5 comments about Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament.

1. in order to properly understand the Jesus of the new testament, instead of making a Jesus of our own liking, it is necessary to understand Jesus as he himself indicated. Jesus himself, according to the new testament, made constant reference and allusion to the hebrew scriptures, ( old testament ), as he sought to explain himself, his actions, his teachings and his significance. Understanding the old testament is therefore of paramount importance for understanding what Jesus was and is about. This means far more than knowing some of the messianic proof texts or knowing about Noahs ark or the temple and sacrificial system of the ancient hebrews. Understanding the old testament involves knowing the overall aim and purpose of it, and how it all is held together by connected themes that form a unified whole. Christopher Wright's book, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament, is an absolute Godsend towards getting the drift of the old testament and how it carries forward to the Jesus of the new testament. This book is a little bit technical at times, it is not a devotional work, but reading this book will educate a person to accurately understand what the old testament is about and how it flows into the person of Jesus, thereby expositing the true meaning and intent of Jesus according to the background that Jesus himself referred to. Thanks Chris Wright for this fabulous book. Also, for serious bible study of the best sort, see his excellent magnum opus, The Mission Of God. It is truly outstanding!! For some other great little books on Jesus that are sane and sober, see: Jesus and His World by Peter Walker, The Original Jesus by N.T. Wright, and for a bit of a larger work see Jesus and The Gospels by Craig Blomberg.



2. This book by Christopher Wright is excellent. I came away with a much greater appreciation of how Jesus is seen throughout the Old Testament, and a sense of how the whole history of God's people was leading up to the coming of the Redeemer.



3. In his preface, Christopher Wright reveals that his conviction that "the deeper you go into understanding the Old Testament, the closer you come to the heart of Jesus" underlies the theme of Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. He states that he writes this book for people wishing to "deepen their knowledge of Jesus and the scriptures that meant so much to him." Wright uses the Old Testament to shine a light on the life and identity of Jesus. He uncovers how Jesus' knowledge of the Old Testament would have influenced him. Similarly, he looks at how the Old Testament scriptures influenced the Jews of Jesus' day and their reactions to Jesus' ministry. Through this, readers can develop a keener insight into who Jesus is and what Jesus accomplished on the cross when he said, "It is finished." (Jn 19:30 ESV)
   
   Wright begins his book with the beginning of the gospel story about Jesus. He uncovers what is behind the genealogy of Jesus that begins Matthew's and Luke's gospel.
   
   A major component of the identity of Israel that Wright discusses is its mission and ministry to be a blessing to all nations.
   
   As Wright shares the story of Israel that is behind the genealogy, he emphasizes the promises of God to Abraham and to David. Seeing in his genealogy Abraham and David, Jewish readers of Matthew's and Luke's gospels would immediately associate Jesus with the promises made to these significant men in Israel's history.
   
   Wright indicates that two characteristics of the Jews during Jesus' time were an increased devotion to the torah and an "upsurge in apocalyptic, messianic hope." (Wright 26) Jesus' hearers would have had significant knowledge of Old Testament scripture and would have been applying it to their times in hope of seeing signs of God's messiah.
   
   In Wright's book, we see that the cross and resurrection are the answers to the problems of obedience to the law and to the prophesied deliverance and restoration of Israel. He writes, "The New Testament affirms that the Gospel of the cross and resurrection of Christ is God's complete answer to the totality of evil and all its effects within his creation." (Wright 30) Wright shows that the work of Christ is a universal work that offers deliverance and redemption to not just Jews but to Gentiles also.
   
   Wright sums up the theme of the Old Testament and New Testament culminating in Christ, "Taken together both testaments record the work of God's saving work for humanity." (Wright 34) Wright asserts that God's redemptive history includes the following four principles: election, redemption, covenant and inheritance. Wright concludes that God, not man, fulfills this saving work in Jesus, Israel's Messiah and the world's Savior.
   
   In addition to looking at the Old Testament in relation to Jesus' death and resurrection, Wright also examines in depth how it shapes his identity, mission and values. He asserts through his book that it is impossible to fully know Jesus apart from knowing the essential parts of the Old Testament. He writes that Jesus completes the story that the Old Testament begins, "It declares the promise which he fulfilled...provides the pictures and models which shaped his identity...programs a mission which he accepted and passed on...teaches a moral orientation to God and the world which he endorsed, sharpened and laid the foundation for obedient discipleship." (Wright 252)
   
   Wright contends that Israel, as the recipient of God's promise, was to be a conduit of that promise to all nations. He calls Israel the intended priesthood of God in the midst of the nations bringing them to the saving knowledge of God.
   
   Although Israel was a recipient of God's promise and election, the people could only walk in the promise and election by grace and faith. Wright writes, "The promise comes as the initiative of God's grace and always depends on God's grace. But that grace has to be accepted and responded to by faith and obedience." (Wright 68)
   
   In his discussion of the necessity of faithful obedience, Wright continues, "No doctrine of election, no covenant theology, no personal testimony of redemption, can relieve us of the imperative necessity of faith proving itself in active obedience." (Wright 70) He elaborates that the initiative of God's grace or promise demands a response of obedient faith now from Jews as much as Gentiles. Wright continues to emphasize God's requirement of faithful obedience in regard to his covenant promises to Israel. Despite Israel's disobedience, the covenant continued, because it was grounded in God's grace and purpose for humanity. According to Wright, God's covenant promises reveal his intense desire to bless people.
   
