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V Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

V
Coalwood Misfits
Published in Paperback by B V Wespat (2001-10-04)
Authors: J. R. Hatmaker and David E. Bader
List price: $15.95

Average review score:

Super
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-02-02
He has done it again with this SUPER novel.

A wonderfully written story.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-02
JR Hatmaker does it again with this book! If you love mysteries- this is the book for you. His gift of writing is a treasure.

Coalwood Misfits
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-01-13
A great book! If you have lived in or have relatives in Appalachia, then you will appreciate this book! There are humorous true life descriptions of how life REALLY was in a coal mining town. Also, if you want to know how boys 8-12 live their lives as one big adventure, this is a book you need to read.

Worth the read.

Texas Tom

Misfits isn't a miss--it's right on target!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-01-12
If you've ever felt like a misfit and you like a good mystery, "The Coalwood Misfits" is a must read! This wonderful book about a group of boys coming of age in a small West Virginia mining town, is right on target! The characters are strangely interesting and mysterious. You will love the funny main character, Bobby. The author has obviously taken this character right from his own experiences and transformed him into a real boy, popping right out of the pages of the book. This is a great book for children 10 and up--my kids loved it! Be warned--every chapter keeps you wanting more. I can't wait for the next book! Thanks JR

Delightful
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-12-13
The Coalwood Misfits is a delightfully funny book written from the perspective of a very humorous character named Bobby. I want everyone on my Christmas list to have a copy of this realistic view of a young boy growing up in a small mining town. The authors did a good job in capturing Bobby's story.

V
Concluding Unscientific Postscript 1 : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol 12.1
Published in Paperback by Princeton University Press (1992-04-15)
Author: Soren Kierkegaard
List price: $35.00
New price: $21.98
Used price: $11.00

Average review score:

The Answer
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-02
While devouring this book, I really felt that I was getting close to, quote unquote, "The Answer." That's how powerful it was on both me and, as I see, some of my fellow reviewers. So much of it has to do with making decisions, and making decisions is an integral part of Soren K's definition of truth. But you have to get at it subjectively, not objectively. There's one part where, let's say, you (the reader) are in prison, and you will get your head chopped off by the guillotine tomorrow. You are afraid, naturally. I, as your friend, can talk to you and say (objectively), "Oh, you're worried about the guillotine tomorrow. You see, it's very simple: you just walk out to the scaffold, put your head down on the slab of wood, making sure to put your neck in the appropriate neck hole; they will cut a rope, the blade of the guillotine will come down, your head will be chopped off, and it will all be over in a minute." You, the subjective decision-maker, do not see it in the same way.

Be Warned!!
Helpful Votes: 12 out of 15 total.
Review Date: 2003-01-14
Be warned! The Princeton edition of this book comes in two volumes. Volume 1 is just the body of text to Kierkegaard's book. There is no historical introduction in the first volume, just Kierkegaard's satirical introduction that was intended for the original book. The historical introduction and scholarly apparatus are in the second volume. If the reader does not wish to inquire beyond Kierkegaard's text, he need not worry, the second volume is for the person who did not find Kierkegaard mind numbing enough and sees need to go behind the text. I am one of those kind of people, but you might not be.

A monumental work
Helpful Votes: 14 out of 15 total.
Review Date: 2003-06-12
This is Kierkegaard's most important work - the real meat of his writings. It is more difficult then most of his works and should be approached with caution, but it is absolutely essential to achieve a full understanding of Kierkegaard. Keep in mind that _Concluding Unscientific Postscript_ was originally written under the pseudonym of Johannes Climacus, the sceptical and pessimistic alter ego of the real Kierkegaard. Not to spoil the surprise, but in reading this book you should remember that much of what is being said is contradictory to Kierkegaard's real beliefs. In my experience reading this book, I only began to realize this gradually. This is because not EVERYTHING in this book is antithetical or diametrically opposed to Kierkegaard's real views; only portions of it are antithetical. Kierkegaard truly engages and challenges the reader by exposing views that make sense at first, but then after letting Climacus get riled up, his rantings and ravings become increasingly illogical and pessimistic. The challenge consists in discovering where the real Kierkegaard leaves off, and where the pseudonymous Johannes Climacus picks up. The reader must constantly be on alert for antithetical and contradictory statements, and must approach this book with a highly critical mindset. The end result is one of the most fantastically thought-provoking, creative, original, and entertaining books you will ever read. By forcing the reader to take this critical approach, Kierkegaard gives us an opportunity to formulate and fortify our individual beliefs in contradistinction to those of Climacus, forcing us to truly think for ourselves. The reader is bombarded with profound philosophical statements which are oten true and sensible, and can be proven consitsent with Kierkegaard's real beliefs. But sandwiched between these logical statements, Climacus will say something so off the wall that the reader must subject these statements to a critical re-evaluation. This is what makes the _Postscript_ such a profoundly thought-provoking and personally enriching experience.

