Book Description
This successful Chinese medicine textbook covers the theory of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, and discusses in detail the use of acupuncture points and the principles of treatment. The material is based on rigorous reference to ancient and modern Chinese texts, and explains the application of theory in a Western practice context. The new edition features new and updated material, including discussion of 50 additional acupuncture points and more patterns. A redesigned layout complements the accessible writing style and makes the material even easier to follow. Plus, an accompanying CD-ROM contains over 750 self-testing questions in a variety of formats.
Customer Reviews:
Beware.......2007-10-11
If you intend to use this text as a reference, beware that the index is 90% incorrect and that although the text is beautiful, it is laid out in a very confusing manner. For instance, the summary box for Lung dryness, instead of being situated in the Lung Dryness section, is laid out under the text for Invasion of Lungs by Wind-Cold. This is the case throughout the book.
This book you must have.......2007-09-03
Translation is a main problem with the books from Chinese authors. It does not happen with Dr. Maciocia's books. The text is clear, easy, goes to the point, but he expects that you have precious knowledgement about TCM. If you know nothing about TCM, you need, at least, a dictionaty. But if are a studant you have to have this book.
Foundations of Chinese Medicine.......2007-06-05
Product in good condition. Quick and easy company to deal with. Great savings!
Delivery was slack. Delivered 5 days after the last dilervy date specified and left on door step in a dodgy neighbourhood without even knocking to see if I was home. Not good when you purchase a $300AU book
Giovanni, Giovanni, Giovanni.......2007-05-29
The reason why I gave it three stars is mainly due to two factors: The over saturation of required Chinese medical texts with Giovanni's books, and two, this book seems like at times, it could use some condensing and editing. With that said, though, I have found this book to be helpful to me when learning symptoms and organ patterns, and it is pretty user friendly.
Everything but the index.......2007-01-31
As a matter of presentation, description, and explanation, this book is near unmatched. When the revision of this edition comes out, if you have any desire to explore and develop your understanding of TCM, you will have to get it. But wait until they repair the index. It is the lousiest, most absurd index I've ever seen. I work as a Teacher's Assistant for an Asian Bodywork Therapy class, so I get a lot of questions from students, and this text has everything you would ever want to look up, if only you happen to be so lucky that the index and the actual material you're looking for match up. So, like I said, everything about this book but the index is fantastic. The index is so bad, though, the book deserves a recall. Wait until that happens, or pour through the pages with unmatched patience, and make your own index.
Average customer rating:
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A Mathematical Introduction to Logic, Second Edition
Herbert B. Enderton
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First-Order Logic
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Introduction to Mathematical Logic, Fourth Edition
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Introduction to Logic
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Mathematical Logic
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Elements of Set Theory
ASIN: 0122384520 |
Book Description
A Mathematical Introduction to Logic, Second Edition, offers increased flexibility with topic coverage, allowing for choice in how to utilize the textbook in a course. The author has made this edition more accessible to better meet the needs of today's undergraduate mathematics and philosophy students. It is intended for the reader who has not studied logic previously, but who has some experience in mathematical reasoning. Material is presented on computer science issues such as computational complexity and database queries, with additional coverage of introductory material such as sets.
* Increased flexibility of the text, allowing instructors more choice in how they use the textbook in courses.
* Reduced mathematical rigour to fit the needs of undergraduate students
Amazon.com
Java Swing, long regarded as the authoritative book on using the Swing classes, is available in a new edition that builds on a solid foundation in exploring the Java 2 Swing additions and modifications. This is a big, tremendously detailed, exhaustively researched, and ultimately authoritative reference that pushes the limits of what a book can do toward eliminating the necessity of writing experimental programs to see how Swing classes work in practice. You'll find in these pages bits of software that show how most of Swing works: all of the major features get lavish attention, while most of the minor classes are demonstrated adequately, as well.
