FRENCH 17

See French 17 (1998).

BOURDIN, JEAN-CLAUDE, ed. Les matérialismes philosophiques. Paris: Kimé, 1997.

Review: M. Conche in Revue philosophique 189 (1999), 229–30: A collection of papers presented at Cerizy-la-Salle in 1995, concerning the various forms that materialism has assumed since the 17th century. C. notes in particular an essay by O. Bloch, "Molère matérialiste?" which he characterizes as an "étude savante et subtile qui suppose,pour être convenablement appréciée, une bonne connaissance, outre l'oeuvre complète de Molière, de son contexte philosophique et littéraire."

BOUVIER, ALBAN. "Histoire des idées, sociologie des croyanceset processus argumentatifs. Scepticisme et modernité d'après Richard H. Popkin." RdS 119.2/3 (1998), 307–322.

This article shows the relevance of Richard H. Popkin's book from the point of view of a sociological and anthropological analysis of the collective processes of doubt and assent. This examination implies that we analyze the fine differences between the history of ideas, the sociology of knowledge, the ethnology of beliefs and epistemology.

BRAHAMI, FRÉDÉRIC. "L'articulation du scepticisme religieux et du scepticisme profane dans l'Histoire du scepticismed'Érasme à Spinoza de Richard H. Popkin." RdS 119.2/3(1998), 293–305.

Although Popkin gives an original interpretation of modernity, B. examines how his interpretation can be questioned in so far as he does not make a clear enough distinction between modern and ancient scepticism and does not take into account the specificity of fideism.

BRANN, NOEL L. Tristemius and Magical Theology: A Chapter in the Controversy over Occult Studies in Early Modern Europe. Albany: SUNY Press, 1998.

BURGAT, FLORENCE. Animal mon prochain. Paris: Odile Jacob,1997.

Review: Françoise Armangaud in RMM (Apr.-June 1999), 261–64: A fine examination which constitutes a "histoire critique des idées philosophiques et scientifiques, visantà mettre en évidence les présupposés qui ont effecté la recherche" beginning with the 17th century. Notable pages on instinct and temporality.

BURY, EMMANUEL. "Littérature et philosophie, ou de la philosophie et de ses effets." PFSCL 25 (1998), 367–370.

Introduction to the studies gathered by Bury and J.-C. Darmon, organizers of the Séminaire Paris IV/CNRS-URA 1996.

CHEDOZEAU, BERNARD.religion "D'une baroque? Une religion de la confiance naïve et flamboyante." Littératures Classiques 36 (1999), 109–125.

"Une orientation du catholicisme tridentin, battue en brèche en France dès le milieu du XVIIe siècle par les tenants d'une religion et d'une dévotion marquées par les diverses formes de l'augustinisme, mérite peut-être d'être dite baroque."

CHEDOZEAU, BERNARD. Choeur clos, choeur ouvert. De l'église médiévale à l'église tridentine (France, XVIIe–XVIIIe siècles). Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1998.

Review: Reynald Abad in DSS 202 (1999), 206–208: This book analyzes the intimate relationship between change and renewal in the Catholic church and architectural innovations and renovations: "le vaste effort de rénovation du catholicisme passa par un profond réaménagement des principaux lieux de culte existants." Reviewer praises Chedozeau for providing a comprehensive framework in which to situate and understand individual cases of structural change. Supporting documentation includes clear architectural drawings, photographs and a glossary of useful terms.

CHÉDOZEAU, BERNARD. "Pour une périodisation des rapports entre littérature et religion au XVIIe siècle." Littératures Classiques 34 (1998), 103–118.

Loose periodization, without specific dates, of the relationship between literature and religion. Three periods are defined between 1640 and the end of the century: "période molinienne," "période augustinienne," and period of "laïcisation."

CLARK, STUART. Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe. Oxford: Clarendon, 1997.

Review: B.V. Laface in ECS 32 (1999) 585: Vast range of knowledge in a "major reconstruction and revaluation of demonology from the 15th through the 18th centuries. Clark's intellectual history contextualizes the subject of early-modern witchcraft as no one has before.

See French 17 (1998).

CLARKE, DESMOND M.,trans. and ed. Louis de La Forge, Treatise on the Human Mind. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1998.

Review: Thomas Lennon in Isis 90 (1999), 597–98: The first English translation of this 1615 work by the disciple of Descartes who illustrated the posthumous publication of the Traité de 1'homme. A good translation which will add a contribution to the "current revaluation of Cartesianism as a much more diverse, creative, and nuanced movement than the dead-end monolith it was once taken to be." The rich annotation of Pierre Clair's now out-of-print French edition (1974) is still complementary.

CLAVELIN, MAURICE. La philosophie naturelle de Galilée. Essaisur les origines et la formation de la mécanique classique.Paris: Albin Michel, 1996.

Review: Fabien Chareix in RdS 120.1 (1999), 176–179: "Un ouvrage majeure connaît enfin une nouvelle édition, dans un format dont la pagination respecte celle de 1968, avec une bibliographie complète des études galiléennes contemporaines. . . . L'analyse interne s'effectue en quatre parties qui sont autant de mises à l'épreuve de la méthode de l'histoire des sciences telle que Clavelin laconçoit, soit 'Traditions et travaux de jeunesse', 'Le copernicianisme et la science du mouvement', 'Naissance de la mécanique classique' et 'La raison et le réel'."

COLLINS, JOHN J. et al., eds. The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism. New York: Continuum Publishing, 1998.

Review: W. L. Pitts Jr. in Choice 36.6 (1998), 1076: "This splendid collection of essays explores religiously inspired conceptions of the end of history.... [M]ost ofthe essays ... analyze the Christian tradition.... The second volume treats developments in Europe and the Near East, 100 C.E. to 1800 C.E., with most chapters devoted to the Middle Ages.... Addressing critical aspects of Western apocalypticism, the authors identify and define their topics carefully, develop independent interpretations, and supply excellent supporting annotated bibliographies. This superb encyclopedia represents the best current scholarship on an important subject; it richly deserves wide distribution."

COOK, NOBLE DAVID. Born to Die: Disease and New World Conquest, 1492–1650. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Review: J. A. Lewis in Choice 36.2 (1998), 372: "Ranging in expanse from the Tierra del Fuego to the St. Lawrence River Valley and covering the first century and a half of European occupations, C. explores many of the issues that accompany the study of disease and epidemics in the New World."

COTTINGHAM, JOHN. Philosophy and the Good Life. Reason and Passions in Greek, Cartesian and Psychoanalytic Ethics.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1999.

