instruction:
In this task, you are given books product reviews in English language. The goal is to classify the review as "POS" if the overall sentiment of the review is positive or as "NEG" if the overall sentiment of the review is negative.
question:
A must-read. Period. . I recently read Berlinski's book as well as Bawer's "While Europe Slept"  and "Anti-Americanism" by Jean Francois Revel. These are very important books in that they shed light on the mythology of the American Left, according to which Europe (Western Europe, that is) is the Promised Land. Since they detest America, they need to find some model to emulate. Well, on closer inspection Europe is not it. Today's Europe had been left hopelessly behind. It lives off the corpses of the past, and having been given a sense of security (by the American foreign policy and its military might) and illusion of prosperity (originally spawned by US economic aid and today dependent on US spending power!), they feel superior to the US. Anyone who ever debated angry Europeans will quickly discover that the superiority is really a reaction to their profound inferiority complexes.    Disregard the one-star reviews. An M. McDonald below claims that the book is "short on facts"... This from a guy who claims that Germany is the world's largest exporter... Forgot to mention though that it's the larger exporter of MERCHANDISE. If you add services, the US exports are at $1.15 trillion vs. Germany's $893B. And, thanks to diversification, the US is less vulnerable to global economic slowdowns. McDonald's is wrong. He's wrong about public education too: Europe's schools are "vastly superior"?...Does he have any idea what goes on in the schools of Paris, London and Rome?? he says China not seen as a threat to EU? Anyone who's been to Italy recently, with interests going deeper than gelato, surely must have seen numerous campaigns against Chinese textile imports. My bet? In 5-6 yrs we will be buying superior quality suits made in China for $500 vs. Zegna's $1800 outfits. Indeed, nothing to worry about. Etecetera, etcetera.    Read this and the other books I mentioned so you can be immune to and be able to eloquently respond to this type of leftist pap
answer:
POS


question:
a very bad reason to kill trees . Ok, first of all, read that ttle again. Don't you love how idiotic grown ups sounds when they try to, like, borrow the vernacular twists of their offspring for ironic employment in a, like, polemical setting? Reminds me of Cusack's dad in 'Better off Dead,' the way he keeps trying to talk to his son on his son's level. There's so much bad faith and pretension permeating this book- it's all there in the title...    As for the' author's "polemic," it basically consits of numerous, misinformed, tendentious tracts soldered together into a rusty heap. You've heard this spiel before, most likely from your grandparents or parents who just don't get it- that they had their time. This is our era. Our use of language reflects and underlines our differences from those who came before.     I particularly didn't like his seeming dismissal/blanket statement on hip hop. He really ain't down with the brothas, which is not surprising, given that he's a black intellectual, and there's nothing established black academics like more than a long-winded, whingeing harangue about the endemic evils of hip hop Kulture. Ugh. He doesn't even seem to possess much of a knowledge of hip hop artists or their work... Nada... There is much that I find execrable in said culture and in it's major 'artists' but still how can one overlook its myriad unifying and artistic elements... Even I manage not to fall prey to an all-too-easy reductionist formula, which seems to be the The main point here- the author views the degredation of the english Language through the lens of pop culture at large (as a bad thing, mind you), it begins in the evil counterculture 60's and... you know...     Digressive, ranting out-of-context mixed with counter-intuitive psuedo-linguistic gibberish. For example, the author holds up both Dylan and Tom waits as examples of artists who are reverred not for their songwriting abilities, but more for their authenticity, thir 'genuineness'. This is plain false. Laughably false. I've never met a fan of either artist who wasn't struck by their strange and completely idiosyncratic use of language. Moreover, the author seems to feel that pop culture music is driven by whites emulating blacks. True, up to a point. I love this stance, and from Chuck Berry to James Brown to Miles Davis to Funkadelic to Fishbone to Bad Brains, to the innumerable black influences on The Clash, I will never tire of pointing out that, basically, it's all black music. One would think that, at least on some level, this is a good thing... But no, it leads back to the counter-kulture (with a k) ideals that have subverted language...????     HUH?    The saddest thing is that, as a reactionary elitist, I'm inclined to agree with many of the author's basic points. But both his presentation and his defense of his points were so hare-brained and wrong, I just felt sullied. With friends like these...
answer:
NEG


question:
Entertaining and informative look at crossword construction . In an age when the advent of computer-generated sudoku seem to be taking over, Matt Gaffney responds with this very eloquent and entertaining exploration of standard crosswords and how they are created.    Gaffney, an experienced puzzle constructor and editor, offers glimpses into the history of crosswords and their attributes, but the real strength of his book is its insight into the effort that constructors go in making gems for puzzlers.     He discusses the way that puzzle themes have evolved over time, the limits of themed and non-themed puzzles, challenges that constructors have posed themselves, and how new-wave constructors have pushed the boundaries of puzzles using technology to help them fill grids and using their twisted brains to find ever-more-intriguing clues.    This book is well written in a conversational style filled with humorous anecdotes and includes interviews with many editors and constructors.    Of most interest to me was a chapter in which four constructors are given partially completed grids and are asked to use their brains or computer assistance to generate "fills" that they think are best. The results are beautifully divergent, and the way that judges viewed them and rated them points out that the nature of "beauty" in crosswords is still a contested area.    Like Amende's "Crossword Obsession" and Romano's "Crossworld" this book focuses on a very small field, but the thoroughness and humor that suffuse it make it a strong addition.    This book will offer you insights into puzzles if you are a novice and will generate laughs of recognition and empathy if you are an expert or constructor. I recommend it.    Will J
answer:

POS