You could probably find demonstrations free of charge on the Internet, however. The true value of this work is in the comments its five authors have attached to their copious examples. They can be quite specific: at least one such segment warns that default Swing behavior violates Mac OS X user interface guidelines and explains how to work around the problem. Another section explains how the methods of the UndoableEdit class can be used in various ways, to implement different user interface behavior options. Some readers will head straight to the O'Reilly Web site, where they can grab the code and examine it in an editor rather than in print--code listings take up a lot of space here--but everyone will appreciate the concise hierarchy, method, and property documentation, as well as the wisdom contained in the prose. --David Wall
Topics covered: The Swing classes for creating graphical user interfaces in the Java programming language. It covers all the windowing stuff--dialogs, buttons, containers, layouts, lists, and that kind of thing--as well as tables, trees, text-manipulation classes, formatted text, drag and drop, and accessibility support.
Book Description
Swing is a fully-featured user interface development kit for Java applications. Building on the foundations of the Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT), Swing enables cross-platform applications to use any of several pluggable look-and-feels. Swing developers can take advantage of its rich, flexible features and modular components, building elegant user interfaces with very little code. This second edition of Java Swing thoroughly covers all the features available in Java 2 SDK 1.3 and 1.4. More than simply a reference, this new edition takes a practical approach. It is a book by developers for developers, with hundreds of useful examples, from beginning level to advanced, covering every component available in Swing. All these features mean that there's a lot to learn. Even setting aside its platform flexibility, Swing compares favorably with any widely available user interface toolkit--it has great depth. Swing makes it easy to do simple things but is powerful enough to create complex, intricate interfaces. Java Swing, 2nd edition includes :
- A new chapter on Drag and Drop
- Accessibility features for creating a user interface meeting the needs of all users
- Coverage of the improved key binding infrastructure introduced in SDK 1.3
- A new chapter on JFormattedTextField and input validation
- Mac OS X coverage and examples
- Coverage of the improved focus system introduced in SDK 1.4
- Pluggable Look-and-Feel coverage
- Coverage of the new layout manager, SpringLayout, from SDK 1.4
- Properties tables that summarize important features of each component
- Coverage of the 1.4 Spinner component
- Details about using HTML in components
- A new appendix listing bound actions for each component
- A supporting web site with utilities, examples, and supplemental materials
Whether you're a seasoned Java developer or just trying to find out what Java can do, you'll find Java Swing, 2nd edition an indispensable guide.
Customer Reviews:
Encyclopedic tome on Swing is a great reference .......2006-01-21
This extremely hefty book on Swing has just about everything in it. However, it is intended to be a reference on Swing, not a tutorial. The problem with the Java Swing API is that it is so large and unwieldy itself that it is difficult to write a complete and useful reference that does not reflect that fact. If you need a good tutorial on Java Swing, you might want to look at the Core Java books by Cornell and read the chapters that apply to Swing. Cornell manages to carve out the basics of writing a Swing application very clearly without getting wrapped around the axle in details you do not need if you are a beginner. Then, come back to this book when you need to write an application to get the details you need. Since everything in Swing is a JavaBean, much of each component's behavior is controlled by a set of properties that are manipulated by accessor methods. Thus, this book has a table for each class that presents the class properties, the data type for each property, the accessor methods, and the default values. In addition, the book has plenty of demonstration code that shows how to use just about all of the various Swing components. The book even has chapters dedicated to changing the look and feel of components and also repainting issues, which loom large in Swing. You can download all of the book's code from the book's website at O'Reilly and Associates. I highly recommend this book to anyone who already knows the bare basics of writing applications with Swing and needs a useful reference. There is no better one out there in publication of which I am aware.
Good Book With a Bad Title.......2005-06-04
This is for people who have a working knowledge of Swing and who want a comprehensive reference on their desks. I am preparing for the java Developer exam and thought this would help me get up to speed with Swing. But this is an over kill. Trying to learn Swing with this book is like trying to open a can of Coke with a bulldozer. It would have been more helpful if the Title was something like 'Swing Reference'. If you want to learn some Swing to get some work done very quickly stay away. If you are in the Guru class then go for it. 4 stars because it is indeed a well written reference (Juding from Chapter 1 and 3 and some skimming) But not 5 stars because the Title is misleading
yikes!!.......2005-05-19
I can't recall a tech book so thoroughly unreadable! Maybe if I was more well versed in Swing this might make a little more sense, but seriously....it's great that these folks know all the inheritance lines and can spit them out in eight words or less, but seriously...imagine this as a classroom lecture..anybody awake? anybody still here? well, this class inherits from that or this implemements that interface, and if you look closely, you'll see how this references what we said 47 pages ago (or better yet, what we're gonna say 36 pages down the road!)...all well and good...but we're trying to write real programs and solve real problems....c'mon guys, we're not experts here, else we wouldn't be buying the book!! how about a litle real world usage...I don't have to time to check out the API docs to try and figure out what these guys are yakking about...a major disappointment.
