Book Description
A fully illustrated, accessible encyclopedic collection in an A-to-Z format of essays on every significant Civil War battle, with authoritative text prepared by the Civil War Society. Includes maps and archival illustrations and photographs.
Customer Reviews:
Historical Find.......2007-02-08
Very interesting. I love anything to do with the Civil War--and this book is great for such reading. Excellent coverage of details. Any reader would enjoy this book though. Glad I bought it!
Book Description
Full-color comprehensive reference to the soldiers, generals, weapons, and battles of the both the North and South by a noted Civil War historian.
Book Description
Every aspect of the career of General George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn is covered here. The people around Custer and his native American counterparts are detailed, as are related military campaigns, battles, historical events, equipment and terminology. There are also entries on Plains Indian culture and customs, artists and artwork, movies and other subjects associated with the battle. Following the entries is a listing of suggested sources for further research.
Customer Reviews:
This is the best book about Custer I have ever read........1999-10-13
When it comes to Custer one can not read a more up to date book
This is the best Custer book I have ever read.......1999-10-13
When it comes to Custer one can not find a more informative book
THE RESEARCH WAS EXCELLENT, IT IS A GREAT BOOK.......1999-09-17
MR. HATCH HAS DONE EXTENSIVE RESEARCH INTO THE CUSTER SUBJECT. THE PHOTOS WERE GREAT TOO. THIS WAS THE BEST BOOK AVAILABLE FOR MY THESIS.
Book Description
Take a rare view of Civil War memorabilia through the eyes of the photographers and artists who were there. This comprehensive collection features over 440 full-color and black and white original photographs, drawings, lithographs, and specially commissioned images from the first major war to be photographed, the United States Civil War. Here is just a peek of what you'll see inside:
-The battlegrounds of Fort Sumter, Appomattox, and more
-The bravery of great leaders such as Lee and Grant
-A rare glimpse into the soldiers' life in camp
-The enthusiasm of volunteer regiments
-And much more!
With authoritative text from noted Civil War expert William C. Davis, this masterful volume is both a historical reference and a moving tribute to the war America will never forget.
Book Description
“West's Encyclopedia of American Law†is 13 volumes and 5,000 entries of comprehensive information on the fascinating American Legal System and its components. Covering historical and current terms, concepts, events, movements, cases, and persons significant to U.S law, West’s has been written, updated, and reviewed by lawyers and professors with the everyday user in mind. Everyone from the layperson hooked on the weekly TV courtroom procedural to the serious student can find such valuable information as brief definitions of legal jargon, exhaustive examinations of courtroom procedure, explanations of complex topics such as civil rights, biographies of standout attorneys, analyses of controversial issues, and transcripts of crucial Supreme Court decisions.
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Encyclopedia of Civil War Battles
Jay Robert Nash
Manufacturer: Scarecrow Press
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ASIN: 1928831419 |
Book Description
In The Age of Intelligent Machines, inventor and visionary computer scientist Raymond Kurzweil probes the past, present, and future of artificial intelligence, from its earliest philosophical and mathematical roots to tantalizing glimpses of 21st-century machines with superior intelligence and truly prodigious speed and memory. Generously illustrated and easily accessible to the nonspecialist, this book provides the background needed for a full understanding of the enormous scientific potential represented by intelligent machines as well as their equally profound philosophic, economic, and social implications.
Running alongside Kurzweil's historical and scientific narrative are 23 articles examining contemporary issues in artificial intelligence.
Raymond Kurzweil is the founder and chairman of Kurzweil Applied Intelligence and the Kurzweil Reading Machine division of Xerox. He was the principal developer of the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind and other significant advances in artificial intelligence technology.
Articles by: Charles Ames. Margaret A. Boden. Harold Cohen. Daniel C. Dennett. Edward A. Feigenbaum. K. Fuchi. George Gilder. Douglas R. Hofstadter. Michael Lebowitz. Margaret Litven. Blaine Mathieu. Marvin Minsky. Allen Newell. Brian W. Oakley. Seymour Papert. Jeff Pepper. Roger Schank and Christopher Owens. Sherry Turkle. Mitchell Waldrop.
Customer Reviews:
Begin your study of artificial intelligence here.......2005-12-19
If this book doesn't have you sitting on the edge of your seat in anticipation of the next paragraph, then you probably have no interest whatsoever in logic, mathematics, physics, computer technology, and artificial intelligence.
For me, it was breathtaking. There were times when I had to take a rest after each paragraph just to fully assimilate the ramifications of what Kurzweil was describing.
Higher intellects may be able to absorb this subject matter with less amazement. However, I enjoyed the ride.
Ray Kurzweil takes the time to explain in explicit detail where we have been and where we might be going in the area of artificial intelligence.
He is not only an inventor and a researcher, but he is also a teacher. A teacher is not satisfied until the student understands the material.
Some may say that this book is dated, but any introductory college AI course will cover the topics described in this book from the 1940's, 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's.
This book changed my life. I have continued my personal study of artificial intelligence after being inspired by this book.
