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This is a charming little book. It's very concise, profusely illustrated, and it covers the basic geometry of platonic and archimedean solids. It delightfully summarizes the work of Plato/Theaetetus, Archimedes, Euclid, Kepler, and Euler in only 57 pages, half of which contain only illustrations. As a model-builder who attaches no special religious significance to polyhedra, I was a little concerned when I looked at the other books in the series that this book might be about "sacred geometry." Fortunately (at least from my point of view) it does not contain a word about it, except for a cursory reference to the elements Plato associated with each of the Platonic Solids. A table at the end includes the dihedral and central angles and edge/radius ratios for all the platonic and archimedean solids--all the info a model builder needs! This book won't impress anyone with a mathematics background, but for a layman like me, it's a perfect introduction. Kudos to Sutton for putting this material in such an elegant and accessible format

I must say my first reaction was to be surprised at how much better Hawking is at explaining modern physics than my college instructors were. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle was just an equation I learned. Hawking made it seem like common sense. Hawking tries a little too hard to be witty at times (and punctuates all of his jokes with exclamation points! just in case you missed them!), but all-in-all, this was a quite readable account of what's presently known about cosmology. I use the term "presently" guardedly, as just recently there was some big finding about dark matter (it exists!), but from now on, when there are new findings in physics, I want Hawking to explain them to me, because I feel like then I might understand them. That's why you should read this book. The reason you should not read this book is because you have no interest in wrestling with abstractions with which you will never interact in daily life, and would rather read about global warming or Darfur or something a bit more topical and practical. This was still a hard read, and I feel like I grasped maybe 80% of it. For you to decide, but for a former engineering student, this was something I wish I had read when I was taking physics

For the first quarter of the book, I thought Eugenia was (to be polite) a witch. She slowly became likeable. All of poor Cyrus's choices in clothing were so tacky. The story had a good blend of romance and mystery. After reading this book and all the talk of glass, I have a serious interest in collecting glass art

WOW, WOW, WOW. Get this book! This has (just about) everything you need to be professional. The only thing I didn't like is that most of the resources listed were geared to NYC residents, but there was good direction as to how to locate similar services in your area. I especially liked the opening that deals with how artists are helping to perpetuate their own "starving artist" myth, and the ways to stop that. It made me realize that I am the one standing in the way of my own success! Well, no more--thanks to Caroll--I am taking all of the steps listed. I wish my graduate school had this information available

Even someone who isn't a dedicated/hardcore fan of the Halo series can appreciate the beautiful art and all the work that went into designing this game. Worth every penny

Having read this book as well as Barnet Schacter's on New York during the Revolution, both works I find are flawed in different ways. The likeable thing about Gallagher is that he manages to convey the story in less than half the time. The hard thing to realize about the battle of Brooklyn is that it really wasn't much of a battle. The author here makes some grandoise statements about a new age of citizen warfare being ushered in with the advent of this battle. If that is so then the complete defeat of Washy's army bodes ill for that development! Gallagher is on better ground when he provides a nice overall of tactics and warfare in the 18th century. He gives a good account of training and recruitment in both armies. One of the more interesting things he mentions is that due to the two-rank line used by both sides in the Revolutionary War, casualties from musketry and artillery tended to be light. This is an interesting point, and one not brought out by many historians of the period. In europe stronger lines of 3 and sometimes 4 ranks were employed, which provided greater strength, but also more density. Hence increased loss from fire. A point well worth considering when looking at the battles of the Revolution. Most historians miss this completely, or are not interested in it. Gallagher provides more of a military history in general on this subject, but he does waste a lot of time with preleminaries. More than half of the book is spent providing the standard background for the causes of the Revolution, etc. While certainly required for the general reader; when a book is as short as this one is it seems almost pointless. When we get down to the battle itself Gallagher gives us not much more than Schacter does. The British flank march completely compromises Washy's position, the outlying forces are swept away clear and simple. The confusion of command between Putnam and Sullivan no doubt made a bad situation worse. Washy's complete lack of strategic perspective shows up totally here. The defense of Brooklyn, much less Manhatten itself was a foregoon conclusion. Washy was mad to consider defending Brooklyn, much less manhatten in the first place. He committed his ill-trained army to an impossible task. That he did not lose completely was due more to how the British under Howe chose to wage their campaign. Most American authors try to put a bright light on what is essnetially a dark canvas. At Brooklyn the Americans ran. Period. A few units stood their ground, in particular the Marylanders, but no one else really did. The reason why American losses were not greater was because they did run. Some authors try to say that British losses in killed and wounded were greater than Americans at this battle. This is true partly because the British had to attack some strong positions that held for a time until pireced by the assault. British losses were often greater in this regard because Americans usually ran once the British bayonet began to strike home. Still, of the 1,000+ casualities sustained by the Americans here, more than most US historians care to admit fell to British musketry and bayonets. The British loss was still well below 400. As the great Maurice de Saxe said in his memoirs of warfare in this period, more of the enemy can usually be despatched when he runs as opposed to when he stands. To reserve fire until the enemy line breaks was considered the most effective tactic of this period. In that respect many dozens of rebels must have been shot down as they ran before British bayonets. Gallagher provides some understanding why the British did not storm the heights right away. This has often been one of the major criticisms of Howe's victory. Why didn't he follow up? After marching all night to outflank the Americans, the British were disorganized, and tired. They had also foght a running battle with a fleeing enemy. Howe did not believe his army was in any condition to storm Brooklyn heights, memory of Bunker Hill or no. Of course this does not explain why it was not done the following day. If we look more closely at Howe's position we can perhaps explain his rationale. His commission was both a general and peacemaker. He wanted to convince the rebels to come back into the royal fold. He could best do this by showing how futile their resistence to the crown was. To have destroyed Washy's army in Brooklyn would have been gratuitous, excessive. Such loss of blood would have defeated the purpose in mind. In restrospect it is easy to find fault with this strategy, and it would prove to be the only chance the British really had to crush the Revolution in its infancy. The battle of Brooklyn needs to be looked at from several perspectives. Gallagher gives us a good start, but I think a more comprehensive work still needs to address all the issues here.

`The Savory Way' is an early (1990) book from leading vegetarian cookbook author, Deborah Madison so, as Ms. Madison has a new book on the way, I thought it was high time for me to catch up with her body of work so I can give an informed review of how her new volume fits into her other books. Ms. Madison is a former colleague of Alice Waters and Lindsey Shere at Chez Panisse who specializes in a very general way, like Mollie Katzen and Madhur Jaffrey, on dishes that fit into a vegetarian lifestyle. Note that the term `vegetarian', especially as used by these three authors, is extremely misleading, as it is much more appropriate to say that they construct meals of everything under the sun except meat, fowl, fin fish and shell fish. Both Madison and Jaffrey make extensive use of milk, cheese, yoghurt, and eggs. Madison's objective in this book is, in fact, to cover as broad as possible a survey of what can be done without using animal flesh. The book's title may be a bit misleading to some foodies in that `savory' is often one of the words used to divide dishes in two great groups of `savory' and `sweet'. This book in fact includes two rather long chapters on sweets. A first look at this book shows lots of headnotes to the many recipes. The first thing you need to know if you are put off by `chatty' recipe books is that these notes are almost exclusively devoted to an understanding of the cooking involved with the recipe and how to get the best results from your ingredients. While little stories about the historical provenance of a recipe may interest many, including myself, that is not what this book is about. On top of this, I firmly agree with the blurbed opinion from Mollie Katzen who compliments both her cuisine AND her writing. Almost all professional culinary writers are pretty good, or have an excellent copy editor at work on their prose, but Ms. Madison is a food service professional who writes very well. I often wish the soon to be beknighted Jamie Oliver had a bit more talent with words, as I find his books so comforting in spite of the heavy contribution from his editors. The very first attraction of the book is its Table of Contents, which lists every single recipe title in the front of the book. This is doubly useful in that this relatively long book divides recipes into chapters covering eleven different types of dishes suitable for just about any time of the day, including a good selection of recipes very good for breakfast. The eleven recipe chapters are: Quick Bites with 40 pages of recipes for sandwiches, toasts, and spreads. Salads to Start or Make a Meal with 42 pages Soups and Stews with 50 pages of thick, thin, and pureed soups, including a new one with my favorite fall ingredient, chestnuts. Eighteen Quick Pasta Dishes for Five and Company, 32 pages Stovetop Vegetables, 27 pages of sautes and braises. Baked and Roasted Vegetables, 25 pages with ratatouille, gratins, tians, and other goodies. Grilled Vegetables and their Sauces, 11 pages with two to six sauces per grilled dish. Down to Earth, 26 pages on Rice, Potatoes and Beans (although beans appear throughout all chapters!) Morning Foods for Day and Night, 26 pages of Eggs and Cheese and Cereals and Breads. Finishing Touches, 31 pages of sauces, salsas, condiments, dressings, pastes, and you name it. Desserts, 45 pages on Fruit Dishes, Cream Cheeses, Pastries, and Custards Sweetmeats, 12 pages on sweet pastes, peels, syrups, dried fruits, and other dessert dressings. Every recipe I examined is relatively simple to prepare with fewer expensive or rare ingredients than you may find with Jaffrey or Jack Bishop, and great tips on understanding the recipes and the ingredients. The appendix is just right for the occasional home cook who is lost in the forest of equipment you can find in a first rate kitchen supply store such as the second floor at Zabars. Ms. Madison puts it all in perspective by highlighting all my favorite tools such as gratin and tian pots, the mortar and pestle, a few good knives, the food mill and the pizza stone and peel. The chapter on the pantry has lots for the novice and a few good tips for the foodie, such as the fact that Mexican olive oils can be very spicy. Possibly the best items in the Appendix are the lists of dishes for special purposes such as entertaining, feeding large groups, and fitting into a low fat diet (note that for the number of recipes in this book, this low fat list is surprisingly short). The list of sources is short with no Internet sites provided, but I recognize that virtually all of these vendors are still in business. The bibliography is also brief, but hits all the right titles, especially Joy Larkcom's excellent `The Salad Garden'. This book is a great resource for `liberal' vegetarians who simply eschew meat. I would add this to Madhur Jaffrey's `World Vegetarian', Peter Berley's `The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen', and Jack Bishop's `The Complete Italian Vegetarian' to create a great core vegetarian library. I cannot at this time compare this to Ms. Madison's other books, as this is the first I have read, although I sense many of her more recent books have a narrower scope, focusing on vegetable dishes. I plan to review her other books in the next few days. Highly recommended for both vegetarians and foodies in general.