Pretty Thorough Reference.......2005-04-12
Man, has Swing grown; no wonder it took 5 authors to write this book! Anyway, they do a good job describing a very complex subject. The text is definitely more of a reference than a tutorial, but if that's what you're looking for then definitely check out this book...
*IF* you have another source for layout managers. Other reviewers have pointed this out as well. In my opinion, this topic deserves its own chapter because every time you put a component in a container you have to be aware of its layout manager. And when a dialog box gets complicated, as they are wont to do, you have layout managers dealing with each other ad infinitum - and that is precisely when you really need to understand how they work so you can make sense of what is going on when you resize something.
Best Swing reference out there with room for improvement.......2005-03-05
Any book that claims it can tell the readers everything they need for any huge APIs such as Swing is likely to be misleading. But there are utility books that try very hard to make the users as informed as possible. O'Reilly's Java Swing is one of these books. In 1200+ pages, this book tries to explain every little details of the Swing API from the fundamental JComponent to the very advanced manipulation of the Swing Look And Feel, and every major components in between.
There are still some very common issues that Swing developers wished this book had addressed, however. Such issues include the AWT event queue, AWT layout managers, and Swing threading issues. While this book does talk a bit about Swing threading, it does not explain a whole lot of the underlying mechanism of the AWT GUI and event queue that caused most developers trouble.
Overall, this book is a good elaboration on the Swing Javadoc, but not enough as a cure-all for Swing developers.
Book Description
The second edition of The Nonprofit Sector provides a novel
, comprehensive, cross-disciplinary perspective on nonprofit organizations and their role and function in society. This new, updated edition keeps pace with industry trends and advances as well as with the changing interests and needs of students, practitioners, and researchers. As before, every chapter has been written to stand on its own, providing sufficient background for the reader to follow the argument without referring to other chapters—allowing readers to selectively choose those chapters that are most relevant to a particular course, interest, or issue.
The Nonprofit Sector: A Research Handbook includes twenty-seven new or updated chapters. Relevant chapters from the previous edition have been refined, and new chapters have been added to fill in gaps, making this the authoritative reference for all who want an accessible, perceptive, and all-inclusive rendering of the nonprofit sector. The contributors—prominent scholars in their respective fields—carefully reflect upon the variety of changes in the rapidly growing world of nonprofits, examining a wide array of organizations, international issues, social science theories, and philanthropic traditions and covering a broad range of topics including the history and scope of nonprofit activities in the United States and abroad, the relation of nonprofits to the marketplace, government-nonprofit issues, key activities of nonprofits, aspects of giving to and joining nonprofits, and nonprofit mission and governance. For anyone who wishes to have a deeper understanding of the nonprofit sector, this remains the essential guide.
From reviews of the first edition:
"[This book] is the closest thing to a 'bible' of nonprofit sector research and state-of-the-art social science knowledge as currently exists."—Dennis R. Young, Public Administration Review
"Invaluable to anyone currently engaged in research or policy decisions involving nonprofit organizations or, for that matter, considering becoming involved.”—Jerald Schiff, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management
"An exceptionally useful resource.”—Mark D. Hughes, The Philanthropist
Customer Reviews:
Comprehensive--Yet Practical.......2007-02-05
This volume is meant primarily to be a textbook for master's or Ph.D. level students. Nonprofit theory and cutting edge research is covered by the known academics in the field. The reference section is superb, leading one to further articles to explore an area in more depth. Yet the practioner will also find this book helpful in many ways, trends in funding and volunteering, up-to-date research brought to the practioner's world, etc. Even if you are not a student, if you work in the nonprofit sector you will find this book to be extraordinarily helpful.