Review: Michael Rosen in TLS 5010 (9 Apr, 1999), 32: An exploration of the place of ratiocination in philosophy and its limits, especially in ethics (or what the reviewer calls "moral psychology"). The ratiocentric dimension seems proper to any ethics worthy of the name but cannot avail itself transparently of the full significance of the materials of which it is the agent. "Frankly exploratory," this essay offers "thoughts on questions of real depth and importance."

CRAIG, EDWARD, ed. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge, 1998.

Review: Izbecki in Choice 36.4 (1998), 664–666: Covers a wide range of philosophical topics by appropriate experts in the field. Accompanied by a version on CD-ROM.

DASTON, LORRAINE. "The Nature of Nature in Early Modern Europe." Representations 6 (1998), 149–72.

Addresses two: if nature wielded cultural authority, what were the sources and limits of that authority? What were the meanings and values of nature for the learned and powerful? Then, what is the logic of the historical argument for the centrality of legitimation and does it square with the resources early modern views of nature really supplied?

DESROSIERES, ALAIN. The Politics of Large Numbers: A History of Statistical Reasoning. Trans.Camille Naish. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998.

Review: D. V. Chopra in Choice 36.7 (1999), 1298: "Beginning with probability theory in the 17th century, the author presents a sophisticated and engaging study of the evolution of statistics and discusses in great depth its relationship to national and international statistical agencies.... This critical and scholarly work presents with subtlety and erudition a notable blend of historical and philosophical aspects of the development of statistics over time."

DICKENSON, VICTORIA. Drawn From Life: Science and Art in the Portrayal of the New World. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.

Review: D. Topper in Choice 36.11/12 (1999), 1933–1934: "D.'s study of natural history illustrations ... entails deep analyses of the pictures themselves, not just the accompanying text. The chronology ranges from the European 'discovery' of the New World into the 19th century. Focusing on the northern half of North America, especially Canada, she explores not only the customary images of flora and fauna but landscapes as well. She endeavors to extract the meaning and purpose of the images in their original context.... However, she does apply present-day conceptual methodology regarding matters of stylistic convention and naturalistic representation, the relationship between pictures and text, and various contextual issues.... This study of the European vision of the New World makes a significant contribution to the burgeoning area of scientific illustration as a branch of the conceptual and material history of science."

DICTIONNAIRE DES PHILOSOPHES. Encyclopaedia Universalis .Paris: Albin Michel, 1998.

Review: C. Dauphin in QL 751 (1998), 23: "Sous une forme souple — et néanmoins robuste — voici réunis les principaux articles consacrés par l'Encyclopaedia Universalis aux philosophes. Ces notices ont l'avantaged 'être mises à jour, chaque année."

DUBOST, JEAN-PIERRE. "Libertinage and Modernity: From the 'Will to Knowledge' to Libertine Textuality." YFS 94 (1998), 52–78.

Two-fold inquiry reevaluates "the established criteria that have until now been used to define libertinage." D. acknowledges the differentiation between a "first" or "erudite libertinage" of the early seventeenth century and a "second" form of erotic libertinage specific to the eighteenth century deriving from different social and intellectual atmospheres. However, D. finds that a more appropriate line of demarcation lies between "the quite different use of rhetorical techniques, particularly in a different montage of discourses and scenes, of 'telling' and 'showing'." "The difference between the two levels derives from a single, basic principle: from a specific relation between desire, knowledge, and representation profoundly linked to the rational status of representation proposed by modernity."

DUFLO, COLAS. Le jeu, de Pascal à Schiller. Paris: PUF, 1997.

Review: J.-P. Vinci in Revue philosophique 189 (1999), 236–7: V. summarizes this volume as an attempt to convince the reader of the philosophical interest of the game, concluding: "pari réussi." He notes in passing interesting chapters on Pascal, Leibnitz and even Casanova — "chapitre peut-être anecdotique— mais que ces anecdotes sont plaisantes!" The most detailed sections of the text, however, are focused on Kant and Schiller.

DUMONT, PASCAL. "Est-il pertinent de parler d'une philosophie baroque?" Littératures Classiques 36 (1999), 63–77.

Leibniz versus Descartes, "deux figures exactement inverses d 'un baroque philosophique," and Pascal, whom the author sees, in spite of the baroque themes present in the Pensées, as refusing the baroque in the name of an open conception of rationality.

ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF MATHEMATICS ON CD-ROM. Norwell, MA: KluwerAcademic, 1997.

Review: J. McCleary in Choice 36.2 (1998), 353: A "major reference work" for mathematicians.

FAYE, EMMANUEL. Philosophie et perfection de 1'homme: De la Renaissance à Descartes. Paris: Vrin, 1998.

FELDHAY, RIVKA. Galileo and the Church: Political Inquisitionor Critical Dialogue? Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Review: Maurice A. Finoccharo in Isis 90 (1999), 596–97: Noteworthy in its original approach to Galileo's trial, for a wealth of detail about ecclesiastical and theological history (and diversity), and portrayal of Galileo as a critical interlocutor of a Church that included a progressive element. Reviewer differs on some points of interpretation of trial.

See French 17 (1996).

FINDEN, PAULA. "Between Carnival and Lent: The Scientific Revolution at the Margins of Culture." Configurations 6 (1998), 243–67.

Conducts the experiment of inserting the discourse of the new science within the comedy so central to Renaissance culture.

FINOCCHIARO, MAURICE A., trans. and ed. Galileo on the World Systems. A New Abridged Translation and Guide. Berkeley:University of California Press, 1997.

Review: William T. Lynch in Isis 90 (1999), 196–97: Editor's "moderate and knowledgable approach inform the detailed, accessible introduction, extensive footnotes, and the scholarly discussion of rationality and rhetoric in the appendix. More than Stillman Drake's editions, this version substantively helps readers."

FONDI, GIOVANNA MALQUORI, ed. Teorie e pratiche della traduzione nell'ambito del movimento port-royaliste. Pisa:Slatkine/ETS, 1998.

Review: Philippe Hourcade in PFSCL 26 (1999), 486–488: "Les travaux de ce séminaire s'inscrivent dans le prolongement de ceux, souvent évoqués, de Basil Munteano, Luigi de Nardis, et bien sûr, de Roger Zuber et d'Emmanuel Bury."

FONTENAY, ELISABETH DE. Le silence des bêtes: La philosophieà l'épreuve de l'animalité. Paris: Fayard, 1998.

Review: C. Chalier in QL 750 (1998), 23: L'auteur "cherche ... à penser comment notre rapport aux bêtes retentit sur la native du lien social et même sur celle du lien humain...." Etude historique chronologique. De "longues et très riches analyses consacrées ... aux penseurs qui ont, avec Descartes, réduit l'animal à un emachine ou à un automate."

