Facts and Fabrications: Unraveling the History of Quilts and Slavery: 8 Projects, 20 Blocks, First-Person Accounts

Facts and Fabrications: Unraveling the History of Quilts and Slavery: 8 Projects, 20 Blocks, First-Person Accounts
Average customer rating:

Slaves & Slavery Review

Facts Without the Fabrications

quilts during slavery

Super book on African-American quilt history

Quilts and Slave History

Facts and Fabrications: Unraveling the History of Quilts and Slavery: 8 Projects, 20 Blocks, First-Person Accounts
Barbara Brackman
Manufacturer: C&T Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Georgia Quilts: Piecing Together a History (Wormsloe Foundation Publication)

Civil War Diary Quilt

Quilts in a Material World: Selections from the Winterthur Collection

Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad

Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns

ASIN: 1571203648
Release Date: 2006-11-15

Book Description

* Celebrate and continue an American quilt tradition
* Combines history and quilting
* Great for homeschoolers--includes curriculum!

Enslaved peoples in the American South preserved their memories with quilts. Today, In nine remarkable projects, quilt historian and artist Barbara Brackman guides readers through the stories they told--and lets crafters create quilts and samplers that capture their own memories. Mix and match historic blocks and Brackman's new designs to create timeless treasures.

Customer Reviews:

Slaves & Slavery Review.......2007-08-02

A fascinating insight into a bygone era with the reliable details and research we have come to expect from B.Brackman. It is also a revelation of man's inhumanity towards man and the arrogance of white people towards anyone different. As a student of history I could have done without the quilt patterns though. When will publishers realise there is a market for historic facts without the frills? If I want quilt patterns I will buy a book devoted entirely to them, when I want history I would like to have it without the added patterns.

Facts Without the Fabrications.......2007-06-20

A fascinating book by Barbara Brackman on the history of slavery & quilts. She goes into depth on how slavery originated, emancipation & integration of slaves, or lack thereof. She didn't quite hit the mark disproving the link between escaping slaves & the role of the underground railroad quilt in sending directional messages, which was an area she briefly glossed over leaving the reader dissatisfied & still questioning the outcome.

The quilts portrayed were attractive but not as outstanding as the projects in her many other wonderful books.

As a book on the history of slavery, this text is excellent. In disproving fabrications between underground railroad quilts & escaping slaves, I feel it falls short. A worthwhile read, however.

quilts during slavery.......2007-05-18

Great history of quilts during the Civil War and slavery. Very informative and interesting reading. Highly recommend.

Super book on African-American quilt history.......2007-04-11

This is a beautiful book of history on African-American quilt making and is chock full of photos, patterns, and basic American history as well. She pulls no punches, tells no lies or tales, and tells you what is an absolute FACT and what is questionable. If you are interested at all in the subject, you must have this book. It is way beyond the info in E.Burns Underground Railroad book. (Which is also a nice resource.)

Quilts and Slave History.......2007-04-11

Although I haven't finished this book I am very impressed with what I've read so far. This book would interest anyone who wants to know more about the early history of quilting without regard to the "color" of the quilter. The pictures show families during this time and their living conditions. I would recommend highly. I am eager to make some of the quilt squares offered here.

Street TurbochargingHP1488: Design, Fabrication, Installation, and Tuning of High-Performance Street Turbocharger Systems

Average customer rating:

Want to tune? Don't buy this book!
informational but not technical enough for me
Easy Turbo Theory Tips
Great for the Do-it-yourself person
A nice cover but...

Street TurbochargingHP1488: Design, Fabrication, Installation, and Tuning of High-Performance Street Turbocharger Systems
Mark Warner
Manufacturer: HP Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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How to Tune and Modify Engine Management Systems (Motorbooks Workshop)
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Engine Management: Advanced Tuning
Forced Induction Performance Tuning A Practical Guide to Supercharging and Turbocharging

ASIN: 1557884889

Book Description

Transform an average car or truck into a turbocharged high performance street machine.

A handbook on theory and application of turbocharging for street and high-performance use, this book covers high performance cars and trucks. This comprehensive guide features sections on theory, indepth coverage of turbocharging components, fabricating systems, engine building and testing, aftermarket options and project vehicles.