A Very Rich Book.......2006-12-07
Handbooks tend to be daunting reading. So you can imagine my surprise when, after reading it through the first time, I found myself wanting to read it through again! This is a very rich book that will be useful to a wide range of readers from experts to beginners in nonprofit sector research.
Beginners will benefit from the comprehensive nature of the collection. The broad coverage will serve as a fine map to guide those who are looking for paths to follow into nonprofit sector practice and research. Like an MRI scan, the depth of each chapter will serve as a map of the ever expanding theoretical and practical knowledge base of the contemporary nonprofit sector.
Readers who have some nonprofit sector experience will find themselves turning again and again to the chapters related to their area of research and practice. The experience of re-reading some of the chapters three and four times each allowed me to appreciate the depth of scholarship embedded in the theories and empirical evidence presented on each page. This is the kind of book you'll want to keep nearby, because something of value will be there to meet you at each read.
Experts in the field are going to find a lot here to their liking as well. The scope of the subject matter covers research from so many disciplines that, no matter what your interests are, you'll find something here that relates to your particular field of research. The volume also presents scholars with many well documented glimpses into the state of the art research on the full gamut of nonprofit sector issues.
The creation of a handbook that is broad in scope, deep in research detail, and useful to both beginners and scholars is something to be celebrated by all those involved in the nonprofit sector. Congratulations to those who worked on this project. You have pulled off a most difficult of tasks for the second time.
Average customer rating:
- Student
- A Great Adult ESL Level One Textbook
- Foundations
|
Foundations
Steven J. Molinsky , and
Bill Bliss
Manufacturer: Pearson ESL
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Side by Side: Student Book 1, Third Edition
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Access: Fundamentals of Literacy and Communication
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ExpressWays Book 1
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Foundations-Teacher's Guide
ASIN: 0133846040 |
Book Description
This new all-skills text for pre-beginning and low-beginning ESL learners focuses on the essential vocabulary and relevant lifeskill topics needed at this level. ESL learners will find conversations, games, and a variety o f listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities that will help them build their English skills. For pre-beginning and low-beginning ESL learners.
Customer Reviews:
Student.......2007-02-21
This is a very basic text, for beginners. If even a little English is known, the book will be thought a repeat
A Great Adult ESL Level One Textbook.......2001-10-05
If you are looking for one book that does it all, this is it. Don't confuse this book with "Side-by-Side" just because it has the same author. It is an entirely different beast and everything "Side-by-Side" is not. I use this book as a main textbook with community ed ESL classes and as a supplemental textbook with some workplace ESL classes. My level one students loved this book so much that all the other level one classes at our site gave up their textbooks and switched to this one. It presents the material in appropriate, manageable chunks and it progresses through topics which are extremely appropriate for adults. It's organization is excellent, varying the skills used, and each lesson leaves students feeling like they are learning. This is a good general textbook including conversation, listening, speaking, grammar, TPR, and writing activities. It is a general ESL textbook and not a literacy textbook, however, so for students with low L1 literacy, I supplement this textbook with Molinsky's book "Access" and Linda Mrowicki's book "Pre-reading Resource Book". I have also used Mrowicki's "First Words in English", and "Starting to Read" (Linmore Publishing) as companion texts or as supplemental texts, depending on the class.
Foundations.......2000-09-01
One of the best way to learn communicate an English Language. The kids enjoy talk and listen new languages, and learn too!!! Foundations has a lot of exercises with fun and really situations that invite the conversation together. Is the Foundation for new conversation, for new students at English.
Book Description
This is a comprehensive manual intended to teach students the basics of communicating in Swahili at an elementary level.
Customer Reviews:
Get Anything Else.......2007-04-13
Reading other glowing reviews of this book made me wonder "Did I have the same text?" This book is a hopeless muddle for a beginning student of the language! Almost all other books on the market are at least organized in a manner that offers a non-intimidating approach. This specimen begins the actual instruction with section titles in Swahili, and proceeds to introduce terms that are not yet accessible to students in the chapters being studied. I'm sorry, this is the ONLY Swahili language text I could find that I would NEVER recommend for an independent learner.