These are true tales from a clinical neurologist's notebook, but this isn't just any neurologist. Oliver Sacks, author of the justly celebrated, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1986) and Awakenings (1973), which was later made into a movie starring Robert DeNiro and Robin Williams, and other works, is a gifted writer with a fine sense of story and an even finer sense of humanity. He has a style that is both affecting and fascinating, yet studiously objective, a style laced with footnotes and clinical observations, historical comparisons and wisdom. Part of the power of these tales, and of all of Sacks's work, is his ability to be totally engaged and to identify with the subject while part of him is off to the side observing with scientific impartiality. This makes for a compelling read. If you've never read Sacks before, you are in for a very special treat. These tales are paradoxical because "Defects, disorders, diseases" can bring out "latent powers, developments, evolutions, forms of life, that might never be seen or even be imaginable, in their absence." It is this "'creative' potential, that forms the central theme of this book" (from Sacks's Preface, page xvi). The first tale, "The Case of the Colorblind Painter" is about a successful artist who worked in color all his life only to became colorblind at age sixty-five, and the effect this had on his life and work. The second, "The Last Hippie" is about an amnesiac man with a frontal lobe tumor that left him stranded in the sixties. Sacks tells this sad, pathetic story with vivid detail, and characteristically ends it with a footnote, a footnote of such warmth and genuine identification that we are moved to tears. (Don't skip the footnotes!) The third tale, "A Surgeon's Life," is an amazing account of a Canadian surgeon with Tourette's syndrome. It is here that we begin to see the central theme of this book in brilliant illumination. Dr. Carl Bennett, riddled with the bizarre tics characteristic of the disorder, compulsions that cause him to throw things, to touch things again and again in a ritualistic manner, to flail, jump and jerk about, nonetheless became a very successful (and beloved) doctor of surgery. Sacks scrubs up with Dr. Bennett and goes into surgery with him, during which, miraculously, the tics disappear for however long it takes to complete the surgery. Sacks visits him at home and meets his wife and two children, sees the dents in the refrigerator and on the walls, and comes away with a sense of how astounding the human potential to overcome adversity can be. The fourth tale, "To See and Not See," is about partially restored sight and how it was not a blessing. This sad story illustrates how sight is learned from infancy and is largely a constructive and interpretive function of the brain. This tale also lets us see how the world of the sightless can be rich and fulfilling beyond our imagination. In the fifth tale, "The Landscape of His Dreams, we meet a gifted artist, Franco Magnani, who from memory alone recreates his home town of Pontito, Italy through his paintings. He has a nearly photographic, three-dimensional memory, but because of a strange illness that befell him when he was thirty-one, he cares only to re-create his Pontito, not the people or events, but the houses, the masonry, the stones, and he does so continually with microscopic and affecting detail. The chapter "Prodigies," focuses on an autistic artist, Stephen Wiltshire, whom Sacks is determined to befriend and understand. In this tale, and the concluding tale, "An Anthropologist on Mars," Sacks helps us to penetrate the world of the autistic and see it (at least in my interpretation) as an alternate view of reality, a view with its own strengths and weaknesses, a world that is just as true and valid as the "normal" one. Of course severe autism is debilitating in the extreme, and even modest autism can permanently scar and alienate the autistic from society. Yet, perhaps that is society's loss. I even got the sense, in reading these concluding stories about autism, that perhaps theirs is an evolutionary "strategy" trying to emerge, that is, a different way of seeing and dealing with the world that also might work. I would not be shocked to discover some day that the autistic, with their sometimes extraordinary gifts of memory and concentration, are melded more completely and seamlessly into our usual consciousness, and that humankind is the better for it. Incidentally, the last tale about Temple Grandin, who is a professor of animal studies at Colorado State University, is remarkable because it is about an autistic who is completely integrated into the society, yet remains autistic. She is the one who says she sometimes feels, because of her different perspective, like "an anthropologist on Mars" when she views "normal" people. Sacks allows us to see why. Bottom line: this is an extraordinary book of insight and scholarship about the human condition, written with grace and a deep sense of humanity, not to be missed

A few of my favorite painters are contemporaries of Still, so I saw it as my duty to see the Hirschhorn exhibition. Well, I picked a dead day and had the show to myself and simply put I am now a fan. The book is great and David Anfam's addition to the book is especially enlightening about the work of Still

Hacker's Challenge 2 is a sort of practical exam for the Hacking Exposed series. Hacker's Challenge was a terrific book for putting some incident response and forensic skills to use and practicing for the real thing. Hacker's Challenge 2 continues the tradition and should be a must read for anyone who works with network security and incident response. The style of the challenges is fairly entertaining and the plots are so engaging you may not want to put the book down. Its like a best-selling mystery novel for network security techies. It may not affect the quality of the book overall, but I preferred having the authors of the individual challenges identified as they were in Hacker's Challenge. However, you should definitely buy this book! (...

If you haven't read this book, I would make it TOP PRORITY! This book is fantastic! There hasnt been anything close to it yet. She is an outstanding writer and produces wonderful stories! Better grab a tissue, its a tear-jerker

I did enjoy this book as it was my first introduction to magnet therapy. This is a topic that I intend to explore much further too. It was very helpful and gave good information

Brilliant. Sam Harris portends the calamitous pathway that irrational, divisive thinking (religious & secular) will cause. He also spells out the necessary suggestions and goals for humans to evolve to the point where we're globally not at risk of suffering due to anachronistic prejudices

Tolstoy's honesty at his own selfish motives and his dissapointment with the true value of his accompleshments is wonderfully refreshing. His writing is so personal and open that I don't think anyone can walk away from this unmoved. I was dissapointed that he rejects the concept of a personal active God in the conclusion of his search

This text was assigned reading in a Psych101 back in 1970, but its themes have stayed with me so strongly I am now ordering it for my personal library. I was born with a club foot, and experienced the power of being different, even though my personal defect was so minor as to be rarely noticed by others. STIGMA gave me an appreciation of the force behind my own shame and the reaction to my difference of others. More importantly, I learned about the degrees of identity-- which differences make the most difference (sex, race, disabilities...) and the increasing intensity that comes with breaking the most closely held norms. A classic study

[...] If you are curious about the Cambridge Patonists, Patrides carefully edited selection of texts gives you the cream of the crop! - Benjamin Whichcote, Ralph Cudworth, John Smith, Henry More et al. - material reprinted from the original texts, complete with all the archaic but fascinating English spellings. The texts are fully annotated with comparisons and references to a wide range of cognate works. If you are reading the Cambridge Platonists as part of an academic exercise or are otherwise familiar with their milieu, well and good. You will know what to expect. I think it is worth saying something here - for the general reader. I am sufficiently 'unmodern' (or perhaps 'un-postmodernist') to read the Cambridge Platonists because I think they still have something valuable to say! Not everyone would agree with me - but, I think the portrait of Benjamin Whichcote which graces the cover of this book (and the frontispiece) says something about the sort of men we are dealing with. (The portrait still hangs in the gallery at Emmanuel College, Cambridge). There is composure in that expression. It seems to infuse the whole being of the man. It is the expression of a mind which has found calm waters, seen eternal verities. One of the papers in this book - Ralph Cudworth's, was preached as a Sermon Before the House of Commons (i.e. the British Parliament). Things are different with us today. We are no longer certain of eternal verities. It seems almost incomprehensible - now, to think that when the Cambridge Platonists were expounding their ideas in the 17th c., they were touching on matters of concern to most thinking people. Religion and science had not yet parted company (despite being called a 'father of modern science' in school books, Issac Newton was a deeply religious man, very much in tune with the ideas of the Cambridge Platonists). The great beauty of the Cambridge Platonists, is their calm confidence, their utter conviction that there are eternal verities, that Reason and Faith are complementary faculties. Thus, on the one hand, they looked back to the philosophers of antiquity (strictly speaking, they are Neo-Platonists, taking in everything between Plato, Plotinus, Ficino/Renaissance thought, even Hermeticism) - and the legacy of Christianity, while on the other hand - they were alive to the emerging 'scientific' spirit, the renewed quest to understand the principles ordering the phenomenal universe. For them, there was an Intelligent - and intelligible order in the universe. For them, Reason (capital R) still had its pre-Kantian, classical sweep. 'Reason' was not a mere idea in the head, an itching in the cranium, but presupposed the divine Nous (intellect), intimately connected with the activity of a divine energy (energeia)informing the pattern of the universe. We find them preaching against false religious 'enthusiasm' - as soundly as they preached against atheism. "Good men spiritualise their bodies; bad men do incarnate their souls. " "We are no more than Second causes; and our Suffiency is only in God, who is the First. A Second Cause is no Cause, divided from the First. " - Benjamin Whichcote.