One more thing to consider before you read this book: As I said, this book was written under the pseudonym Johannes Climacus. To fully understand the inner workings of this character, you must also read _Philosophical Fragments/Johannes Climacus_, which is the precursor to _Concluding Unscientific Postscript_. This first book helps the reader understand the pseudonymous and sometimes antithetical beliefs held by Kierkegaard's neurotic alter-ego. Taken together, the _Johannes Climacus/Philosophical Fragments/ Conlcuding Unscientific Postscript_ series is the be-all end-all philosophical work of the 19th century. It is a monumental achievement of epic proportions and will go down in history as the most important and profound work of literature to come out of Europe during that time period.

take the leap
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2004-02-09
Along with Nietzsche's The Gay Science, this book had the most impact on me of any philosophy books I have ever read. For those who find themselves running around in cirles looking for objective proof of this or that, Climacus (Kierkegaard) insists you are just wading out into the sea of life. Take the leap onto 70,000 fathoms of roaring ocean! Live!

After Hegel's reduction of the individual to a cog in the grumbling historical machine, it is refreshing to read of the individual and the individuals concerns. As mentioned, Climacus ridicules objectivity and focuses the reader in on subjective truth, encouraging us to be authentic and take responsiblity for life. Christian or non-Christian alike, this book will challange the reader in many ways. It was a major influence on existentialist and Continental thought for a good reason. Unconditionally recommended.

A comic tour de force
Helpful Votes: 26 out of 31 total.
Review Date: 2000-02-02
To begin with, the title is a joke. This is the in keeping with the putative author of the piece. Johannes Climacus (who is named for the Seventh Century Hermit and Monk, St. John Climacus) is a humorist. A humorist, as he will point out, is someone on edge of becoming religious, but is not yet religious and, in fact, may never become religious. That being said, back to the title. "Concluding," as is obvious, implies that SK intended this to be his last book (in a separate declaration published with the book he acknowledges all the previous pseudonyms with the proviso that no one should quote him directly unless it is from a book that bears his name as author and claims that he has no privileged access to the pseudonyms than any other reader). However, as the result of a religious conversion after it's publication, it became the middle child of his authorship, recapitulating all that had come before and pointing forward toward new things yet to be imagined. "Unscientific" is a dig at Hegel. If one wishes to over-simplify one may say that SK's position is Either/Or: Either there is a God and the world actually means something, Or there is no God and the world is absurd, meaningless and accidental. Hegel abolished God and attempted to find meaning in historical process. This is the "science" for which SK has such contempt. For this reason, SK refuses to call himself a philosopher, content to call himself a "poet." If a fraud like Hegel is a philosopher, then he wants no part of the designation. "Postscript" is where the joke comes in. This book is a "Postscript to the Philosophical Fragments." The "Philosophical Fragments" is, therefore, a 100 page book with a 600 page postscript attached (that's the joke ha ha) Of all of SK's books this is my favorite. It is his funniest and either you keep your eye carefully peeled or you will miss a joke (the first time you read it you will miss hundreds of them). And in typical SK fashion the more he jokes the more deadly serious he is (by the end he is claiming the book, in its entirety, is a joke). The central distinction is between our ideas about things and the things themselves. If you have any trouble, there is always Merold Westphal's "Becoming a Self," a good commentary. The only problem is that he probably takes SK more seriously than SK would be comfortable with. That's not necessarily a good thing. You lose too many good jokes in the process.

V
Crazy weather
Published in Unknown Binding by V. Gollancz (1945)
Author: Charles Longstreth McNichols
List price:
Used price: $5.25
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

An undiscovered classic
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-06
This little-known book is, IMHO, one of the greatest books ever written. Reading it as a boy, I was puzzled by how it made everything seem so real in so few words - everything in it seems to have a life off-camera that we had just glimpsed part of.

