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How do we know what happened in the past? We cannot go back, and no amount of historical data can enable us to understand with absolute certainty what life was like “then.” It is easy to demolish the very idea of historical knowing, but it is impossible to demolish the importance of historical knowing. In an age of cable television pundits and anonymous bloggers dueling over history, the value of owning history increases at the same time as our confidence in history as a way of knowing crumbles. Historical knowledge thus presents a paradox — the more it is required, the less reliable it has become. To reconcile this paradox — that history is impossible but necessary — Peter Charles Hoffer proposes a practical, workable philosophy of history for our times, one that is robust and realistic, and that speaks to anyone who reads, writes and teaches history.

Covering a sweeping range of philosophies (from ancient history to game theory), methodological approaches to writing history, and the advantages and disadvantages of different strategies of argument, Hoffer constructs a philosophy of history that is reasonable, free of fallacy, and supported by appropriate evidence that is itself tenable.

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In this innovative book, a well-known feminist and sociologist (only use for adv. in G&S: [-who is also the founding editor of Gender & Society-] challenges our most basic assumptions about gender. Judith Lorber argues that gender is wholly a product of socialization, subject to human agency, organization, and interpretation, and that it is a social institution comparable to the economy, the family, and religion in its significance and consequences. Calling into question the inevitability and necessity of gender, she envisions a society structured for equality, where no gender, racial ethnic, or social class group is allowed to monopolize positions of power. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Brilliant, then disappointing.
The first third of Paradoxes of Gender is a brilliant deconstruction of Western society's concept of gender.With the relentlessness and subtlety of a sledgehammer, Judith Lorber points out the illogic in the ways that we "do" gender. Her explanations are lucid, clear, and unarguable (though you may wish to).She also provides compelling rationales for some of the most puzzling aspects of gender and sex relations.

Unfortunately, after she finishes with that, I feel that she's rather uncritical in finding evidence for the history of gender, and starts to ascribe motive to the ways that society subjugates women.This is painful for me, because I largely agree with her assessment of the situation, but think her evidence is poor, and that it's unneccessary for males to be *intentionally* subjugating women for that to be the end result. (Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by stupidity.) Still, I highly recommend the first three (and perhaps four) chapter as practically *required* reading for understanding the arbitrary nature of gender in our society.

Lacklustre
In a book aiming to thresh out the dynamics of gender, Lorber's text seems to demonstrate that she doesn't have exactly the firm grip of the subject that the title suggests she has. While the other chapters which deal with more feminist issues with relation to gender are a bit more sound and solid, and the preceding chapters dealing with the 'nuts and bolts' of gender are somewhat vaguely fresh and readable (although not really saying much new), it is worrisome to see that while Lorber tries her hardest to remain objective, her dated and misunderstood views on transgender (she does not use this already popular term) issues betray her objectivity. All in all, her little inconsistencies and sometimes erroneous reasoning to gender, especially with regard to gender identity, do really show that she might have missed the boat with this one. ... Read more

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Richard Thaler challenges the received economic wisdom by revealing many of the paradoxes that abound even in the most painstakingly constructed transactions. He presents literate, challenging, and often funny examples of such anomalies as why the winners at auctions are often the real losers--they pay too much and suffer the "winner's curse"--why gamblers bet on long shots at the end of a losing day, why shoppers will save on one appliance only to pass up the identical savings on another, and why sports fans who wouldn't pay more than $200 for a Super Bowl ticket wouldn't sell one they own for less than $400. He also demonstrates that markets do not always operate with the traplike efficiency we impute to them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Best book out there in the Popular economics genre
This book is a little heavy on the math, which I enjoyed at times but at other times felt really lost and not too eager to go look up the referenced journal articles for the full explanation on the formulas used.

The other benefit of all the math is it makes all the points that Thaler raises in this book much more scientifically based.This book isn't pseudoscience.

That said, it's not like this book is a math textbook.In the style of Freakonomics, (although the Winner's Curse was written about a decade earlier) Thaler just jumps from one cool behavioral economics example to the next.

The thing from this book that stuck with me the most was the chapter on positive expected value lotteries.Apparently, they pop up every so often.Unfortunatley you need a billion dollar bankroll to take advantage of them, and I don't think Thaler included taxes when he was doing the expected value calculations, so they might not really exist at all.

Very good seller. Shipped Quickly. Product in Great Condition.
The seller was prompt and the product was like new. What else can you ask for? Great transaction.

Very interesting
It gives you a great overview of some of the strange inconsitencies in human behavior.It is more than just a finance book and has many interesting stories that you can talk about with friends later.

Behavioral economics for the real world.
The "Winners Curse" is a book about behavioral economics.It applies experimental human psychological studies to economic behavior.It consists of 14 chapters, each devoted to a different "anomaly" in economic behavior.The term anomaly is used by the author to denote behavior that runs counter to the assumptions of most theoretical economic models, which assume that people act in a rational and greedy manner.To me (not an economist), that anyone would base a theory on the assumptions of rational human behavior and that people are always greedy (seeking the maximum economic gain) is a bit irrational.It does not come as a surprise to me that people act irrationally and that they can sometimes act for the common good, instead of seeking maximum personal gain.

Each chapter starts with a brief hypothetical problem.Some are based on real problems, (such as playing the lottery, betting on horses, the calendar effect on stock market prices, foreign currency exchange problems, ...) or based on model games, (such as bargaining games, games where cooperation is required, auction games,....).The results of these experimental games and the statistical data on human behavior in real situations (such as stock market purchases) are then compared to the predictions of the theoretical models that assume rationality and greed.The point of the book is that it can be experimentally shown that people act irrationally (from an economic perspective) and can act in a manner that does not seek the maximum personal gain.The author does not believe that this spells the end for theoretical economic modeling, only that more psychological input is required.

This book is interesting, but in my opinion it is neither fish nor fowl. I do not think that it is rigorous enough to satisfy an economist, but is somewhat too complicated in spots for general readers.After the general statement of the problem there is a discussion of the experimental data that bears on the problem.This discussion can be hard for a non-economist (me) to follow at times.That said, I enjoyed book and got a lot of interesting information from it.I learned why it is sometimes a good deal (yielding a positive expected value) to play the lottery and what the most commonly chosen numbers are.The author also points out that this does not mean that you will win, only that if you and your descendants played at the correct times for a thousand years or so, you would eventually make more than what you would spend on tickets.In some situations it is thus favorable to buy tickets covering all the possible combinations, but you would need millions of dollars and a way to physically buy millions of tickets. I learned the best days to buy or sell a stock (at least statistically on which days the market tends to go up and on which it tends to go down).