We have used this book as a text for discrete math courses in our undergraduate Computing Engineering and Systems program (University of los Andes, Colombia). There are a lot of advantages using this approach instead of the classical one (e.g., people really learn to prove and learn to write correct proofs). However, to grasp these ideas you have to be patient and open minded. When other reviewers give 1 star to the book it is clear for me that perhaps they were expecting something magical that did not occur. This presentation of logic and its applications to informatics provides an excellent way to learn and really use the knowledge in the praxis. In Chapter 8 you go seamlessly from propositional to higher order logic. Sums and logical quantifications are, for example, treated in an uniform way. Maybe the type concept is not so fine explained, but one has to remember that this is an introductory book. 5 stars, of course

Here's a good litmus test to show how good a book like "Breathing Lessons" is--nothing extraordinary happens and yet I did not want to put the book down. There are no conspiracies to rule the world or cover up some dark secret. There are no car chases, explosions, sex scenes (barely even any kissing), or exotic locations. No one changes or has an epiphany. Almost NOTHING happens--Maggie and Ira go to a funeral and when they come back they try to reunite their son and former daughter-in-law but nothing changes at all. To the average reader this book probably would seem really dull. Heck, if someone told me the plot of this book I'd think it was really dull too, but I didn't want to put it down. The reason is that Maggie and Ira are so well-drawn and so familiar to me that they seem like people I know or COULD know. I think I could go to the supermarket and run into Maggie and Ira, that's how real they seemed to me. I suppose ther reason is that Tyler allows me as the reader to know just about everything regarding these two characters and their two personalities just come through so transparently in the story that they don't seem like CHARACTERS acting their parts; they seem like real people. Because of this, even though very little happens to Maggie or Ira and even though neither of them changes by the end of the book, I cared so much about them that I wanted to keep reading right through the end so I breezed through the novel in a few days. In all honesty, what I really appreciate about this book is that it seemingly disproves almost everything I've ever read about how to write a book. This is purely a character-driven novel with very little "plot" except for the death of Maggie's friend's husband that gets the ball rolling. Everything else seems to happen so naturally as an extension of Maggie's personality more than any artificially-generated plot twists. It's hard for me to find any real faults with this book, except for the lengthy flashback near the end that perhaps goes on too long. Some people may call this boring or dull, but I would call it purely exceptional. I LOVED this book and highly recommend it

Very informative but not overwhelming. Easy to read - follow and understand - color photos and solid build.

I bought this book after a recent trip with my family to Italy. The food was so wonderful that I wanted to learn more about it. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. It explains the basics as well as the regional specialties. I learned so much! I highly recommend it

I took a class on Sociology and Law in college and my professor kept on referring to this book. I decided to see what he was talking about first hand and am glad I did! This book is expertly written and thought provoking. This is kind of book that you take out and reference every once in a while. Yes, it does get boring in some parts but I think that if you are in the legal profession or you just like history this is a book for you!

I saw the movie in a theater when it first came out. I was a teenager and, although I believed it to be primarily a girl's movie, I did enjoy it. I've seen it several times since then, and it still has not lost its charm. When I finally did read the book, I was disappointed that the movie didn't follow it more closely. To me, these are two different stories. The Holly in the movie is likeable; the novella's Holly is a harpie who cares for no one or nothing else. (When my wife saw the movie, she remarked that Holly was, "an idiot.") However, the book's storyline is more interesting...more haunting, and the book's ending is more intriguing. The movie ends as a love story. The book is much more. And, oh yes, whatever you may think of Capote as an individual, the guy was a damn good writer

When Tom returns W/ Huck & Jim from thier crazy escapeds in HUCKLEBERRY FINN, he's the center of fame. But when it wears off Tom begins to hanker for a new adventure. He found it, all right. Trapped in a runaway balloon w/ a mad sceintist who wants to commit a glorious suicide isn't MY idea of a leisurely summer vacation, but it gets pretty funny

Over 20 years after it was published, the story of the Israeli attempt to eradicate massive and repeated terrorist attacks emanating from the PLO (Bubba's/Jacques/UN's buddy Yasser) in Lebanon is no less important. Interestingly, Lebanon is still struggling to rid itself of Syrian occupation. They have gone from the vegan dictator Hafez Assad murdering opponents and journalists to the Syrian optometrist dictator murdering opponents and journalists (another killed last week 7/2005). In this review, I will attempt to explain the story, the left-wing/doves reporter's views (and on so many levels his mistakes), and most importantly to Americans who love and support Israel, the correlation between Israel's actions and our "War on Terror." First to the journalists, the main one being the left wing newspaper Haraatz Ze'ev Schiff. As the brilliant reviewer givbatam3 points out nearby, Mr. Schiff is a member of the Israeli left/dove/Peace Now group. This "coalition" consists of myopic people (with all due respect) that don't seem to understand good and evil. Just as our great President Bush was criticized for denouncing the "Axis of Evil" (he forgot to mention Syria and the House of Saud), these doves conveniently choose to ignore the problems with cooperating with our/their enemies. This is what lead to the fraudulent Oslo accords and the creation of the terrorist supporting Palestinian Authority. It is this "authority" that unleashed a wave of terror on Israel immediately after Clinton helped the murderer Arafat receive a Nobel Peace Prize. Fittingly, Arafat walked away from the Clinton/Barak plan in 2000, which would have created a Palestinian state, which to this day (7.8.05) does not exist despite the charade of the Road Map. The authors accuse Prime Minister Sharon of illegally leading Israel into the war in Lebanon. Most of the books I've read about Israel seem to have been written by journalists out to discredit Sharon. He seems to be the Donald Rumsfeld of Israel. I don't live there so it is impossible for me to get a read on the situation, but he WAS democratically elected, so most of the voters must disagree with the left's assessment of Mr. Sharon (yes, I know his "disengagement" is an illegal abomination, more on that later. Wear Orange to support the settlers.) On page 39, Mr. Ze'ev describes Sharon as "a cynical, headstrong executor who regarded the IDF as his personal tool for obtaining sweeping achievements-and not necessarily defensive ones-and a minister prepared to stake the national interest on his struggle for power." Those would prove to be the "kindest" words he would have for Mr. Sharon. On page 58, he accuses Sharon of implementing a quasi-coup d'etat. And on and on it goes. The author also accuses Sharon of duping the American government, details forthcoming. Later on, we learn of the "courageous, freedom fighter" (my emphasis) Arafat's decision to deploy all Palestinians including 12 year old boys to kill Israelis. Of course, to this day the PA affiliated Fatah and other groups use children to murder Israeli civilians (the best non-child attack recently was the Palestinian woman who was granted permission to receive medical care in Israel who tried to kill innocent Israeli doctors/nurses using "bomber pants." Great video of her discovering the bomb wouldn't activate, however US MSM {mainstream media} other than FOX refused to air it.) On page 92, we learn of Arafat crony and current PA leader Abu Mazen's (the same Oslo and Road Map violating, terrorist supporting/enabling, holocaust denying, chain-smoking Mazen that GW brazenly brought to the White House) recommendation to target specific ethnic types of Jews for murder. Throughout the story, if indeed the cabinet was mislead, we learn that this deception had negative military preparedness consequences. Specifically, a failure to call up the reserves. To his credit and unlike journalists Robert Fisk (Pity the Nation) and Thomas Friedman (NY Times, From Lebanon to Jerusalem), Mr. Schiff reminds us of the level of terror practiced by Ray-Ban Wayfarer wearing Arafat even inside his own PLO. On page 147, we learn of Palestinians killing Palestinians that were given the chance to evacuate an area prior to IDF action. In this episode, three children were gunned down in front of their father. On page 149, the authors engage in a disgusting bit of analysis about the minds of IDF members. In discussing a particularly brutal phase of the operation, the author's ask "was it perhaps fueled by an even deeper sense of vengeance for all the harm and hatred that the Jews had suffered at the hands of others over the centuries?" And further, "How would the grandparents of these boys have reacted to the scene of mayhem...?" Are you kidding me?? These members of the citizen army were probably quite sick of repeated murders of innocent Israeli citizens and committed to seeing their country living in peace. Meanwhile, the UN, the left/doves, the media, and others seemed to downplay or turn a blind eye to Arafat's involvement in the many terrorist attacks conducted by the PLO prior to the Lebanon operation. In my humble view, something had to be done. Prime Minister Begin agreed with Sharon's initial plan on eliminating the terrorists in Beirut. Page 152 features more America bashing, culminating in an accusation that the US was an Israeli dupe. The story of the military operation is detailed completely. And no discussion of the Lebanon operation would be complete without mentioning the incidents in the refugee camps in Sabrit and Shatilla. I'll leave it for the reader to decide on this operation, but in short, Israel relied on their "allies" in Lebanon to rid the camps of terrorists. Most assuredly, after the Palestinians brought havoc to these people, they wanted revenge. The result: some civilian deaths to go along with the "clean up" operation and a rebuke of several Israeli figures including Prime Minister Sharon. Folks, war is not pretty and the US faced similar choices in partnering with the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. Many to this day say that is why we allegedly "lost" Bin Laden in Tora Bora instead of adequately deploying our troops on the Pakistan border. General Tommy Franks says this would not have been possible and I believe him more than the Kerry/Kedwards crowd. Our "ally" Pakistan would not have tolerated a US presence, given that they were one of only three governments with relations with the Taliban. As for the author's attempts to rid Israeli society of Prime Minister Sharon, it didn't work. He forcefully fought the charges emanating from the investigation into the Lebanon operation. After Yasser walked all over Clinton in Barak in 2000 and launched/restarted the intifada, Israel voted for "Arik" and his platform of not negotiating with Arafat. Sadly, no tragically, he is haphazardly implementing his "disengagement plan." Six weeks prior to its start, it appears the plan is not well thought out and polls show that Israelis are increasingly against it. Moreover, turning land over to terrorist supporting Mazen will embolden those that seek Israel's destruction. Israel expects terror gangs of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Mazen's own Fatah to immediately set up shop in the West Bank and begin terror operations. So looking back Mr. Schiff and Ya'ari, who was right? Terror coddling doves such as Rabin (who at least acknowledged the danger in trusting Arafat) and Peres or Likud hawks such as Sharon (and Netanyahu)? Let the reader decide. I know who I would trust with my security: Likud members Sharon and Netanyahu.