Tale of Two Worlds
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-18
I've decided to write reviews of the books that not only caught my attention early on, but lived in my memory all of these years, words and phrases coming unbidden to mind occasionally from a literary experience far removed but not forgotten - a spirit residing within your own as an old friend. This book was one that probably never got the acclaim it deserved, although I never spoke with anyone who didn't like it. If your culture or experiences spring from a youth originating in the West or Southwest, you will be enchanted with it because you will recognize parts of it as your own.

This is the "long hot summer" story of two boys, friends since infancy, South Boy, a white youth, son of an Arizona rancher, and Havek, a Mojave Indian boy - whose intertwined trails to maturity took one last summer to complete for them.

During the course of the summer,it takes you through the complex and oftentimes uneasy coexistence between white and indian culture; and the coexistence between the "cultured white" and the "earthy ranch people" is equally tenuous. In the words of the long haired outlaw foreman that ran the ranch for South Boy's father during one of South Boy's Learning Sessions: "Don't put no stock in those wild ideas of you mother's. She's a Lady. Naturally, she's ignorant!"

The adventure begins with the rising thermometer and a youth sleeping in the shade of the grape arbor - he makes his way to the river under the blazing summer sun, goes to sleep on an overhanging limb with the muddy water flowing beneath him; and there Havek finds him "with a dream on his face". Havek is aspiring to become a "great person", is of an age to take a better name for himself in the Mohave tradition; and reads into South Boy's slumber something South Boy is reluctant to dissuade him from for appearances sake, so he agrees to travel "name taking" with him.

They spend one last glorious summer together as adolescents blundering through the Arizona mesquite and greasewood, in a variety of scenarios, some curiously noble, some ill-conceived and dangerous - before the final departing from the comfortable innocence of childhood, where a friend is a friend regardless of anything else; and moving into the complex world of the adult where nevermore will their friendship be as simple as it was on the banks of the slow-flowing, muddy river that day. It is evident in a very poignant scene as they are returning home after the adventure of death, rituals, ignorance, survival, all stunningly woven by Mr. McNichols into a tale spawned from the living of some of it, you can tell. The mesa is awash in rain water dropped by a violent storm after a long draught; South Boy suddenly applies the teachings of the "Foreman" to his immediate reality and comes up with the idea that he can make a lot of money putting weak, cheap cattle on it. Havek, on the other hand, is on his way home to celebrate his new name with his people, and "financial gain" is of absolutely no interest to him - and there they go their separate ways, each to the world he springs from, the same physical world, but in all other ways as different as the ideals and teaching that shaped them.

One feels a certain sadness that it should be so and most of us probably secretly wish that we could reside in our youth forever, never growing up.

Good forever
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2001-03-04
McNichols crisp writing, detailed knowledge of Mojave Indian and Colorado Desert ranching, and realistic plot make this a genuinely timeless work., My tattered copy was given to me 45 years ago by the writer Madge Harrah. Every half decade or so I dig it out and read it again. It taught me to write and, in a way, was a model for my North Of Nowhere. Bravo Charles!

Deep Like The River
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-20
South Boy goes with his friend Havek on a Mojave name-quest. It sounds simple -- but under the surface is a breath-taking wealth of experience, mythology and understanding of the many personalities in one person, or one horse, or one culture. Every sentence of this book is laden with knowledge of its time and place. Even the mention of the "little yellow catfish," about which no more is said than that they "make good eating," reflects the fact that in this period the US Government seeded the Colorado river with the Yellow Catfish, a transplant from Texas. This is the key to the book -- that everything is in flux, as two cultures melt together, and new ways try to live with old ways. The ending seems to be a conclusion -- until you realize that it's only one more step to escape from final decisions. The book begins a long way before the first sentence -- and would finish a long way after the last. Dreams and visions reverberate through the telling, and Great Things are done.

Informative, and a good story too
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-12
Having recently moved to Mohave County in Arizona (not far from the Colorado River), I was interested in reading "Crazy Weather" to get a little of the "flavor" of the area, and to learn something about the Mojave Indian culture as well. The book lived up to my hopes in both of those respects, but what surprised me was how absorbed I became in the story itself. On one level, it's a simple adventure story involving South Boy (who's actually white but was partially raised by Mojaves and was given that name by them) and his best friend Havec (a Mojave) as they travel up the Colorado River into Piute territory --- and in some places it almost reminded me of Huck Finn travelling along the Mississippi with the runaway slave, Jim, and meeting an assortment of characters along the way. On another level, though, it's really about the challenges of truly understanding another culture and way of thinking --- and in the end the pull of their respective societies is too strong and the two friends inevitably have to part and follow their separate destinies.