By the way, the Winners Curse refers to the winner of an auction being cursed because the price paid was too high.I learned that with many bidders it is best to lower the maximum price that you are willing to pay.Unfortunately, doing this means that you will seldom get the item, but when you do succeed you will not be cursed by paying too much.

All in all, stick with it.If necessary, skip over some of the discussion of the experimental data and go to the concluding remarks for each chapter.I found it to be worth the effort.

Highly Recommended!
We highly recommend this classic of economic literature, one of the first (more or less) accessible presentations of the evidence against economic rationality. Economists have assumed, conventionally, that economic choice rests on a foundation of rationality. For instance, economists tend to think that people will put the same value on two mathematically identical offers. Yet laboratory experiments have proven what everyday experience suggests: people are not quite rational. Author Richard H. Thaler, a founding father of behavioral economics, presents convincing exhibits to make the case that the assumption of economic rationality is an awfully big pill to swallow. Stylistically, his book strikes a neat balance between accessibility and obscurity. A reader will need a certain amount of schooling in economics and a great deal of patience with academic prose to wade through every word of every chapter, although the payoff is substantial. However, it is possible for the impatient reader to get the gist by reading the introduction, the first page or two of each chapter and the epilogue. And even that is eminently worthwhile. ... Read more

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A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume I is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Augustus De Morgan is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Augustus De Morgan then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

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Forced to Fail traces the long legal history of first racial segregation, and then racial desegregation in America. The authors explain how rapidly changing demographics and family structure in the United States have greatly complicated the project of top-down government efforts to achieve an _ideal_ racial balance in schools. It describes how social capital_a positive outcome of social interaction between and among parents, children, and teachers_creates strong bonds that lead to high academic achievement. ... Read more

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As parents, we often find it diffcult to maintain a balance between being an authority figure and being a nurturer and friend. But it is possible if we look to God as our example. The Paradox Principle of Parenting highlights eight key principles of parenting, based on the way God parents us, and provides plenty of practical advice to help parents raise great kids. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"how to parent like God"
the tagline of the book is "How to parent your child like God parents you," and that's really a better description of the book than the actual title.i LOVE this book and its insight into Biblical parenting.we all know there's no great examples of parents in the Bible, but Lucas argues that this is because only God should be our example here.then he goes on to identify different methods God uses with His people that are actually paradoxes.for example, God both holds us accountable for sin and yet also wipes the slate clean.(you can find the table of contents at CBD.)This book is not light reading, but i would highly recommend this to anyone looking for material for developing a parenting class at their church. ... Read more

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May natural selection contain seeds of our destruction? Do unintended consequences haunt our means of production? Natural Selection’s Paradox: The Outlaw Gene, the Religion of Money, and the Origin of Evil by Carter Stroud observes an adaptive humanity on a dangerous path, one in which we increasingly adapt to our own tools and artifacts—such as money—rather than the ecology that actually defines us.One hundred and fifty years after Darwin, the consequences of adaptation are still poorly understood. They range from the shape of a nose to the religions practiced to humanity’s definitions of good, evil, and justice. In this comprehensive marriage of current science, ancient wisdom, and our collective history, the author unravels economic and social myths that obscure society’s vision. With wit and candor, he examines common ground between the humanistic world of faith and myth and the realm of scientific scholarship to create a dialogue of hope and a basis for competent decision making. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A read that is well worth considering
The start of all life could bring it to an end as well. "Natural Selection's Paradox: The Mot Provocative Observation Since Natural Selection" is Carter Stroud's own investigation of natural selection's flaws as he states that if Darwin's theories are correct, mankind may lead itself to oblivion and the world along with it. Drawing on religion, flaws in human nature, and more, "Natural Selection's Paradox" is a read that is well worth considering.

The stuff of thought...
This book is a device for profound reading and lucid
thinking.It is like listening to Mozart music. It comes over you quietly and suddenly you feel more intelligent.FIVE STARS!

Natural Selection's Paradox


I acquired Natural Selection's Paradox as a gift. At first I thought it would be a difficult read. I found it was not too far beyond my ability to understand and it really set off some sparks! I felt this great sense of relief, and even renewed hope, because the book makes me believe there MAY be enough intelligence, good will, and altruism in the world to combat the truly terrible and wrong momentum that currently seems to control our paths. At one point I was even brought to tears (of relief).
... Read more

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Saving Truth from Paradox is an ambitious investigation into paradoxes of truth and related issues, with occasional forays into notions such as vagueness, the nature of validity, and the G:odel incompleteness theorems. Hartry Field presents a new approach to the paradoxes and provides a systematic and detailed account of the main competing approaches.

Part One examines Tarski's, Kripke's, and Lukasiewicz's theories of truth, and discusses validity and soundness, and vagueness. Part Two considers a wide range of attempts to resolve the paradoxes within classical logic. In Part Three Field turns to non-classical theories of truth that that restrict excluded middle. He shows that there are theories of this sort in which the conditionals obey many of the classical laws, and that all the semantic paradoxes (not just the simplest ones) can be handled consistently with the naive theory of truth. In Part Four, these theories are extended to the property-theoretic paradoxes and to various other paradoxes, and some issues about the understanding of the notion of validity are addressed. Extended paradoxes, involving the notion of determinate truth, are treated very thoroughly, and a number of different arguments that the theories lead to "revenge problems" are addressed. Finally, Part Five deals with dialetheic approaches to the paradoxes: approaches which, instead of restricting excluded middle, accept certain contradictions but alter classical logic so as to keep them confined to a relatively remote part of the language. Advocates of dialetheic theories have argued them to be better than theories that restrict excluded middle, for instance over issues related to the incompleteness theorems and in avoiding revenge problems. Field argues that dialetheists' claims on behalf of their theories are quite unfounded, and indeed that on some of these issues all current versions of dialetheism do substantially worse than the best theories that restrict excluded middle. ... Read more

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A reprint of the Bobbs-Merrill edition of 1970.

These essays lead the reader through the land of the wonderful shrinking genie to the warehouse where the "infinity machines" are kept. By careful examination of a lamp that is switched on and off infinitely many times, or the workings of a machine that prints out an infinite decimal expansion of pi, we begin to understand how it is possible for Achilles to overtake the tortoise. The concepts that form the basis of modern science-space, time, motion, change, infinity-are examined and explored in this edition. Includes an updated bibliography. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Investigation of the Notion of Infinity
I really enjoyed this book.It's a great survey of the notion of infinity, and the quality of the prose is, for the most part, very good.I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in philosophy, mathematics, or the history of thought.