   I think Wright lacks clarity in his discussion of obedience in the context of the new covenant in Jesus. Israel's repeated failures are indicative of Christians' similar inability to live up to the standards of the law. Obedience for the Christian, Jew or Gentile, is to a new call, as Christians are the recipients of a new covenant that comes through faith by grace. The difference that Wright does not explicitly note is that Jesus has fulfilled not only Israel's role as servant but has fulfilled the requirement for obedience for the recipients of the promise. Jesus answered, `The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (John 6:28-29 NIV)
   
   It seems that Wright does not distinguish between the requirements of faithful obedience to the law under the prior covenants to Israel and faithfulness under the new covenant. What Jesus requires is not works or behavior but belief and faith for salvation. Although Wright points to the prophets' promises of a new heart and the law written on hearts, he seems to be advocating the idea that the new covenant through Jesus merely makes it easier for followers to obey the law rather than rest in Christ's work on the cross finally acknowledging that all of our righteous works are but "filthy rags." (Is 64:6 NIV)
   
   Wright looks at how the Old Testament would have revealed to Jesus his role as savior of the world. Wright points out three roles that Jesus would have seen, "sovereignty, servant hood and sacrifice. All three are built into the calling of Jesus. All three are given depth and meaning by the Old Testament characters whose identities are merged in Jesus." (Wright 110)
   
   Wright profoundly relates the conflict between man's earthly vision and God's eternal, spiritual vision. He writes,"We have imagined that the best way to save the world was to run the world. With the tragically ironic result that Christian mission in the name of the Servant has been indelibly associated in the minds of many with power--military, cultural economic and political. It is an image that is hard to live down. "(Wright 178)
   
   He contrasts this with God's prescribed mission of service and sacrifice for the world. The way of Jesus, the way of sacrifice and service, is what we can learn from the Old Testament. Wright concludes that Jesus' message is the message at the heart of the Old Testament. It is the message of the Jubilee year of the Lord and of restored relationships to God, the sovereign king over all--what Wright calls an "Old Testament concept" now at hand. (Wright 243)
   
   Shakespeare On Spirituality: Life-Changing Wisdom from Shakespeare's Plays



4. An intriguing passage in the New Testament (NT) states, "Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted for them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures." (Luke 24:27). Christopher Wright's book titled `Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament' gives a reasonable answer to what Jesus may have told these disciples from Emmaus. Many NT Christians believe they can fully know Jesus without knowing the Old Testament (OT). On page two, Wright states "The Old Testament tells the story which Jesus completes." Even the NT needs to be read in light of the OT. Wright draws out the identity, mission and values of Jesus. Jesus completes the OT promises in surprising ways. Wright deals with the popular idea that Christians can know Jesus without knowing the OT.
   This book sheds light on how Jesus used and completed the OT message in relation to His identity, mission and values. The author fleshes out 5 comprehensive themes each close to 50 pages in length. The NT book of Matthew chapters one to four are the primary text Wright uses to expound his five main points. The reader will gain a clear understanding of Jesus' life mission and destiny as the book is read through. The comprehensive vision of God's redemptive plan and purpose is the main theme throughout the book.
   I highly recommend this book as a strong introduction to understanding Jesus in light of the OT. It goes well beyond the typical work that merely shows the OT types and how Christ was hidden all along waiting to be discovered in the OT. The hermeneutical principles used by the author focus on the biblical text in its original context and then the theological principles are extracted from the text. The author avoids a textual criticism approach. One will not see a discussion on looking for source material nor speculation on JEDP theory. He also goes beyond messianic proof texting and leaves out typology about the Temple and Tabernacle. The author's primary purpose in writing this text is for everyday Christians and he avoids an overly scholarly approach to the material. Wright's text serves as a contrast to R.T Frances' book on Jesus and the Old Testament which covers more criticism and has a lot of footnotes. Despite Wright's lack of explicit scholarly focus, the book still remains a scholarly and thought-provoking work. A strong explanation of typology is made in the chapter on Jesus' identity. A weakness of typology is when the reader of the OT fails to find much reality in the events and persons of the OT in themselves. This jump start to Christ away from the historical context is a Platonic view of the OT. The OT becomes a collection of shadows. Typology is defined by Wright as a way to understand Christ and events surrounding him in the NT by analogy and correspondence. Historic realities are seen as patterns or models. Typology should not be the sole way of understanding the OT.
   A weakness of the book is that it meanders and the author many times seems to cover too much material in each chapter. This leaves the reader without clear handles on main points and it confuses essential material from peripheral material. One constructive criticism is for the author to edit out some of the redundancy in the book. A few more graphs and summary indicators would help as well. It is easy to get lost in the amazing breath of the material. Some chapters can be shortened. Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament is an excellent perspective on Jesus and how His life reflected theological concepts of the OT. The book is covenantal in nature and is mission orientated. The author achieved his goal to get me to see Jesus in the Old Testament and the NT. I will definitely be able to answer ways in which Jesus may have instructed the Emmaus disciples. When others make statements such as, "The Old Testament is not relevant for Christians today" or "We need to just read the gospels and the NT letters to learn all there is to know about Jesus.", I can now quickly add more perspective to these statements. I will also read the OT and ask the question, "How may this passage have been used by Jesus and how was it lived out in His life?" His redemptive purpose is our mission and it started in the Old Testament.
   
   Mark J. Armstrong



5. Dr. Wright has gleaned a large amount of material from the Gospel of Matthew. In fact, Wright has identified the first seventeen versus as the key to understanding the authentic Jesus Christ. Even though using the book of Matthew as the framework for the study of Jesus is not uncommon, Wright may have done so with a more thorough and interconnected analysis. It is remarkable that Wright presents as much theology and salvation-history as he does with a two hundred and fifty-two page book!
   
   Christopher J.H. Wright's, Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament is the vehicle that transports the reader to a deeper understanding of God's ultimate plan for the redemption of mankind. The final destination is the understanding that:
   
   1. Without considering the Old Testament we cannot fully comprehend the historical Jesus.
   2. The Promises of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants are fulfilled with Jesus Christ.
   3. Salvation-history is completed through Jesus.
   4. The Old and New Testament is bound together through Jesus Christ.
   
   The author claims that if God's final work of redemption is accomplished through Jesus Christ's Crucifixion then the Gospel must include the exodus model of liberation, the sacrificial model for atonement, and the restoration model brought about because of God's grace. Christopher Wright notes that the New Testament does indeed include these elements. Throughout the book Wright does a competent job of unpacking each of these models, he explains how each model has implications that are related to the events presented in the New Testament which are associated with Jesus Christ. Wright points out how influential the Book of Leviticus was to Jesus. In many ways, the nineteenth chapter of Leviticus can be viewed as the ethical standard for the New Testament.
   
   An interesting theme that is brought out in this book is how Israel was chosen and ordained by God to be a missionary nation for all other nations of the world.God purposely placed Israel in the center of the Ancient Near East surrounded by multiple ancient Near Eastern world powers. By doing so, Israel was forced to depend on and trust the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to survive. Israel's missionary purpose seems to be an area that is less well known to the "average" Christian.
   