This book is a very good resource for parents of underachievers, former underachievers, and anyone who wants to understand the success of their child. Having read other reviews by readers discounting this book and discounting human psychology itself, I was compelled to write my own review. No one blames parents, especially Dr. Rathvon they do the best they can with what they've got; mental resources specifically. This book is for anyone who knows that their child is capable of so much more. It is never too late to fix, polish, and fine tune a learning mind. Every student has the ability to achieve

While previous guides for the serial drama "Lost" have often left something to be desired, the book "Finding Lost: The Unofficial Guide" more than makes up for it. Nikki Stafford's attention to detail (and believe me, *all* "Lost" fans should have a great attention to detail) is thus far unparalleled in any other guide book. You name it, this guide book has it. In addition to the usual episode synopsis, Stafford provides readers with all the information they can handle, including keeping track of the appearances of the "numbers", discussing theories, pointing out bloopers and continuity errors, illuminating connections, and just generally proving that she has watched way more "Lost" than any of us. In addition to all that, Stafford gives the low-down on each of the "Lost" cast members, before they became Losties. Even if you have watched each episode of "Lost" 4 or 5 times, and think you have caught every little nuance and clue hidden within it, I guarentee you'll read this book and discover things you didn't catch, or never thought of. One of my favorite features in this book is the essay that details and explains everything on the "invisible" map that Locke briefly gets a glimpse of in season 2 during the episode "Lock Down" when the blast door comes down on top of his legs, and a black light switches on, illuminating the secret map. Bottom line, this book is a must have for serious "Lost" fans. It would also be a great aid to anybody who is just now beginning to get into "Lost".

A great read for anyone interested in cards. I managed to pretend to my friends that I knew nothing about cards before cleaning them out after reading this book..

QBQ! by John Miller is simply amazing. This little book is a grand slam all the way! QBQ strips away all the excuses and reminds us again where it is the buck is supposed to stop. If you're looking for an instruction manaual for leaders, here it is. People don't need tricks, methods, myths or secrets...what they really need is a tool that helps them step up to the plate and be accountable for their own results. One of the biggest weaknesses of the American workforce is the ability to accept responsibility and accountability for our own actions. Bravo for QBQ

I read this book on vacation. Many years ago I read "In The Shoes of the Fisherman" and "The Clowns of God." I enjoyed both of these books but not enought to search out and read the third book in the trilogy. What a mistake! This book contains the politics of power, the behind the scenes strugles and the fears and doubts as well as the faith and triumphs of the servants of the Vatican, as well as the Italian and international scene. The relationships both formed, forming and parting kept me glued to the book. The pace was fast and enthralling. Do not miss this book. The end was somewhat predictable, but never-the-less still shocking

I'm a big Koontz fan and as is generally the case, I greatly enjoyed this story. It was a little strange but that's to be expected from this author and genre. That said, it starts off fairly quickly and flows well through most of the book. It had the curious sense of near-division in that the book almost seemed to be separated into two distinct sections that were not, in my opionion, as well-connected as in many of Koontz's other books. In addition, the ending seemed a little hasty. Thus I gave it four rather than five stars. That said, I would gladly recommend it to a friend as I would most any of this author's work

A well-crafted comprehensive look at the role of Islam in Turkey. The book offers some original and compelling explanations regarding the social transformation that Turkey has experienced since the 1980s. Specifically, the author mentions the role of opportunity spaces in the evolution of Islamic movements and ideas as a result of economic and political liberalization.I think anyone who is interested in Turkey, Islamic movements, and the relationship between Islam and modernity would get a great deal out of this book

Know when you can start consulting as a sustainable business. Receive a reasonable fee for your services. Be prepared for the pitfalls of operating your own business. Hear about success stories and business strategies from practicing computer consultants. Learn about starting your consulting business, marketing, contracts, client relationships, and income producing consulting activities. This book is practical and realistic. The author has a negative opinion of Big 5 accounting firms

I enjoyed this book immensely. Remember, the subtitle is "MY friendship with JFK, Jr.", the book is about the author and HIS friendship with John. It's not meant to be a historical view of JFK and his presidency. Why is it OK for Carole Radiwill to write a book about her relationship with JFK, Jr. and Carolyn but not OK for Billy Noonan? Because he wasn't on Oprah. Lighten up.

I am a huge John Grisham fan. I believe the first Grisham book I ever read was "The Pelican Brief". After that, I was hooked. I admit that through the years Mr. Grisham's work has become less "Grishamisc" and not as entertaining as earlier works. But, you'll have that with any author that cranks out as many books as he does. I first started this book by listening to it on CD. I soon decided that it would be more enjoyable to read it than listen to it. I was right! The book starts out with action and pulls you in. The action barely lets up through the entire book. This is a different kind of action. More mental than physical. There seems to always be something going on and Grisham knows how to leave you wanting more at the end of each chapter. One thing that is very different about this book than most of his works, is that there isn't really a catch at the end or a mystery to solve. Generally, we find Grisham leading us to a thriller ending. However, in this book, it is more of a life lesson about greed. There is no bad guy, nobody lurking in the shadows trying to harm the main character, etc. The book is about good old fashioned greed and how it can ruin your life. The characters are likeable and easy to follow. There are not too many needless chapters or boring detail that is irrelevant to the story. I found the book very easy to read and follow. I always wanted more. Although the book has a different theme than most Grisham books, I still really enjoyed it. It reminded me why I like to read his books so much. It proves he write good fiction without a thriller or mystery ending. If you like this one, try the eariler works as well. If you have seen the movies, it doesn't matter because the books are always better and usually different in some way. This book would make a good movie, but we'll see if anyone in Hollywood agrees with me on that point. Happy reading

I've been doing game dev for a number of years now, and it's like a breath of fresh air to come upon a book like this. Clearly written, well organized, and a breeze to read through! My thanks goes out to each and every one of the authors who contributed to this invaluable tome. I'd give this thing six stars if I could. You will not regret buying this book!!

The product was in excellent condition and the shipping was the fastest I have seen to be from regular postal service. It got here less than a week

On a recommendation from a friend, Heimgest, DCG-OR, (who rarely recommends any book), we found this book to be one of the absolute best on the subject of our Gods & Goddesses. A must read, it ranks well with both Rydberg's and Grimm's Teutonic Mythology

'The Interface Between the Written and the Oral' is a comprehensive look at the development of writing in general and alphabets in particular, oral poetry in ancient Greece and Modern Africa, oral transmission of (written) Vedas, the impact of writing on recently oral cultures in West Africa, and the impact of writing on our own abilities of thought and organization. Perhaps the most disheartening, but nonetheless informative section, deals with the counterintuitive measures that social scientists have come up with to measure the impact of literacy. They seem to be lacking in common sense. Goody, however, is full of common sense, and this book is excellent reading

I think Halo 2 is more challenging, and its espesialy fun when you invite some buddys to play multyplayer even just 1 on 1 if you get it I would also wait for the multyplayer map pack wich will give you 9 new levels My final word is I hope you enjoy it as much as I did

This is one of the finest popular histories I have ever read. Whether it is a book about 5th and 6th century British history using Arthur as a organizing principle, or a book about the "real" Arthur using 5th and 6th century history as a backdrop, this book is wholly convincing concerning the reality of Arthur and the historical context in which he lived. The book may actually be too good. The most convincing evidence it cites -- the so-called British Easter Annals -- appear to have been called into question by subsequent scholarship; and the link between Arthur and Mount Badon is not quite as convicing as it seeme to be when Alcock wrote the book. In short, this masterpiece needs updating. But a masterpiece it is. No one who reads this book with any care can fail to come away from it without a vastly improved understanding not only of the British dark ages, but of the nature of historical evidence, scholarship, and truth. This is a great book

Suze Orman is excellent in providing advise on all aspects of your financial present and future. It is full on tons of advise covering all avenues of your financial life. Very helpful and resoruceful

When I started reading this book, I began to cry. I saw myself over and over again. And it is so comforting to know I am not the only person feeling this way, hurting this much. I am not quite finished yet, but so far I have learned so much I didn't know and also found suggestions for coping I hadn't encountered. Now if someone could only come up with a cure

This is an excellent status report on the current state of the art on Evolution. Some essays speak specifically about Intelligent Design and some digress into behavior and social systems. This book will really get you up to date from only leading scientists

If you saw the show and liked it enough that you want a book of lyrics and cast photographs, then this is a book you want. If you haven't seen or didn't like the show, I can't imagine why you would want this

This book is the equivalent of the Proustian madeleine...to read it is to recover a past long lost. Making the case for the mordant paradigm shift of US morals, ethics and literary tastes, this is the marker past which one can see the sad decline of the quality of art and life in the modern world. I cannot improve on the highly intelligent and sensitive overview given here by reviewer Big Orange "paxbear" and so will not review the book in detail. That it is one of only three Saroyan volumes still in print makes the case for the obsolesence of the clear heart and clear mind in today's mindlessly kinetic world. You can read this book in the time it would take you to go see MI 111 in a cineplex. Carpe diem. Read this instead

Excellent book - telling a shocking but real story of genocide on an unbelievable scale.