Cr*p.......2005-06-05
Computers can be programmed in accordance with the laws of logic, and can give results to mathematical problems when the programmer creates the proper procedure.
Any device that can do this must be intelligent, in the same sense as human beings.
Therefore, computers are intelligent.
I have saved you the trouble of reading this compilation of nonsense and outright lies (I especially liked the whopper where it was said that a computer had passed the Turing test. If you look up Turing's paper, for example in
The Mind's I, by Hofstadter, you'll see just how big a lie this is).
If your religion tells you that computers are intelligent, I won't argue. For the non-faith-based, you need evidence and reason, and Kurzweil has absolutely none.
There's some interesting information scattered through this mess, but it's not worth buying for it.
An incredible book.......2003-07-26
I read this book only recently, having read the author's two most recent books "The Age of Spiritual Machines" and his book "Kurzweil vs The Critics of Strong AI". Both are excellent books, and reflect the author's extreme optimism about the future of artificial intelligence. He is definitely one of the best apologists for AI, and documents well its living history. Reading this book after the recent ones gives an interesting comparison between what was real in AI then and what is real now. Indeed, the AI landscape has changed dramatically, and there were a few companies specializing in AI in business at the time of publication of this book, that are not around any longer. But for every company that has failed, there have been many more to take their place. Their character as companies has changed, due in part to the rise of the Internet. In fact, it is network engineering that has resulted in many of the applications of AI in the last 5 years, and those applications of course are not mentioned in this book, due to its date of publication.
The author begins the book with a discussion of what he calls "The Second Industrial Revolution", which, he claims, is now in progress, and is based on the rise of thinking machines. These machines will extend and leverage human mental abilities, he says, challenging the human uniqueness in this regard. He expresses caution over the idea of making our military defenses controlled by intelligent machines, at the same time expressing his confidence that machine intelligence will indeed be sophisticated enough for this to happen. This revolution is here he says, will be more radical than the first one, but cannot be stopped, and he encourages therefore the constructive use of its technology. Thus is the author's motivation to write this book: to give the reader an overview of what was possible in AI at the time, and encourage the benevolent use of it.
The author not only discusses the technology of AI, but also attempts to give the reader insight into just what AI is. This entails a discussion of philosophy, since philosophical debate dominated AI in its early years. Such debates are still common, but due to the frequent vituperation involved in them (which the author recognizes and mentions in the book), not much is to be gained from these. Time is better spent on actually trying to build thinking machines, and not engaging in conversations that lead nowhere. Since this book appeared, many philosophers have left their "arm chairs" and have joined in the practical research in artificial intelligence. This trend will no doubt continue in this century, thus giving rise to the "industrial philosopher".
A fairly detailed history of the field of artificial intelligence is given in the book, with several articles written by some of the more recognized individuals in the field. All of these are interesting reading, and shed light on the different attitudes and prejudices regarding AI. For readers who are new to AI, this will be welcomed, as well as the many discussions on the mathematical foundations of AI and its intersection with cognitive science.
The author refrains from including any mathematical notation or equations in the book, and this has its advantages and disadvantages. It allows a more general readership but sacrifices some of the clarity of thought that mathematics allows. The author does give a good discussion of pattern recognition though, especially edge detection. His discussion on this topic is interesting in that it brings up his demarcation between "logical" and "parallel" thinking. Logical thinking is referred to as "sequential" and "conscious", with a resulting limitation in computational ability. It is to be distinguished from parallel thinking which can process multiple levels of abstraction, and can occur without conscious direction. Pattern recognition is in his view an example of the latter, and he justifies this view in the book in some detail. More evidence for his view from laboratory experiments is needed however. Pattern recognition algorithms and technologies have exhibited considerable advance since this book was published.
There have been many advances in AI since the time of publication, due in large measure to the rise of the Internet. Most of these advances have been breathtaking, such as in computer chess, games with imperfect information, Bayesian networks, financial engineering, network intelligence, literary creativity, automatic theorem proving, to name just a few. The author discusses his projections for the future of AI in the book, and it is interesting to compare them with what really came about within the decade later. There is no doubt that more exciting developments are on the way, and the optimism expressed by the author in all of his writings is also characteristic of all who are responsible for these developments. The machines, getting more intelligent with every decade that passes in the 21st century, will bear the signature of these individuals: a tell-tale sign and proof of the genius of the human species.
Great book to understand AI.......2003-07-03
I have used this book for a course in Artificial Intelligence at the college level many times. The book was published in 1992, which is outdated in many areas. However, the historical development in AI is highly readable. Many predictions in the book turn out to be true. The new book by the same author is not good at all.
Ray has developed many applications in AI with his own company and enjoyed much success. He is a great role model for young entrepreneurs.
artificial intellegence.......1999-12-29
can i know more detail about what is the artificial intellegence thank a lot.