FRANCE, PETER. Hermits. The Insights of Solitude. New York:St.Martin's, 1999.

Paperback reissue of 1997 book, hailed then by Carol Zaluki in NYT as "a gently understated affirmation of the solitude for which so many of us long."

GARBER, DANIEL and MICHAEL AYERS, eds. The Cambridge History of Seventeenth-Century Philosophy. 2 vols. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Review: John Cottingham in TLS 4997 (8 Jan. 1999), 7: "As a whole, this is an unrivaled scholarly resource for those wishing to enhance their understanding of the many complex facets of early modern philosophy and its origins." Singled out for special attention are Stephen Menn's "stimulating essay" on the intellectual setting at the start of the period" (especially on Christian attitudes toward Aristotelianism); Nicolas Jolly's "elegant essay" on the relation of philosophy and religion; and two "carefully wrought" essays by Susan James on discussions of the role of the passions in human life. Complete listing of contents and authors in Isis Current Bibliography 89 (1998), no.1472.

See French 17 (1998).

GARCÍA-HERNÁNDEZ, BENJAMÍN. Descartes y Plauto: la conceptión dramática del sistema cartesiano. Madrid: Tecnos, Metropolis, 1997.

Review: J.-P. Cavaillé in Revue philosophique (1998), 232–3: A study of "la conception dramatique du système cartésien." C. indicates the work is very complete in terms of the erudition concerning both Descartes and Plautus, and terms it a useful critical synthesis of all that has been said on Descartes and poetry/ theatre, and on the dramatic aspects of his philosophical writings. However, C. criticizes García-Hernández's "[ambition déraisonnable] aux divers points de vue de la méthodologie, de la philologie et de la philosophie."

GARRISSON, JANINE, éd. L'Edit de Nantes. Biarritz: Atlantica, 1997.

GASTELLIER, FABIAN. Angélique Arnauld. Paris: Fayard, 1998.

Review: Willem Frijhoff in RHEF 85 (1999), 168–69: Strictly chronological life and a sympathetic portrait based principally on her letters. The psychology, and related questions of writing, remain close to this source. Inadequate historical background and regrettable absence of critical dialogue with earlier scholars and biographers, among whom the reviewer prefers P. Secrétan (1991).

GAUKROGER, ROGER, ed. The Soft Underbelly of Reason: The Passions in the 17th Century. London: Routledge, 1998.

Six papers including Susan James, "Explaining the passions: Passions, Desires, and the Explanation of Action," and Christopher Allen, "The Passions de 1'âme as a Basis for Pictorial Expression."

GENZ, HENNING. Nothingness: The Science of Empty Space. Trans.Karin Heusch. Reading, Mass: Helix Books/PerseusBooks, 1999.

Review: B. R. Parker in Choice 36.11/12 (1999), 1997: "In addition to explaining vacuum polarization, spontaneous materialization, pair creation, and so on in the vacuum, Genz looks at its importance in relation to the early universe. He discusses the various epochs, symmetry breaking, phase transitions, and inflation. The early part of the book is devoted to the history of vacuum production. The experiments of Torricelli, Pascal, von Guericke, Boyle, and others are described... [M]ore than a hundred diagrams."

GEORGE, JAMES L. History of Warships: From Ancient Times to the Twenty-First Century. London: Constable, 1998.

Review: R. Higham in Choice 36.11/12 (1999), 1994: A brief introduction to the subject.

GIOCANTI, SYLVIA. "Histoire du fidéisme, histoire du scepticisme?" RdS 119.2/3 (1998), 193–210.

G. examines the relevance of scepticism's classification as fideism which Richard H. Popkin establishes in his work. G proposes a more conceptual approach to modern scepticism which, unlike Popkin's historical approach, includes the ethical aspects of this philosophy which are usually and unfortunately neglected.

GIRARDIN, JEAN-CLAUDE. "Avec Michel Foucault, histoire, théorie politique et racisme." TM (Juillet-Septembre 98), 178–196.

The author studies Foucault's return to history in his 1975–76 course at the College de France, published in 1997 under the title "Il faut défendre la société," in which Foucault rereads French and English historians of the 17th century, and views history as always written "par plume interposée" by the Prince; until the end of the 17th century, historical discourse only legitimizes "le droit public" of absolute monarchy.

GOOD, GREFORY A., ed. Sciences of the Earth: An Encyclopedia of Events, People, and Phenomena. New York: Garland, 1998.

Review: J. C. Shane in Choice 36.3 (1998), 498: "Well written and researched, this set's 230 articles are intended to provide an overview of the history of the earth sciences from a global perspective.... It is decidedly not an encyclopedia of the geosciences but a history of the earth sciences as shaped by research, ideas, institutions, social activity, and political developments."

GREGOIRE, VINCENT. "'Pensez-vous venir à bout de renverser le pays': la pratique d'évangélisation en Nouvelle-France d' après les Relations des jésuites." DSS 201 (1998), 681–707.

Through a close reading of the Relations (annual accounts of the progress of evangelization sent to France and widely diffused), the author highlights how the Jesuits overcame various obstacles to evangelization and the social and psychological impact of this process on the community as a whole and on its individual members.

GROSS, CHARLES G. Brain, Vision, Memory: Tales in the History of Neuroscience. Cambridge: MIT, 1998.

Review: D. M. Senseman in Choice 36.3 (1998), 544: "G. is our tour guide on a 5,000-year intellectual journey starting in ancient Egypt and ending in present-day Cambridge, Massachusetts.... G. shows how human perception and understanding of the cerebral cortex has changed after five centuries of study."

GUELLOUZ, SUZANNE, ed. "L'Histoire au XVIIe siècle." Special Issue. Littératures Classiques 30 (1997) 97.

Review: Orest Ranum in PFSCL 25 (1998), 611–612: "Together these essays may be considered worthy heirs to the immensely learned, eloquent, and sometimes presentist works of history written in the seventeenth century."

GUERIN, RENE-GUY. "Les horoscopes au XVIIe siècle." DSS 200 (1998), 505–513.

Author begins by correcting certain misconceptions about astrology. Article also reviews meaning of astrology and traces its practice over the course of the century: "Système astronomique qui permet de donner une représentation temporelle de l'origine, de la naissance, et de justifier l'irruption intempestive de la mort, l'astrologie (astro-logos) est aussi une langue qui nous parle d'un lien secret qui relierait l'homme aux étoiles."

HAVELANGE, CARL. De l'oeil du monde. Une histoire du regard au seuil de la modernité. Paris: Fayard, 1998.

