesting history and background of Pick, as both operating system and programming language. There is also a brief review of System Builder applications for use with Pick. With this book not being a reference manual, it does have the shortcoming of not being able to find things quickly. Looking in the index is helpful, but it is not all inclusive and you may have to reference two or more pages before you find the right information. Although the material is explained well, some of the more difficult subjects are not fully explained for novices. Many areas are good for beginners, but to get the maximum benefit, some experience may be required.

An excellent book to self-learn the basic principles of atomic spectroscopy such as flame AAS/AES and plasma spectroscopy (ICP/DCP/MIP). It also includes the basic instrumentation and fundamental principle of all major atomic spectroscopy techniques. It is a must read book for technician or junior analytical chemist to learn the very basic but essential technical knowledge of AAS and ICP.

This book is very scary.Colyn cut a piece of cardboard that let to another world.It may have to do with the strange knife he used to cut it.When he starts seeing the dragons coming he was to think of a wise plan.Andrew Lansdown did a great job with this book.BUY IT!

Biochemical Applications of Infrared Spectroscopy, like most other ACOL (Analytical Chemistry by Open Learning) titles, is a good text for those who wish to learn the basics of FTIR as applied to the analysis of proteins, peptides, lipids, biomembranes, carbohydrates, foods, etc. The book contains chapters dedicated to instrumentation, sampling techniques, spectrum interpretation, quantitative analysis and some applications. Each chapter contains a useful set of questions (answers provided) and there are a few suggested experiments. The book is written at about a senior chemistry undergraduate level but would be useful for those wanting to learn the basics. The sections dedicated to the analysis of proteins and peptides, lipids, biomembranes and pharmaceuticals 'outshine' the others. The nice thing about this book is that it is not merely a 'rehash' of somebodys published work crammed into loosely related chapters (like many other books on the subject). A larger bibliography and references would have made the applications sections better.