Good Survey of Modern Reaction
This is a great introduction to the modern reaction to Zeno's paradoxes. The most important articles from Russell to the debates on infinity machines are included. The bibliography, at over 200 works, is the best I've seen. There is a mathematical bent to most of the articles, usually in the form of questions of infinity, or measure theory. Nonetheless, there are articles by philosophers who reject the idea of a completed infinity. I did a semester-long college project on Zeno's paradoxes, focusing on mathematical implications, and this was the most useful sourcebook by far. ... Read more

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This updated second edition is the essential guide to paradoxes and takes the reader on a lively tour of puzzles that have taxed thinkers from Zeno to Galileo and Lewis Carroll to Bertrand Russell. Michael Clark uncovers an array of conundrums, such as Achilles and the Tortoise, Theseus' Ship and the Prisoners' Dilemma, taking in subjects as diverse as knowledge, ethics, science, art and politics.

Clark discusses each paradox in non-technical terms, considering its significance and looking at likely solutions. Including a full glossary, Paradoxes from A to Z is a refreshing alternative to traditional philosophical introductions.

Customer Reviews (2)

An OK reference
Let me begin by saying that I am happy that I own this book. The price was right and I use it to look up paradoxes with which I am not familiar. That said, the treatment is brutally bad in spots, and does not convey a sense of the true recalcitrance of many of the paradoxes. As one example, take the first entry is the book, Achilles and the Tortoise. Clark seems to take the line that since we can sum infinite series, there is no more paradox:

"So the sequence of partial sums is 1/2, 3/4, 7/8,... It goes on for ever, getting closer and closer ('converging') to 1. In this case 1 is the limit, and so the sum, of the series. Achilles gradually closes in on the tortoise until he reaches it."

What? The "explanation" continues by simply explaining limits. This is inane hand waving. Worse still, Clark cites Salmon's excellent collection of articles on Zeno's paradoxes (of which Achilles and the Tortoise is one). A main theme of many of the articles in Salmon's book is that limits do NOT dissolve the paradox.

In the same entry as Achilles, Clark discusses Thomson's Lamp, where the dominant line taken today is that there is no spatio-temporal continuity through an infinite sequence of tasks. "But the description of the supertask entails nothing about the lamp's state at one minute..."

So be it. But then in "explaining" Achilles, Clark writes, "Why then is Achilles at the limit, 1? ... The answer is that, if he is anywhere, as surely he is- he must be at 1."

The problem is the "as surely he is." This echoes Thomson's own, "Surely the lamp must be on or off." If there is no (spatio-temporal) continuity through an infinite task, as was just explained to dissolve Thomson's Lamp, how is there continuity in the case of Achilles? Put differently, why does a limit process tell us about Achilles but not the Lamp? That Thomson's sequence (0,1,0,1...) i.e. (off, on, off, on...) does not have a limit is precisely his point.

There may be a response involving discrete versus continuous tasks, or some other explanation. But the reader is not told this. In general, my problem with the book is that the treatment is superficial and often presents the paradoxes as though they no longer present problems, when in fact they do. An intelligent reader may also be left bewildered by some of Clark's "explanations."

I wonder for whom this book is intended. I think that this book would make a terrible introduction to paradoxes, but may very well serve as a good reference book for those already acquainted with many of the paradoxes.

good for college bull sessions
24 short (1-3 page) treatments of various paradoxes.The main problem with this book is the unequal quality from one description to another.My best guess as to the target audience would be under graduate philosophy students.

'Gould, Escher and Bach' is a better book for those interested in paradoxes. ... Read more

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A paradox (from the Greek word meaning “contrary to expectation”) is a statement that seems self-contradictory but may be true. Exploring the distinction between truth and plausibility, the author presents a standardized, straightforward approach for deciphering paradoxes — one that can be applied to all their forms, whether clever wordplay or more complex issues. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The first sentence of this review is true
The title of this review is false.

I love paradoxes. A good paradox is something like an incongruity in the structure of the Matrix, an indication that there's something not quite right about our take on reality. Jorge Luis Borges even took paradoxes as evidence of monistic absolute idealism -- proof that the "undivided divinity operating within us" had "dreamt the world" but left in a few "crevices of unreason" so that we could tell we were dreaming. ("Avatars of the Tortoise," in _Labyrinths_.)

I also love Nicholas Rescher's books, of which he's written many. This one is very, very good.

Every time Rescher writes a book, it seems, he founds (or at least names) a new discipline. This time it's "aporetics," the study of paradoxes and their resolution. (An "apory," Rescher says, is a "group of acceptable-seeming propositions that are collectively inconsistent" [p. 7].)

Rescher studies a _lot_ of paradoxes in this volume. Even if you're interested in it only as a sort of bestiary of paradoxes, you'll be impressed by the sheer number of the things he's managed to include. He's combed the philosophical literature from the present day on back through the European Middle Ages clear to ancient Greece. And I'm willing to bet that he didn't miss any of importance.

But what's actually supposed to be new here is Rescher's method for dealing with paradoxes. So let's chat about that.

First of all, Rescher spends some time discussing the difference between truth and plausibility. His point here is that paradoxes become resoluble if we break them out into propositions, each of which is under consideration as a _candidate_ for truth, but which we can decide to reject if we like. In an aporetic analysis, the propositions in an "aporetic cluster" may have a _presumption_ of acceptability (if they're plausible, which they probably are or we wouldn't have a paradox) but we don't just assume indefeasibly that they're all true.

Now, when we get down to cases, what we do is this: when we encounter a paradox/apory, we break it down into a set of propositions that give rise to the paradox. Then we sort the propositions according to their degrees of plausibility. Then, based on the resulting "retention prioritization," we decide which one(s) to reject. There are some complications here but that's the skinny of it.

How far does this take us? Well, frankly, what it's doing is giving us a useful and organized way to _think_ about paradoxes (which of course is no small thing), but not necessarily a method for actually resolving them.

First, as Rescher himself acknowledges, different people may have different "retention prioritizations" (as in the "Paradox of Evil," p. 31, about which, Rescher says, religious believers and committed atheists would presumably disagree). This fact alone means that in lots of controversial cases, Rescher's method will generate different results for different people.