   A book such as Wrights' has considerable utility in bringing a greater knowledge of Old Testament theology, and the interconnectedness that Jesus has with the salvation-history of Israel to the reader. Wright points out several lesser known facts about Jesus, for example, Wright addresses that Jesus had Gentile ancestors and explains why this is significant. Many Christians may not know this about Jesus' genealogy.
   
   After reading Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament, the reader will not only gain an awareness of the salvation-history, which reaches fulfillment in the Crucifixion of Jesus, but also gain a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. Christopher J.H. Wright accomplishes his goal of explaining why we should "face "up to the distinctive claims of the Hebrew text to gain a valid understanding of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. This book is ideal for a wide spectrum of readers, from scholar to the person that seeks a deeper understanding of Jesus.
   
   Dr. Christopher J.H. Wright, in his book Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament, has produced an effective book that draws the Old and New Testament together. He has done an excellent job pointing out that Jesus is the lynch pin of this necessary merging. Further, this book is a rapid vehicle in presenting the story of salvation-history, and for reaching the final destination - Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament.

5 comments about Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do.

1. This book changed my life. I read it when it was new, at a time when I was becoming incredibly discontent in my first real career position job. What struck me about the people in this book was that almost all of them are busy doing work they don't really care for, and which many of them downright hate. They feel trapped and are unhappy, but they stick at it because they have bills to pay. The people who in contrast were doing work that they *loved* had a magical time of it. They were also few and far between. After I read this I questioned why people choose to make themselves unhappy at work they hate, when they could (as we say these days but didn't, then) "follow their bliss" and find what gives them joy. I have never looked at work the same way since, and the insights I gained from this book gave me the courage to leave a bad situation in order to find a better path to fulfillment. This is an amazing work of oral history, and the love work/hate work issue is just as relevant today.



2. This culturally significant novel is a must for anyone interested in American studies, labor issues, oral history, etc.. The author, Studs Turkel is a prominent Chicago figure that has interview 9,000+ people about their jobs. This is well worth the read. Turkel interviews a variety of interesting people ranging from actors, flight attendants, CEO's, and even a call girl.



3. I read Working in 1986, when I was 23, and chose my profession based on one of the interviews (I'm a piano tuner/repairman). I am so grateful to Mr. Terkel and his subjects; without them I may have floundered in life, but because of their inspiration, I found work which I have enjoyed and learned from for more than two decades.



4. I was actually recommended this book by my advanced acting teacher as a senior in college. We had been talking about different places to find monologues for auditions other than plays. I had heard of the musical "Working" that had been inspired by this book, but had never looked into the literary reference. The second I opened this book, I was hooked.
   
   Not only did I find a countless number of potential monologues (sometimes three or four within one interview) but it also completely opened my mind to the people around me I often look past. I never took the time to consider the woman at the grocery register, like B. Secoli. Reading this book was ultimately life changing. Of course, after time one sinks back into their own self-absorbed existence, but every now and then, when I need a little perspective, I return to Studs Terkel's "Working" and rediscover the rest of humanity.



5. As I have done on other occasions when I am reviewing more than one work by an author I am using some of the same comments, where they are pertinent, here as I did in earlier reviews. In this series the first Studs Terkel book reviewed was that of his "The Good War": an Oral History of World War II".
   
   Strangely, as I found out about the recent death of long time pro-working class journalist and general truth-teller "Studs" Terkel I was just beginning to read his "The Good War", about the lives and experiences of, mainly, ordinary people during World War II in America and elsewhere, for review in this space. As with other authors once I get started I tend to like to review several works that are relevant to see where their work goes. In the present case the review of Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day And How They Feel About What They Do serves to reflect on a time a couple of decades ago when people may have been resigned about their working career but had a feeling that it did not express all of what they were. Given today's uncertain economic climate and the wider fears about the effects of the long term trend "globalization" which particularly threatens many lower- skilled or easily transferable jobs I am not sure that such interesting reflections on their work experiences would be forthcoming from today's working population.
   
   Although Terkel has cast a wide net on the range of occupations and types of work that he presents here it is weighted toward blue collar working people: the waitresses, bartenders, service personnel and the like with whom he had such affinity. The most interesting aspect of this effort is that almost universally the work that people do does not reflect on their capacities. In short, the job is not the measure of the person. That said, I believe, intentionally or not, this little treasure trove of interviews is one of the great arguments for socialism: the creation of a society where an energetic waitress or a well-read steelworker, for example, could break out and become a leader of society. A place where every cook can take a turn at governing. That is the real message that these interviewees are trying, unsuccessfully for the most part, to articulate. How to successfully do that, however, is a separate and frustratingly hard politcal and organizational question that I have argues about elsewhere.
   
   One thing that I noticed immediately after reading this book, and as is true of the majority of Terkel's interview books, is that he is not the dominant presence but is a rather light, if intensely interested, interloper in these stories. For better or worse the interviewees get to tell their stories, unchained. In this age of 24/7 media coverage with every half-baked journalist or wannabe interjecting his or her personality into somebody else's story this was, and is, rather refreshing. Of course this journalistic virtue does not mean that Studs did not have control over who got to tell their stories and who didn't to fit his preoccupations and sense of order. He has a point he wants to make and that is that although most "ordinary" people do not make the history books they certainly make history, if not always of their own accord or to their own liking. Again, kudos and adieu Studs.

5 comments about 100,000 + Baby Names: The Most Complete Baby Name Book: Including 300+ Fascinating Lists, The Latest Naming Trends, Key to Gender-Neutral Names.

1. This book has alot of interesting names in it. For someone looking for odd name you might want to check it out. We had fun going thru the book. She did find middle name for her daughter in it.



2. I was very satisfied of how quickly i received my product and the shape it was in. I will order from this person again if they have available my future needs!



3. We didn't get our first child's name from this book however we did our daughter. We love how it breaks down the names in so many different categories. You too will enjoy it. Strongly recommend for those of you that are about to be first time parents or those of you with so many kids you've run out of ideas lol!