Review: Ralph Dekoninck in DSS 203 (1999), 404–406: Traces constructions of l'oeil and le regard in the 16th-17th-c.: "L'auteur nous balade ici dans les topoï littéraires et philosophiques du XVIe siècle qui font l'éloge de la pureté de l'œil." Second half of book examines the "rationalisation de la vision qui consiste à dissocier l'image du geste de voir." Reviewer praises this "tableau admirablement brossé d'une époque qui voit ses certitudes ébranlées."

HAYS, J. N. The Burdens of Disease: Epidemics and Human Response in Western History. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers, 1998.

Review: G. Eknoyan in Choice 36.4 (1998), 716: H. "sets out to recount the human perception and response to ...episodic threats [of disease] as well as how they were influenced by, and in turn affected, the prevailing social, economic, political, and theological conditions of the period. However, rather than an examination of history as a product of disease and its eradication, this book is a narrative of the history of medecine, its principal figures, and the course of major epidemics (leprosy, scrofula, plague, syphilis, typhus, malaria, smallpox, scurvy, tuberculosis, and AIDS), interspersed with variable commentary on the environment that led to the epidemics and how they affected it."

HEIDELBERGER, MICHAEL and FRIEDRICH STEINLE, eds. Experimental Essays—Versuche zum Experiment. Collection of Essays on Experimentalism, its Changing Significance, and the Problematics of its Representation. Baden-Baden: Nomos,1998. Contents listed in Isis 90 (1999), 167.

HILLMAN, DAVID and CARLA MAZZIO, eds. The Body in Parts: Fantasies of Corporeality in Early-Modern Europe. New York:Routledge, 1997.

14 essays on "individual parts" (including Katherine Park's essay on the rediscovery of the clitoris by French Medicine, ca. 1620; Carla Mazzio on the tongue; Marjorie Garber "Out of Joint." Complete listing in Isis Current Bibliography 89 (1998), no. 1729.

HOUDARD, SOPHIE. "Des fausses saintes aux spirituelles à la mode: les signes suspects de la mystique." DSS 200 (1988), 417–432.

H. traces the emergence of generalized mistrust of the mystique fausse and situates this figure within larger context of Counter Reformation efforts to reconcile "l'intériorisation du religieux" and the "exigence d'un espace religieux ouvert à tous."

HUNTER, MICHAEL, ed. Archives of the Scientific Revolution: The Formation and Exchange of Ideas in l7th-Century Europe.Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1998.

Includes an essay by Robert Hatch on Boulliauls correspondance (pp. 49–71).

JACOB, JAMES R. The Scientific Revolution: Aspirations and Achievements, 1500–1700. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities, 1998.

Review: J. W. Dauben in Choice 36.2 (1998), 339: "J.'s brief, thoughtful study surveys the principal developments associated with the transition from the 'old' to the 'new' science, the scientific revolution. These include the revolution in astronomy associated with Copernicus and his heliocentric theory and the revolution in physiology associated with William Harvey and his discovery of blood circulation. The author also considers the consequences of advancing from a finite to an infinite concept of the universe; of the rejection of the Aristoteliam physics of 'natures' and 'places' for the modern, mathematical physics of forces and causes; of the emergence of modern skepticism and the appearance of new methods that nevertheless made 'the advancement of learning' possible; of the use of mathematics, instruments, and experiments to compensate for the fallibility of both reaosn and the senses; and finally, of the emergence of scientific societies that institutionalized collaborative research... [J.'s] discussion of how the new science could help to construct a new moral as well as a material order is what makes this book different...."

JAMES, SUSAN. Passion and Action: The Emotions in Seventeenth-Century Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Review: H. J. John in Choice 36.2 (1998), 332: The second part of the book is devoted to "the mind-body division in Descartes and Malebranche, and mental and bodily passions in Hobbes and Spinoza." "Densely written but clearly argued, this book provides valuable context and background for several important themes in early modern philosophy. Of particular interest is James' elucidation of the Cartesian mind-body separation in relation to the experiences of pregnant women."

Review: John P. Wright in TLS 5000 (29 Jan. 1999), 38–39:An "ambitious study: of l7th-century discussions of the passions that would rectify the metaphysical and epistemological distortions of readings that have seen them purely as negative." Part I reviews reactions to Aristotelian and Thomist theories of action and passion. Part II focuses the ways views of the passions contributed new theories of mind/body interconnections. Part III deals with misconstructions of the knowing subject. Part IV considers the causal influence on action.

KRUMENACKER, YVES. L'école française de spiritualité. Des mystiques, des fondateurs, des courants et leurs interprètes. Paris: Cerf, 1998.

Review: Raymond Baustert in PFSCL 26 (1999), 476–479: "Le lecteur sort enrichi de ce grand livre fait de tant d'apports solides."

Review: René Taveneaux in DSS 202 (1999), 208–210:"L'objet de ce livre est d'étudier la genèse et l'évolution de la pensée de Bérulle et de ses disciples immédiats, de saisir son irradiation dans la société de son temps et d'observer sa permanence et ses gauchissements chez ses héritiers, vrais ou supposés." The reviewer extols the erudition and wide-ranging scope of this work, "d'un intérêt passionnant."

Review: Roger Zuber in BSHPF 145 (1999), 218–20:Excellent introduction to the subject and to the nature of Bérulle's centrality in the formation of institutions, education of priests, and the various ways in which his influence lasted through the century. A valuable companion to the complete works of Bérulle being published by the same publisher.

LABROUSSE, ELISABETH. Conscience et conviction: Etudes sur le XVIIe siècle. Paris/Oxford: Universitas/The Voltaire Foundation, 1996.

Review: H. Phillips in MLR 91.3 (1999), 823–24: "There is much repetition and overlap in the choice of essays in Conscience et conviction, although each on its own is a gem of sorts. There is no better synthesis of the Protestant position than the brilliant essay entitled 'Les Idées politiques du Refuge: Bayle et Jurieu', appearing here for the first time in French."

See French 17 (1998).

LAGRÉE, JACQUELINE. "Religion naturelle et scepticisme religieux." RdS 119.2/3 (1998), 257–269.

In l'Histoire du scepticisme d'Érasme à Spinoza, Richard H. Popkin presents Edward Herbert of Cherbury's theory of truth as a heavy and unsuccessful weapon against the religious scepticism of the 17th century. This paper claims to show that this heavy conceptual device is not the very heart of the Cherburian response to scepticism but the theoretical foundation of a religious perspectivism which is immediately corrected by a minimal, universal, and stable credo.