The author seems quite knowledgable about Mojave culture and history, as I've confirmed from subsequent readings on the subject. If you're interested in the American Southwest, the Colorado River, native American cultures, or just a good story, I think you'll enjoy this book.

V
Cuando La Clonación Nos Alcance
Published in Mass Market Paperback by Editorial y Distribuidora Leo, S.A. de C.V. (1999-05-10)
Author: Andrew Kildare
List price: $14.36
New price: $14.36

Average review score:

UNA BOMBA DE TIEMPO...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-04-30
que nos va a estallar en la cara.
Conviene informarnos; y este libro nos deja saber todo lo que hasta el momento se sabe

Sabio pero sencillo
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-04-21
te da , desmenuzadito, un tema que no solo es de actualidad, sino el futuro que nos aguarda...muy cerca y m,uy pronto

UN LIBRO QUE VUELVE FACIL LA COMPLICADA CIENCIA
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-04-15
DE LA CLONACION...
Ahora si entiendo bien de que se trata, como se hace y las formas TERRIBLES O MARAVILLOSAS EN QUE SE VA A EMPLEAR...¡MUY PRONTO !

Un libro EXCELENTE !

LA CLOCANION LA VIVIREMOS NOSOTROS,
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2002-09-14
NUESTROS HIJOS Y NUESTROS NIETOS !
Más nos vale informarnos desde el principio. Este libro contiene TODOS LOS AVANCES, y los explica con sencillez
Te lo recomiendo muchísimo !

LA CLONACION LA VIVIREMOS NOSOTROS,
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2002-09-14
NUESTROS HIJOS Y NUESTROS NIETOS !
Más nos vale informarnos desde el principio. Este libro contiene TODOS LOS AVANCES, y los explica con sencillez
Te lo recomiendo muchísimo !

V
Demon Diary, Book 4
Published in Paperback by TokyoPop (2003-11-04)
Authors: Jee-Hyung Lee, Lee Yun Hee, and Kelly Sue Deconnick
List price: $9.99
New price: $0.01
Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

Excelent story!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-11
Honestly for the first volumes I though the story wasn`t really that great and IMHO the humor was lacking...a bit too simple if you may but in volume 2 it got better so I kept buying but i dindn`t expect this kind of surprside!! the story really kicked off and the drawing is superb as always I just wish they would give up in those annoying little things like the giant tomamtoe and a stupid-looking talking book do they really think that`s funny??or cute?? overall the story is great BUY IT!!

Evil floating book with glasses!!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-12-25
This manga picks up where we left off: with a mysterious demon lord hovering over our heros. He thinks that Eclipse would be better off working for him instead of Raenef. This Crayola inspired demon lord puts Raenef to the test; if he fails, then Eclipse goes to work for Lord Krayon. Being the demon lord in charge of the dream world, Krayon tosses Raenef and co. into some demon's dream (I'm not telling u which demon! ^-^). I'm not gonna give anymore away, but the last few pages involve a floating book that I personally think is not to be trusted, but I know others who disagree. Just to be cryptic, Raenef's gonna change for the worse...poor Eclipse.... Anyways, at the end of the manga, several types of magic are explained, which is kinda interesting, but I would rather they just kept going on with the story.

wow
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-29
when i purchased volume 2, i thought that the story had died down a bit. but god am i happy that i felt like giving it a chance and buying 3 and 4. the artwork is beautiful, as always (eclipse and raenef are the best, no? =P) and the story definitely picks up. and this book leaves you with an evil cliffhanger...evil i tell you >_< im grieving over the fact that i have to wait quite a while for the 5th volume to come out T_T i fully recommend this volume...or series overall...

