One sure fact of humanity is that we all cherish our opinions and will often strongly resist efforts by others to change them. Philosophers and politicians have long understood this, and whenever they have sought to get us to think differently they have often resorted to forms of camouflage that slip their unsettling thoughts into our psyche without raising alarm. In this fascinating examination of a range of writers and thinkers, Ralph Lerner offers a new method of reading that detects this camouflage and offers a way toward deeper understandings of some of history’s most important—and most concealed—messages. Lerner analyzes an astonishing diversity of writers, including Francis Bacon, Benjamin Franklin, Edward Gibbon, Judah Halevi, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Moses Maimonides, and Alexis de Tocqueville. He shows that by reading their words slowly and naïvely, with wide-open eyes and special attention for moments of writing that become self-conscious, impassioned, or idiosyncratic, we can begin to see a pattern that illuminates a thinker’s intent, new messages purposively executed through indirect means. Through these experimental readings, Lerner shows, we can see a deep commonality across writers from disparate times and situations, one that finds them artfully challenging others to reject passivity and fatalism and start thinking afresh.

Troubled by an inability to find any meaning in his life, the 25-year-old narrator of this deceptively simple novel quits university and eventually arrives at his brother's New York apartment. In a bid to discover what life is all about, he writes lists. He becomes obsessed by time and whether it actually matters. He faxes his meteorologist friend. He endlessly bounces a ball against the wall. He befriends a small boy who lives next door. He yearns to get to the bottom of life and how best to live it. Funny, friendly, enigmatic and frequently poignant - superbly naive.

This compilation of original papers on information retrieval presents an overview, covering both general theory and specific methods, of the development and current status of information retrieval systems. Each chapter contains several papers carefully chosen to represent substantive research work that has been carried out in that area, each is preceded by an introductory overview and followed by supported references for further reading.

Through the years, research on reading has made enormous contributions to helping us understand how students learn to read and how teachers can best instruct them. Research continues to add to our fundamental knowledge of reading in significant ways, thus adding more pieces to the puzzle -- for example, finding answers to how students learn content in other school subjects through reading, and what strategies teachers can use to help their students do this more effectively. Reading Research into the Year 2000 describes the dynamic process that the Department of Education engages in to plan and execute a reading research agenda. It was written to inform a wide ranging public -- those who will benefit directly or indirectly, from reading research findings, including those who use research applications, as well as those who conduct the research. Moreover, it was written to make public the process of establishing a national R&D Center. Few people outside the Department of Education are aware of the procedures that are undertaken. The editors believe that if more people are "in the know," they will be more likely to participate in the entire process -- from generating research ideas to submitting applications -- and that this greater participation is essential if we are to garner divergent thinking about how to solve critical education research issues. They have made a significant step toward breaking down barriers to full participation, and paved the way for greater involvement of "non-traditional" players in competing for a national R&D Center award.

Reader comments about Marcus Wilder travel columns in the San Antonio EXPRESS-News. "Marcus Wilder is a consummate traveler and a one of a kind yarn spinner." Tracy Barnett, Travel Editor, San Antonio EXPRESS-News "Mark is Mencken, Ann Coulter, & Chaucer rolled into one." Joseph Columbus Smith, Journalist "Love what you are doing with your stories of the Camino. I live the Camino every day in my own way." Sue Kenney, Canadian Author, Lecturer, and Pilgrim "I read your reports with pleasure. Met een vriendelijke groet." Pieter, The Netherlands "I have been reading with interest your story in the newspaper and sharing with my students. I teach Spanish . my students follow the Camino via the Internet." Cesiah, International Languages Dept. Coordinator "We are living it through Marcus Wilder's eyes. Thank you for a lovely armchair travel adventure." Elizabeth, San Antonio "My mother forwarded one of your travel stories to me. I enjoyed it immensely. Your writing is refreshing because you notice the details that make places, people, and events come alive." JoeLyn, Dallas "I am fascinated by your stories." Memo, Laredo "I bookmarked your page. I was captured." Waltrud, Chicago "I love learning about other cultures and have really reveled in the sense of interacting with the people in your narrative." J.J., San Antonio

Written by a prominent analyst Paul. R. Halmos, this book is the most famous, popular, and widely used textbook in the subject. The book is readable for its conciseness and clear explanation. This emended edition is with completely new typesetting and corrections. Asymmetry of the book cover is due to a formal display problem. Actual books are printed symmetrically. Please look at the paperback edition for the correct image. The free PDF file available on the publisher's website www.bowwowpress.org

This is a book that could profitably be read by many graduate students or by seniors in strong major programs … has a number of good features. There are many informal comments scattered between the formal development of theorems and these are done in a light and pleasant style. … There is a complete proof of the equivalence of the axiom of choice, Zorn's Lemma, and well-ordering, as well as a discussion of the use of these concepts. There is also an interesting discussion of the continuum problem … The presentation of metric spaces before topological spaces … should be welcomed by most students, since metric spaces are much closer to the ideas of Euclidean spaces with which they are already familiar. —Canadian Mathematical Bulletin Kaplansky has a well-deserved reputation for his expository talents. The selection of topics is excellent. — Lance Small, UC San Diego This book is based on notes from a course on set theory and metric spaces taught by Edwin Spanier, and also incorporates with his permission numerous exercises from those notes. The volume includes an Appendix that helps bridge the gap between metric and topological spaces, a Selected Bibliography, and an Index.

This book investigates politics of denaturalisation as a system of thought that influences seminal cultural political values, such as community, nationality, citizenship, selfhood and otherness. The context of the analysis is the politics of citizenship and nationality in France. Combining research insights from history, legal studies, security studies, and border studies, the book demonstrates that the language of denaturalisation shapes national identity as a form of formal legal attachment but also, and more counter-intuitively, as a mode of emotional belonging. As such, denaturalisation operates as an instrumental frame to maintain and secure the national community. Going back to eighteenth-century France and to both World Wars, periods during which governments deployed denaturalisation as a technology against “threatening” subjects, the analysis exposes how the language of denaturalisation interweaves concerns about immigration and national security. It is this historical backdrop that helps understand the political impact of denaturalisation in contemporary counterterrorism politics, and what is at stake when borders and identities become affective technologies.

This ordinary woman’s true account of her far from ordinary life provides a very real, and very personal insight into how resilient the human spirit can be. The untimely death of her mother sees this modest woman, while still a young child, thrown into a cruel world, where she encounters war, torture, sexual abuse, domestic violence and far, far more. Throughout, she longs for her beloved mama and the loving home she once knew. However, that can never be, and she constantly has to face the trauma of a brutal world. Often, she just wants to give up and end it all, and almost succeeds on several occasions. The birth of her son becomes a saving grace, and though she continually has to fight to survive, she becomes determined to do so. This remarkable true tale portrays the ravages of war and torture, and the hardships of constant abuse. From the start, her inherent innocence, incredible naïvety, and loving nature are constantly under attack. That one person alone could survive so much is remarkable. Her courage and strength are an inspiration. Readers will feel they have gained the strength, hope, and resilience to face and overcome their own challenges. And to know they can go on to live fulfilled lives.