LAPLANCHE, FRANÇOIS. Bible, sciences et pouvoirs au XVIIe siècle. Naples: Bibliopolis, 1997.

Review: Roger Zuber in BSHPF 145 (1999) 220: Short, authoritative synthetic work cast on a European scale, originating in a seminar. Chapters treat Biblical exegesis, the literal sense, controversies, scientific cosmography, cultural modifications of learned readings. Especially valuable up-to-date bibliography.

LARRÈRE, CATHERINE. "Scepticisme et politique." RdS 119.2/3(1998), 271–292.

Le but de L. est d'argumenter la thèse, trouvée chez Richard H. Popkin, d'une contribution sceptique à l'individualisme libéral moderne. Cela suppose 3 choses. Premièrement, de montrer qu'il y a bien un apport du scepticisme à cette "privatisation" de la liberté qui marque le passage de la Renaissance à l'âge baroque. Deuxièmement, il faut pouvoir éclairer ce sur quoi bute l'analyse politique du scepticisme moderne. Troisièmement, l'intérêt commun des intellectuels sceptiques et des clercs catholiques à s'opposer au dogmatisme calviniste.

LEROUX-DHUYS, JEAN-FRANÇOIS. Cistercian Abbeys: History and Architecture. Photography byHenry Gaud. Köln: Konemann,1999.

Review: A. R. Stanton in Choice 36.10 (1999), 1772–1773: "L.-D.'s lavishly illustrated book surveys the history of the Cistercian order and its architecture from the 12th century to the present. Part 1, 'Nine Centuries Ago,' provides historical context in 14 brief chapters illustrated with photographs, plans, reconstructions, and maps. These chapters are subdivided into shorter sections, complete with insets that provide specifics on chronology, technology, or various subjects like the life and thought of Benedict of Nursia. Part 3, 'The Cistercian World in Europe,' is a gazeteer of sites from Acey to Zwetti. Each entry first summarizes basic data: the original name of the site; pertinent dates of foundation, construction, and destruction; a concordance to any references in part 1; and a short bibliography. Then follows a brief narrative about the history and contemporary use, if any, of each site. Although this review focuses on the text, the primary merit of the book rests in its illustrations."

LESTRINGANT, FRANK. Une sainte horreur ou le voyage en eucharistie, XVIe–XVIIIe siècle. Préf dePierre Chaunu.Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1996.

Review: Alain Tallon in RdS 119.2/3 (1998), 406–407:"Eucharistie catholique et anthropophagie: tel est le thème central de ce livre, qui étudie la 'Sainte Horreur' protestante— et plus précisément calviniste— devant l'hostie catholique. . . . L'originalité de Frank Lestringant est d'aborder cette horreur armé de sa compétence de linguiste et de sa profonde connaissance de la littérature protestante sur le 'sauvage'."

MACHAMER, PETER, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Galileo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Review: J. W. Dauben in Choice 36.8 (1999), 1478: "Twelve essays discuss the formative influences on Galileo's science and philosophy, the early work he did atPisa, and his machines, mathematics, and experiments. The significance of certain Jesuit ideas for Galileo is analyzed, and questions related to his support for Copernicus and the value of his telescopic observations in particular are discussed in detail. Galileo's views on science and religion, the extent to which theology served as a foundation for his science, and whether or not there could ever be another Galileo case and trial are also considered. Two concluding chapters explore the popular images and various 'myths' about Galileo as hero and martyr, along with a full discussion of the controversy over Galileo's burial in 1642."

MACINTYRE, ALASDAIR. A Short History of Ethics: A History of Moral Philosophy from the Homeric Age to the Twentieth Century. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 1998.

Review: P. L. Urban, Jr. in Choice 36.4 (1998), 702: "While no changes have been made to the body of the text, a new preface enables M. to address what he sees as shortcomings of the original." Strengths include "an exploration of the historical context of moral concepts and ideas, and the issue-oriented character of his discussion."

MAGDELAINE, MICHELLE, et al., eds. De l'Humanisme aux Lumières: Bayle et le Protestantisme: Mélanges en l'honneur d'Elisabeth Labrousse. Paris/Oxford: Universitas/The Voltaire Foundation, 1996.

Review: H. Phillips in MLR 91.3 (1999), 823–24: Volume in honor of Labrousse, an historian of French Protestantism, contains groups of articles on the Protestant diaspora, on the place of Protestant women, and on Pierre Bayle. Reproductions of significant texts.

See French 17 (1998).

MAIRE, CATHERINE. De la cause de Dieu à la cause de la nation, le jansénisme au XVIIIe siècle. Paris: Gallimard, 1998.

Review: J. Poulain in Esprit (juillet 1999), 222–25: "C. Maire repère l'importance du contenu doctrinal et thélogique—notamment le figurisme—dans les différentes manifestations religieuses, sociales et politiques du jansénisme. C'est là en effet le mérite de cette étude que de ne jamais se contenter de simplement décrire les diverses formes du jansénisme mais de le comprendre sur le fond théorique qui est le sien, fond dont la fonction est multiple selon ses champs d'investigation. Au centre de cette assise théologique, une théologie figuriste de l'histoire qui, à la fois, légitime la lettre janséniste, en explique les manifestations pratiques et donne sens àl'histoire."

See French 17 (1998).

MARINER, FRANÇOIS. Histoires et autobiographies spirituelles: Les Mémoires de Fontaine, Lancelot et Du Fossé. Tübingen:Gunter Narr Verlag, 1998.

Review: Nathalie Grande in RHL 99.3 (1999), 535: Reviewer reminds the reader of the importance of the Mémoires in the history of Jansenism. While the work is indeed a historical study, it also contains a "dimension autobiographique" which prompts Mariner to "s'interroge[r]sur les liens entre Histoire et autobiographie." Among the key elements of the text are its examination of "l'écriture hagio-historique," "la [mise] en question [de] la notion d'auteur," and "la question de la légitimité et de la motivation de l'écriture pour un auteur janséniste."

MARION, JEAN-LUC. "Etat des études philosophiques dans la revue XVIIe siècle: acquis, déficits et prospective." DSS 203 (1999), 227–233.

A history and summary of the journal's interventions in the field of philosophy over the last fifty years. Examines as well the historical and disciplinary reasons for the journal's periodical "silences" in matters of philosophy.

MAYAUD, PIERRE, S.J. La condemnation des livres coperniciens et sa revocation à la lumière de documents inédits des Congrégations de l'Index et de l'Inquisition. Rome:Editrice Pontificana Università Gregoriana, 1997.