Nice book '_' bad ending!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-02
Okay i really love this book! The problem is a MAJIOR cliff hanger ending! It starts off with a really girly-looking Demon named Lord Krayon.(He's not as cute as Raenef *_*) And he wants Eclipes a very good friend and teacher to Lord Raenef to come and work for him! He gets pissed off when he sees that Eclipes Turn down his offer to work with him to work for the kind, loveable, and very cute Demon Lord Raenef so he traps them in a female Demon Seers dream. The demons name is Meruhesae and in her dream Lord Raenef can't use his powers to evil them out. And to escape from her dream they need Karyon's perrmisson to leave. They end up finding Karyon and he wants to see if Raenef is worthy of Eclipes's loyalty, Trust, And friendship so he attacks Raenef and raenef can't use his powers in krayon's relam so elipes who finally finds them in time to save them from krayon's attack. Krayon who is super pissed off now attacks eclipes wounding him and Then the dead past demon lord Raenef comes up freaking everyone out askes that krayon returns Raenef and company to there relam. Krayon whom is total clueless why the dead demon lord came up to help his predisessor, he gose to see Meruhesae the seer she has no clue neither so they decide to hold na meeting. Raenef who is still beating himself up about all the trouble that he's caused eclipes wants to become a proper Demon Lord fast so he gets help from a book who says If what you'er after is frightening and has a miserable personallity that he'll get it. Raenef who is thinking of eclipes best intersest in mind argrees from nice, kind loveable, little boy to a evil hardened and merciless Demon lord. Everybody is not to happy about the new and rude Raenef at the end of the book Eclipes wants to know what turned his good friend into this evil demon who would all but love to destroy a village or two. Thats where it cuts off. bummer so this book is great and all but need to show what happens next i'm die'n to Know!

Can't wait for number 5!!!!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-17
For all you manga fans out there, this book is for you!! I absolutly fell in love with this series the second I picked it up in the book store. If ur a fan of dragon knights you'll really enjoy this series. It is very simalar to dragon knights, just less mello drama, but hey you just gotta love dragon knights!!!
Anyway, this book is just as funni as ever. It also provides a much needed plot twist. A demon lord comes to fight Raenef over Eclips, saying that he is a much better demon lord that little Raenef. Sure he IS a better demon, but WHO is the main charater here?! Anyway the original Raenef makes an appearence, further twisting the plot of this loveable series. In the end of the book you see a starteling change in our lovable little Raenef when he finnaly starts to act like a true demon lord. It's what Eclips has always wanted, but can he handle the new Raenef?! I really hope not, because I want the cute lovable one to come back. I'll just have to wait and see what happens in the next volume. THere are also some really cute and funni parts in this book, of course. but I wont spoil them just read the book, it's not like your gonna regret doing so!!!!!

:)have fun!!!!!!

V
Digital Image Processing Using MATLAB(R)
Published in Hardcover by Prentice Hall (2003-12-26)
Authors: Rafael C. Gonzalez, Richard E. Woods, and Steven L. Eddins
List price: $149.33
New price: $64.99
Used price: $62.98

Average review score:

Applications to environmental Sciences
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-14
This book has been really helpful to write my own tools for image analysis, such as leaf area index estimations from digital images and microscopy imaging analysis.

I think that for people involved in image processing and analyisis, this book is a must.

Great Text
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-12
Great text for learning image processing and using it with MATLAB. Hopefully the instructor also uses its mathematical insight as well.

The best of its kind.
Helpful Votes: 32 out of 33 total.
Review Date: 2005-01-02
If you want to get up to speed on Matlab and plan to use it for image processing, this book is a must.

I have lots of experience in computer graphics and in programming languages like C++ and C#, but prior to reading this book I had never really used Matlab nor implemented complicated image processing algorithms. This book is a great introduction to both.

The book is divided in twelve chapters touching both low-level image processing (e.g. spatial filtering) and higher-level concepts required for computer vision, like image registration and segmentation. Gonzalez et al are talented writers, explaining relatively complicated concepts clearly and concisely, without getting lost in the mathematical details. People interested in the more theoretical aspects should (and probably already have) check their other book.

The only potential downside of this book is that it's definitely designed to be read sequentially, one chapter at a time. The matlab concepts are introduced piece by piece. For example, if you skip Chapter 5 (on image restoration, i.e. getting rid of noise) you may not realize that you missed the introduction to the image registration functions. Personally I liked this style (it added variety to a potentially dry subject), but a reader with less time to cover all of the matter may find this to be a problem.

Practical and Useful
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-10
This book educates the reader in image processing and MATLAB. While I am experienced in both, I found the book to be an extrememly useful reference book for projects involving image compression and image representation. The book offered practical descriptions and useful code for computing the fast wavelet transform. It was especially useful in describing how the edges should treated. This is a big issue that other textbooks gloss over. I had never seen it described in a textbook, and it was described so well.

