BOOKS

Book consists of written or printed sheets of paper or some other material fastened together along one edge so it can be opened at any point. Most books have a protective cover. Books are a reasonably inexpensive and convenient way to store, transport, and find knowledge and information. The book thus ranks as one of humanity's greatest inventions.

People have used books in some form for more than 5,000 years. In ancient times, people wrote on clay tablets, strips of wood, or other materials. The term book comes from the early English word boc, which means tablet or written sheets. The first printed books in Europe appeared during the mid-1400's. Since then, millions of books have been printed on almost every subject and in every written language. Young readers are familiar with storybooks, textbooks, workbooks, and comic books. We often consult almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and telephone books for reference.

We read novels, books of poetry, and printed versions of plays for entertainment.

The pages of a book are glued or sewed together along one side, called the spine or back. Two covers are joined by hinges to the spine. Books are either hardbound or softbound, depending on the cover. Most hardbound books have covers made of cloth, plastic, or leather over cardboard. A paper dust jacket is often added to protect the cover. Softbound books, called paperbacks, have paper covers. Usually, the book title and other information appear on a book's spine and front cover as well as on its dust jacket.

Inside the front cover of a typical book is a collection of pages called the preliminary material. The material begins with a blank or decorated end paper, followed by the half-title page. The recto (frontside) of this page carries the book's title. The verso (back of the page) may be blank, or may carry a list of other books by the same author. Throughout the book, the verso is always an even-numbered page and the recto is always odd-numbered.

The title page carries the full title of the book and the author's name on the recto. It also carries the imprint, which is the place and date of publication and the name of the publisher or company issuing the book. The verso of the title page contains additional publication information and a statement of copyright, which is a notification that the book's contents are the property of the author or publisher.

In the earliest printed books, the information now carried on the title page appeared at the end of the book in a statement called the colophon. The illustration that faces the title page is called the frontispiece.

The preface follows the title page. In the preface, the author discusses various aspects of the creation of the book. The table of contents usually comes at the end of the preliminary material. It lists in order the book's main topics or the headings of the individual units and their page numbers. The text is the main part of the book. The text is usually divided into separate parts called chapters or books. The text may also include illustrations. In many books, several sections follow the text.

The appendix contains notes, charts, tables, lists, or other detailed information discussed in the text. Many books have an index, which lists in alphabetical order important subjects, names, and places in the text. The index gives the page number where the reader can find these items in the text.

Finally, some books have a bibliography that lists sources used by the author in writing the book. The bibliography also lists additional sources on subjects in the text.

In 1976, the court upheld death sentences for three men convicted of murder under new laws in Florida, Georgia, and Texas. It ruled that capital punishment for murder was "not unconstitutionally severe." But the court struck down laws that made the death penalty mandatory (required) for certain crimes. In addition to state laws on capital punishment, the death penalty may be imposed under federal laws or military laws.

Capital punishment was widely used during the Middle Ages, especially for crimes against the state and church. In the 1700's, England had more than 200 capital offenses. Most were abolished in the 1800's. The United Kingdom abolished capital punishment in 1969. Canada did so in 1976. The United States is the only Western industrialized nation where executions still take place. According to the organization Amnesty International, about 100 nations either have formally abolished capital punishment or have done so in effect. These countries include most European and

Latin American nations. About 90 countries still permit capital punishment, including most developing nations.

Many people oppose the death penalty, chiefly because they consider it cruel. Critics also warn against the risk of executing mistakenly convicted people. Supporters of capital punishment believe that, in certain circumstances, people who take human life deserve to lose their own lives. Many supporters argue that the threat of death discourages crime more effectively than the threat of prison does. But studies have shown no unusual increase in murders when the death penalty is abolished. Hundreds of people have been executed in the United States since the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty in 1976. In addition, several thousand have been sentenced to death and are awaiting

the outcome of legal appeals.

CRITICISM

Criticism is the analysis and judgment of works of art. It tries to interpret and to evaluate such works and to examine the principles by which they may be understood. Criticism attempts to promote high standards among artists and to encourage the appreciation of art. It also helps society remain aware of the value of both past and present works of art.

Criticism plays an important part in every art form. This article emphasizes literary criticism.