Review: Maurice A. Finocchiaro in Isis 90 (1999), 363–64:Welcome for many valuable new documents, for setting the historical record straight, and for the subtle reading of the Index decree of 5 March 1616. "A rich case study of the workings of bureaucracies and the problems they face."

MINAZZOLI, AGNES. "Formes de penser, manières d'écrire: existe-t-il un style sceptique?" PFSCL 25 (1998), 381–396.

The author asks whether Scepticism, in the Greek rather than the contemporary acception of the word, might have its own style, "chercheur, suspensif, dubitatif, pyrrhonien...". She proceeds to an analysis of Montaigne's style, "fait d'anamnèse et de digression."

MINOIS, GEORGES. Histoire de l'athéisme. Paris: Fayard,1998.

Review: R. Bonnaud in QL 749 (1998), 22–23: M. "s'intéresse aux incroyants du 'monde occidental des origines à nos jours' .... [L] a montée de l'incroyance le frappe plus que les fluctuations.... Ce volume est riche de données, d'interprétations intéressantes.... L'an 1600 est pour la pensée, l'invention, une 'véritable entrée dans la modernité:' 'première crise de la conscience européenne'(la seconde, celle de Paul Hazard, se situe à la fin du XVIIe s.)."

MUND-DOPCHIE, MONIQUE. La fortune du 'Périple d'Hannon' à la Renaissance et au XVIIe siècle. Continuité et rupture dans la transmission d'un savoir géographique. Namur: Sociétédes Etudes Classiques, 1995.

Review: N. Fornerod in BHR 61.1 (1999), 203–05: "Qu'ils aient les yeux tournés vers le passé ou qu'ils scrutent les nouveaux horizons, la Renaissance et le XVIIe siècle ont vu en Hannon l'archétype de l'explorateur, qui—à l'instar de Néarque, Anacharsis le Scythe ou Apollonios de Tyane et, bien entendu, Ulysse et Jason—était appelé à tenir un rang important au sein des illustres voyageurs de l'Antiquité dont la mémoire était alors célébrée au service des intérêts les plus hétérogènes." Cet ouvrage constitue une "contribution à l'étude de la réception de la tradition classique aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles."

NADLER, STEVEN. "Connaissance et causalité chez Malebrancheet Geulincx: esquisse d'une histoire." DSS 203 (1999), 335–345.

Author traces the underpinnings of Malebranche's denial of natural causality to his belief that only God possesses the knowledge necessary to produce effects on souls.

NAHIN, PAUL J. An Imaginary Tale: The Story of [the SquareRoot of Minus One]. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998.

Review: D. S. Larson in Choice 36.11/12 (1999), 1977: "The story begins in the first entury CE,..." with Heron of Alexandria. "From here, we are taken on a wonderful journey in the development of the complex number system, from its use by 16th century Italians in solving cubice quations through the geometric interpretations of Descartes, the formulas of De Moivre and Euler, to the modern theory of complex analysis as developed by Cauchy in the 19th century. A must read for anyone interested in mathematics and its history."

NEHAMAS, ALEXANDER. The Art of Living: Socratic Reflections from Plato to Foucault. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.

Review: Martha C. Nussbaum in New Republic 4381–2 (Jan 4 and 11, 1999), 32–37: Nussbaum faults Nehamas' view of Montaigne as an aestheticist. For her, Montaigne is best seen as "heir to Hellenistic arts of self-fashioning...".

NEVEU, BRUNO. "Histoire religieuse et spiritualité dans XVIIe Siècle." DSS 203 (1999), 261–312.

A comprehensive review of articles on religious history and spirituality that appeared in the journal from 1949–1997. Rather than a chronological survey, author groups articles thematically, covering, for example, the interpenetration of Jewish and Christian worlds, Augustinianism, Christian humanism, libertinage and humanism, religion and art, and secular spirituality.

PHILOSOPHIE ET BAROQUE. RMM. (Apr-June 1999).

Special issue with articles on "Montaigne, philosophe baroque?" (S.Peytavin), on "De l'Apparence à la providence: la question de l'ontologie chez Quevedo" (Saverio Ansaldi), "Conscience baroque et apparences: le conceptisme de Baltasar Graciano"(Uric Marquer).

POPKIN, RICHARD H. The Columbia History of Western Philosophy. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999.

Review: M. Meola in Choice 36.10 (1999), 1801: "This one-volume history of philosophy is aimed at the general reader... P. ... [culls] articles from more than 60 specialists in this history of philosophy without sacrificing readability. Coverage of medieval Islamic, Jewish, and Christian philosophy is particularly strong, areas that are sometimes given cursory treatment by historians who move quickly from Aristotle to Descartes."

PORTER, ROY and G.S. ROUSSEAU. Gout: The Patrician Malady. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.

Review: N. S. Springer in Choice 36.8 (1999), 1492: The authors "review medical, cultural, and social aspects of gout recorded in medical writing, popular press, social conversations, dialogues, dramas, novels, and poems during the Georgian through the Victorian periods." Well-illustrated.

PROUST, JACQUES. La superchérie dévoilée, une réfutation du catholicisme au Japon au XVIIe siècle. Paris: Chandeigne,1998.

Review: M. Coyaud in QL 755 (1999), 22: "C'est l'histoire passionnante d'un missionnaire jésuite, Cristovao Ferreira, qui abjura (en 1614) sous la torture, et se mit à vilipender l'église catholique, peut-être plus qu'il n'y était contraint .... Le renégat connaît à fond les débats qui agitent la chrétienté à cette époque, critiquée avec les armes de l'averroïsme, du marranisme et de l'érasmisme, avec ceux qui invoquent le trafic des indulgenses pour saper l'orthodoxie papiste. Cela fait un ouvrage savoureux."

Review: Pierre-Antoine Favre in Annales-ESC 54 (1999),991–93: The title comes from the "summa" published in Japanese in 1636 by Critovao Ferreira on her conversion to Buddhism. Viewed as a test case of the author's well-received L'Europe au prisme du Japon, XVIe–XVIIIe siecle (1997).

RAYNER-CANHAM, MARELENE and GEOFFREY RAYNER-CANHAM. Women in Chemistry: Their Changing Roles from Alchemical Times to the Mid-Twentieth Century. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society/Chemical Heritage Foundation, 1998.

Review: M. H. Chaplin in Choice 36.6 (1999), 1087: "A significant attempt to redress the omission of women from standard histories of chemistry, Women in Chemistry overviews the lives, roles, and contributions of women from the beginning of recorded history (where source material is scanty) to the mid-20th century.... [T]he focus is on European and North American women." The authors attempt "to provide comprehensive bibliographies for each woman and a picture of the cultural milieu in which she practiced; to discuss the social and historical forces that may have contributed to her choice of field, the discoveries that she made, or the obstacles that she had to overcome."