Book Description
In the aftermath of the methodical destruction of Iraq during the Persian Gulf War, the power and efficiency of new computerized weapons and surveillance technology have become chillingly apparent. For Manuel DeLanda, however, this new weaponry has a significance that goes far beyond military applications; he shows how it represents a profound historical shift in the relation of human beings both to machines and to information. The recent emergence of intelligent and autonomous bombs and missiles equipped with artificial perception and decision-making capabilities is, for Delanda, part of a much larger transfer of cognitive structures from humans to machines in the late twentieth century.
War in the Age of Intelligent Machines provides a rich panorama of these astonishing developments; it details the mutating history of information analysis and machinic organization from the mobile siege artillery of the Renaissance, the clockwork armies of the Thirty Years War, the Napoleonic campaigns, and the Nazi blitzkrieg up to present-day cybernetic battle-management systems and satellite reconnaissance networks. Much more than a history of warfare, DeLanda's account is an unprecedented philosophical and historical reflection on the changing forms through which human bodies and materials are combined, organized, deployed, and made effective.
Manuel DeLanda has published essays on philosophy and film theory. He is a computer programmer and a film artist.
Customer Reviews:
military technologies = emergent systems.......2006-02-12
Manuel DeLanda's preeminent virtue as a scholar is the way in which he applies the ideas of complexity theory (emergence, feedback, etc.) to the historical record, and this book follows this template, looking at moments where technological developments (the conoidal bullet, wireless technology) spur military systems to evolve (a process which, in turn, triggers other armies to evolve in response).
If you accept this premise (fail to at your peril), it naturally suggests that the militaries of today will one day evolve even further. So in addition to sketching out historical instances of this sort of thing, DeLanda spends a lot of time drawing attention to contemporary developments in technology or military theory that might be putting us on the road to future phase shifts that might spell Bad News for soldiers and civilians alike. Artificial intelligence, RAND-style war game simulators, and predatory machines (of the sort outlined in DARPA's "Strategic Computing Initiative") all come in for an extended critique, although DeLanda seems more optimistic about technological systems that don't take human beings "out of the loop" (the book ends with an appreciation of humanist interface designer Doug Engelbart).
All in all, this book is pretty essential reading for anyone interested in the "machine" part of the war machine, although it could definitely benefit from a little revision and expansion: some of the Cold War anxiety undergirding the book has lost some of its edge in the intervening years, and I could stand to lose some of it in favor of having DeLanda as a guide through past two wars (although War was published in 1991, Desert Storm hardly ranks a mention, a little odd, given the use of Israeli-built Pioneer UAVs in that conflict).
Dubious Sources.......2003-07-15
De Landa's theoretical connections are interesting and thought provoking but are unfortunately very often not adequately cited. In his attempt to explain the entire development of warfare, De Landa displays only a cursory knowledge of his topic frequently neglecting to mention crucial information. A few errors and mis-explanations early in the book made me question everything he had to say. This book is great for the images and connections it invokes. The theoretical leaps it makes are admirable. Do not however, rely upon this book for factual information.
A really good book, though by a non-rigourous popularizer..........2000-10-23
De Landa in the book puts together something that is both very impressing in unexpected ways and wholly disappointing in very predictable ways. As to substance, what he does is neat and innovative for what is, essentially, a popular book in an unread subgenre; it's of the same order as DJ Spooky CDs (more or less academic in a popularly predictable sort of way). And, again, like DJ Spooky, De Landa is REALLY smart but in a dilettente-sortish way; I know from having gone there that he is a professor at Columbia-- I'm not sure in what discipline (architecture[?]) but his class, I'm sure, is mind boggling and fun.....
And here come this book's problems. Because of the scope of what he takes on, he makes some little mistakes. My academic background is in political economics; he misspells an author's name for the whole of the text (Douglass North has two 's's). That makes me a little scared of what other little mistakes he makes, or if he makes BIG mistakes that because of this work's broad scope I'd never catch.
This book is a definate must-read; his '1000 years of Non-linear history' by all accounts is even more amazing (including my own!) and this is a really, really smart book.
Buy this!
Good Stuff for Graduate Students.......2000-04-08
A very early and largely academic-historical-philosophical discussion of the changing nature of the relationships between humans, computers, and war. Written prior to the Silicon Valley explosion, and thus still very concerned about the military dominance of information technology. A good alternative overview.
Must reading for wireheads.......1998-06-19
De Landa strikes me as a popularizer, but what he lacks in theoretical rigor he more than makes up for with discipline, serious intent, and sheer vision. Best antidote in print to the kind of mostly ignorant, ahistorical cyberphilia that dominates too much of "Wired" and other ongoing public discussions of our technological future. If you like this, you must not miss "A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History", which advances his methods and insight to a much wider, even more significant level.
Average customer rating:
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Robots and Intelligent Machines (The Age of Computers)
Ian Litterick
Manufacturer: Hodder Wayland
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0850782619 |
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War in the Age of Intelligent Machines.: An article from: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
John Bell
Manufacturer: Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
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ASIN: B00091ZIH0
Release Date: 2005-07-28 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc. on June 1, 1993. The length of the article is 697 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: War in the Age of Intelligent Machines.
Author: John Bell
Publication:
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 1993
Publisher: Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc.
Volume: v49
Issue: n5
Page: p54(1)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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