Very clear and helpful.......2007-02-07
I found this book easy to use and very clear on matters of grammar and pronunciation. The reading exercises advance at a nice pace, so you are continually challenged without being overwhelmed. I do agree with the other reviewer that more answers to the exercises would be really helpful for self-study. The dictionary section at the back is pretty thorough, though if you keep going past about the first half of the book, you will be interested in investing in a Swahili-English dictionary (probably Awde).
Excellent!.......2000-03-26
This is a really wonderful book to start learning Kiswahili with. The explanations are clear and it is very attractively illustrated. My only (small) gripe is that there are no solutions for the exercises, which hampers independent study somewhat. However, this won't deter any serious student as the book does include a translation of all the dialogues,as well as all a vocabulary listing all the words used in the book. Highly recommended!
Customer Reviews:
"Brain and Behavior for and by dummies".......2007-08-25
Within the first two chapters, there are a number of misleading claims and outright falsehoods which make me question the intelligence and qualifications of its authors. They claim, for instance, that the brain's purpose is to create what the authors call a "sensory reality" (I can only assume they mean consciousness). Well, the fact is, a lot of good neurology and philosophy dealing with the subject matter is simply not clear on this matter--consciousness is likely to be an epiphenomenon not related too much to function. In fact, there are some studies that point to this possibility--being able to tell when a person will move their finger before they even realize it.
Another example of shoddy scholarship is found in the first and second chapters, respectively: Ironically, the authors discredit cartesian dualism in the first chapter rather offhandedly only to bring it back in the second. To quote the book, "Each function requires specific neural systems to create the sensory world, to produce movement (behavior) and to integrate the two." If they are separate, we seem to be back at some form of dualism--I'm not sure what the authors were thinking and I'm not sure they do either.
Consistent flaws coupled with a writing style that is downright insulting to the reader's intelligence make this a book to skip (if possible) when first learning about the brain and behavior.
Brain Fanatics.......2006-12-27
This textbook provides a thorough introduction to the brain, starting from the nerves to actual sensory systems (motor, auditory, visual etc.,). Even though I spent some time reading this book, I was disappointed the professor only referred to it once or twice and relied primarily on lectures to create tests. Besides providing the mechanism behind the flow of information in the brain, its discussion of how injuries to the brain result in certain conditions (visual agnosia, neglect syndrome, amnesia, aphasia etc.,) also helped my understanding of the material a lot. The biggest hurdle is understanding how nerves function, after that everything is more or less memorization.
NOT the textbook, just an outline.......2006-08-30
This is NOT a paperback version of the textbook.
It is simply an outline of all the important terms from the book. It might be helpful if you don't want to highlight your book, and want all important terms in one place, but it is not a substitute for the book.
Buy the hardcover version if you want the real text.
Book Description
A very readable book that includes dozens of excerpts from novels, biographies, memoirs, lectures, essays, plays, poetry, and songs, this anthology provides readers with a broad range of opinions, scenarios, and perspectives on education. It examines diversity beyond race, religion, and ethnicity, and addresses a wide range of topics and issues, especially controversial events, movements, and mandates. Interviews, dramatizations, and debates help subjects come alive, making the selections more meaningful. The selections are divided into six important themes: history, philosophy, politics and sociology of education, the nature of schools, and the teaching profession. Each section begins with an illustration from a Norman Rockwell painting, helping readers visualize that theme. An obvious choice for educators, this book is also an excellent read for anyone interested in the social and historical trends in education.
Customer Reviews:
Only problem is the price.......2000-08-14
I ordered this text for college students who want to become teachers, but it would be equally applicable to my freshman "English class" students. The cross-cultural and multi-generational excerpts provide the opportunity to sample sociological, historical, philosophical, and psychological writings. Economics is included. Frederick Douglass and Claude Brown provide input from the African-American community. Bell Kaufman and Sylvia Ashton-Warner explore their experiences with students from backgrounds unlike their own. Tom Lehrer and Russell Baker provide insight from a lighter, humorous standpoint. I am looking forward to using this book.