Customer Reviews:

Want to tune? Don't buy this book!.......2007-07-15

If you want to learn how to tune a car then this book is useless as it basically just tells you to take it to someone else to get it done for you.

informational but not technical enough for me.......2007-07-14

most sections are explained with enough detail to get you going on your first turbo project but the book lacks in a few areas I find troubling. I shouldn't have to buy more than one book on turbocharging but I'll find it necessary if the internet can't fill me in on what is missing. One section that comes to mind first is compressor wheel selection. The book goes into a lot of detail about turbine wheel selection but then leaves you guessing with phrases like "compressor wheel selection is so advanced it would require another chapter in this book". This isn't an exact quote, but this general answer is used several times as a cop out. As it happens, the difficultly of selecting a proper compressor wheel WAS one of my reasons for buying a book on turbos. Worse, the book doesn't direct you to more specific references where you can get the information. It is decent book but several things are missing, enough that this book isn't enough to teach you all you need to know about building a custom turbo system. I am mildly disappointed but I have found not a better book on turbocharging yet, otherwise I would give a recommendation.

Easy Turbo Theory Tips.......2007-05-25

I found this book to be quite good. The theory in it was very well presented, and easy to understand. I also liked all the graphs and pictures. I now feel more confident in strapping junkyard turbos to a well running car.

Overall, I am very happy with this book!

Great for the Do-it-yourself person.......2007-05-22

Well written from cover to cover. Filled with spot on information to start you way toward that turbo power that everyone wants. Every chapter gives you usefull formulas and examples to began building your engines basic platform. Will point you in the write direction.

A nice cover but..........2007-05-12

I was expecting a lot of specific tuning tips as was promised in the description

It didn't tell me what I already knew. Too much basic information.

It's a perfect book for a beginner or a tuner wannabe.

Thin Film Solar Cells: Fabrication, Characterization and Applications (Wiley Series in Materials for Electronic & Optoelectronic Applications)

Average customer rating:

Thin Film Solar Cells: Fabrication, Characterization and Applications (Wiley Series in Materials for Electronic & Optoelectronic Applications)
Jef, Ed. Poortmans
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Thin- Film Solar Cells: Next Generation Photovoltaics and Its Applications (SPRINGER SERIES IN PHOTONICS)
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ASIN: 0470091266

Book Description

Thin-film solar cells are either emerging or about to emerge from the research laboratory to become commercially available devices finding practical various applications. Currently no textbook outlining the basic theoretical background, methods of fabrication and applications currently exist. Thus, this book aims to present for the first time an in-depth overview of this topic covering a broad range of thin-film solar cell technologies including both organic and inorganic materials, presented in a systematic fashion, by the scientific leaders in the respective domains. It covers a broad range of related topics, from physical principles to design, fabrication, characterization, and applications of novel photovoltaic devices.

Design and Fabrication of Acousto-optic Devices (OPTICAL ENGINEERING)

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Design and Fabrication of Acousto-optic Devices (OPTICAL ENGINEERING)
A. Goutzoulis
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Acousto-optics (OPTICAL ENGINEERING)

ASIN: 082478930X

Book Description

This work offers detailed discussions on all aspects of acousto-optic deflectors, modulators and tunable filters, emphasizing hands-on procedures for design, fabrication and testing. It contains previously unpublished treatments of acousto-optic device design and impedance matching, permitting the actual design of real devices and device-matching circuits.

The Science and Engineering of Microelectronic Fabrication

Average customer rating:

Skip this one
Don't be fooled!
Strongly advise against
Microfabrication equipment explained!
Excellent book on semiconductor microfabrication

The Science and Engineering of Microelectronic Fabrication
Stephen A. Campbell
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0195136055

Book Description

Ideal for upper-level undergraduate or first-year graduate courses and as a handy reference for professionals, The Science and Engineering of Microelectronic Fabrication, Second Edition, provides a thorough and accessible introduction to the field of microfabrication. Revised and expanded in this second edition, the text covers all the basic unit processes used to fabricate integrated circuits, including photolithography, plasma and reactive ion etching, ion implantation, diffusion, oxidation, evaporation, vapor phase epitaxial growth, sputtering, and chemical vapor deposition. Advanced processing topics such as rapid thermal processing, next generation lithography, molecular beam epitaxy, and metal organic chemical vapor deposition are also presented. The physics and chemistry of each process is introduced along with descriptions of the equipment used for the manufacture of integrated circuits. The text also discusses the integration of these processes into common technologies such as CMOS, double poly bipolar, and GaAs MESFETs. Complexity/performance tradeoffs are evaluated along with a description of current state-of-the-art devices. Each chapter includes sample problems with solutions. The text makes use of the popular process simulation package SUPREM to provide more meaningful examples of the type of real-world dopant redistribution problems that microelectronic fabrication engineers must face. This new edition includes a chapter on microelectromechanical structures (MEMS), an exciting new area in microfabrication. The coverage of MEMS includes fundamentals of mechanics; stress in thin films; mechanical to electrical transduction; mechanics of common MEMS devices; bulk micromachining etching techniques; bulk micromachining process flow; surface micromachining basics; surface micromachining process flow; MEMS actuators; and high aspect ratio microsystems technology (HARMST).