RIOU, D. " Le XVIIe siècle et la question du sujet." Littératures Clasiques 34, (1998), 279–291.

Cartesian dualism and the split subject of Lacan and J.-L. Nancy.

ROSSELINI, MICHÈLE. "Les mots sans guère de choses: la praelectio." LFr 121 (1999), 28–35:

The history of the use of "praelectio" as a pedagogical technique from Erasmusto the 18th century reveals an increasing orientation towards the importance of form over substance in the study of the literary text. The Jesuits make the moral content of the Greek and Roman (Pagan) texts secondary to the "beautiful style" that can be learned from them and later adapted to the telling of God's glory. The Jansenists, suspicious of eloquence, turn the exercise of "praelectio" towards language and translation. These two pedagogical styles have given rise to an "explication de texte" that privileges the use of language over content, and separates the text from its function of speech.

ROUGET, FRANÇOIS. "De la sage-femme à la femme sage: réflexion et réflexivité dans les Observations de Louise Boursier." PFSCL 25 (1998), 483–496.

Rouget interrogates the way Boursier (midwife for the 6 children of Marie de Médicis) attempts to transmit her knowledge through the writing of her Observations, as well as the forms of discourse in her didactic works.

ROUX, SOPHIE. "Le scepticisme et les hypothèses de la physique." RdS 119.2/3 (1998), 211–255.

R. questions certain theses of Richard H. Popkin's l'Histoire du scepticisme d'Erasme à Spinoza. She points first to the tension in Descartes's works between the ideal of a completely certain science and a physics replete with hypotheses; further she argues that the use of hypotheses by mechanical philosophers cannot be separated from their conception of physics; finally she shows that, at the end of the 17th century, physicists in France as well as in England spoke through hypotheses and she examines different ways of explaining this shared practice.

SCHMALTZ, TAD M. "Cartesianism and Jansenism." JHI 60:1 (1999), 37–56.

Despite obvious differences between the work of Descartes and Jansenius, their followers were perceived to have much in common. Author considers A. Arnauld's role in this association but argues that Robert Desgabets was ultimately responsible for "a real blending of Cartesian philosophy with Jansenist theology, as opposed to a mere juxtaposition of the two."

SIMON, GERARD. Sciences et savoirs aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles. Lille: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, 1997.

Review: Hervé Drévillon in DSS 202 (1999), 198–199: A collection of articles originally published between 1977 and 1991, this book examines both "sciences vaincues" (magical and occult sciences) and "sciences 'victorieuses'" (such as optics, astronomy and physics). Simon demonstrates how "la logique mécaniste se joue au sein même de la pensée magique et non pas dans un illusoire combat entre la raison scientifique et des savoir irrationnels." Reviewer calls attention to the importance and originality of Simon's approach to the history of science, which demonstrates that even in the works of Descartes, Kepler and Newton "le rationnel et l'irrationnel, la magie et la science ne s'opposent pas aussi radicalement qu'on le croit aujourd'hui."

SMITH, ROGER. Biographies of Scientists: An Annotated Bibliography. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 1998.

Review: R. J. Havlik in Choice 36.3 (1998), 498: "The goal of S.'s work is to guide general readers to 736 volumes that might ... bring familiarity with the paths and adventures of scientific discovery."

SOLE, JACQUES. Les origines intellectuelles de la révocation de l'édit de Nantes. St. Etienne: Publications de l'Université de St. Etienne. 1997.

Review: Robert Sauzet in RHL 99.1 (1999), 129–30: Quite favorable analysis that begins with reviewers assertion that both the "ouvrages de controverse," and the work of the historian Jacques Solé have been sorely neglected in contemporary scholarship. Solé's work is important, according to Sauzet, because the author is an "excellent historien des sociétés, et de la psychologie collective." The book concentrates on religious intolerance during the period 1596–1685 which saw the increased antipathy between Catholics and Protestants. According to Solé, what led the Catholic majority to revoke the Edict of Nantes can be summarized in "L'essor des missions, de la prédication, de la controverse, [et] la pression de l'Eglise gallicane notamment les assemblées du clergé [qui] ont abouti à cetriomphe des dévots." The ever-increasing discord can befound in Jesuit, Jansenist, and Reformist texts of the period, as the idea of "relativisme religieux" becomes progressively demolished at century's end.

STARR, DOUGLAS. Bloos: An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce. New York: Knopf, 1998.

Review: J. P. Brickman in Choice 36.7 (1999), 1297: "S.'s thoroughly absorbing and original tale ... traces the story of blood from ancient times — when it carried symbolic and magical connotations — to the 20th century.... Always part of the human conceptualization of health and vitality, from the early Greeks through the 19th century, blood was regarded as an essential component of salubrious balance. Blood letting, a practice for 2,500 years, was common in Western, Arabic, and Indian medicine as treatment for illness and psychic malaise. Yet, not until the start of the 20th century did blood became [sic] the focus of medical research.... "

TAVENEAUX, RENE. Le Catholicisme dans la France classique 1610–1715. Paris: C.D.U. et Sedes, 1994.

Review: M. Cloët in RBPH 76.2. (1998), 601–02: Exemple stimulant et de haute qualité de l'historiographiere ligieuse en France. "Le premier volume compte neuf chapitres. La structure peut être appelée 'classique', autant que la période étudiée. L'Eglise catholique de France est grosso modo présentée du haut vers le bas l'organisation ecclésiastique, le clergé régulier, les évêques, le clergé paroissial, la pastorale éducative et caritative, les courants de pensée). Les chapitres X à XVI du deuxième volume traitent successivement les dévotions collectives, la spiritualité christocentrique, les prières et attitudes morales, l'art et la religion et les problèmes d'ecclésiologie."

Review: P. Normand in ECL 66 (1998), 145–6: N. summarizes the contents of this two volume thematic study as the evolution and the quest for the identity of catholicism in 17th-century France, under the dual influences of church reform and the rise of nationalism and a centralized monarchy. He praises the scope of the study, which breaks down "le catholicisme français classique dans tous ses aspects" into 5 broad themes for consideration, and notes that Taveneaux avoids putting the emphasis on "une simple histoire des faits et des personnages" in favor of outlining a genuine sociology of religion within the context of classical society as a whole.

See French 17 (1996).

TIMMERMANS, BENOÎT. La résolution des problèmes de Descartes à Kant: l'analyse à l'âge de la révolution scientifique. Paris: PUF, 1995.