Second, and arguably more seriously, it's not altogether clear that different people will break a paradox out into exactly the _same_ set of propositions. On the contrary, I would have thought that actually _finding_ this set of propositions would have been a major subdiscipline of aporetics. But Rescher essentially hands us these on a silver platter and tends to presume that there's no question about how to arrive at them.

Third, and probably _most_ seriously, even when we're through with our aporetic analysis, we still may not have satisfactorily resolved our paradox! I'll illustrate with the "Liar Paradox," which Rescher discusses in his tenth chapter.

The "Liar Paradox" arises, of course, from the statement "This statement is false" -- which seems to be true if it's false and false if it's true. Rescher resolves it by breaking it out into a set of propositions that includes this one: "S [the Liar statement] is a semantically meaningful statement -- that is, it is either true or false and not both." His "retention prioritization" concludes that this is the one to reject; the Liar statement must be dismissed as "semantically meaningless" [p. 202].

This is all well and good; at the very least, that proposition is almost undoubtedly the place at which to concentrate one's philosophical fire in an analysis of the Liar Paradox. But does Rescher's analysis really _resolve_ the paradox?

I think it does not. Not all readers would agree (I don't) that "semantically meaningful" is identical in meaning to "either true or false and not both"; indeed, if Rescher had broken _this_ proposition out separately, I might have regarded _it_ as the one to reject.

Which means that the paradox hasn't really gone away. Indeed, the engine that drives it seems to be our very sense that a statement _can_ be semantically meaningful and yet fail to be decisively true or false. For surely the heart of the paradox is precisely that we _can_ tell what the Liar statement means well enough to recognize that it is self-referring and self-undermining (or, in Rescher's marvellous coinage, "self-counterexemplifying" [p. 194]). We may very well have to dismiss it as semantically meaningless after all -- but the paradox hasn't been resolved until we know _why_. Rescher's method, even if fully sound, would tell us only _that_ we should do so.

This isn't a fatal flaw, so long as we don't expect to use Rescher's aporetic analysis for more than it can do. As a method of organizing our thoughts when we sit down to think through a paradox, it's very, very good. It's just not complete (and probably isn't supposed to be) as a method for actually figuring out what makes a paradox tick and what we should do about it.

If you enjoy paradoxes even a tenth as much as I do, you'll like this book.

If you're just starting to investigate the subject, I recommend William Poundstone's _Labyrinths of Reason_ and Mark Sainsbury's _Paradoxes_ as introductory volumes. Eventually you'll also want to get around to Barwise and Etchemendy's book on the Liar Paradox, Raymond Smullyan's books, Douglas Hofstadter's _Goedel, Escher, Bach_, and Rudy Rucker's _Infinity and the Mind_, and a host of others. ... Read more

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THE LEADERSHIP STYLE OF JESUS.

Most believers are familiar with Jesus' recipe for leadership success: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." (Mark 10: 43-44) But when it comes to putting that into practice, many leaders are content to leave Jesus' advice on a dusty road in Galilee and follow society's leadership trends.

Servant leadership-the kind of leadership Jesus practiced-is something that sets believers apart. The choice of whether to follow the leadership path to power, authority, and control or the road to humility and putting others first is an important one. Jesus cuts through the superfluous issues surrounding leadership and moves straight to the heart of the matter, addressing our motives and values, writes Dr. Rinehart.

If you're ready to take your leadership to a new level by following Jesus' footsteps, Upside Down will challenge you to equip and liberate others to fulfill God's purposes for them in the world.

"Two things stand out to me in Upside Down: Stacy Rinehart's passion to communicate servant leadership and his pilgirmage of leadership. He demonstrates a learning posture about leadership that all leaders need."- Dr. J. Robert (Bobby) Clinton, professor of leadership, Fuller Theological Seminary

"Stacy's insights on leadership bring fresh clarity to a biblical understanding of this issue. If there were ever a time that leaders need to understand the true meaning of their position and function, it is now. A must read for both aspiring and seasoned leaders."- Joseph M. Stowell, president, Moody Bible Institute ... Read more

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A Text Review of "Upside Down: The Paradox of Servant Leadership"
Upside Down by Stacy Rinehart gives the reader a closer look at leadership. The writer puts forth the notion that Jesus had his own style of leading and serving others. Christ's approach to that was a unique methodology that he invented: servant leadership.

Though the audience may have a familiarity with this concept, the writer makes it new. Dr. Rinehart feels that this is the biblical model behind leadership. He also conveys to the reader why one should implement this style of leadership as their own. The author feels that these theories most closely represent what Jesus himself practiced while here on earth.

"The paradox of servant leadership" is an ironic, yet direct subtitle for this book. It gives the reader a hint at what benefits might follow from learning more about this idea of service through leadership. From the author's own experiences, he defines the difference between secular leadership and sacrificial leadership while laying a solid foundation of how one might get a theological basis for the latter. He asserts that it is the Christian's duty to learn, model, and carry out Jesus-centered leadership. Dr. Rinehart feels that following the model of Jesus will best suit any position in ministry because the Lord has called us, not just ministers, but all of Christendom to be servants. Another focus of the text is to stay away from the lust of power, for this is surely not servanthood. Next, the author shows the reader why he or she would need to act on it. Then, once you see the results from action, you need to share it and disciple others in the same way. Finally, have faith and hopefully your disciples with repeat the cycle for themselves.

Somebody has the talent, gift, or calling to be a leader. How might one execute the full potential of this ability? The author freely expounds on this inquisition with passion and poignancy. If we have the right teacher, our education can take us the right way. Our instructor is Christ and his model of guidance is servant leadership. Dr. Rinehart does not necessarily feel that a person is born with this, but a person can be taught these ideas. And surely, if a man or woman is called into the ministry, he or she ought to learn this scriptural model if having success at reaching people is a goal. These are the types of ideas that are found in Upside Down, which is a better than average book.

The author does a good job of breaking down the barriers of typical leadership models. His writing is consistent and his vernacular is persistent. However, that is a troublesome area within the book itself. There are only so many ways you can say servant leadership and be talking about its intentions. The book started out excellent, but turns into a weary read toward the end because of the detail the author goes into on what one might label, `the less essentials of leadership.' A fantastic highlight is when the writer moves on from addressing the New Testament times of Christ and devotes much of a chapter to the early church fathers and their practices in leadership. That was such an interesting section because of the value history plays in explaining a methods foundation.