Customer Reviews:

Skip this one.......2006-01-18

I must agree with the other readers who expressed their negative sentiments about this text. I also used it for a senior level IC processes and design course and found many flaws with the book.

The underlying explanations are sufficient and interesting, and I found them to be helpful. However, I found the book useful only as an introduction.

A few troublesome things I encountered were incorrect graphs and tables. For example, I was told that, in order to convert from the unit Torr to the unit Torr, to multiply by 1000. This led to decreased credibility and I found myself double checking other conversion factors and equations in other books.

The author also had a tendency to stop explaining topics before finishing, leaving me wanting more information.

Further, I cannot stress how frustrating it was to read off of log/log plots to determine things such as etching rates, only to have read a value that my TA didn't agree with, to get homework questions wrong.

Another huge point of frustration was being presented with an equation without explanation of the variables. For example, the author would talk about k being some scaling factor, and then present an equation with a k term, which I had to deduct was not the scaling factor, but Boltzmann's constant.

Don't be fooled!.......2005-10-18

This book is meant for someone who already has a vast amount of knowledge on the subject. The book has errors in some equations and the graphs are poorly explained. The notation for the equations needs to be organized such that the reader can readily figure out what is what. This book gives equation and then you must hunt through a sea of words (sometimes not on the same page) to find out what the notation means. Values from graphs are often needed to solve the chapter problems, however the values are not obvious and often you have to guess. This allows for errors in your calculations if you don't use the same value the grader used. Furthermore, this book has endless references at the end of every chapter which feels like a cut and paste job when you are reading it, no smooth transitions.

Strongly advise against.......2003-09-12

I am a graduate student in engineering and have never encountered a less understandable book. The author repeatedly offers equations without proof or explaination of variables, frequently changes notation without notifying the reader, and has included far too many errors for a second edition book (ie eqn 3.11, a very important eqn). The problems at the end of the chapters frequently require equations that are not presented in the text (either omitted or included with errors) or that do not correspond to included graphs (check out fig 3.4 and see if you can tell which is GaAS and which is Silicon...then if you're ambitious check out the equation that corresponds to this figure and see if you can figure out whether the plot is correct or the equation is correct). Overall I have been very frustrated by the haphazard way in which this subject has been treated. If you have a class that uses this book, I suggest you get a another book to answer the questions that this one raises (Jaeger for example).

Microfabrication equipment explained!.......2003-04-16

I used this text in a senior-level microelectronics fabrication course and rate it highly. It is a thorough and up to date reference for nearly ALL aspects of modern fabrication technology. The fundamentals like wafer growth, diffusion, oxidation and implantation are covered in the first 5 chapters. Some of this material can be overly technical for those with little background, but I found the tables, diagrams and plots quite helpful.

The rest of the text is broken into sections on patterning (optical and nonoptical lithography, etching,) thin films (evaporation, sputtering, CVD, epitaxial growth,) and process integration (CMOS, GaAs, device technology, bipolar, MEMS.) Each of the subtopics I noted is given a chapter's worth of coverage, so plenty of detail is presented. I think it's a great technical reference and a definite keeper.

Excellent book on semiconductor microfabrication.......2001-02-22

I have been using this book since 1997. It is a great book, especially for those with very little knowledge in microelectronics. Reader with non-technical background can easily understand the materials. Lots of picture & diagrams to further enhance understanding. It has helped me with my postgraduate studies, a must for those who wants to know about microelectronics and a good referrence for all.

Average customer rating:

updated undergraduate text
I was not impressed
Good Read
Proofread it first!
Great starting point

Microchip Fabrication, 5th Ed.
Peter Van Zant
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Essential Guide to Semiconductors
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ASIN: 0071432418

Book Description

Novice-friendly intro to semiconductor processing.The most readable and comprehensive guide to semiconductorprocessing, Peter Van Zant's Microchip Fabrication is considered the bible of basic microchip technology. Now in an updated new fourth edition, this completely math-free introduction to a complex field is an efficient tool for high-powered engineers and technology-clueless salespeople alike. You'll find fully illuminating, easy-reading explanations of semiconductor materials and process chemicals...contamination control...process yields...all aspects of basic patterning....doping,deposition, and metallization...wafer, device, and circuit evaluation...semiconductor devices and integrated circuit formation and types...and packaging. This new fourth edition puts at your fingertips new sections on:

*Copper metallization and damascene patterning

*BGA and CSP*

Cutting-edge cleaning techniques

*And more!