4. The next baby name book I buy will have less names in it. There's too many names that I've never heard of, never would of thought were names or are from weird countries. I'd like to know more about what the names mean, and how they came to be. The "300+ Fascinating Lists" are actually not fascinating at all, and aren't that accurate in my opinion. You might as well search the internet for the lists if you want them (i.e. - handsome boy names, cute girl names, geeky names, studious names, etc).



5. It does have a LOT of names, but 90% of them are pretty ridiculous and I can't see many parents actually choosing these names for their children. I wonder if someone just sat down and made up tons of names just to give it the title "100,000+". Next time, instead of going for a baby book with a large quantity of baby names, I'll be looking for a specific genre of baby names that I like to be more specific, like "traditional baby names" or "unique baby names" ect.

1 comments about The Official Guide to Family Tree Maker.

1. Pederson has hit the jackpot with her new guide. It is very esy to follow and is a merked improvement over earlier guides. Learning to se it is quite easy and has the informaation necessary to find waht you need. I recommend it highly.

2 comments about On the Genealogy of Morality.

1. This is another in a seemingly unending series of 'literalist' translations of philosophical prose works. The translation is of course hopeless. This technique never works and cannot work. Each occurrence of a German word is treated the same, regardless of context. It doesn't work for Plato, it doesn't work for Kant, and it certainly doesn't work for Nietzsche. See my review of Guyer-Wood's translation of Kant's first critique, and my review of Thomas G. West's 'translations' of Greek texts. The same criticisms apply here. It is fascinating that the editors mention Guyer and Wood approvingly in their preface. How telling!
   
   The editorial reviewer, who stated "The translation itself strikes an intelligent balance between fidelity to the German and readability in English" inadvertently points out the absurdity of this approach. No translation needs to be 'balanced', ever. There is no excuse for rigid, invariant translation of individual words, because every instance of usage is unique. Its usage in the specific context is what matters.
   
   In this translation the word "diseasedness" is found. I'm not joking. I hope that's sufficient cause for you, Gentle Reader of this review, to regard this translation with utter contempt, as I do.
   
   Useless, inexcusably bad, farcical.
   
   Only a madman could possibly call this travesty "the finest existing edition of Nietzsche's book in English".



2. I read On the Genealogy of Morals for a graduate seminar on ethics, and in particular his writings regarding the virtue of courage. I found Walter Kaufmann's translation the best of several I looked at. Often regarded in philosophical circles as the first "postmodern" philosopher, Nietzsche is very critical to all of modernity's philosophical attempts to create a scientific or rationally based approach to ethics. Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morals is in part a refutation of Kant's ethical theory, arguing that Kantian ethics as well as other modern ethical theories were more interested in defining ethical values and not concerned with questioning their usefulness or whether they were derived from what Nietzsche believed were irrational psychological forces feeding people's illusions. Another purpose of the Genealogy is to examine the history of how morals were created in Western culture. Nietzsche's extensive philological studies of ancient Greek literature led him to argue that there needed to be a historical and psychological approach to understanding how ethical values came into existence. Thus, one of Nietzsche's goals in his Genealogy is to provide a critique of ethical values, such as courage, and to examine, "...the conditions and circumstances in which they grew, under which they evolved and changed." (456, GM I, 6). Another important aspect of Nietzsche's Genealogy is found in Nietzsche's ethical notions finding common ground with Aristotelian virtue ethics. Only Aristotelian virtue ethics can fit well with Nietzsche's moral ethics. Thus, I find that an interesting outcome of Nietzsche's examination of Greek culture leads him down a path back to the first evolutionary stage of the virtue of courage in particular, and to the classical Greek inception of virtue ethics in general. Nietzsche enthusiastically followed this path and reintroduced the world to the critical need for the classical Greek interpretation of the virtue of courage to help shape the "postmodern" world.
   
   Nietzsche recognized in ancient Greek poetry that heroes are not content with just living, but are compelled to perform courageous acts even at the peril of their own lives. In fact, for Greek heroes, gaining fame and glory at the expense of often suffering a courageous death seemed to be their raison d'être. Nietzsche recognizes this phenomenon in Greek poetry, which alerts him to the notion that the ancient and classical Greek citizens accepted the idea that part of the nature of life was that it could be tragic, dark, and foreboding; however, the Greeks who were noble of character did not despair. This notion was readily accepted by Aristotle but not by Plato, who thought that Greek tragedy taught the citizenry the wrong lessons about life. They knew that to be virtuous was to engage in a constant agon or [contest] to overcome the pitfalls of life. This literary fact causes Nietzsche to understand that like the ancient Greeks, the best of contemporary society, such as philosophers and artists whom he calls the "masters," have to rely on their virtues, such as courage, to constantly struggle to overcome life's limits. Nietzsche's observation of Greek culture leads him to define a theory of master and slave morality, which lays the foundation for his notion of returning to the classical Greek virtue of courage.
   
   Nietzsche understands master morality as the ideals of virtuous characteristics epitomized by the best of Greek aristocracy. On the other hand, slave morality according to Nietzsche, grew out of the Judeo-Christian ethic supporting love and justice over power. Master morality acknowledges "good" and "bad" in the world; while slave morality acknowledges "good" and "evil." Nietzsche recognized the masters as "active" people, and whatever helps them achieve greatness is good. Thus, Nietzsche defines the good and bad characteristics in master morality in the following way. Character traits such as courage, conquest, aggression, and command that engender the feelings of power in people are deemed `good,' while traits of weaker people such as cowardice, passivity, humility, and dependence are deemed `bad.' Furthermore, Nietzsche argues that within the master and slave morality what is good can only be good for the master, because the slave morality is essentially based on a number of opposing ideals from the master morality. Therefore, an important argument for Nietzsche is, that according to slave morality, anything that opposes, destroys, or conquers is evil and should be eliminated from human relations. Nietzsche argues that slave morality espouses humility, selflessness, and kindness as ruling traits for all people as a condition of self-perseverance against master morality. These are all character traits central to Judeo-Christian morality, and are diametrically opposed to the aggressive character traits of the master morality, which were central to the power of the Roman Empire when Christianity was conceived. Against the backdrop of master and slave morality, Nietzsche examines the classical Greek cardinal virtues, and he specifically looks into the virtue of courage, which is so central to master morality.
   