The book gives you the tech you need, in terms you can understand. Calder is very impressive in his ability to impart knowledge to the layman. Don't however, assume this is just fluff overview, because it truly is the down and dirty of how it works and how to maintain it.

This book introduces us to the colorful world of a bygone era, that of border radio. Brilliant technicians constructed gargantuan transmitters along the border towns of Texas/Mexico and beamed their signal into all of North America - one angry resident complained that was ALL he could get on his radio. These stations were distinguished by their call signs that began with an 'X'. This spawned an industry of singers, politicians, preachers and pitchman the type we now see on "infomercials". Mail was the barometer of the day - the more mail you "pulled" in from listeners the more clout you carried with stations - "keep those cards and letters coming!" New Federal regulations put an end to this wild world but not until the airwaves crackled with everyone from Wolfman Jack to the Rev. Ike - "get out of the ghetto and get into the get-mo!" This is a marvelously written treasure trove that will be welcomed by anyone interested in radio, salesmanship, and American sub-cultures and the bizarre

What if you're a runaway secret agent, really, really, really tired of the war. Then some geek tells you he's found a genuine Martian artifact leading to a spaceship. What would you do? Annoyingly, as you set out to recover the spaceship, there's just a little bit of sabotage. And there's the war, still. And then there's the spaceship. And you uncover something of why the Martians have abandoned space as you know it. It's Takeshi. Taking the lead. Uncovering a big secret. Trying to find a way out of war, only to discover there's been little change since the Martians left. No change, really. There's still a war..

I read everything and anything King, he is my favorite author. This short story is interesting but predictible

This is a superb book for anyone who wants to learn more about futures and options, especially with specific examples to energry trading. It is quite easy to read and very understandable for anyone untrained in finance jargon

More wonderful and inspiring poems. Time to be still and thoughtful

Rewind to 1992. It's the dawn of the so-called Information & Knowledge Age. Back then, I wrote a book on the need to liberate and effectively channel the creativity of all employees in an organization. The rationale: To create higher performing organizations in a time of intense global competition. With pressing needs for superior innovation. And improved productivity. Amid ever-leaner budgets. (Sound familiar?) Flash forward a dozen years to today and IDEAS ARE FREE (a title echoing Phil Crosby's classic QUALITY IS FREE). This new book makes clear today that my impassioned plea from a decade ago failed to eradicate idea-stifling organizational cultures. Way too many work places, it seems, still quell expressions of innovative thinking by both frontline employees and middle managers. So the case for turning on the innovation spigot needs to be made again with renewed vigor. In answering that call, Professors Robinson & Schroeder offer some worthwhile and occasionally surprising and compelling contributions to this topic that is as relevant now as ever. IDEAS ARE FREE presents an articulate case that organizations -- and individual managers -- need to unleash the *still* largely untapped brainpower intentionally and quite unfortunately held-back by employees. Three elements make IDEAS ARE FREE especially worthy of your time and money. 1. The authors aim their advice at regular workaday managers. Sure, they rightfully point out how organizational systems are often "dysfunctional." And they make the case that many corporate practices actually *discourage* creative contributions by individuals even as they try to *incent* those very behaviors. But Robinson & Schroeder don't aim their prescriptions at policy-making top executives only. Many chapters conclude with what the authors term "guerilla tactics" -- clear directives for simple actions that even frontline supervisors can put to work "without the boss's permission." 2. The book dramatically makes the case that paying for ideas -- as part of an organization's formal suggestion systems -- is fraught with potential negative side-effects. My own corporate experience as an executive championing a newly installed suggestion system bears out the startling reality that this well-intentioned process can turn into a self-destructive minefield. (And, let the record show, I largely missed this dimension in covering suggestion systems back in my '92 work.) 3. Many interesting, well-developed (albeit occasionally dated) anecdotes illustrate the book's sound principles. They help make IDEAS ARE FREE a grounded, engaging, and palatable read. Back in '92, I suggested in my book MAVERICKS! that, "Managers should be asking questions like: What is the value of a useful new idea? If one good idea leads to another, where could thousands and thousands lead us? What is the cost to the organization for not tapping the endlessly renewable resource of ideas in our employees' heads?" Getting to the root of the problem, I asked: "Isn't the job of a manager to *recognize and choose* from lots of great ideas generated by fellow work associates?" And answered: "Unfortunately, most managers -- even those who claim they invite suggestions from their people -- subscribe to the time-honored myth that a manager's job is to *have* the ideas." In 2004, Robinson & Schroeder again plow many of these very same themes (and cite data that also have been around for a long time). Still, this book explores afresh the opportunities that arise from drawing out the best thinking of every employee. And it presents realistic tactics that all managers can deploy to effectively deal with these still-critical issues. Wherever you sit in the hierarchy, read IDEAS ARE FREE to seize powerful ideas about potential gains for your organization's progress and prosperity. Don Blohowiak Lead Well Institut

This book is a very detailed starting point for Renaisance fans. At its heart this is a socio-economic history. The clever inclusion of climate and geographic conditions presuasively explained why prosperous Capitalism grew in some regions while others remained stagnant. Chapter 5-"The Human Unit" was the most informative. Most facets of history are here for the reader to absorb. This is the type of book we all wished we had in school

a very, very good book to get to know the everyday life of late imperial Chinese

It seems as if it is impossible for A.S Byatt to write a bad or even a mediocre story. After this novel, she is one of my new absolute favorites and I have vowed to read everything this amazing author has written. I began to read The Virgin in the Garden, and could not put it down. I was enraptured by the beautiful descriptions of the two contrasting "Elizabethian ages" and the characters. Frederica has to be one of the most despicable, and yet intriguing literary characters in years. My breath was also taken away by the story of Marcus Potter--a haunting, amazing character that will stay with you for days. The way Byatt writes, she transports you to 1950s England and the lives of the Potters. I felt as if I knew these characters like family, and could almost sit down to lunch with them by the end of the book. Her style, timing, and subtle metaphors of passion and life are irresistible and amazing. This is truly a writer who will stand the test of time to become an icon in the likes of the Brontes, Jane Austen, and Kate Chopin. I cannot wait to share this book with everyone I know. Highly, highly reccomended. Go to the bookstore or your local library, ignore the new glossy bestsellers that try and cheat you out of your money and instead pick up this gorgeous, powerful read that new authors cannot hold a candle to.

I am finding this book quite helpful to getting to know myself better and to have greater control over my emotional responses, or mood. The authors guide you through several approaches of specific steps you should take to get to know some of your core beliefs, which they say may be causing depression. You are free to choose the approach that works best for you, but you do need to try them all to see what works. It is quite time consuming. One of the approaches requires you to record your activities and asses your mood every hour. The instructions are clear and concice and examples provided are helpful, however it does take a true commitment. I suppose it may be fair to say that true change most often does take real work

My boyfriend bought From the Earth to the Moon, and since he is an Astrophysics student I expected that he would have enjoyed finding about people's conceptions about going to the moon at that early time. He however summed up the book by saying that it contained a lot of basic things didn't make much sense. Well, from a layman's perspective I found from the Earth to the Moon engaging. It goes into the technical aspects of going to the moon and involves a reasonable amount of logic, Physics and Astronomy. Even from my scientifically deprived perspective, a lot of things in the book didn't make much sense, such as the actual method of getting to the moon, but this doesn't really take away from the book - it adds greatly to its appeal. The book contained some bizarre bits of humour and its whimsical nature never bordered into the ridiculous. I was kept wondering how much of this was actually going to work, and what these poor souls were going to come up with next. Compared to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and even Journey to the Centre of the Earth however, From the Earth to the Moon is noticeably less imaginative. Verne uses everyday objects and ideas to make his ideas a reality, and much unlike his other works, doesn't stray far from the earthly. Some people may feel cheated by the predictable conclusion, but all in all From the Earth to the Moon is a good read. If you drop at the sight of f(x) = y, then this book is not for you because it involves some logical thinking, Centripetal forces and the like which may be hard to assimilate. If you really know your Physics theory then you may not appreciate the book either because of the theoretical meanderings that may have limited basis today. If you, like me are somewhere in the middle of these two extremes then From the Earth to the Moon is definitely worth your time.

I was a student of Mr. Clawson's, and highly recommend any student of his to use this book as a study guide

I thought I was fairly familiar with the Sanibel Island area, but this book definitely gave me new insight. The author definitely "knows her stuff" and has written a very informative and interesting guide. Anyone visiting Sanibel (especially first-timers) should definitely get a copy before they go.