Dr. Rinehart certainly seems to be an authority on this subject. Much of the book is his life experiences and how he learned from them. The writer expresses a certain unwritten suggestion to the reader that he hopes his audience would learn from his mistakes. Those sentiments seem to be the point to this book after all: do not model your calling, ministry, or life after anything or anyone but Jesus.

Challenging expectations
Stacy's book challenges much of the world's expections about leadership. It is written out of his own experiences in secular, military, and religious leadership positions. He therefore make a strong case for his fresh understanding of what God really intends for leaders in all arenas. I'm using it with a group of adults to challenge them to rethink their leadership expectations and accept new roles of leadership in our church.

It's not a long book, and the insights within are profound.
Written for Christian Ministry leaders by a Christian Ministry Executive, this book uses Scripture as its foundation and therefore some readers may be "put off", especially if unfamiliar with the Bible. But it mayalso prove very thought-provoking for non-Christians.

Our own firm iscomprised of people with different religious (and non-religious)backgrounds and we've found the concepts presented to be interesting andworthy of discussion.

As a member of the Friends (Quakers), I wasdelighted to see affirmations of our beliefs outlined as the basic tenetsof New Testament theology. As a contemporary business leader, I waschallenged to embody the spirit of humble service exemplified by earlyChristians, without the pride and need for power that I so often feel.Highly recommended! ... Read more

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A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume II is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Augustus De Morgan is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Augustus De Morgan then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

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Tavistock Press was established as a co-operative venture between the Tavistock Institute and Routledge & Kegan Paul (RKP) in the 1950s to produce a series of major contributions across the social sciences.
This volume is part of a 2001 reissue of a selection of those important works which have since gone out of print, or are difficult to locate. Published by Routledge, 112 volumes in total are being brought together under the name The International Behavioural and Social Sciences Library: Classics from the Tavistock Press.
Reproduced here in facsimile, this volume was originally published in 1980 and is available individually. The collection is also available in a number of themed mini-sets of between 5 and 13 volumes, or as a complete collection.
... Read more

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Customer Reviews (30)

The Flaneur by Edmund White
White is one of the great voices of a generation of gay men who came of age in the late '60s & 1970s, but that should not define who he is as an author & "The Flaneur" quite elegantly & simply proves that.Even if you are not familiar with Paris, the path he charts is one of unexpected discovery, unearthed secrets & compelling stories, each one unique & yet they unify the view of Paris he wishes to convey.For me, one of the unexpected surprises was his appendix & the list of books that he has read that contributed to his knowledge of Paris.A must-have reading list for any Francophile.

Thoughtful view of the Paris and the French
Edmund White describes his very personal reflections on his experiences in the backstreets of Paris, as well as ruminating on his experience as a flaneur, or one who follows the crowd as chance will lead.
You can compare White's reflections to an 20th century American socialogists view of the French by reading Mary Ann Caws French Ways and Their Meaning (available for free from [...]). Both books offer reflections on personal experiences that give insight into the sources of "Frenchness" as well as examples of historical social science writing. Further comparison of White's unconventional view of Paris can be found in Debra Ollivier's two recent essays that tell her American experience, not as flaneur but as contemporary wife and mother in France: "Entre Nous" and "What French Women Know". If you really want to understand the new fascination with "french-ness", then delve further into the grand history of Coco Chanel in "The Gospel According to CoCo Chanel" by Karen Karbo. This very readable history of Chanel's life story will tell you how Chanel changed the world through women's fashion, the complications of being a European woman during WWII, and the enduring character of this French icon.

"Worth the purchase price"
I've read and appreciated most of White's work and I'm planning a trip to Paris in the next month. So I bought this book for some of his insights about the city and hopefully to come up with some ideas of things to do outside the normal tourist routine.I've not been disappointed, and, thanks to White, I'll be visiting Nissim de Camondo, Gustav Moreau, and the Expiatory Chapel.You can look them up!

The Flaneur - a must to have in Paris
On my next trip to Paris I will definitely take The Flaneur with me to guide and direct me to all the marvelous sites and quartiers White wrote about.
It will be a great pleasure to visit all these places and visualize the people, their lives, their stories as he so interestingly wrote about.
A great book. my bible when in Paris.

Not the forest but some of the trees
It's important to note that the books in the "Writer and the City" series, of which "The Flaneur" was the first, are not meant as travel guides. Though the reader will probably come away from these pages with a list of sights to see and locations to visit, that's not really the point. Instead, Edmund White takes the aimless and wandering style of the Parisian "flaneur" as his model for a somewhat ambling (if not quite rambling) collection of essays on the city and the outsiders it has attracted over the centuries.

Nearly all the chapters had some interest for me. White's look at the African and Arab communities in Paris, and his observation (repeated from a cocktail party *mot* as I recall) that the average Parisian is no longer white, was noteworthy in light of the "civil unrest" in the *banlieues* in 2005. The chapter on Jews in Paris over the centuries was well-researched and depressing (especially the story of the death of the Camondo family and the recounting of the well-known Dreyfus affair). The chapter on African-American writers and musicians in Paris was particularly interesting. On the other hand, I never connected with his quite autobiographical section on Paris's homosexual community and the hows-and-wheres of cruising. I knew when I picked up this book that Edmund White makes no secret of his sexuality, and how he chooses to live his life and practice his art are no business of mine. I'm not objecting to the inclusion of the chapter the way some other reviewers seem to be. But I will say that as a reader, that chapter really dragged (no pun intended) for me.

White also discusses museums, monarchists, the art trade, the French idea of sidewalk-as-stage versus the American one of sidewalk-as-backstage, Colette, and quite a lot more. I feel now like I've gained many new impressions of Paris, as a flaneur might, but still don't really know the city much better. That makes this an interesting read, but somehow, an oddly incomplete one. ... Read more