   When Nietzsche contemplates the future of virtues, he laments the lack of courage displayed by people in modern society. Nietzsche sounds a clarion call for artists to once again courageously take their place as masters of society. Nietzsche sees courage as something which is good for the people who have it, in that it enables them to win contests which they would lose without it. In addition, Nietzsche recognizes that in order for people to act courageously, they also need to overcome their emotions of fear. "But there is something in me that I call courage; that has so far slain my every discouragement." Once again, Nietzsche is using Aristotle's virtue ethic model of practical reasoning to show that a person with noble intentions, or in Nietzsche's parlance, a master can will themselves to overcome their fears. After examining Nietzsche's extensive writings on the history of ethics, I find that his description of courage fits well within the classical Greek model of the virtue of courage.
   
   Nietzsche's philosophical project pertaining to the virtue of courage is centered on the idea that those who were the masters in Greek society actually desired to face and conquer dangerous situations. In essence, Nietzsche demilitarized the Greek emphasis on battlefield courage and applied it to the people he thought could be the masters of society of his time and into the future--artists and philosophers. The power Nietzsche yearns for is the power of creative activity. Creativity is the "will to power" that this much maligned philosopher was truly advocating.

5 comments about Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan.

1. koolhaas is a bit over-the-top for me, but this I think is is best work. it's worth checking out if only for the story of coney island. once you get past blisteringly pretentious phrases like "coney island is a fetal manhattan", you'll find it gloriously entertaining as both a narrative and theoretical work.



2. A very inventive concept of New York's "culture of congestion" and how people are affected by the architecture they create. It is heavily researched and exhaustive, and after pretty much the third page I agreed with his concept of NY being "totally fabricated by man". What could of been a fascinating article becomes a spastic, heavy-handed read with a sledgehammer effect to your brain. (However,for those of us reading it for school, there are plenty of pictures that fill up the almost devastatingly vast 300+pages quickly.) It will scramble your brain with its thousands of nearly bumper-stickerish statements ("It hides life." "The Mountain MUST become architecture.") written with pretentious glee. However, I believe an independent scientific study has concluded that when pretending to read this book on the train people around you will assume your IQ is 40% higher than truth.



3. through the exhaustive historiography of the phases of congestion coney island brought to manhattan, koolhaas provides a rather cynical view of the Grid as being an ulimatley neutral zoning system of constraining ideas that represent the continual decline of a phantastically realistic civilization, represented as mutated symbols of architecture in the "void" of repeated "pregnancies."
   
   it's really well written. funny. uses, like above, a somewhat inefficient vocabulary but remains in the same vein throughout. it is also a graphic design hubris consuming every page, even the left-justified text, showing off koolhaas's interpretation of the importance to combine scholarship and marketing.
   
   buy it. it's a very good book.



4. While "Delirious" has its fair share of archispeak, Mr. Koolhaas pulls off an intelligent, fun and thought-provoking take on the early 20th century building culture of New York.
   
   One of the quirkier (and frankly, awesome/bravadoish) aspects of "Delirious" is Mr. Koolhaas's analysis of Coney Island: an "incubator for Manhattan's incipient themes." As a reader, one initially questions the inclusion of such a trashy place in such a lofty manifesto. However, as the chapter progresses, you start to see Mr. Koolhaas's iconoclastic brilliance. He pays an amazing homage to "the laboratory" that was Coney Island, illuminating the vital role it played in the building philosophies that would emerge later in Manhattan.
   
   Scattered throughout "Delirious," also, are compelling supporting images that Mr. Koolhaas clearly spent a lot of time digging up. In fact, flipping through the book for the images alone makes for a near-equivalent, and fun, learning experience.
   
   However, unlike his tasteful use of images, Mr. Koolhaaas's flamboyant use of scholarly English makes his writing difficult to digest at times:
   
   "It is probably inevitable that a doctrine based on the continual simulation of pragmatism, on a self-imposed amnesia that allows the continuous reenactment of the same subconscious themes in ever new reincarnations and on inarticulateness systematically cultivated in order to operate more effectively..."
   
   Given Mr. Koolhaas's journalism background (and assumed mastery of writing), I suspect he made the conscious decision to remain somewhat inaccessible to preserve his "lofty" image. While such a decision may be understandable, his brilliance as a writer often gets overshadowed by the sheer irritation of trying to understand him.
   
   Ultimately, "Delirious" proves itself to be a very intelligent synopsis---just as delirious and congested the themes Mr. Koolhaas puts forth. For the most part, it's a pleasure to read, and it also reflects the exhaustive research on Mr. Koolhaas's end. Much like Mr. Koolhaas's buildings, "Delirious" is on the cusp of being as grand as it intends to be.



5. The author presents in concise fashion his own version of New York City's urban development history.
   
   One may or may not be convinced by his thesis that there is a specific New York City psyche that is reflected over time in a wide variety of constructions.
   
   But one can only be enthralled by his intimate knowledge of the City and of projects ranging from Coney Island to the Empire State Building to the 1964 World Fair.
   
   The surprising and at times bizarre illustrations add to the incredibly rich text. They include for instance a vintage photograph of famous architects actually costumed as their own creations: the Fuller Building, the Waldorf-Astoria, the Squibb Building, the Chrysler Building, etc.
   
   Written over 30 years ago and thus also a reflection of the 1970's, this work is definitely a classic well worth reading today for anyone interested in New York or in cities in general.

5 comments about The Everything Guide to Online Genealogy: A complete resource to using the Web to trace your family history (Everything Series).

1. This book is great. It tells a lot of stuff I already knew about researching family history, but I also learned a lot just in the first Chapter! This is a must have for serious researchers!



2. I am a librarian and have bought a lot of books on genealogy but this one is fantastic. It is loaded with websites and ideas and to have it all in one place is just staggering. The author did a great job.



3. THIS HANDBOOK IS A GREAT ASSET TO SOMEONE JUST STARTING OUT IN GENEALOGY (AS I AM). IN FACT, I PURCHASED 2 COPIES; ONE FOR ME AND ONE FOR MY SISTER. NOW WE BOTH CAN BURN UP THE NET!



4. This was my first book on Genealogy I purchased and it has been a big help, after I had started my family tree. It's packed with great information and on-line resourses and also, some samples of family tree research. A must have for your Genealogy library.