Review: A. Benmakhlouf in EP (1998), 274–5: An exploration of the different acceptions of the term "analysis" in the 17th and 18th centuries. B. notes with some reservations that the author, rather than presenting a history of the concept of analysis, limits his study to an illustration of "l'originalité de la conception de l'analyse comme invention à l'âge classique." Yet B. commends the thoroughness of the author's commentary on the notion of analysis particularly in Descartes, Leibniz and Kant.

TORRINI, MAURIZIO. "La correspondance de Galilée entre chronique et histoire des sciences." RHS 52.1 (Janvier-Mars 1999), 139–154.

In the context of increased interestfor scientific correspondances, the author emphasizes the concepts of "dialogo" and "epistola" (in Galileo's milieu's the natural form of scientific exchange) which supersede the previous ideal of solitary contemplation. Thus the study of scientific correspondances allows the historian to understand the process of knowledge, as well as the networks which constitute the "république des lettres", and the context. Galileo's correspondances "nous restituent des physionomies, des situations, des personnages...".

URL: http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm.

Review: J. Johnson in Choice 36.2 (1998), 352–353. "This award-winning Web site is extremely comprehensive in providing interesting information regarding women mathematicians, past and present.... Using either a chronological or an alphabetical index, one can explore the biographies of women mathematicians, which include an explanation of their mathematical accomplishments, photographs, selected references, and links to other Web sites related either to a particular woman mathematician or to her area of study in mathematics."

VAN KLEY,, DALE K. The Religious Origins of the French Revolution: From Calvin to the Civil Constitution, 1560–1791.New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.

Review: Oscar A Haac in FR 72 (1999)0 584–85: Despite title, this book is largely devoted to Jansenism and its role in the decline of absolutism. Solidly and convincingly argued, the author establishes that the church is a force in this history and that it figures among the antecedents of the Revolution; that Richelieu's policy in the Thirty Years' War remained intact; that Jansenists and Protestants are united in resistance. Carefully researched and densely presented.

See French 17 (1997).

VARADARAJAN, V. S. Algebra in Ancient and Modern Times. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society/Hindustan Book Agency, 1998.

Review: D. V. Feldman in Choice 36.7 (1999), 1299: "Not a history of mathematics but rather a historically informed exposition of certain topics from elementary number theory and algebra, V.'s book aims to bring certain profound mathematical developments to a wide audience." Does not contain the Eurocentric bias typical of a book of this type.

VENARD, MARC, ed. Histoire du Christianisme des origines à nos jours. Vol 9: L'Age de Raison (1620/30–1750). Paris: Desclée, 1997.

Review: Jacques Solé in RHEF 84 (1998), 404–405:Collaborative work by 22 specialists. Part I traces political structures; II, the internal organization of the different churches; III, global expansion; IV, the relationship of the sacred and culture in all traditionally Christianized lands. Contradictions presented in conclusion (Venard) exist within the history, as they must on this scale. France in Part I is examined by Bernard Dompnier. A synthesis of religion and intellectual relations in an international context at the end of the 17th century is given by Bernard and Monique Cottret and Venard. Part II presents a history of the continuity of reform ("Qui me paraît constituer la plus grande réussite du volume") by Dompnier as well as an account of the Jansenist/ Jesuit quarrel to 1750 by M. Cottret. It extends to Lutheranism and reform churches, Church of England and its dissidents, Anabaptists, Mennites, Hussites and Moravian Brethern, Socinians, Russian and Eastern churches. Part III with an account of the Americas and missionary "fascination" is remarkably up-to-date in critical organization of recent scholarship. On the problematics of culture (IV), a very interesting focus by Régis Bertrand is followed by a setting of models of spirituality, aestheticization (across the arts), and modalities of practice. François Laplanche surveys the new divisions opened by critical attitudes and the intellectual transformations.

VENARD, MARC and ANNE BONZON, La religion dans la France moderne, XVI–XVIIIe siècle. Paris: Hachette, 1998.

Review: Bernard Barbiche in RHEF 84 (1998), 396–97: Highest praise for the clarity, the coverage, and up-to-date bibliography of this general introduction for advanced student beginners, A brief overview is followed by chapters on daily realities—beliefs, rites, behavior—of religious life. A separate chapter is given to minority religions (Protestants, Jews).

WADE, NICHOLAS J. A Natural History of Vision. Cambridge: MIT, 1998.

Review: D. M. Senseman in Choice 36.7 (1999), 1288: "[H]undreds of ... wonderful historical drawings and engravings are reproduced in this marvelous book. W. traces the development of vision research starting with the ideas of Aristotle until the 1840s, when the development of machines such as the stereoscope turned vision into a modern, experimental science. W.'s focus is on 'natural' visual phenomena ..., the same visual phenomena that intrigued natural philosophers and early vision physiologists such as Priestly, Decartes [sic], [etc.]. Especially pleasing is the way W. has organized this wealth of material; each visual phenomenon is treated separately. He summarizes the historical development of the physical/physiological basis of the phenomenon and then follows with selected quotations from key individuals who shaped this historical development."

WAGNER, MARIE-FRANCE et PIERRE-LOUIS VAILLANCOURT, eds. De la Grâce et des Vertus. Paris/Montréal: L'Harmattan, 1998.

Review: Raymond Baustert in PFSCL 26 (1999), 502–504: "Ce livre, né de sensibilités scientifiques diverses, se recommande par maint éclairage nouveau de deux thèmes traditionnels de l'histoire de la pensée."

YOUNG, SERINITY, ed. Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1999.

Review: G. Wood in Choice 36.11/12 (1999), 1918: A "truly excellent encyclopedia.... The well-written, well-researched articles are signed, have bibliographies, and cover topics ranging from traditional to emerging religions. Prominent, trailblazing women are included as entries, as are themes such as ordination, adultery, ghosts, femininity and feminisms, which are found in many religions. The enormously helpful 'Synoptic Outline' provides the conceptual vision for the encyclopedia, putting each article into an overall context. There are four broad concepts: religious traditions, transreligional phenomena, methods and theories in the study of women and religion, and religion and culture.... A rich resource about women and religion throughout the world...."

YOUNG, ROBYN V. with ZORAN MINDEROVIC, eds. Notable Mathematicians: From Ancient Times to the Present. NewYork: Gale, 1998.

Review: J. O. Christensen in Choice 36.3 (1998), 498: "The editors' careful selection of 303 mathematicians represents all time periods, races and ethnic groups, and nationalities, and both genders. There are helpful indexes of disciplines, genders, nationalities, and subjects. Appendixes provide a timeline and a list of recipients of mathematical awards and prizes. Each biography includes a bibliography, and the work ends with a general bibliography."