Michael B. Smith

It is August 18, 1634. Father Urbain Grandier, convicted of sorcery that led to the demonic possession of the Ursuline nuns of provincial Loudun in France, confesses his sins on the porch of the church of Saint-Pierre, then perishes in flames lit by his own exorcists. A dramatic tale that has inspired many artistic retellings, including a novel by Aldous Huxley and in incendiary film by Ken Russell, the story of the possession at Loudun here receives a compelling analysis from the renowned Jesuit historian Michel de Certeau. Interweaving substantial excerpts from primary historical documents with fascinating commentary, de Certeau shows how the plague of sorceries and possessions in France that climaxed in the events at Loudun both revealed the deepest fears of a society in traumatic flux and accelerated its transformation. In this tour de force of psychological history, de Certeau brings to vivid life a people torn between the decline of centralized religious authority and the rise of science and reason, wracked by violent anxiety over what or whom to believe.

More than a one-volume listing of synthetic methods, Compendium of Organic Synthetic Methods offers chemists a highly focused and selective look at several thousand functional group transformations. Used by more professionals than any comparable reference on the market, this valuable desktop resource provides quick access to the recipes of the newest, most useful reactions and transformations. It also affords professionals an unparalleled opportunity to browse the vast body of recent literature for new reactions and transformations that may be of interest. Featuring 1,200 more entries than its predecessor, Volume 8 covers functional group transformations and carbon-carbon bond forming reactions appearing in the literature from 1990 through 1992. It presents approximately 1,400 examples of published reactions for the preparation of monofunctional compounds and approximately 1,640 examples of reactions that prepare difunctional compounds with various functional groups. It also features 60 more reviews than Volume 7. As in all the previous Compendium volumes, the classification schemes used allow for quick and easy reference and information retrieval. Chemical transformations are classified first by the reacting functional group of the starting material and then by the functional group formed. The transformation, major reagents that effect the transformation, yield percentage, and stereochemistry are all clearly shown. The Compendium also includes indices for both monofunctional and difunctional compounds as an efficient means of guiding you to specific classes of transformations. Compendium of Organic Synthetic Methods, Volume 8 provides professional chemists and students unparalleled access to the wealth of methods, reactions, and transformations in contemporary organic chemistry.

The culmination of de Certeau's lifelong engagement with the human sciences, this volume is both an analysis of Christian mysticism during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and an application of this influential scholar's transdisciplinary historiography.

Provides synthetic chemists with a method for rapid retrieval of information from the literature, listing material by reaction type rather than by author name or publication date. Each updated volume presents the latest synthetic methods for preparation of monofunctional and difunctional compounds. The organization is logical and easy to follow; sections are arranged according to the possible interconversions between the major functional groups. Enables synthetic chemists to keep abreast of recent developments and retrieve a specific piece of information quickly and easily.

Provides synthetic chemists with a method for rapid retrieval of information from the literature, listing material by reaction type rather than by author name or publication date. Each updated volume presents the latest synthetic methods for preparation of monofunctional and difunctional compounds. The organization is logical and easy to follow; sections are arranged according to the possible interconversions between the major functional groups. Enables synthetic chemists to keep abreast of recent developments and retrieve a specific piece of information quickly and easily.