5. Started researching family history a couple years ago, but was't making much headway. This book really has helped me get going and is improving my results. I purchased the book along with the Family tree maker 2010 software which is a much better than the previous editions. A great book to buy.

5 comments about Japan at War: An Oral History.

1. I was fortunate enough to have this author as a professor for a history of Japan course. His knowledge and insight on the subject proved to be invaluable and this book is a must-read for anyone interested in Japanese history. Personal stories, many of which have never before been shared, about a time that many have struggled to forget, this book offers a glimpse at the effects the war had on the "common man." I Highly recommend this book. It's a quick read, but by far one of the best ways to learn about the subject.



2. It is the best book about the Japan in WWII that I have read after living
   rather long time in Japan. It gives an unbiased account of the history as viewed by people from all layers of the society. A very objective commentary by authors. Many pages give a shocking testimony of crimes committed by Japanese themselves or of the pain of Hiroshima bombing victims, it is even hard to continue reading without making a break. Suffering of all ordinary people during war-time is shown, although from our Russian point of view it is clear that the people of Soviet Union had gone through harder time during longer period. A must book for all future soldiers and for young politicians planning to start a new war somewhere...



3. This book should be read alongside "The Good War", by Studs Terkel, in every high school. Sometimes it seems as if Americans would rather stick to the bright and sunny WWII fairy tales that Hollywood specializes in rather than learn the true story. Please, don't let John Wayne re-write our history. Millions of ordinary people were caught up in this cataclysmic event, and yet the world barely remembers their ordeal. This is real history. Perhaps the most valuable aspect of this book is that it reminds that -"ism"s can quickly turn poisonous if they approach the simple lives most people lead as insignificant.
   
   As a side note, this book is anything but dry and scholarly in tone. It is shocking. Once you begin to accept the reality of what it conveys, it is hard to put down.



4. Pacific War experiences related by those who lived it on the Japanese side. Excellent and moving accounts of what the disastrous war was like "on the other side." Helps us see that all people are human beings, not the caricatures and stereotypes portrayed in propaganda of either side.



5. How do I describe in words the emotion this book evokes. It simply can't be done. Of all the books I have read on this era of Japanese history, this one had the most impact by far. Oral histories are valuable because they reveal the side of history you don't hear about in dry history books, they reveal the human side of tragic events in this case. Anyone interested in learning about Wartime Japan must read this book.

5 comments about The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

1. I bought this book as a required reading for school. It was very easy to read and covered many interesting topics. I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in learning more about the urban environment.



2. Living in Detroit in 2009 I find the book quite relevant since we are now on a journey to remake the city.



3. Jacobs argues masterfully against the popular assumption that urban density leads to slums and decay. Instead she describes how a dense concentration of people gives a city vitality and provides a built-in source of security through "eyes on the street". Throughout the book she discusses various ways to achieve this density and manage the vitality it brings, all the while challenging misconceptions about how cities work.



4. My son is a college senior who is taking a seminar class in urban studies. He was born in Manhattan so it was not a surprise that he should develop an interest in the subject. While I was purchasing another 'leisure read' to send to him, I saw this book as a suggested other possibility. It got very high marks in all the reviews and I thought it would be a great addition to his collection of books in this area. I was not wrong. He loved the book and when he brought it to class, his professor was delighted that he had a copy and called it "the classic for studies of cities". He has even introduced me to Jane Jacobs' work as he reads more and more of this book. I hope to read it from cover to cover when he brings it home from college later this year.



5. In spite of the modest shortcomings that have emerged with age, I still have a deep and abiding fondness for this book... after all, it is what decided me on a career change into urban planning. And unlike much of the specialist literature that I've had to read since then, this book is thrilling, passionate, accessible, and inspiring.
   
   For me, at a certain point -- probably about 2/3rds of the way through Death and Life -- Jacobs seems to start to repeat herself a bit, but many of her insights as to what creates vibrant neighbourhoods and vibrant cities remain as applicable today as they were when she was feuding with Robert Moses over the future of the West Village. This book should be required reading for all planners, highway engineers, and developers; many neighbourhood associations would also probably be the better for having a copy to hand.
   
   But Jacobs' greatest strength, I believe, is that she combines great insight with clear prose that is devoid of the 'fancy' specialist terminology that practicing planners and academics use to talk about the forces driving change in neighbourhoods, towns, and metropolises. Anyone can read this book, and everyone should.

5 comments about On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo.

1. Nietzsche's complex sequel to Beyond Good and Evil is a remarkable achievement of philosophy, philology, and history. It laid the groundwork for such 20th century thinkers as Foucault and Deleuze, though they would never reach Nietzsche's complexity and moral sophistication. In the preface to the book, Nietzsche proposes the project of investigating the origins of morality on the grounds that human beings are unknown to themselves. He is ultimately concerned with the development of moral prejudices, and the value of morality itself. He criticizes mankind in its acceptance of moral principles, and writes: "we need a critique of moral values, the value of these values themselves must first be called in question-and for that there is needed a knowledge of the conditions and circumstances in which they grew, under which they evolved and changed" (456).
   Nietzsche begins the essay (Good and Evil, Good and Bad), with a philological examination of the words and roots of the words related to good and evil, and a delimitation of their evolution. He makes a connection between the creations of words and places them within the historical context of rulers and nobility. Linguistically, Nietzsche has discovered that the `good' is linked with nobility. He writes: "everywhere `noble,' `aristocratic' in the social sense, is the basic concept from which `good' in the sense of `with aristocratic soul,' `noble,'" (464). Alternatively, words associated with the `bad' invariably were linked with the `plain,' `simple,' and `low.' In this way, morality as a human construction is an extension of power, wealth, and civilization. The origin of evil is intertwined with priestly aristocracies.
   Nietzsche moves into a discussion of a shift in the history of morality, in which the morality of the priestly aristocracy is superceded by Jewish morality. For Nietzsche, the Jews inverted the morality of nobility and established a system which places value on the lower order of mankind. He indicates that the Jews believed "the wretched alone are the good; the poor, impotent, lowly alone are the good; the suffering, deprived, sick, ugly alone are pious, alone are blessed by God" (470). Nietzsche describes this turn as `the slave revolt' of morality. He describes the triumph of Judeo-Christian morality over the previous system of values, and indicates that this turn is a triumph for the herd instinct, and for ressentiment. He writes: "The slave revolt in morality begins when ressentiment itself becomes creative and gives birth to values: the ressentiment of natures that are denied the true reaction, that of deeds, and compensate themselves with an imaginary revenge" (472). Noble morality develops as an affirmation of itself, while slave morality always says No to what is external to it. For Nietzsche, the need to constantly turn outward to an external `other' and place judgment on it is the essence of ressentiment.
   In the proceeding section of the treatise, Nietzsche discusses civilization's taming of man the animal. Here he writes: "Supposing that what is at any rate believed to be the `truth' really is true, and the meaning of all culture is the reduction of the beast of prey `man' to a tame and civilized animal, a domestic animal, then one would undoubtedly have to regard all those instincts of reaction and ressentiment through whose aid the noble races and their ideal were finally confounded and overthrown as the actual instruments of culture" (478). Nietzsche insists that Europe's taming of man is a tremendous danger, for we are made to be weary of our own being. For Nietzsche, this weariness and fear of man has compelled us to lose our love for him, to turn our backs on our instincts, to reject affirmation.