Customer Reviews:

updated undergraduate text.......2005-10-06

[A review of the 5th edition.]

Zant gives an update of his long running book on chip making. It is useful as a quick overview of the salient steps used by many fabs. The text starts with a precis of the industry's history, and, naturally, the seminal and continued significance of Moore's Law.

The wafer fabrication pages describe the predominant Chemical Vapour Deposition method. But the book also finds space for a quick explanation of Molecular Beam Epitaxy. Though the latter is still largely a research method.

Patterning and photolithography are vital processing steps. You should have a solid grasp of these ideas from the relevant chapters. Later steps of layer deposition and metallisation build up the circuit.

A lot of the text is basically unchanged from earlier editions. Since many key ideas have remained constant for decades. Rather, it has been the industry's singular success in applying those ideas to ever greater precision. Hence, the book explains why the decreasing linewidths (now in the deep submicron of around 0.18) and the move to 300mm wafers have kept us moving along Moore's Law.

The book is roughly at an undergraduate level in material science or electrical engineering. [Professionals should seek more detailed texts.]

I was not impressed.......2003-07-04

I was not at all impressed with this book. I have found more information, with more clear illustrations and samples in books that are a fraction of the cost. The author makes several mistakes throughout this book regarding the fabrication of microchips. I did not find the book to be up to date as far as current standards and practices. I highly reccomend that anyone interested in this subject find a more current book. If a person is interested in fabrication techniques from 5 years ago, then this book will fit that need. If a person wants to be knowledgeable about current methods then avoid this book like the plague. I would get my money back if I could.

Good Read.......2003-05-11

If you have or are in the process of getting your EE, don't bother with this book. As the title says, it's a "Practical Guide" for folks that either have an interest in the topic or wish to get a bit deeper into the issues involved in wafer and semiconductor manufacturing due to job requirements etc... it is not a text book.

I would have given the book 5 stars except there are several glaring issues with this book. Given the target audience and general education level of its readers, I think some of the issues are inexcusable.

Typos and grammatical errors abound in this book. The Editor at McGraw Hill must have been asleep or been so completely uninterested in the topic that they didn't bother to check. Also, there are issues with decimal point placement throughout the book. It's sufficiently technical that someone should have bothered to verify the figures before publishing. I also would like to have seen higher quality illustrations/pictures and some logic applied to their placement.

This book is due for an update SOON. It positions die shifts to 180 nanometers as an up and coming event. Intel currently has 90 nanometer manufacturing up and running, with products entering the channel in 4Q03. Not to mention, graphics chip companies and their fab partners have made the shift to 130 nanometers. These process and manufacturing changes bring a whole host of new issues, challenges, opportunities and technologies to the mix.

All in all, this is a good book.

Proofread it first!.......2002-08-21

This book is very easy to understand on the whole. However, some aspects of the organization of the information are frustrating - in Chapter 3 for example, you are frequently directed to Chapter 11, suggesting that the book may need to be read twice.

In terms of quality, the book is abysmal. Shame on the publishers for putting it out in this form! There are typos, omissions, and grammatical errors everywhere. Also, the illustrations and tables are very poor. Some tables are too small to be legible, and the illustrations in many places are less comprehensible than the text itself. The line drawings are often quite laughable, and there are mistakes even in the illustrations.

These problems aside, the basic content is worth 4 stars. I got a wider and deeper view of semiconductors and the industry than I expected for the price.

Great starting point.......2002-07-14

This book is clear and readable -- not your average text book. I'm making a mid-life career change from architect to patent writer for the semiconductor industry. This book has been invaluable. It's not full of a lot of formulas or theory, but it will definitely help you understand what is involved in manufacturing semiconductor devices. The only things I might ask for are 1)Better Prufreeding, and B) more pictures of the process machinery; there are a few, but the author relies mainly on diagrammatic drawings to illustrate equipment. But, that said, there are a lot of drawings and they are very well drawn (unlike some of the fuzzy drawing representations in Wolf's Vol. 1 of Semiconductor Devices for the VLSI Era. The VanZant book is way cheaper, too).