Product Description
If you suffer low thyroid--or think you might--and want to learn more, especially if you're unsatisfied with the answers you're getting from your doctor, this book is for you. An estimated 5.8% of women and 3.4% of men in the United States are hypothyroid. Low thyroid is common, yet, paradoxically, may be rampantly overlooked. Why? As you'll discover in "The Thyroid Paradox," there is a pervasive oversimplification of thyroid science and mainstream treatment of thyroid patients today. Current thyroid testing has weaknesses and should be interpreted, not in a vacuum, but as part of a diagnostic process based on all the evidence. Too often, doctors simply stick to test results and miss patients suffering with subtle hypothroidism. The "Thyroid Paradox" is for the person who's been told "It's not your thyroid," without then being told convincingly what it is. Maybe you've been told nothing is wrong but know there must be some reson for your chronic fatigue, body aches, weight gain, dry skin, constipation, "brain fog," depression, or menstrual irregularity. This book provides the answers for you. You'll learn about:* The loopholes in current thyroid testig*Hidden forms of hypothyroidism and how to detect them*The best strategies for thyroid replacementThe path out of the thyroid paradox is engaged teamwork involving both doctor and patient. This book should provide you with knowledge you need to communcate and work with your doctor to get the treatment you deserve. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Do yourself a favor and read this book!
I highly recommend Dr. Rone's excellent book to all who are suffering with thyroid issues. I have suffered with hypothyroidism for some time and have had great difficulty finding a knowlegeable practitioner to assist me with treatment.It is clear that Dr. Rone is such a practitioner...a doctor who is passionate about learning all he can about the thyroid and using his knowledge to help people sort out these complex issues.Dr. Rone covers the myriad of treatment options for hypothyroidism. While its clear that he favors treatment with synthetic medications, he is also familiar with the "reformist" school which advocates treatment with dessicated thyroid and gives a fair minded analysis of this approach.Dr. Rone concedes that hypothyroidism is probably far more common than most will admit and he beleives that doctors should err on the side of treatment in many cases.There are a number of websites that purport to provide guidance to those seeking treatment for hypothyrodism.I myself was following some of the protocols advocated on these sites.After reading Dr. Rone's book I realized that much of what I read on the internet was grossly oversimplified.Dr. Rone's book can be challenging to read ...but that is because the material is very complex to begin with. Anyone relying on websites for treatment should buy and read Dr. Rone's book today so they can at least be apprised of the risks they are undertaking from self treatment.Unlike most conventionally trained phyicians, Dr. Rone is not afraid to admit that he does not have all the answers.He is a cautious physician who beleives that you should first and foremost "do no harm". I stupidly followed some internet advice that said thyroid blood tests are too sensitive and that most people need to take 3-5 grains of thyroid to get well.I promptly overdosed on thyroid.For the mere price of $14, you can get the collected wisdom of a practioner with many years of experience on the frontlines of thyroid treatment. I only wish I lived closer to Dr. Rone so that I could consult with him personally on my case.

Mixed bag
This book is a mixed bag.Dr. Rone is a practicing endocrinologist, but he's a member of the American Thyroid Association.If you haven't read it elsewhere, it's a professional organization that gets about 1/2 of its grant funding from Abbott Labs, maker of Synthroid. Dr. Rone tries to please both camps in the Thyroid world - he adamantly states he believes that T4 supplementation is perfectly OK for most thyroid patients, while at the same time hemming and hawing that certainly mixed therapy with Armour and other natural thyroid hormones seems like it would be helpful for many patients.He doesn't define "many," so it's not clear whether taking the book with you to the doctor's office would be helpful.Still, he probably risked his reputation with the American Thyroid Association going as far as he did.

His condescending attitude toward patients made me glad I'm not from Tennessee, though.There are certainly better books out there for your own knowledge, but it's worth buying if you need to show your doctor something from an endocrinologist.

One of the better thyroid books I've read
And let me start by saying that I've read many.Note: This book specifically covers hypothyroidism. If you have hyperthyroidism, you might find this book useful in some ways, but it was not be written specifically for that spectrum of the disease.

Dr. Rone is a uniquely qualified author for this book for many reasons:

1) He is a board certified endocrinologist.
2) He has done a lot of specialized work with the thyroid.
3) He has hypothyroidism, so he understand what it is like to live with the disease.
4) He has been told by doctors that his thyroid numbers were fine and that his problems couldn't be thyroid related.

Most of us who have suffered with thyroid disease clearly understand how difficult it is to get a doctor to listen to us when we tell them our symptoms and how we think our symptoms are caused by our thyroid.Many have been told, "it's not your thyroid. Your numbers are normal."Unfortunately, the doctors then rarely help us figure out what the problem is, so we go through life, sometimes for years, feeling miserable, and not knowing what the problem is.Dr. Rone explains the problem of modern medicine's approach to diagnostics (looking only at blood work) vs. the approach used by doctors before blood tests were available (signs and symptoms).He recommends that doctors should be using a mixture of both the modern and the old, so as to not miss patients whose numbers might not be that high, but whose symptoms are off the charts.

Dr. Rone does an excellent job of describing medical terms in a way that the average reader will be able to understand. In the book, he explains:
1)the different types of thyroid disease
2)the different tests available to monitor for it
3)the shortcomings of those tests
4)the interpretation of those tests
5)the symptoms (and how the non-specificness of the symptoms works against us in getting diagnosed)
6)the history of thyroid disease, tests, treatments, and studies
7)the different treatment options available
8)where and how the medical community has failed to diagnose many (up to half) people with thyroid disease
9)the description and results of several studies done on thyroid disease through the years

Overall, I think this book is very good. I didn't give it 5 stars because I think he does do a disservice to some of the natural alternatives available. He states that Synthroid and other synthetic T4 drugs are just as good for treating thyroid disease as Armour and other natural dessicated thyroid drugs. While he certainly doesn't have the bias against Armour that most doctors and pharmacists do, I believe he (like most doctors) takes all his information on the drugs from the studies done by Big Pharma.The problem that I personally have with this approach is that I have read hundreds of stories (and know of thousands more) from women and men who have not been helped at all by synthetic T4 drugs, and even did poorly when placed on a combination of T4/T3 synthetics. Their stories aren't a double blind study, funded by a pharmaceutical company, so to a medical professional (especially a mainstream medical profession), these stories are invalid as evidence. But beyond not taking them into account, he goes on to renounce their stories by stating that the only reason they feel better on Armour vs. the synthetics is because they are getting too much T3, and this creates an upper effect.And on top of that, he states that the trace chemicals (T2, T1, and Calcitonin) found in Armour don't really do any good, even though he admits that no double blind studies have been done to prove or disprove this point.In one sentence, he implies that nothing should be assumed to be true without a scientific study, but in the next, he is making his own assumptions as to why a medicine is working better for some people than the synthetic version.