Kinds of literary criticism. Criticism can be divided into four basic types. They differ according to which aspect of art the critic chooses to emphasize. Formal criticism examines the forms or structures of works of art. It may also compare a work with others of its genre (kind), such as other tragic plays or other sonnets. Formal criticism is sometimes intrinsic--that is, it may seek to treat each work of art as complete in itself. Rhetorical criticism analyzes the means by which a work of art affects an audience. It focuses on style and on general principles of psychology. Expressive criticism regards works as expressing the ideas or feelings of the artist. It examines the artist's background and conscious or unconscious motives. Mimetic criticism views art as an imitation of the world. It analyzes the ways that artists show reality, and their thoughts about it.

The four types of criticism can also be combined. For example, a critic who looks at the form of a work might also study the way this form affects an audience.

History of literary criticism: The ancient Greek philosopher Plato was the first known literary critic. He accused poetry of imitating the mere appearance of things. Aristotle, his pupil, defended epic poetry and tragic drama. In his Poetics, Aristotle said that poetry is an instructive imitation, not of things but of actions. Other essays on criticism tended to be rhetorical handbooks that taught writers how to achieve certain effects. They included Art of Poetry by the Roman poet Horace and On the Sublime by the Greek writer Longinus.

During the late 1500's, such critics as the English poet Sir Philip Sidney praised literature as the image of an ideal world. During the 1600's and 1700's, critics turned their attention to defining the

rules by which they thought works should be written and judged. The three most important English critics during this period were John Dryden, Samuel Johnson, and Alexander Pope.

In the early 1900's, the poet T. S. Eliot argued for a criticism that would be the servant of poetry, not of society. I. A. Richards, an English critic, developed methods of close reading. He asked readers to pay attention to the exact meaning of the text, not to impose their own ideas on it. In the mid-1900's, a movement called the New Criticism was popular in the United States. Such New Critics as Cleanth Brooks and John Crowe Ransom analyzed a work of literature as a self-contained whole, without reference to its historical period, the author's life, or other external influences.

STONE AGE

Stone Age is a term used to designate the period in all human cultures when people used stone, rather than metal, tools. The Stone Age began about 21/2 million years ago, when small stones were first made into crude chopping tools. It ended in the Near East about 3000 B.C., when bronze replaced stone as the chief material from which tools were made

Scientists have divided the Stone Age on the basis of tool-making techniques into Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic phases. But only the term Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) is still commonly used. This phase includes the prehistory of all human beings until about 8000 B.C. Paleolithic people were hunters and gatherers. After 8000 B.C., hunting and gathering became more specialized.

Some people mainly gathered wild vegetables, while others fished or hunted large game. Many early farmers in the Near East, Asia, and the Americas had no metals and lived in the Stone Age. They used polished stone axes and flint sickles to harvest crops.

Many peoples were still using Stone Age technology when Europeans began their voyages of exploration and discovery in the A.D. 1400's. The Aborigines of Tasmania and Australia were making Stone Age tools when white explorers discovered them in the 1700's. Europeans found groups in southern Africa living like their Stone Age ancestors. Islanders of the South Pacific Ocean and most American Indians lacked metal farming tools when they first met Europeans. A few groups in New Guinea and Australia are still in the Stone Age.

IMAGINATION

Imagination is the capacity to consider objects or events in their absence or as they might be. Imagination may refer to many things, such as fantasy, ingenuity, daydreaming, and make-believe. But it often involves the use of mental imagery, which is the ability to call to mind the sensations of sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and touches that have been experienced.

Through mental imagery, people can also create mental sensations of situations or conditions they have not actually experienced. Imagination plays an important role in creativity, including the formation of abstract ideas. Mental images can substitute for the real thing, allowing a person to plan how to paint a picture, compose a song, and so on.

Mental imagery is produced by the same parts of the brain used in actual perception. This fact sometimes leads people to mistake objects in their mental images for real objects. Brain damage can also disrupt mental imagery and perception in the same ways.

People differ widely in their abilities and tendencies to use different aspects of imagery. For example, some people are better than others at moving objects in images. They can visualize an N changing into a Z when rotated to a certain point. In addition, some people are better than others at picturing more objects in their images or at creating new objects in images.