Average customer rating:

Math Text for Trade Schools

Mathematics For Sheet Metal Fabrication
Delmar Learning
Manufacturer: Cengage Delmar Learning
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0827302959

Customer Reviews:

Math Text for Trade Schools.......2003-10-15

This book came up during a search for Sheet Metal techniques and practice. However, the contents are really basic level high school math with sheet metal based examples wherever that is appropriate. The figure on the cover has almost nothing to do with the book. The math is OK as far as it goes -- High school algebra 1 plus a small smattering of geometry and trig. The sort of math that is needed by those working on the shop floor with sheet metal. So if you dropped out of high school to go to work in construction and sheet metal is your trade, this is the book for you. If you are looking for sheet metal design, layout or fabrication, look elsewhere.

Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization (The Fabrication of Ancient Greece 1785-1985, Volume 1)

Average customer rating:

you cant beat em join em
Black Athena -Ancient/Classical/Modern history
The Afroasiatic Roots outdating Classics Programs
Revisiting the Central Claims of One-Dimensional Whiteness
If you like parti pris rhetoric then you'll love this book!

Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization (The Fabrication of Ancient Greece 1785-1985, Volume 1)
Martin Bernal
Manufacturer: Rutgers University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Stolen Legacy

ASIN: 0813512778

Book Description

Winner of the American Book Award and a Socialist Review Book Award What is classical about Classical Civilization? In one of the most audacious works of scholarship ever written, Martin Bernal challenges the whole basis of our thinking about this question. Classical civilization, he argues, has deep roots in Afroasiatic cultures. But these Afroasiatic influences have been systematically ignored, denied, or supressed since the eighteenth century--chiefly for racist reasons. The popular view is that Greek civilization was the result of the conquest of a sophisticated but weak native population by vigorous Indo-European speakers--or Aryans--from the North. But the Classical Greeks, Bernal argues, knew nothing of this "Aryan model." They did not see their political institutions, science, philosophy, or religion as original, but rather as derived from the East in general, and Egypt in particular. Black Athena is a three-volume work. Volume 1 concentrates on the crucial period between 1785 and 1850, which saw the Romantic and racist reaction to the Enlightment and the French Revolution, and the consolidation of Northern expansion into other continents. In an unprecedented tour de force, Bernal makes meaningful links between a wide range of areas and disciplines--drama poetry, myth, theological controversy, esoteric religion, philosophy, biography, language, historical narrative, and the emergence of "modern scholarship." Martin Bernal is Professor Emeritus of Government Studies at Cornell University; he was formerly a Fellow at King's College, Cambridge.

Customer Reviews:

you cant beat em join em.......2007-06-21

im not going to get detailed at all im white and i no that the Egyptians were Black and they were the first people on earth point blank the book was like tony the tiger GGGGGGreat

Black Athena -Ancient/Classical/Modern history.......2007-04-14

A very good addition to my library attributing to my greater understanding of true history.

A previous reviewer seems to imply that this book is full of "parti pris rhetoric", and that no intelligent, reasonable person who "believes history to be something that is objective, rather then something subjective that can be changed to fulfill the ego of insecure people" should not read this book.

The fact is archeologists; historians, scientist, theologists and philosophers have never been objective in their views. Simply read the life experiences of Socrates. Anyone that thinks history is objective, will only consider it objective within their own paradigm, and therefore cannot learn outside of that paradigm. "A person who knows everything cannot learn".

To imply that this book changes objective history to a "subjective one to fulfill the ego of an insecure people", is to show a high level of egotism and insecurity; Insecurity, for fear that the very belief upon which the ego rides will be altered or destroyed. Egotism, insecurity, and greed is foundation of feudalism, classism, racism, and tribalism.

Racism is relatively new. It is less than three hundred years old. I was first told this in college by my teacher (Anglo in nature) who has a PHD in history and taught at the University of Pennsylvania. In my own research in overt and convert history, I found this to be the absolute truth. It started during the period of enlightenment, when Europe, not the Celtic/Gaulic Europeans, but rather the Germanic/Viking tribes (Anglos, Visigoths, Osigoths, Varingians, Merovingians Lombards etc) had reached a level of self-realization, best expressed in illuminism.

In the quest of their belief that they were the enlighten race and that they were descendents of the Egyptians (not fully realizing that the Egyptians were black), they began expeditions to Egypt (and other places). For, who else could have built such monolithic structures other than their ancestry?