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- Not Free SF Reader
- Well done, Seldon
- We Meet the Second Foundation
- The Mule carries the story
- The Messianic Era
|
Second Foundation (Foundation Novels)
Isaac Asimov
Manufacturer: Spectra
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Foundation and Empire (Foundation Novels)
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ASIN: 0553293362
Release Date: 1991-10-01 |
Book Description
Isaac Asimov's
Foundation novels are one of the great masterworks of science fiction. As unsurpassed blend of nonstop action, daring ideas, and extensive world-building, they chronicle the struggle of a courageous group of men and women dedicated to preserving humanity's light in a galaxy plunged into a nightmare of ignorance and violence thirty thousand years long.
After years of struggle, the Foundation lies in ruins—destroyed by the mutant mind power of the Mule. But it is rumored that there is a Second Foundation hidden somewhere at the end of the Galaxy, established to preserve the knowledge of mankind through the long centuries of barbarism. The Mule failed to find it the first time—but now he is certain he knows where it lies.
The fate of the Foundation rests on young Arcadia Darell, only fourteen years old and burdened with a terrible secret. As its scientists gird for a final showdown with the Mule, the survivors of the First Foundation begin their desperate search. They too want the Second Foundation destroyed…before it destroys them.
Download Description
Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels are one of the great masterworks of science fiction. As unsurpassed blend of nonstop action, daring ideas, and extensive world-building, they chronicle the struggle of a courageous group of men and women dedicated to preserving humanity's light in a galaxy plunged into a nightmare of ignorance and violence thirty thousand years long.
After years of struggle, the Foundation lies in ruins; destroyed by the mutant mind power of the Mule. But it is rumored that there is a Second Foundation hidden somewhere at the end of the Galaxy, established to preserve the knowledge of mankind through the long centuries of barbarism. The Mule failed to find it the first time—but now he is certain he knows where it lies.
The fate of the Foundation rests on young Arcadia Darell, only fourteen years old and burdened with a terrible secret. As its scientists gird for a final showdown with the Mule, the survivors of the First Foundation begin their desperate search. They too want the Second Foundation destroyed... before it destroys them.
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-08-04
Plans within plans, discoveries, and battles fought over the possibilities of the Second Foundation of Hari Seldon.
Second Foundation : Search by the Mule - Isaac Asimov
Second Foundation : Search by the Foundation - Isaac Asimov
Mule's men, Speakers and revelations.
3.5 out of 5
Smart girls, space war, scans, special people, and Star's End.
3.5 out of 5
Well done, Seldon.......2007-08-03
While not quite as thrilling as it's predecessor, it is at least as intriguing, if not more so. Another great book, with a number of plot twists. Where is the second foundation...are you sure you know where it is? Well, just when you think you do, it's probably where you thought it was before. Or not. Cool characters and plot twists throughout. Recommended.
We Meet the Second Foundation.......2006-12-18
This book is the third in the original Foundation Trilogy. The first two books are "Foundation," which introduced us to Hari Seldon, psychohistory and Hari's plan to reduce 30,000 years of chaos to a mere 1,000 years, and "Foundation and Empire," in which we see the Foundation fight the last remnants of the last empire and a mutant unaccounted for by Hari Seldon. In this book the Mule continues his search for the Second Foundation. After the Mule's death a successor to the Mule attempts to conquer the Foundation. We then learn that the Foundation is also searching for the Second Foundation.
The first part of this book picks up nicely where the last part left off. The Mule was prevented from learning the location of the Second Foundation by a very heroic act. The Mule was disappointed, but he continued to seek the location of the Second Foundation. The mule has people search far and wide for the Second Foundation, and apparently they come close to finding the Second Foundation more than once. However, have they really? The reader will have to follow this book to its end before learning the truth!
Eventually the Mule passes away without learning the truth about the Second Foundation. However, members of the Foundation have discovered, to their horror, that they have been mentally manipulated. Those members of the Foundation privy to this information are taking steps to eliminate interference by the Second Foundation, and they have launched their own diligent search for the Second Foundation. Once again the reader must await the revelations of the final chapters to know whether the Second Foundation has been discovered, and it if has been discovered, what will happen to it? Also, the Second Foundation tries hard to get Seldon's plan back on track before the galaxy faces thousands more years of chaos. So many things to do, so little time to do them in!
