Excellent collection of papers
591822
The tone and content of this book, as well as the price, targets it at university libraries.  (I got it through an inter-library loan from my local library.)  But if you have some background in the topics being discussed, this is very worthwhile reading.

The book is the output of an international, multi-disciplinary symposium on empathy and fairness. The 12 papers presented run from cognitive neuroscience to anthropology to social psychology to economics to  philosophy, presenting recent research and analysis in a particular specialty.

Because every academic discipline has its own terminology, this means, for example, that if you're into philosophy you probably won't be able to follow very well the discussions of brain anatomy. Conversely, if you know cognitive neuroscience but aren't familiar with John Rawls, you may have a similar problem. Still, the reader can get something out of many of the papers, some more than others depending on his own background.

Each paper is followed by a Q&A/discussion session among the sympsium participants.

The papers are:
Vittorio Gallese:  Embodied simulation: from mirror neuron systems to interpersonal relations
Tania Singer: The neuronal basis of empathy and fairness
Marc Hauser:  What's fair?  The unconscious calculus of our moral faculty.
Josep Call and Keith Jensen:  Chimpanzees may recognize motives and goals, but may not reckon on them
Nancy Eisenberg: Empathy-related responding and prosocial behavior
Paul A.M. Lange and others: A social interaction analysis of empathy and fairness
Raymond A. Mar and C. Neil Macrae: Triggering the intentional stance
James Blair: Dissociable system for empathy
Ralph Adolphs: Looking at other people: mechanisms for social perception revealed in subjects with focal amygdala damage
Johanthan Wolff: Models of distributive justice
Frederique de Vignemont: When do we empathasize
Robert Frank: Cooperation through moral commitment

Personally, among what I found most interesting was Prof Singer's phrase, an "empathy for fairness".  Think of fairness in two situations: where something has been done to you that you feel is unfair, and where something is done to a third party that is unfair.  In the first case, nearly everyone, including chimpanzees, will get upset.  In the second case, chimpanzees may or may not get upset, according to one study, probably depending on whether or not that third party is a family member.  So, with limited empathy, there's more toleration for unfairness happening to others.

A couple of the participants talked about how/when we turn off empathy, but more research is needed there.  My own theory, based more on history than anything else, which I described in "Why Liberalism?", is that there's often an "Us vs Them" dynamic in operation, where we feel empathy for "Us" but not for "Them".

Also in Prof Singer's paper, she reported on an experiment showing human males as not feeling empathy for people in pain who are regarded as untrustworthy people -- a sort of just desserts kind of thing -- while females made no such distinction.  (Hmm.)

Another paper I particularly liked was that of Prof Wolff, who discussed three competing philosophical concepts of justice:  mutual advantage, reciprocity and impartiality.  (I'm in the impartiality camp.)

There's a lot of interesting research and analysis going on in the topics covered by this book, and this is a good way to both get an overview of what that is, as well as find out -- through the discussions -- what some of the flaws/criticism are and what is still missing and needs further study.
848358
I am sorry to see that there are no reviews so far for this excellent new compilation. This reference/text book (it's a thick, scholarly tome, not intended for easy reading) presents a collection of Jewish theological writings about the Holocaust. The authors have done an excellent job of  picking the most important Jewish thinkers about this topic and selecting representative examples of their work.

The book is organized in three sections, each containing writings from the war and up to our time:

1. Ultra Orthodox responses
2. Israeli responses
3. European and American responses

I found the organization a bit odd, because some of the Ultra Orthodox reside in Europe, the US or Israel and because I am not convinced that the geographical division between the US/Europe and Israel is as meaningful as this organization implies, but it is a minor issue.

Each section is prefaced by an excellent introduction to the writer and his or her analytical contribution to the debate. There are many translations. The ones from Hebrew are pretty good, if a tad stodgy. They are certainly very clear and readable.

I highly recommend this book, which should be included in any library that caters to students of the Holocaust or modern Jewish thought.
1443200
Great collection of all materials from historical to current, Like it alot and will likley reference it as decades continue! That is if my Kindle is still accessible...Check it out! good review for new Buddhist peoples or others interested in Budd-ism
4064664
An excellent thought provoking collection of essays on a wide range of topics from antipasta to assisted dying. The rate and quality of the output of this author throughout his career has been astonishing.
3960163
This book is a wonderful, comprehensive collection of essays covering a wide variety of topics integral to an understanding of the "art" of negotiation.  As a litigator, I find myself spending a large amount of time in negotiations.  I picked up this volume because it came highly recommended by a friend of mine who has been involved in the field of negotiations for several years now, and I can only echo my friend's recommendation.  The book is organized into topical chapters, all of which can be read independently from one another and are written in a manner that makes the information, research and theories easily accessible even for relative newcomers to the field of negotiations.  Most importantly, this book is geared towards giving readers not only the tools to become better negotiators, but also to explain why and how these tools are successful - information that I believe is critical to one's ability to effectively implement negotiating techniques based on the specific situations and people one encounters.  Of particular interest to me were those chapters that deal with the more psychological aspects of negotiations, such as importance of gender, emotions, identity and culture; topics that are key to an understanding of interpersonal relationships and all too often are either ignored or only superficially touched upon.  I highly recommend this book to everybody interested in educating themselves about the topic of negotiations - and becoming a better negotiator along the way.
2022884
This is a wonderful compendium of original sources which I'm using in a graduate level social science course on terrorism.  Readings run the gamut, from Lenin and Bakunin, to Marighella and Che Guevera, to today's modern terrorists.  There's a little introductory essay at the beginning of each section and the readings are short enough that you can assign several during each week, and pick and choose snippets to augment your regular textbook.  I was pleased to find this resource since I had been hunting for something similar for awhile.
4529515
Nice proceedings book with good articles. It is useful for seeing discussions of recent research interests. The questions and answers after the talks are reproduced after the text of the papers which always adds a human touch to the proceedings.
1864890
Excellent collection of essays re: Pauline theology and spirituality.