2. This is a complex, often confusing, yet a very important book, because it gets at the bottom line of one of the thorniest conundrums ever to face man: The problem of where his morals originate. Although several books have readdressed this issue in light of new findings in psychology (Freud in his Civilization and its discontents), social psychology (Robert Wright's Moral Man), and Anthropology (Ernest Becker, Angel in Armor) just to name my three favorites, none have done so with either the emotional intensity or philosophical depth as has Nietzsche.
   
   In this, Nietzsche last book, he locates the origins of morality at the intersection of man's transition from hunter-gathers to agrarian societies. With the advent of agrarian societies, there was a crossover in the survival value of violence versus that of cooperation: man's instinct for violence cease to have the survival value equal to that of cooperation. And as a result, he was forced to learn to outwardly suppress his violent instincts by more and more turning them inward. This conversion of outward violence into an inner struggle, allowed man to use his conscience to carve out an inner life, which was a mixed blessing as there were both collateral benefits and penalties. Along with guilt and bad conscience, man also acquired a sense of beauty. The upshot of his inner struggles was that they eventually got resolved through the development of religion: Bad conscience and moral guilt could be redeemed or forgiven through the grace and mercy of a higher, morally perfect, being.
   
   With this as introduction, Nietzsche's story of morality takes place in three parts over the span of three essays, each of which elaborates a different aspect of the details of his theory.
   
   The first essay deals with Good and Evil, and examines the evolution of two different kinds of moral codes: that of the master and that of the slave. The second essay deals directly with guilt, bad conscience and related moral concepts and issues. Here, Nietzsche notes that initially guilt lacked moral overtones, and was more like a monetary debt, in which the debtor was due payment and the debtor, was punished. The third essay struggles with the question of: What is the meaning of Ascetic Ideals, or, with why different cultures pursued a life of self-denial. Nietzsche's answer is that self-denial gives the individual more power and control over himself and is therefore life affirming rather than life denying.
   
   Nietzsche's writing is dense and not for the faint-hearted, but ultimately rewarding. Five stars.



3. I read On the Genealogy of Morals for a graduate seminar on ethics, and in particular his writings regarding the virtue of courage. I found Walter Kaufmann's translation the best of several I looked at. Often regarded in philosophical circles as the first "postmodern" philosopher, Nietzsche is very critical to all of modernity's philosophical attempts to create a scientific or rationally based approach to ethics. Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morals is in part a refutation of Kant's ethical theory, arguing that Kantian ethics as well as other modern ethical theories were more interested in defining ethical values and not concerned with questioning their usefulness or whether they were derived from what Nietzsche believed were irrational psychological forces feeding people's illusions. Another purpose of the Genealogy is to examine the history of how morals were created in Western culture. Nietzsche's extensive philological studies of ancient Greek literature led him to argue that there needed to be a historical and psychological approach to understanding how ethical values came into existence. Thus, one of Nietzsche's goals in his Genealogy is to provide a critique of ethical values, such as courage, and to examine, "...the conditions and circumstances in which they grew, under which they evolved and changed." (456, GM I, 6). Another important aspect of Nietzsche's Genealogy is found in Nietzsche's ethical notions finding common ground with Aristotelian virtue ethics. Only Aristotelian virtue ethics can fit well with Nietzsche's moral ethics. Thus, I find that an interesting outcome of Nietzsche's examination of Greek culture leads him down a path back to the first evolutionary stage of the virtue of courage in particular, and to the classical Greek inception of virtue ethics in general. Nietzsche enthusiastically followed this path and reintroduced the world to the critical need for the classical Greek interpretation of the virtue of courage to help shape the "postmodern" world.
   
   Nietzsche recognized in ancient Greek poetry that heroes are not content with just living, but are compelled to perform courageous acts even at the peril of their own lives. In fact, for Greek heroes, gaining fame and glory at the expense of often suffering a courageous death seemed to be their raison d'être. Nietzsche recognizes this phenomenon in Greek poetry, which alerts him to the notion that the ancient and classical Greek citizens accepted the idea that part of the nature of life was that it could be tragic, dark, and foreboding; however, the Greeks who were noble of character did not despair. This notion was readily accepted by Aristotle but not by Plato, who thought that Greek tragedy taught the citizenry the wrong lessons about life. They knew that to be virtuous was to engage in a constant agon or [contest] to overcome the pitfalls of life. This literary fact causes Nietzsche to understand that like the ancient Greeks, the best of contemporary society, such as philosophers and artists whom he calls the "masters," have to rely on their virtues, such as courage, to constantly struggle to overcome life's limits. Nietzsche's observation of Greek culture leads him to define a theory of master and slave morality, which lays the foundation for his notion of returning to the classical Greek virtue of courage.
   