The color image processing chapter is excellent, and the image processing chapter is pretty good. Lots of explanation and code.

While the book stands alone, it can also be seen as a useful companion book to the more theoretical "Digital Imaging Processing" by Gonzalez and Woods (2nd edition). This is a different book even though it has close to the same name.

Superb instructional book for my needs
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-10
I bought this book for two reasons (a) I needed an overview of IP and (b) I wanted to examine different pattern analysis algorithms with a practical twist. On both counts, as an non-IP researcher, I was very satisfied. The book is very well laid out, so well in fact that it would put to shame many of its rivals. It served my needs. I can't comment on whether it will meet the needs of a broader community. I would certainly recommend it based on my experience.

V
Diving Science
Published in Paperback by Human Kinetics Publishers (2004-05)
Authors: Michael Strauss and Igor V. Aksenov
List price: $27.95
New price: $12.95
Used price: $9.75

Average review score:

Diving Science
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-23
I purchased this book to give me more information on the science of scuba diving for my Dive Con and Dive Instructor courses.

The book give detailed information on the various theories, gas laws and how they interact with the human body. Examples of real life stories are also given.

If you are interested in get truly advanced knowledge of the effects of scuba diving on the body, I would highly recommend this book.

Friendly Science for divers
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-24
Drs Strauss and Aksenov have achieved a remarkable coup. They have written a rigorously scientific book, but still made it understandable to the diving lay person. If you flunked Science 101, don't be put off by the "Science" in the title. You will love this book. It is meticulously set out with illustrations and tables that make the text even more clear. The language is friendly, with explanations -in plain English-of terms that might be new to the reader. The medical subject matter is carefully handled, so that conditions can be understood in the context of physiology. It clearly explains the rationale for treatment .I referred a recreational diver with a problem to this book. She got a clear understanding of her alternobaric vertigo, the physiology behind the problem, and thus the reason for the way to prevent it.

The subject matter covered is comprehensive, well referenced and indexed. It would be of interest not only to diving or medical professionals but makes great reading for the recreational diver who wants to know more than basic training. A nice touch is the "Further Review" in the form of questions to test comprehension of the chapter content.

This is an outstanding volume and most readable for the interested lay person. It would also make a great introductory text for students of hyperbaric medicine who need a good overview of the subject of Diving Science.



Learning the medical and scientific aspects of diving
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-10-01
For a good many students in a scuba class, "diving science" means memorizing just enough facts about the gas laws to answer the multiple choice questions in the tests, and perhaps a few other physiological facts affecting the human body underwater. They'll remember to never hold your breath while scuba diving and not to exceed ascend rates or bottom times. However, a few individuals want to know more about the underlying science of diving, and they should read Diving Science by Doctors Michael Strauss and Igor S. Aksenov who are both hyperbaric medicine experts as well as experienced divers.

Diving Science is sort of a mix between medical textbook and general purpose reading for an interested non-medical audience. The writing style is clear and concise so that it can easily be understood, but it never talks down to the reader. Expect a good share of medical terms and terminology, but everything is well explained and illustrated. The overall purpose of the book is to help divers anticipate, recognize, understand, and react to the physical, physiological and psychological stresses encountered in recreational diving.

Diving Science is organized into three major sections:

The first -- The Underwater Environment -- explains the basics of diving, not unlike what one learns in a diving certification course but with considerably more detail.

The second -- Physiological Responses to the Underwater Environment -- describes in detail how the various parts of the human body react to diving: heart and vascular system, the respiratory system, blood and muscles, and how the body reacts in cold water, how it best moves and orients itself. This section also contains fascinating comparisons betwen human divers and diving mammals. For example, did you know they breathe out before they dive, not in?

The third, and longest, section deals with the Medical Aspects of Sports Diving. That includes medical preparation, fitness and nutrition, and then the numerous potential problems a diver may encounter on the surface, while descending, while at the bottom, and while ascending. This third part reads a bit more like a medical textbook but frequent Bringing it all Together summaries that describe real world scenarios help readers understand.

The book closes with an excellent Diving Medicine from A to Z appendix that concisely describes numerous diving facts, and reference sections on diving organizations, medical texts and manuals, recommended equipment and supplies, a very detailed glossary, suggested reading, and even a list of luminaries in diving medicine.