A great book for every Usability practitioner. Not only did I find the content of this book very informative and very useful, but in particular I liked the structure of the book and found it extremely usable. Each chapter contains context information at the beginning of the chapter, an out line of the chapter, summary notes on the side bar for quick review, sample techniques and forms, war stories, estimation of resources required to complete each step, etc This structure makes the book one of the most usable books I have ever used, and therefore one of the most useful companion in designing the user interface

yo money. This book really puts it all into perspective. I like fish and gritts. after reading this book I can break doors and stuff. I am one with the universe. Gard your gril

I expected a fabbo edge-of-the-seat read. What I DIDN'T expect was that this pomo thriller would provide a passel of top-flight management secrets to its unsuspecting readers. From the opening pages of the book, as Wylie Jones prepares to depart on a "business trip" of unspecified duration, to the penultimate chapter, when a revitalized Wylie and his attentive amanuensis wrap up a deal on the Left Coast, this beach-bag zinger is chock full with the sorts of advice, hints, tips, and warnings that help to build healthy management brains in twelve ways! Think of it as a kind of business allegory. Wylie's cross-country odyssey is what might happen if Robert Fulghum were to meet John Gardner trundling down the road on his reality bike, set fire to Robertson Davies' beard, and then move on over to the Highway Hacienda for corn dogs and a brew with none other than Warren Buffet, Everyone's Favorite Grassroots Investor. I totally LOVED it. It gets my absolute HIGHEST rating

I recently re-read ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA prior to attending The Colorado Shakespeare Festival's performance of the ambitious play under the summer stars here in Boulder. Drawn from Sir Thomas North's 1579 English version of Plutarch's Lives, William Shakespeare (1552-1616) produced this romantic tragedy late in his career, around 1607, and published it in the First Folio in 1623. It tells the story of a doomed romance between two charismatic lovers, Roman military leader, Marc Antony, and the captivating Queen of Egypt (and former mistress of Julius Caesar), Cleopatra. When his wife, Fulvia unexpectedly dies, Antony is summoned from Egypt to Rome to mend a political rift with Octavius by marrying his recently widowed sister, Octavia. Of course, this news enrages passionate Cleopatra. She vents her anger on the messenger, but is quick to realize that Octavia is no real rival to her when it comes to beauty. However, Antony soon follows his heart back to Cleopatra's arms, abandoning his new wife in Athens. This leads to war, when Octavius declares war on Egypt. After Octavius eventually defeats Antony at Alexandria, Cleopatra sends a false report of her suicide, which prompts Antony to wound himself mortally. Antony dies in his lover's arms, and rather than submit to Roman rule under the new Caesar (Octavius), the heart-broken Cleopatra asks to have a poisonous snake delivered to her in a basket of figs. In the end, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA is as much about new sparks re-igniting the flames of love as new political forces supplanting old political regimes. It is a play that reminds me that it is perhaps better to re-read and understand Shakespeare than to devour one bestseller after the next. G. Merritt

Be aware that the reviews for a book are displayed not only for one edition, but for all editions under the same title. The Oxford Philosophical Texts edition of Hume's "Treatise" should be the standard student edition. The Prometheus Books edition is cheap, but it does not include a modern introduction or any study notes. I recommend the Oxford Philosophical Texts version if you want or need more than just the raw text

While this book, like its predecessor, is beautifully illustrated and a joy to read, it is the presentation of quiltmaking as a shared experience among family and friends that make both these books so special. I loved the first so much, I had to have this one the moment it appeared and it has only served to add to my list of pending projects

The cover of this book compares it to The Kite Runner, so it caught my attention. I honestly could not stop reading as "Yasmina Khadra" does an amazing job of making believable and likeable characters. He weaves a tale of how terrible situations eat away at people's humanity. My only nit is the ending was a bit predictable. That said, it was still a very good ending that rings true. SPOILER: If you wonder why she didn't come back, consider that she would not forget the face of the man that bumped into her on the street, which led to them being stopped, which ultimately resulted in her husband's death. I honestly can't wait to read more by "Yasmina Khadra"

"The Climb" was written by Bourkeev and DeWalt as an answer to Krakaur's "Into Thin Air". While not showcasing the same prose as Krakaur's book, I feel that this is utlamitely better. My reasoning for this opinion is that "The Climb" seems like a much more fair and unbiased account. Bourkeev does not resort to playing the blame game; he simply tells the story as he experienced it. Krakaur, it seemed to me at least, relied to heavily on assumptions, and we all now what happens when you assume (hint: you make an _____ out of you and me) and came off as very arrogant and (for some reason) took a feverious dislike to Bourkeev and Lopsang. Thought not as well written as "Into Thin Air", "The Climb" still managed to draw me in fully, although some parts of the book are a little confusing, mainly the interview with Bourkeev about his single handed rescue of three striken climbers who otherwise would have surely perieshed. This interview was conducted in English, the only problem with that is that Bourkeev's English is not very strong! It is passable and most of the time you can understand him but in other parts it is very hard to dechyper. DeWalt tries to help by adding "translations" about what Bourkeev is saying but I felt the interview should have been caried out in Bourkeev's native tongue of Russian and then translated into English. To not have done this is a great injustice to Bourkeev. If you want to read a fair and unbiased book about the May 1996 Everest tragidy that was written simply to tell the truth and not to play smeer tatics and make money (as Krakaur's clearly was), read this. I really recommend you read both books, though and also check out the IMAX movie "Everest".

this is the first piece of writing i have read from albert camus and i found it very interesting. the character meursault is a very indifferent character who seems to be very impartial when he hears of his mother's death and kind of continues to be static untill the the second half of the book. i do not want to give the book away as some of the others have, but i feel that no matter what one person does and no matter what ones perception is, it can never match the perception of others. one of my favorite lines in the story is when meursault is talking to the chaplain about seeking redemption through god because according th chaplain "it is not the human justice that matters but divine justice" and meursault's response was "it was the human justice that put me here". no matter what acts you commit, whether they be henous, incensitive or loving, one way or another you will be judged and upon that judgement will be your sentence. it was definitely an easy read that takes the readers on a ride into the thoughts of a man who accepts the one thing he can not change; his fate. "with this, i dont even have a chance to survive, not even a slim one"

Kurzweil opens with a very heartfelt recounting of his return to Judaism and his personal path which led him to Rabbi Steinsaltz. From there the chapters fly by effortlessly, partitioned in small chapters of which each is it's own midrash, giving each of us something to reflect upon and discuss. This is for everyone who wants to know more about not only Steinsaltz, but the beauty and wisdom of the Jewish faith

This is an extraordinary biography for, while Blumenson's admiration for George Patton is evident, it brilliantly illustrates all the sides of Patton's personality - both positive and negative. The book truly goes beyond the popular perception of the General -and far beyond the movie- in exploring his character and motivations. Not an overly long book, but thorough, detailed, and very enjoyable to read

Ms. Kulp has done a wonderful job, as usual, updating her classic book on raising a child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves someone with FASD

Hard to figure why Sean Stewart isn't one of the most beloved writers in America, given the virtuoso performance he's demonstrated here and the remarkably sympathetic character he's created in Will Kennedy. A combination horror/fantasy work which is as reminiscent of A Confederacy of Dunces as it is Ghosts, by Hynd, this novel is filled with so much warmth and life that it's hard to remember that this actually is a story about a man who understands that the past, too, can be a ghost, and perhaps the worst kind. Perfect Circle is everything every other supposed 5-star horror novel featured on Amazon is supposed to be: well-written, compelling, with rich, empathetic characters and a driving force and tension all its own. It's a wonderful introduction to Mr. Stewart's work

This book is as close to perfect as you can get. I personally like magical realism and also wanted to learn more about the recent history of India. Worth noting, the Mistry book, A Fine Balance, while good, is basically a full on rip off of this book. If you want the original, read Rushdie. Mistry should be ashamed. His is not even a different take, it is just another take of the same image and not as good

Walk Two Moons Sharon Creech Joan Gray Mrs. Cooper In this heart- touching, heart-warming story about Sal and her past comes together binding wonderful stories of her and her best friend, Phoebe. Her grandparents take her on a road trip. Along the way, she describes her happy, sad, and beautiful stories. Touching you heart one story at a time. I loved this book. It was not only a good, but also a great book because, it teaches life lessons, and it's sad in many ways, at the same time beautiful. This book teaches you that life is there, you have time. It also teaches not to judge `a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins'. And to not let sad things effect you, and so much more! I love this book so much. If you're fifth grade or older, no matter what it will touch your heart. I would suggest it any day. It will be a page-turner from beginning to end. You'll never put it down. So pick it up and start reading it!

I expected this to be dry and mechanical like lots of other math texts - too-technical proofs, homework questions irrelevant to the material, insufficient explanations for why things are the way they are. This book really surprised me because it wasn't "mathy" at all. It doesn't just throw proofs at you expecting you to wade thru page upon page of math notation until you understand - it gives you the intuitive side of important concepts, which means you only need common sense, not an intensive mathematical background to get everything. The examples they picked simplify rather than confuse the concepts. Each easily and naturally leads to the next. If there's anything not thoroughly elaborated, they were sure to cover it in the homework questions, by gently prodding the reader along towards the answer step by step instead of smacking them in the face with impossible problems. Homework questions supplement the material perfectly and basically leave you with a full and well-rounded impression of what the concepts mean as well as when and why to use them, not just how to plug numbers into some formula. If anything, I'd say this book errs on the side of caution in that in some sections it could pick up the pace a little. But then again, you could always just skip the easier parts

After devouring this book, I immediately passed it to a client who is developing a speaking business. Lenny's book is full of real-life examples and practical tips for communicating clearly and powerfully. Whether you want to speak professionally or just communicate better in your day-to-day life, this is the book for you

After purchasing many dog training manuals and finding them not quite up to snuff, I was very pleased to finally find a book which was comprehensive and authoritative. It breaks each area of the sport down and is easy to follow. The book is intelligently written

This is the text I love the best and it is easy to read and with the words of Jesus in red. My only criticism in that the corners of the cover tend to bend - they are made of cardboard which is not as durable as leather, for which I would have paid more. However, it is very good value, and the delivery was as swift as ever

Reviewed by Joanne Benham for Reader Views (2/06) It's an ordinary Sunday afternoon for Odelia Grey. An afternoon spent with her dysfunctional family means a stop at the grocery store on the way home to buy her favorite comfort food, Stouffer's Macaroni and cheese, to get the taste of her family (and her rotten date on Saturday night) out of her mouth. And then she gets the phone call.....her dear friend Sophie, a staunch supporter, mentor and banner carrier for BBW----big, beautiful women---has committed suicide. As she struggles to cope with this heartbreaking news, she has more disturbing news piled on. Not only did Sophie commit suicide, she did it in front of dozens of eyewitnesses on her adult website!!! With the emergence of more hidden facets of Sophie's life, Odelia finds it difficult to reconcile this new Sophie to the Sophie she knew and loved. As Odelia digs deeper into Sophie's life, both past and present, she comes to the conclusion that Sophie would not, under any circumstances, kill herself. With backup help from a memorable cast of characters, Odelia sets out to clear her friend's name and in the process gains a new acceptance of herself as a fat woman in a thin society. This book was enjoyable on so many levels. First and foremost, it is very well written. Second, it confronts the prejudice that is openly shown to fat people in today's society and gives a gentle nudge toward developing tolerance. And finally, it leaves you impatiently awaiting the next installment in the life of Odelia Patience Grey......the best new heroine to spring from the pages of a book in years.