They came back sorely disappointed. You can see many of those disappointments by the smash noses of the statues they brought back. It was at this point you begin to see the masking of ancient history, and the birth of "evolution" which is falsely attributed to Charles Darwin.

I would not have believed this until I began my own research. It was most revealing to me, not in history, but in science. Consider this, two thousand years before the existence of Greece, the Sumerians (a black civilization) had already tabulated the exponential. But, who talks about this? One thousand years prior to the Greeks, the Egyptians priest were not theorizing, but rather, practicing spontaneous generation, which is still being rejected in today's "science", even though it's naturally occurring in nature.

One of the bigger shocks in my lifetime was the understanding that the DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) structure was conceive by a monk, not a chemist. The problem with any form of knowledge coming from the Orthodoxy of any field is that they have something to gain by imparting their form of knowledge, and to lose if they do not. This is the nature of human beings whether black or white, rich or poor. Like the philosophical Socrates, I consider the historian Martin Bernal a Gadfly. Without Gadflys, we would have perished long ago.

The Afroasiatic Roots outdating Classics Programs.......2007-02-03

"As a fault Bernal has muddied already muddied waters with attempting to ask the wrong questions ...and, those who have been 'refuting' him, have likewise addressed the wrong concerns. ... (but) If nothing else has come out of this debate, it is a realization that the notions of race as expressed by modern scholars reflect a modern industrial world and must be understood in that context." Eugene Cruz-Uribe

Black Athena, in a nutshell:
In Black Athena, Martin Bernal attempts to prove that the roots of Greek civilization and language came from Egypt and the Levant. Bernal argued in his first volume, 1987, that 18th and 19th century White scholarship, biasedly favored an 'Aryan/ Indo-European Model,' denying ancient Egyptian contributions. He attributed the European root search results to a racist dominated mentality. While Bernal proposal that ancient Egyptians were dark Africans, there is no proof of their Negroid classification. His work drifted to the extreme left supporting the wider allegation of Afrocentrism. The second volume of this projected four-volume work arouses fundamental questions of awe and skepticism, that touch almost every issue in American daily life: lack of logical dialogue, residual racism, failure of university programs.
To state that because Egypt is located on (NE corner of) of Africa, it is African, is merely simplistic. Does geography hold the only key to this classification? Dean Eugene Cruz-Uribe adds that, "... for many scholars that the anti-Bernal crusades that have evolved often have faulted Bernal ... and have thus downplayed the questions raised (that his outrageous theses addressed squarely one area of scholarship that Egyptologists and Classical historians had preferred not to address)".

Black Athena II:
Martin Bernal supports his thesis, by many Egyptian or Semitic roots for Greek words, while more recent discoveries in upper Egypt, indicated Phoenician alphabet could have evolved from Proto-Sinaitic into a more linear form during about the 12th century BC. The immediate offspring of Phoenician were the old Hebrew alphabet, and Aramaic, as well as Archaic Greek. No matter where and when the adoption of Egyptian signs onto a Semitic language occurred, the process of adoption is quite interesting. Bernal's striking examples, may exert a stronger potential in light of recent finds, but there is too much to be developed before his weaker cases could be supported by conclusive archeological reconstruction.
Much of the Bernal's archaeological interpretations though boldly genius, still lack solid evidential examples to convince. Bernal woven model of a "Pax Aegyptiaca" populations with cultural infilteration in the Aegean Bronze Age is no new idea. Bernal advances such cases that have been neglected or minimized by the Hellenocentricts. Bernal's blunt reconstructions go much further than warranted, comments John Lenz, "In fact he rejects a model of multiculturalism in favor of a scenario of widespread Egyptian colonization and domination."

Failure of Humanities:
How often do we hear Egyptian wisdom ignorantly depreciated by comparison with Greek philosophy? How many universities even offer courses on the ancient Near East and Egypt?
Harvard school's governing board selected a transforming leader reminiscent of Harvard's past great presidents, who set the agenda for higher education in the country and, as revered public intellectuals, dominated national debates. Dean Summers--himself a former Harvard economics wunderkind, convinced that his old school, (as mostly all ivy's) needs far more than a face lift, nothing less than a cultural revolution on campus. He initiated a review of the undergraduates study material that could ultimately help revise the definition of an effective liberal arts education program worthy of the 21st century, calling for a more interdisciplinary approach to learning as well (Bernal's self pursued agenda). Currently, humanities students major in traditional subjects, such as English or classics, while the nature of knowledge has vastly changed, many of the most exciting areas of inquiry cut across traditional disciplines, pointed the ousted dean. While the majority of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences -- which placed a pending vote of no confidence against Summers and seemed ready to move on it -- Summers still maintained strong support from some faculty members and a majority of students.