In conclusion, I do think that Dr. Rone has a very good grasp on thyroid disease. He has written a lot about his own experiences in dealing with thyroid disease, as well as what he has learned through the years in his personal clinic.He is certainly moving in the right direction. If you suspect that you have thyroid disease, I would recommend you read this book. It will give you a clear understanding of what hypothyroidism is and why the medical community seems to be so confused about it. Then head over to Mary Shomon's site ([...]), [...], and to Stop The Thyroid Madness ([...]) to read some of the stories of those who struggled against the medical community.

Lastly, don't assume your doctor knows everything. Only you know your body and your symptoms. If your doctor isn't working with you to find out why you are having your symptoms (and note that depression is a symptom of thyroid disease, because many doctors will just slap the "you're depressed" label on you and hand you a prescription for an antidepressant), then find a new doctor. And keep finding new doctors until you find one that will be willing to work with you and help you solve your problems.

the thyroid paradox
The Thyroid Paradox: How to Get the Best Care for HypothyroidismThis book is very easy to read and understand.He gives the information you need to know.Especially if you think you make have a thyroid problem.I believe I have a thyroid problem and after reading his book I'm almost positive.I have actually scheduled an appointment with him in Oct. 2007.I believe I have now been able to find a doctor that believes there is something wrong and is willing to treat me.A really good read for those that have been told they don't have a thyroid problem. ... Read more

Product Description
The fascinating story of an ancient riddle—and what it reveals about the nature of time and space

Three millennia ago, the Greek philosopher Zeno constructed a series of logical paradoxes to prove that motion is impossible. Today, these paradoxes remain on the cutting edge of our investigations into the fabric of space and time. Zeno’s Paradox uses the motion paradox as a jumping-off point for an exploration of the twenty-five-hundred-year quest to uncover the true nature of the universe. From Galileo to Einstein to Stephen Hawking, some of the greatest minds in history have tackled the problem and made spectacular breakthroughs—but through it all, the paradox of motion remains. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fascinating read
This is another book written in the same engaging formula, seen before in Mazur's other books. Besides the scientific facts, there is always a human element, and bits of trivia about the people that made these amazing discoveries. A fascinating mix of facts and literature, math and philosophy that draws you into a joyfully thought-provoking read.

Run faster than Achilles!,
and perhaps the book won't overtake you and you won't have to buy it.

I purchased this product some time ago, but didn't feel up to the task of reviewing it. What for? Who heeds bad revs?

It's a bad (or rather, unworthy of its theme), bad book all right. I'll be brief:

1) Its exposure of philosophy is superficial and biased (I don't have the space here to give examples, but trust me).

2) It's repetitive. For example, the stadium paradox is covered at least thrice: in page 4 of the Introduction (where it's stated that Aristotle exposed it as based on a fallacy); in pp. 29/31, where Mazur gives Zeno his due; and in page 41/42, where the book says Aristotle failed to understand the nature of the paradox. The other paradoxes (especially the arrow) are also analized several times.

3) It's incoherently written. For example, in page 132, Mazur writes "The arrow paradox also requires an understanding of limits as a mathematical model for instantaneous velocity, which calculus treats as a derivative, an instrument that creates limits of average changes in a dependent variety in small intervals on an independent variable. The model here is to view each point on the arrow's trajectory as though it were a limit of a sequence of rational numbers on the number line, so the arrow's path is assured a persistent even flow of space in the continuity of time. In effect it assumes, quite correctly, that all numbers on the number line are convergent sequences of rational numbers". Half a page (in the book's oversize font) completely wasted. And don't you think that a reader who understands what "convergent sequences of rational numbers" means would also know what is a real number?

4) Mazur manages to be at the same time irrelevant, at the limit of his knowledge, and a provider of meaningless detail. Now hear this (p. 196)!: "The quantum mechanics story began when a German physicist named Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck asked why subatomic particles radiate a blue light when they travel through a non vacuum-medium faster than the speed of light in that medium". Why, Mr. Mazur, methought Cerenkov radiation was discovered much later. What Planck (what would have happened had
he had only three names?) was looking for was a way to avoid the so called "ultraviolet catastrophe" in the black body radiation formula.

Bear in mind that each of these examples could be multiplied almost indefinitely. On the other hand, nothing on supertasks, or the legitimacy of conflating the geometrical and the real number continua, or the conceptual resemblance between Zeno's paradoxes and Kant's antinomies, and the question these place on the possibility of a represtation-based understanding of Nature; ... .

Do you think I'm unfair? But Mazur strikes me as intellectually dishonest in the same sense as Lacan when he equated, before an innocent crowd of bewildered and awed disciples, the phallus with i, the unity of imaginary numbers.

In short, if you think that the story of math and physics consists of knowing that in 1586 Stevin, Maurice & alia often met at a tavern where "water, dripping from cracks in its massive stone walls, kept [it] cool and damp. Candles and torch sconces provided moderate light in the windowless room. An intoxicating smell of fermenting spirits seeped from a whiskey and brandy distillery next door. Beer was cheap", and that they "would often sit together at a long sticky oak table coated with layers of sugars dried from decades of beer spills" (pp. 68/69), or that Dirichlet's names were Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune (p. 116), then you'll learn a lot from this book.

In any other case, avoid this travesty.

dialectic
Fun to see this book. The subject is still alive. For someone not acquainted with Zeno's paradoxes, here is a book by a contemporary author supported by a contemporary publisher for a contemporary audience. But the subject is ancient, having been discussed by authors since Aristotle. An older literature is certainly available for those who would like to learn more of the details.

Dialectic is the flow of peace from micro to macro in Plato's Republic: Book I

I do have a critique. I would've preferred a healthier skepticism about Plato, especially where Plato uses second-hand sources about Parmenides, Zeno, and Socrates. Courts of law disregard hearsay and here I would apply the same rationale. For example, Aristotle said the "forms" were from Plato, not from Socrates. So when reading Socrates' story of the cave, because of Aristotle's warning I try to strip away what might be suspect as Plato's and instead look underneath for a basic story that Socrates might actually have told. The basic story of the cave seems to be that only through "dialectic" can you get out of the cave of darkness to see what you really are. Plato's writings also seem inaccurate about "dialectic." Whatever "dialectic" is, I know you are not going to get out of the cave of darkness to see what you really are by participating in dialectic with me. Based on what Aristotle said, I don't think you could've gotten out of the cave of darkness to see what you really are by dialectic with Plato, either. Only dialectic with Socrates could have guided you out of the cave of darkness to see what you really are.