I did enjoy this book, but I also thought it was the weakest of the three books. Though Asimov provided tidy endings to both books, the endings seemed too easy and less satisfying than the endings of the previous books. For many decades these books were the only books of the series, and even to the date of this review many readers of all the books in the series consider the series to be unfinished.
This book carries on acceptably from "Foundation and Empire." If you liked that book you will likely enjoy this book, if only a little less than the previous book.
Though some portions of the original Foundation Trilogy were weak, as a series of three books they were phenomenal. Asimov crafted an immense galactic empire, predicated its demise, and then created a technique for re-establishing it using technologies so far removed from our own as to border on magic. These classic books of science fiction remain inspirations for modern science fiction writers, and a good read for those of us who enjoy science fiction from the Golden Age of science fiction and the stories of Isaac Asimov, one of the greatest writers of early modern science fiction.
Enjoy!
The Mule carries the story.......2006-10-27
The good guy always wins..but the Mule presents a enigmatic picture ..he is intelligent but misused..He is one of the strongest characters in Asimov's triolgy. The wrench in the seemingly expected and predictable transition from 1st to second foundation. I can relate ......
The Messianic Era.......2006-09-29
I first read these books when I was in high school and although
I almost never read fiction, and don't particularly like science
fiction (even though I studied geophysics in university and
work as an engineer), these books made an immense impression
on me. As I began to study Judaism, I finally discovered that
Asimov, a non-observant, yet knowledgable Jew, was using the
format of science fiction to describe the Jewish concept of the
redemption of mankind. A careful reading of the Biblical
Prophets shows that the ideal world that history is leading
mankind towards has universal peace between nations and a
de-emphasis of technology in favor of the development of man's
inner, more
spiritual side. However, this development of man's spiritual
qualities and move towards universal harmony is accompanied
by upheavels and wars. Jewish tradition also says that the
world is sustained by 36 "hidden" righteous people whose
good deeds and spritual superiority are vital from preventing
the destructive forces in the world, both natural and
man-made from overcoming everything and leading the world
to chaos.
Asimov used the two Foundations as his vehicle for describing
this cosmic process, and an important part of the story is
the necessity of the Second Foundation to remain "hidden" to
allow the process to work itself out.
As far as the story itself is concerned, it is true that it is
dated...for example, Asimov places the capital of the Galactic
Empire on the planet Trantor which "is at the center of the
Galaxy". Today, it is believed that the center of the galaxy
is full of black holes and lethal amounts of radiation, so it
is unlikely there would be life as we know it there. Also,
Asimov posits atomic energy as being the ultimate form of power
but physics has advanced beyond that point to fusion and other
exotic forms of power.
On the other hand, Asimov wrote these stories in the wake of
the Second World War and so he is quite aware of how so many
institutions created by men...including governments and religious
establishments, even starting with the best
of intentions, seems to run into crises. Thus the Galactic
Empire, which brought centuries of peace and prosperity to
mankind, is brought inevitably to a point of degeneration, and
how the (First) Foundation itself, founded by idealistic,
intelligent people who are at least partly aware of their
important role in shaping a better future for mankind, rapidly
degenerates into a repressive dictatorship.
As others have pointed out, these stories have almost no "action",
which is fine with me (my favorite movies and TV shows also
have no action, e.g. Twelve Angry Men) and in spite of the
fact that these stories are 60 years old, I recommend them
to anyone who wants a deeper look at mankind's nature
and its destiny.
Books:
- The Friday Night Knitting Club
- The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1)
- The great migration begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633
- The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East
- The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina
- The Heart Reader
- The Last Command (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Vol. 3)
- The Last Full Measure
- The Last Guardian (Warcraft, Book 3)
- The Last Human: A Guide to Twenty-Two Species of Extinct Humans
Books Index
Books Home
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A Manual of Acupuncture (2nd Edition)
Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion
The Web That Has No Weaver : Understanding Chinese Medicine
Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Third Edition
Diagnosis in Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Guide
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