A compelling Review:
In an even handed analytical review, "Ancient Histories and Modern Humanities," By John Lenz, he concludes, "Black Athena, volume 2 is extremely heavy going and problematic. Informative and generally reasonable in tone, its scope and ambition put the work of most scholars to shame. Even hoary antiquarians will learn things, and other dedicated readers will be led into the fascinating alleyways of Aegean prehistory. Everyone, however, should read this work with extreme caution."

Revisiting the Central Claims of One-Dimensional Whiteness .......2007-01-08

"The central claims of Afrocentrism were prominently set forth in a controversial book, Black Athena, 2 vol. (1987-91), by white historian Martin Bernal. Since that time, Afrocentrism has encountered significant opposition from mainstream scholars who charge it with historical inaccuracy, scholarly ineptitude, and racism." Encyclopedia Britannica

A controversial book:
This is an earth breaking, thought provoking, and exciting book. It has been and will continue to be controversial, and polarizing as well. The author, Martin Bernal, is a professor at Cornell University, the son of John D. Bernal, who laid the foundation of molecular biology, and grandson of the great Oxford U. Egyptologist Sir Alan Gardiner. He proposes arguably that Greek civilization, was instead an off shot from Egypto-Levantine culture, rather than being the cradle of a distinguished European civilization, with its roots firmly planted in NE Africa and SW Asia. He proposes that the Greek classical civilization and philosophy is not the foundation of our western culture, thus forcing us to reconsider the roots, concepts and meaning of Western civilization itself.
The book was published in a period when America was becoming the only super power, after the long waited fall of the Soviet Union, letting conservative politicians and academics tout the uniqueness of the West and its European civilization of amalgamated Greco Roman roots.
W. J. Bennett, Regan's Secretary of Education, has argued that Americans should go back to the basics, students have to read and absorb the classic of Western civilization, rather than thinking critically about what history of science meant, or the impact of space travel and the Internet communications revolution, that rendered the world flat. Black Athena is a negative response to the new conditions which may have offset; its implications are unsettling.

One-Dimensionality and Whiteness:
This book may have linked with Marcuse's concept of the one-dimensional society and the Great Refusal, with critical race theory in order to achieve a more robust interrogation of 'whiteness'. The author of a recent paper on "Policy Futures in Education," argues that in the context of the United States, the one-dimensionality that Marcuse condemns in One-Dimensional Man is best illuminated by the concept of whiteness, in the context of white supremacy, is an ideological manifestation of dominant capitalism in the United States. The author furthers that the values Marcuse wants to break with or refuse in An Essay on Liberation can be more concretely captured if it is made clear that the ideology of whiteness represents a key part of the normative order of advanced industrial society that started to institute its legitimate roots in a mythic fable of European philosophy and heroism. The paper warns against Ms Lefkowitz, and her outdated classicists promoting whiteness in educational institutions serves to oppress race, gender, and class centered individuals and communities. Thus, the author proposes that, in the context of education, the crucial theoretical tools we have to challenge Ms Lefkowitz's glorification of the one-dimensional education and refuse whiteness in favor of a critical multicultural education.

Bernal's Greek Civilization:
Bernal's thesis for the origins of ancient Greek civilization accounts that it gradually evolved in ancient antiquity, through interactions between the local inhabitants and the Egyptians and Phoenicians colonies established in Greece at various time epochs, during the second millennium B. C. He alleges that ancient Greek culture developed out of these interactions, while Greeks continued to borrow from the Afro-Asians for the next two millennia.
Bernal's shocking theory, has radically contradicted the Indo-European framework of diffusion into Greek population by northern European Aryans who mixed with the local, pre-Hellenic inhabitants causing Greece and the Aegean world to develop a culture of the Anglo-Saxon prototype of Western civilization. The Aryan Model which was created during the first half of the nineteenth century became dominant to the present day, when challenged with Bernal, who suggested that the Aryan Model survived because it matched and adequately served the advancing ideals of capitalism in progress, racialism, and imperialism which eventually dominated the modern times. It may be excessively helpful in positive debates to be rational. Any scholar, motivated mainly by race issues ( Ms Lefkowitz, who has few qualifications other than outdated classics) could be identified as a red-neck, if she does not renounce her infallibility, being uninformed on other domains, which Bernal assesses their significance and implications, of an enormous entity of philological, archaeological, historical evidence, and critical tools of analysis and reconstruction, which Martin Bernal utilized repeatedly.