First published in 1936, this is the 12th Poirot book, the 3rd Superintendent Battle book, and the 2nd Colonel Race book, and has no narrator. It's the first case in which Superintendent Battle, Mrs. Oliver, or Col. Race appear together with Poirot or each other, and the only case in which *all* do so at once. The story opens at an exhibition of snuffboxes, where Poirot encounters Mr. Shaitana, a collector with a catty manner and a knack for gossip. Shaitana deliberately cultivates a Mephistopholean pose, which at first makes him seem like the potential quarry in the case - but it becomes clear that he's a victim waiting to happen. For Shaitana, like a few other collectors in Christie's universe, has succumbed to a foolish temptation, and begun collecting *people* - and not just people of talent or genius, but murderers. And being a connoisseur, he collects only the best: those who have gotten away with it. He amuses himself on this occasion by boasting to Poirot of his hobby, without naming names, and inviting him to a little supper party to meet his collection of "tigers" (Poirot having just pointed out that he himself could admire a tiger, but would do so from outside the tiger's cage, having respect for the danger.) Poirot accepts the supper invitation, however, to find that there are seven other guests, including the three other detectives as well as four guests who are presumably the murderers: explorer Major Despard, a strong silent type; Mrs. Lorrimer, a middle-aged widow who is *very* serious about bridge; timid young Anne Meredith; and Dr. Roberts, a loud and jovial general practitioner. Shaitana drops hints referring to four possible methods of murder, but otherwise the subject does not come up, and the guests proceed to play bridge after supper - arising from the final game to find their host dead, stabbed sitting beside the fire in full view of the players! This is, of course, Poirot's fantasy case, as he once remarked in THE ABC MURDERS - because there is no tangible evidence against any one person more than another. There are only the people themselves, and their memories of the evening, and the bridge scores reflecting how the evening progressed. Solving the case depends entirely on being able to understand the people involved. But how to get them to reveal their true selves to an interrogator - or to uncover the crimes that Shaitana believed they'd committed and gotten away with? Rather than following Poirot's viewpoint in third person throughout, some chapters follow Battle, Race, or Mrs. Oliver as they conduct their own enquiries into the case. Each represents a different style: Battle is a professional police officer, Race an empire-builder-type secret agent, and Mrs. Oliver a writer of detective stories. Battle, of course, has a duty to investigate Shaitana's murder, and does so in an orthodox style, cultivating an image of plodding hard work that tempts one to underestimate him. Race deals with checking out Major Despard, the explorer who's most clearly his kind of person. Mrs. Oliver, for her part, works on worming information out of not only Anne Meredith, but her roommate Rhonda (whose attitude is that Anne could've lived like a duchess for the rest of her life on blackmail if she'd been paying attention). And, of course, there's Poirot. He's really fascinating to watch in this one as he interacts with each suspect in turn, pursuing two major lines of questioning: (1) Describe how the bridge games played out, and (2) Describe the scene of the murder (the elaborate collector's room in Shaitana's house where the bridge games were played). See if you can figure out where Poirot's questions lead before he reveals his reasoning to his colleagues, and what he learned from the responses he received

This collection of plays is extraordinary. Shepard threads tales of cartoonlike characters bound by the direst of circumstances excellently

This was the first VI Warshawski book I ever read, and it did an excellent job of whetting my appetite for more. I think Paretsky did an excellent job of drawing me into VI's world, which is rich with unique characters. VI comes across as individualistic and principled, and I like how Paretsky resisted clich? temptation on several counts: the complex issue of chemical responsibility is not wrapped up in a tidy bundle by the end of the book, and there is no "obligatory sex scene." Not that sex scenes don't have their places, but I just hate it when I'm reading along and I can almost hear the agent say, "Okay, author, you need to steam this up a bit right here if you want to sell this book." In this story, VI is all business, which is a delightful change of pace

This book is very revealing to the reader of the special aspect of being a Christian, which is being a dispenser as well as a receiver of grace. So much of the Christianity portrayed today is the exact opposite. We see more often the Christian faith portrayed as a religious form, political arm, and unloving attitude. This book is a real insight into the Christian faith of how to be a true follower of Christ who cared so much about individuals, especially those who were not self righteous, but fallen and in need of grace to restore their lives.

Well written and fully documented. I confess that I knew very little about the beginings of Islam or its constant bloodshed. Anywhere Islam becomes entrenched, freedom is taken away and civilizations are destroyed. Hatred is not discouraged but encouraged. Islam's world view is this in a nutshell, do it our way or perish. This book will rob you of your sleep

This book is a personal re-examination of food--what we eat, and why we eat it. In this book, Prentice examines food customs and traditions, searching for their physiological and environmental rationale. Her primary observation about food traditions is that they are strictly tied to the seasons, and thus the continual year-round availability of our foodstuffs has resulted in loss of much traditional knowledge about what is good for us and what isn't. In recognition of the essential seasonality of foods, Prentice organizes this book into the thirteen moons that make up the year, from the famine moon, to the sap moon, from the egg moon to the corn moon, from the blood moon to the wolf moon. Each chapter describes the ecology that led to the association between a particular food item and a specific time of the year. In the chapters, Prentice discusses the nutritional contributions of the featured food items, and how her relationship with that food has changed over the years. For example, she explains how she used to avoid milk and other dairy products, but now relishes them as a gift of love from Mother Earth. Each chapter also includes recipes of the season, ranging from exotic dishes of non-Western food cultures, like Cardamom and Jaggery pudding, to simple directions for lost arts, such as rendering pork, or making homemade yogurt and sauerkraut. Prentice was once a strict vegan, who for health reasons, eventually found herself drawn to a diet which includes animal products, but not the products of industrial agriculture. There is much that vegetarians and vegans would not like in Prentice's essays, since she explains how her 10 years of vegetarianism were not healthy for her. Having had the same experience myself after being a vegetarian for 20 years, I can appreciate the wisdom in what she writes. While vegetarian diets work well for some, they are not appropriate for everybody. But at the same time, diets that include the consumption of industrially produced and processed animal products do nobody any good. We need to be willing to recognize our relation and responsibilities to the animals that we consume. I first heard of this book when I attended a Vermont Localvore potluck at which Prentice was the invited guest chef. I was deeply offended then at her attitude, when she announced she was going to make a salad using a recipe from her book, but lamented the lack of local artichokes or olive oil. `How could such a person be associated with local cooking,' I wondered, `if she doesn't even have the sense to find out what the best local ingredients are and celebrate them, instead of parading the products of another region in front of us?' I figured that a seasonal local cookbook written by a national author would be a worthless concept. Fortunately, that's not what this book attempts--instead the book is much more about rediscovering our connection to food than about specific local recipes. Although she has become famous for leading the concept of eating foods only from one's local region, what she urges here is really an appreciation for the products of small farms. Thus, instead of simply cheering on local food, Prentice argues in this book that our industrial agriculture system has torn us away from one of the most essential of human traits, our relationship to the food that nourishes us. Instead of following diets of avoidance, Prentice advocates recognizing the meaning that each item of food brings to our lives, and using food to re-establish our connection to the land. Indeed, the only foods that Prentice avoids are those heavily processed products of industrial agriculture: refined sugar, white flour, and pre-packaged extruded junk. Although the book contains a few recipes, it is not a cookbook, but rather a wake-up call: "Our poor diet is at least partly a physical manifestation of a spiritual decay," together with some suggestions of how we can begin the journey back to healthy eating

I am a chemistry major and so I really like this book, however when I initially started o-chem, I did get a little intimidated by perusing through this textbook. So I suggest, to people who were in a similar position as me to also have a look at Hornback or McMurry. The text isnt an "Advanced" textbook perse (after a good grounding in the basics for three days, I found this book quite user friendly), its organization is completely different to most other o-chem textbooks and its presentation of ideas is purely mechanistic. Both of which are ideally good things for chemistry majors who require the quintessential knowledge of structure and its impact on function and reactivity. An examples is that when introducing orbitals, and orbital interaction; Greeves et al quickly go to HOMO and LUMO based discussions and their impact on bonding and antibonding. Wade and McMurry leave this, one of the most important principles in defining nuclephiles and electrophiles till later. A second example would be the appropriate structural implications of nucleophiles and electrophiles with respect to vacant orbitals, lone pairs and charge. These are the things used to identify em. As such, the book isnt fragmented. Each chapter has its specific niche topic and thereofore individuals get a complete understanding of various topics and their implications on the overall organic chemistry. Chapters are well referenced so if, say you are only interested in NMR then you can skip chapters and read only those pertaining to that subject and yet still get a good understanding. Most textbooks act like a stupid monologue, miss a passage and you'd completely miss organic chem. The chapter on reaction mechanisms is excellant, it actually is better than most primers developed in explaining this concept (i.e. Jacobs). However, the organization and the concentration of information within chapters may be daunting to individuals who havent had enough experience in general chemistry. Principles of structure and reactivity are assumed knowledge. Organic chemistry in most universities are taken by biology and chemistry majors. FOr individuals who are only doing one unit of organic chemistry; I would suggest you look elsewhere. A substitute (a less difficult but equally comprehensive textbook for people lacking experience in chemistry) is Hornback's which is renowned for its lucid mechanistic explantion of organic chemistry.