Given these problems of partial information and hearsay, taking full account of context may help an interested reader. Socrates and Parmenides were of different times. Socrates followed Parmenides. And although our other main source about Socrates-- Xenophon-- was neither poet nor author like Plato, neither Xenophon nor Plato was in that closest circle of friends (those most intent in their practice of Socrates' message) who called Socrates "Master." But today for our information about Socrates we mostly rely on the writings of Plato and Xenophon, Plato is preferred to Xenophon, and neither was as attuned to Socrates' message as those who called Socrates Master. By comparison, Zeno seems to have heeded the message of Parmenides more closely than Plato heeded the message of Socrates. Rather than after he died, writing down the history of this amazing person who had tried to help them (as did Plato and Xenophon), Zeno constructed his paradoxes in order to help Parmenides in Parmenides' own lifetime. So it is a possibility that Zeno heard some feedback from Parmenides about his paradoxes and applied it, while it was impossible for Plato and Xenophon to get that kind of feedback from Socrates, who had died. From this point of view, Parmenides' message is the basic context for reading about Zeno.

Translating the Greek word "auto" into "self," Parmenides' most famous quote is "the self is for thinking and being." Thinking is a pragmatic tool for getting along in the world but does have limits. In Zeno's imagined race, by relying on thinking the clever tortoise could beforehand try to get Achilles to imagine that Achilles could never catch up from the head start being granted to the tortoise and so give up the race without even trying. Because before catching up, Achilles would always have to, first, get to an imagined midpoint between himself and the tortoise. But after reaching a midpoint, how could he ever get past another midpoint? The paradox imagined in the story comes from thinking that can't get beyond the imagined next midpoint. But recall that Parmenides said "the self is for thinking AND being." To win the actual race, all Achilles would have to do is Be what he is-- a human being with extreme physical capabilities. Simply by being the human being that he is, Achilles could win any race against a tortoise. Thinking does rule the imagination and without doubt works for many purposes. But as Zeno's story of the race illustrates, being what you are-- in the paradox, being a highly fit human being racing against a tortoise-- determines the real (not imagined) outcome.

The way it looks to me is that in their own time Parmenides and Socrates each had a gift for dialectic that could guide a person beyond thinking to be "the self" that truly-- beyond imagination and thought-- exists. In my own experience, that turns out to be the most interesting context for reading about Zeno. Maybe you will find it to be that way, too.









... Read more

Product Description
Bas C. van Fraassen presents an original exploration of how we represent the world. Science represents natural phenomena by means of theories, as well as in many concrete ways by such means as pictures, graphs, table-top models, and computer simulations. Scientific Representation begins with an inquiry into the nature of representation in general, drawing on such diverse sources as Plato's dialogues, the development of perspectival drawing in the Renaissance, and the geometric styles of modelling in modern physics. Starting with Mach's and Poincare's analyses of measurement and the 'problem of coordination', van Fraassen then presents a view of measurement outcomes as representations. With respect to the theories of contemporary science he defends an empiricist structuralist version of the 'picture theory' of science, through an inquiry into the paradoxes that came to light in twentieth-century philosophies of science. Van Fraassen concludes with an analysis of the complex relationship between appearance and reality in the scientific world-picture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a very good read about a difficult subject
I am a philosopher, but not a philosopher of science, and much of this book was not of general interest to someone like myself.However, I looked at this book because of an interest in scientific (and other) models, and it did not disappoint.The explanations were quite fulsome and clear, and nicely illustrated.It satisfied completely the purpose for which I read it.

Moreover, the writing has the feel of someone actively thinking -- almost thinking out loud and talking to the reader.I enjoyed it so much that I read a second book by van Frassen, on empiricism, which I enjoyed even more.He is a robust and honest thinker, and that is a delight. ... Read more

Product Description
Providing a vital economic incentive for much of society's music, art, and literature, copyright is widely considered "the engine of free expression"--but it is also used to stifle news reporting, political commentary, historical scholarship, and even artistic expression.In Copyright's Paradox, Neil Weinstock Netanel explores the tensions between copyright law and free speech, revealing the unacceptable burdens on expression that copyright can impose. Tracing the conflict across both traditional and digital media, Netanel examines the remix and copying culture at the heart of current controversies related to the Google Book Search litigation, YouTube and MySpace, hip-hop music, and digital sampling.The author juxtaposes the dramatic expansion of copyright holders' proprietary control against the individual's newly found ability to digitally cut, paste, edit, remix, and distribute sound recordings, movies, TV programs, graphics, and texts the world over. He tests whether, in light of these and other developments, copyright still serves as a vital engine of free expression and assesses how copyright does--and does not--burden free speech. Taking First Amendment values as his lodestar, Netanel offers a crucial, timely call to redefine the limits of copyright so it can most effectively promote robust debate and expressive diversity--and he presents a definitive blueprint for how this can be accomplished. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

What's Wrong with Copyright
As the title indicates, this book examines the great paradox of modern copyright law in America. Copyright was meant to encourage and protect creativity, but is now used to restrict that same expression. For the layperson, copyright law may seem to be a guarantee of compensation for an artist's expressive works for a limited time, after which that expression enters the public domain for the benefit of all Americans. But in the real world (that is, the modern legal and business environment), corporations have hijacked copyright law for ensuring profits and suppressing contrarian speakers, and have heavily lobbied courts and lawmakers to accept this fractured anti-speech and anti-market definition of "expression." In another paradox, media industries complain about how new computerized tools damage their profits and beg lawmakers to stop the proliferation of those tools, while at the same time using that very same technology to gain rights and market power far beyond what copyright allows. Thus, today's legal landscape for copyright is a severe mutation of the law's original intent (from the Founding Fathers) as an engine to promote speech and the progress of knowledge.

As an academic researcher on this subject, I have seen many commentators bemoan these modern problems with copyright law in a variety of settings. But with this book, Netanel has created the most authoritative and concise study yet of the un-American mutation of copyright law into a vehicle for unfettered media industry profits, while it inexorably drifts away from its origins as an incentive for creativity and an engine of free expression. Netanel concludes the book with highly plausible (though overly ambitious, politically speaking) solutions that could just get copyright law back where it belongs - in the creative minds of the people. [~doomsdayer520~]

A must read for those who are interested in copyright and how it interact with first amendment
Anyone who are interested in or have read Benkler's book The wealth of Networks should read this book.There are many insights of this book, such as the structural function of copyright and the concept and importance of diversity. In a word, Netanel elegantly shows us how copyright enhances(past tense though) and burdens free speech, and he proposes a remaking of copyright base on what he called Free Speech Principle. ... Read more