Egyptian Human Heritage:
Two books are basic to have common grounds, on the origin of Greek civilization
a. Gerald Massey's 'Book of the Beginnings,' is an essential reading for seekers of a balanced understanding of human origins, religious thought and belief, and the role of Ancient Egyptian civilization in world progress. Massey, born in England in 1828, was a radical Egyptologist, like Bernal's grandfather, has maintained that Africa was the source of "the greatest civilization in the world." According to Massey, all evidence cries aloud its proclamation that Africa was the birthplace of the non-articulate and Egypt the mouthpiece of the articulate man."
Greek Plato, wrote in Timaeus, "The wisdom of the Egyptians was a proverb with the Greeks, who felt themselves children beside this ancient race." Later, Herodotus, another informed Greek has demonstrated that Greece borrowed from Egypt all the elements of her civilization, and that Egypt was the cradle of civilization. The Late Nobel laureate, Naguib Mahfouz, who read the second book, namely, 'The Dawn of conscience,' by the great American Orientalist James H. Breasted was right in saying, "Egyptian civilization was beyond any doubt a great culture that encompassed the entire ancient world. The fact that we may have come to know it once more through the mediation of Western explorers and scientists does not make it any less ours. How could it be? It is the heritage of all humanity."

Betrnal's Mortal Sins:
Martin Bernal, by trespassing the boundaries of established disciplines and using inter discipline evidence that is not usually handled in the same language, Bernal has advanced academic tactics that are doomed heretical to those ultra orthodox who resent incursions into their outdated domains by uninitiated novices, who lack the curia's approval credentials. Monoply academics in their intrenched disciplines would menace most of Black Athena's novel arguments and reconstruction methodology. In the debates that followed, criticizing Martin's analyses and undermining his interpretations of the vast pieces of evidence, he has undoubtedly earned intellectual audience in and outside the academia.

Prophetic Review:
In his 1988 compelling review, Thomas C. Patterson, made a prophecy concluding, "But in the end he will win the war, if he has not in fact already done so. One reason for this is the tightness and logic of his arguments. Another is that, while scholars in the various relevant fields may view Bernal as an outsider or an interloper, they cannot easily dismiss him as a crank or a crackpot, since he has adopted the methods of the various disciplines and followed their established, generally agreed upon procedures and canons for evaluating evidence."

If you like parti pris rhetoric then you'll love this book!.......2006-10-13

Do you like to be lied to? Do you like propaganda and ill concieved agendas shoved down your throat? Do you like people who state theories as facts and then offer no evidence to substantiate their claims? Do you want to read a book which very existence would make Herodotus turn over in his grave and cause anyone who believes an accurate potrayl of history to be important to feel nothing but deep despair? If your answer was yes to one or more of these questions then you'll probably really enjoy this book. However if you're an intelligent and reasonable person who believes history to be something that is objective, rather then something subjective that can be changed to fulfill the ego of insecure people then this book probably isn't for you. However, if you are interested in the outlandish Afrocentric claims to Greek antiquity then I would recommend reading 'Not Out Of Africa' by Mary Lefkowitz.

Fabrication Methods for Precision Optics (Wiley Series in Pure and Applied Optics)

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This book IS the bible of optics fab
This book IS the bible of optics fab

Fabrication Methods for Precision Optics (Wiley Series in Pure and Applied Optics)
Hank H. Karow
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0471703796

Book Description

Based on an unpublished revision of the standard reference in the German optics industry. Designed as a source of facts, data and definitions, it reflects state-of-the-art technology and current practices in the United States and abroad. Practical in nature, it presents optical engineers with comprehensive coverage of material, tool and design methods and testing of the final product. Easily accessible with tables, graphs and equations, it will help professionals quickly and accurately find the most suitable solutions to their optical challenges.

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This book IS the bible of optics fab.......2002-11-21

It doesn't get much better than this.

There aren't many areas left untouched.

It is written so operator and engineer may read it

This book IS the bible of optics fab.......2002-11-21

It doesn't get much better than this.

There aren't many areas left untouched.

Book Description

* Step-by-step coverage of the entire assembly fabrication process: boards, soldering, packages, substrates, and deposition

* Non-specialists guide to assembly fabrication--no advance degrees or math background necessary

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