Fellow devotees of Joseph Fitzmeyer's work will be delighted with the wealth of information packed into this slim volume.

As parish Director of Adult Formation and facilitator of various Biblical Studies, I can always count on Fr. Fitzmeyer to provide invaluable insights; and this work certainly doesn't disappoint.

Highly Recommend.

Thank you for reading,
-CC, Amazon Prime Member-Reviewer
959664
First, I should note that I am only about three quarters of the way through this collection of papers.  I bought it used for a total of $4, and at that price I'm quite pleased with it.  As suggested by other reviewers, I have found that it is a rather scattered collection; some papers are good, some merely okay, and others... less so.  It is also evident that many of the authors understood the topic on which they were writing differently, so there is a mixture, primarily, of those who a) state reasons for why they believe their faith to be a compelling philosophical option, b) merely giving a biographical account of their intellectual and spiritual development.  As a student of philosophy, I found those that addressed (a) to be the better papers, and those that focused particularly on (b) to be unhelpful (though more plentiful).  However, I am sure that others would have reversed opinions, so there is a diversity in the book that I can recognize, if not appreciate.  That said, I have found nothing in this book that should be interpreted as a full-fledged defense of theism; there are merely gestures towards arguments, hardly anything that is sufficient upon which to stake one's faith.  For that, one ought look elsewhere (if that is not clear from the book's description).  Nevertheless, as a Christian graduate student, I have appreciated the sense of camaraderie that one gets from the book, and I take it that this is the main benefit that was intended (and that benefit is accessible to those outside of philosophy departments).
2893136
Excellent Resource for Textile Scholars - This collection of papers with imagery presented in 2001 at a textile symposium contains information that will be of value in any textile scholar's library.
2994382
this collection of bound cellulose and ink is very useful in that this book elucidates philosophical and political information in a manner most accessible. the reader is encouraged to think in a manner critical regarding the subject matter, and regarding the author themselves. the author is well fair in his analyses, it would seem.
4344158
This edition has over 40T entries for legal research scholars.

The volume is written in simple English. It is well organized.

A number of fairly complex definitions are listed. Sample entries are:

o obiter- by the way

o particularity- detailed statement of particulars

o manifestly against the weight of evidence

The book is an excellent value for the price charged. It will

assist lawyers, legal students, scholars and the judiciary.
2625228
An excellent collection of papers on all aspects of hadrosauroid biology. Not for the novice - this is technical literature, and you either need to already know the difference between a quadrate and an ethmoid, an apomorphy and a convergence, or the Maastrichtian and the Campanian, or else be willing to constantly look up terms. But well worth it if you are seriously interested in dinosaurs. There is a helpful foreward by David Weishampel to get you oriented.

Paleoartists will be articularly interested in papers on fossilized hadrosaur skin and other soft tissue, and inferences about posture and motion, as well as the osteological descriptions.
4772242
This book is a collection of technical papers on the topic of Manufacturing.

I purchased it since it contains a couple of papers I was interested in. The papers themselves were very OK, but I cannot judge on the rest of the book, for what I need more time.

As of today, the book served me well hence 4 starts.
1653202
This is an invaluable source for all professionals (academics, students, politicians and civil servants) who are interested by the theme of public management, given that meets a set of excellent texts on the subject. Essays included in this handbook cover different perspectives of public management matter and are very useful for researchers and students of public management graduate and postgraduate courses.
1883707
This is a very valuable collection of essays.  Maybe a couple miss the mark, but this is a must for college philosophy and college literature students.  I especially appreciate that the editor is one of those calling attention to how the science fiction genre is an excellant one that philosophers can use to their benefit.  Highly recommended.
2562167
John Burt has provided an extraordinary service to students, teachers, scholars, and readers of Robert Penn Warren's poetry. Among the 554 poems included in this volume are previously uncollected poems and an unpublished poem, "With or Without Compass?" (in the textual notes)--all neatly organized chronologically in versions that are explained logically and thoroughly in the section on emendations and in the textual notes. The Explanatory Notes section adds glosses to words and references that might otherwise be obscure to a younger audience. Well formatted, well thoughtout, well articulated. "The" volume of Warren's poetry to own, to read, and to re-read.