   Nietzsche understands master morality as the ideals of virtuous characteristics epitomized by the best of Greek aristocracy. On the other hand, slave morality according to Nietzsche, grew out of the Judeo-Christian ethic supporting love and justice over power. Master morality acknowledges "good" and "bad" in the world; while slave morality acknowledges "good" and "evil." Nietzsche recognized the masters as "active" people, and whatever helps them achieve greatness is good. Thus, Nietzsche defines the good and bad characteristics in master morality in the following way. Character traits such as courage, conquest, aggression, and command that engender the feelings of power in people are deemed `good,' while traits of weaker people such as cowardice, passivity, humility, and dependence are deemed `bad.' Furthermore, Nietzsche argues that within the master and slave morality what is good can only be good for the master, because the slave morality is essentially based on a number of opposing ideals from the master morality. Therefore, an important argument for Nietzsche is, that according to slave morality, anything that opposes, destroys, or conquers is evil and should be eliminated from human relations. Nietzsche argues that slave morality espouses humility, selflessness, and kindness as ruling traits for all people as a condition of self-perseverance against master morality. These are all character traits central to Judeo-Christian morality, and are diametrically opposed to the aggressive character traits of the master morality, which were central to the power of the Roman Empire when Christianity was conceived. Against the backdrop of master and slave morality, Nietzsche examines the classical Greek cardinal virtues, and he specifically looks into the virtue of courage, which is so central to master morality.
   
   When Nietzsche contemplates the future of virtues, he laments the lack of courage displayed by people in modern society. Nietzsche sounds a clarion call for artists to once again courageously take their place as masters of society. Nietzsche sees courage as something which is good for the people who have it, in that it enables them to win contests which they would lose without it. In addition, Nietzsche recognizes that in order for people to act courageously, they also need to overcome their emotions of fear. "But there is something in me that I call courage; that has so far slain my every discouragement." Once again, Nietzsche is using Aristotle's virtue ethic model of practical reasoning to show that a person with noble intentions, or in Nietzsche's parlance, a master can will themselves to overcome their fears. After examining Nietzsche's extensive writings on the history of ethics, I find that his description of courage fits well within the classical Greek model of the virtue of courage.
   
   Nietzsche's philosophical project pertaining to the virtue of courage is centered on the idea that those who were the masters in Greek society actually desired to face and conquer dangerous situations. In essence, Nietzsche demilitarized the Greek emphasis on battlefield courage and applied it to the people he thought could be the masters of society of his time and into the future--artists and philosophers. The power Nietzsche yearns for is the power of creative activity. Creativity is the "will to power" that this much maligned philosopher was truly advocating.



4. I should note up front that my review refers to the Vintage edition--the review and the rating pertain to Kaufmann's translation only, not to Nietzsche's text. Nietzsche's work is a classic and should be read by anyone with an interest in philosophy or related fields. That point, I think, goes without saying. What does need to be said is which translation you should choose to read it in. Kaufmann's is, pretty much, the standard translation. And, for the most part, his translation is true to Nietzsche's German. But it suffers in one important way, and that is how it conflates Hegel's idealism and Nietzsche's thought through the use of a Hegelian, idealist vocabulary. To be sure, Nietzsche draws on Hegel a lot, but Kaufmann's translation misleads the reader into thinking that there are more similarities than there actually are. It also makes this translation unbearably difficult to read.
   
   The second problem I have with this particular edition is that Kaufmann's notes are so shallow, and not really helpful at all. A perfect example is on the first page of the first essay, where Nietzsche abandons his native German for a moment and refers to the English Psychologists pushing the "partie honteuse" of our inner world into view. Kaufmann leaves the phrase untranslated, as he ought, and lets a note do the work of translating it. His note says simply, "shame." In my view, it may be as if he had just omitted the note altogether, because this tells me almost nothing about what Nietzsche means, and doesn't even attempt to get at his metaphor. If one were to turn to Clark and Swenson's translation, put out by Hackett (On the Genealogy of Morality), however, one would learn that the phrase means "shameful part" and when pluralized it is equivalent to the English phrase "private parts." This is a helpful note which explains Nietzsche's metaphor and the connotations he's aiming for.
   
   I'll give this edition three stars because I have to compare it to others, such as Clark and Swenson's, above, or Douglas Smith's translation in the Oxford World Classics edition (On the Genealogy of Morals: A Polemic. By way of clarification and supplement to my last book Beyond Good and Evil (Oxford World's Classics)). In many ways Smith most avoids the "Hegel-ization" of Nietzsche (although it is possible to overdo it, and Smith might be guilty). But in my estimation, Clark and Swenson's is the best, deserving five stars, and Smith's is a close second, perhaps deserving four and a half, or four and three-quarters, not least because Clark and Swenson's notes are better. (Smith's would get five stars if I reviewed it.) Kaufmann's is so far behind these that I cannot justify giving it more than three stars. For a more formulaic, objective approach, you can subtract one star from the translation for at times confusing Nietzsche's thought, and doing so in a confusing way, and subtract one from the edition in general for having mediocre notes. Then you also end up with my three-star rating.



5. "The Genealogy of Morals" is one of the most intriguing of Nietzsche's philosophical works, and is also one of his most straightforward. It is a sustained focus on a single topic - the origins of morality - and is comprised of three related essays which explore morality and the nature of "ressentiment," or "suppressed resentment." According to Nietzsche, "ressentiment" is the fundamental motive force, the "will to power," of the religious (specifically the Christian)temperament and character, and results in moral and spiritual corruption: hence Nietzsche's inverted claim that Christianity is the greatest of all evils because it fosters, nurtures, and embodies "ressentiment." Although Nietzsche's diatribes against the Christian religion sometimes get tedious - it's a little like listening to a concert violinist playing a one-string concerto -- his psychological analysis of the origins of morality is insightful and intriguing.
   
   The companion piece in this edition, "Ecce Homo," is one of the most entertaining and fascinating autobiographies ever written. Nietzsche recounts events, people, and places that were important to him personally and significant for the development of his philosophy; he offers summaries and "humble" appraisals of his philosophical works -- appraisals which are as provocative as they are "humble"; and he claims to have destroyed Christianity and invented psychology - and while these claims sound exaggerated, they're true from a Nietzschean perspective. With Nietzsche's own explanations of and commentary on the meaning and significance of his many books, "Ecce Homo" is a wonderful introduction to his philosophy, a "treasure of world literature" (to use Walter Kaufmann's wonderful words), and a literary experience.