First Book I've read from Sandra Brown and it was really great. It was a page turner from beginning to end. I found the book interesting and easy reading. A well written mystery suspense that keeps you guessing until the very end. Will not be the last Sandra Brown novel for me

Wonderful writing style, not hard to understand explains most catholic beliefs and is a bullseye buy

Thirty five years ago my high school (Thomas Jefferson, in Federal Way, Washington) held annual competitions in mathematics. They did it in the form of a test that came bound in a small white booklet, just was a few pages long. There weren't many questions, perhaps a dozen or two (usually in the form of story problems), but they required deep thought and concentration (at least for me). I still remember the feeling of excitement and trepidation as I took the "white book" and opened it to the first problem. Several hours later I'd consider myself accomplished if I'd managed to completely answer more than half the questions. Ian Stewart's book reminds me of those tests. Here's a sampling of what's inside: 1)Mrs. Anne-Lida Worm decides she wants a new couch, and tells Mr. Worm to get it for her, while she goes shopping for a new tight for baby Wermintrude. But Anne-Lina doesn't want just any couch. She wants the biggest possible couch that can be carried down the hall in their house, and around the 90-degree hall at the end. What shape does the couch have, and how big is it? This is a truly riveting story. Will Mr. Worm solve the couch problem in time? 2)Alberto wants to conduct tests on grapes, evaluating the influence of different soils. He wants to conduct experiments to see how different soils and exposure to the sun affects the quality of wine. His land is on a hillside, though, which is narrow, so he can plant only three varieties of grape on each plot of land. How can he arrange things so that he tests all seven varieties of grapes when they are arranged so that each plot contains exactly three different species, where any two plots have exactly one variety in common, and any two varieties lie in exactly one common plot? Sixteen chapters make up this book. Though their titles are whimsical, the mathematical problems aren't. Some are still unsolved. Even though these problems fit in what would probably be called recreational mathematics, they are fiendishly cleaver with solutions, and developed insight along the way, that are at once challenging and rewarding. Here's a sample of some of other topics discussed in Stewart's book: How might one transport a lion, llama, and head of lettuce in a boat, across a lake, without leaving any two species where one might eat the other in the absence of a caretaker? How can you calculate the temperature and entropy of a curve? How can one even talk sensibly about a curve having temperature and entropy in the first place? Suppose that you need to tile a room, and the tiles come in odd shapes. Is there anyway to know if the tiling problem has a solution? Can mathematics tell us things about evolution, such as whether or not evolution comes gradually or in spurts (or both)? This is a fun, lighthearted book, but the mathematical problems and puzzles it discusses will really make you think. I enjoy reading as I exercise on my elliptical machine. I get double the sense of accomplishment when I can read and workout at the same time. Ordinarily, I can estimate how long I've been on the machine by how many pages I've read - 20 pages in 40 minutes is about average. But with Stewart's book I had to be careful. Several times I found that I'd worked out for an hour and only managed to cover half-a-dozen pages or so. If you love mathematics, particularly mathematical puzzles, then this is a book you'll really enjoy. It has many problems for the reader, with answers at the back of each chapter. If you do the problems and understand everything in the book, in detail, it will occupy many hours of your time. All in deep thought and utter enjoyment.

Excellent book, if you are interest in ancient egypt, read this book, you'll learn a lot of interesting facts about the valley of the kings, the pharaohs, etc.

Carl Hiaasen spins a tale of adventure and humor that should motivate young readers to protect wildlife and natural resources. Hoot is set in the seaside town of Coconut Cove. The plot revolves around Mother Paula's Pancake House, a fictitious restaurant chain in Florida about to build its 100th store on a parcel of land inhabited by families of burrowing owls. The developers know about the endangered owls and removed legal evidence of the owls from public records. Unwary citizens applaud Mother Paula's in Coconut Cove. The lone crusader for the owls is a boy nicknamed Mullet Fingers who lives in the backwoods dodging truant officers. He pulls up construction stakes and invents other nocturnal forays to stop development. Mullet Fingers enlists the help of his step sister, Beatrice and new kid, Roy. Beatrice is a middle-school soccer queen who holds her own with the boys. Roy is a level-headed kid who moves to Coconut Cove from Montana, earning the dubious title of Cowgirl. When you throw in a zany cop, a redneck construction boss, a sly businessman, a high school teacher willing to support kids acting for righteous causes and a bully whose attempts to squash Roy you've got a pretty good read!

I truly enjoyed the beautiful photos in this book. Lots of ideas and details in the photos. It would be hard for you NOT to pick up some ideas for your own home---just from looking at the photos. Well done

In this book, Dulles offers a simplistic yet useful overview of the way the church has been viewed throughout its history. He focuses primarily on the Catholic church. From Dulles' analysis, there are five basic ways to understand the church. He explores how these models have been used over time, as well as their particular strengths and weaknesses. In the rest of the book, Dulles explores some of the issues surrounding ecclesiology. He has also added a new model which is a synthesis of the other five. My only complaint about the book is that it makes divisions too simple and straightforward. Rarely is there a church that fits all of the descriptions of one model or does not somehow combine several models. The book is helpful, however, to pastors who seek to understand the thought patterns of the members of their church. It is also helpful to congregants who desire to understand more fully what it means to be the church. All things considered, this book is an asset to pastors, students, and anyone involved in ministry

Lately there has been a lot of talk about how great Ronald Reagan was as a president. This book shows that this is not even close to being true. Under his presidency we went from the number one loaner to the number one debtor in the world. Him and his administration sold missles to Iran inexchange for hostages and then illegally took that money to support Contras in Latin America. Under his administrations hands off approach wall street ran wild with illegal and immoral practices. All this happened while his administration held down the poor and middle-class while giving the rich more money. It is debated whether Reagan knew some of these things were happening hence the title of the book. It is a very good read and easy to fly through the whole book. The only complaint about it is the lack of an indept description of the savings and loan scandle and the dredded star wars program. Recommended for anyone intrested in learning what happened behind the scenes of this presidency

Ever since starting on the SIMPLE ABUNDANCE journey with Sarah Ban Breathnach's first book, I have longed for an opportunity to learn one-on-one from the Queen of simplicity and authenticity. We may not be able to meet Sarah face-to-face, but now anyone can enjoy a workshop atmosphere in the comfort of her own home. Women caught up in the day-to-day deluge of deadlines, appointments, and commitments can now curl up with a pillow and excavate their authentic self. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to savor their life instead of living in a blur

Published in 1986, Dr. Deming "Out of the Crisis" seems to form the basis for the transformation needed in American management mentality. Two main subjects are discussed in the book. The first is the exposure of problems and pitfalls in top management operations, the second, relates suggestions and solutions that can solve and transform the way American management operates. 14 core points are suggested by Dr. Deming to address problems in management and are supported by many examples using different scientific methods. Throughout the book, Dr. Deming promotes the loss of slogans that are even today being practiced by a share of the American Industry, and advocates management that is based on principles such as quality and leadership. At times, the book is not a continuous process that is easy to follow, but overall, Dr. Deming's concepts are transferred to the reader. Dr. Deming's "Out of the Crisis" helped me learn new perspectives about how management and employees can help in building or transforming an industry to a successful one.

I'll be honest, I don't like fiction books. But I've got to tell you, A Mulligan for Bobby Jobe has changed my mind. Mr. Cullen adds so much detail that the reader comes away with a sense of actually being in touch with the cast of limited characters and the events taking place. The twists and unpredictable turns make the book a truly unforgettable experience. You don't need to be a golfer or a fan of golf to enjoy this novel. Can lightning strike twice? Absolutely

After reading many so so books on training for triathlons this book spoke to me. Being a beta type personality I loved the macro, kicked back approach he took to training. It was just what I'd been looking for. Keeping it fun. Thanks, Bra

I did a course on quantum theory in the 1970s with John Ward who was recommended for the Nobel Prize in 1965 (Feynman, Schwinger and Tomogana shared it). Those close to the action will know of Ward's Identity. John (died in 2002 from memory) used Feynman's lectures as his course notes. I must confess a soft spot for Feynman. I would have loved to have been in his lectures (buy his audio tapes and you will get the feel for his delivery). He was truly a great physics communicator and often understated his mathematical abilities (after all he had won the Putnam Prize at some stage so he was no mathematical slouch). His development of QED is simple to understand and that says it all about his genius. He took the view that if he couldn't give a simple explanation then he really didn't understand the topic. The current crop of tool polishers should heed this. Anyone who is really serious about physics (and maths) should read the original papers and this is a classic example. I suggest that you fill in the gaps in the derivations. If you can't do that then you haven't really understood it. It is fascinating to compare Feynman's approach with Schwinger's more abstract approach. I prefer Feynman's but Schwinger does a hugely impressive job in stripping QED down to its logical (almost truth functional) essentials. Buy this book and see how a first class mind works. Peter Haggstrom BONDI BEACH AUSTRALIA