Overall, Diving Science should be required reading for anyone who wants to know more about the medical and scientific aspects of diving than what is included in the certification class manuals. While there is a lot of medical detail, readers also learn numerous interesting facts and statistics as well as how all this science affects divers in specific real world scenarios.

DIVING SCIENCE
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2005-03-25
"DIVING SCIENCE" is an outstanding resource book for both professional and recreational diver's. It serves as my personal "Diver's Bible." I considered the book important enough, with reespect to diving safety, that I presented a copy to the Diving Medical Doctor for the Island of Maui, Hawaii - one of world's top diving destinations. I am particularly impressed with the book layout and ease of reference; the presentation of material is exceptionally clear and concise. The chapter previews, images and diagrams are also convenient. "DIVING SCIENCE" should be recognized as a model for all other practical science manuals!
John Dunbar, Adventure Enthusiast and U.S. Navy SEAL (retired)

Emergency Medicine
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2005-03-18
The book "Diving Science" is the best source I have found for understanding divers and scuba related injury and illness. It is detailed enough to provide an excellent understanding of why certain events occur and organized so that it can be used as a quick reference when an emergency physician is evaluating a patient for the potential of diving related pathology. One might think this resource should only be included in the basic reference library of emergency departments near the ocean, but scuba is a rapidly expanding sport in fresh water as well as salt water. In addition, because a plane flight can precipitate a diving related problem, every emergency physician, regardless of where he or she works, will need to confront the possibility of diving related pathology. "Diving Science" is enjoyable and useful reading for any physician with a sense of curiosity and the drive to continue to learn. I strongly recommend this book as a primary emergency department resource.

Gary Moreau, M.D.

V
Dokebi Bride Vol. 1 (Dokebi Bride)
Published in Paperback by NETCOMICS (2006-03-15)
Author:
List price: $9.99
New price: $3.98
Used price: $5.54

Average review score:

SEEING SPIRITS
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-21
Sunbi was never treated right in the village she grew up in South Korea because she came from a family of shamans. This is pretty ironic because her grandmother, Okboon, was the reason the village prospered at one time and allows it to survive even to this day. You see, Okboon could see and communicate with spirits and was able to talk these gods into helping the village. Okboon raised Sunbi after her mother went crazy and died and her father abandoned her as he moved on with his life in the city. Now Okboon is dead and Sunbi moves in with her father and his new wife and step-daughter, who aren't too happy about her intruding on their lives. What Sunbi will have to figure out is whether she truly belongs there or is her destiny tied to the village she left behind? And what will she do with the power she has inherited from her grandmother, the power to see and talk to spirits in an age when such beings are becoming obsolete and fading into legend?

Dokebi Bride has a nice mood of strangeness, beauty, and passion for nature that make a great combination. I was impressed by the author's storytelling skills here in which most of the book was a flashback that still kept my interest and gave a lot of depth to the plot and Sunbi's character that would have been lacking if told chronologically. Marley gets you to care a lot about everyone involved here, from Sunbi to her grandmother to the gods and the village. The art is great and unique. This first volume gets me excited about the next installment.

Beautiful artwork, engaging characters
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-05
I bought Dokebi Bride vol. 1 and 2 because the artwork (even the limited amount that was shown on Amazon's search inside feature) was absolutely breathtaking. I am not a huge fan of the traditional, "cartoony" sort of graphic novel, and though it does occasionally make appearances in Dokebi Bride, the artwork is mostly carefully done, intricate, delicate, detailed and-- beautiful.

Vol. 1, like most manga/graphic novels tends to be less on plot and more on introduction (which is as it should be). That being said, I was intrigued enough by young Sunbi, her grandmother, and the estranged father to read on to volume 2.

Volume 2 was absolutely amazing. Dark, yes. It has some scary images, including a "The Grudge"-like monster. I don't think it would be anything to frighten a more mature young teen, but it will put a little trepidation in their hearts next time they look in a mirror. :)

The story just starts to develop in Volume 2, as Sunbi attends school (or doesn't attend, as the case may be) in Seoul, and she finds a friend, though reluctantly on her part, in the class president.

I have no complaints on the story line, though the translation seems a little off in places.

I am eagerly looking forward to Volume 3 in September.

Sunbi
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-07
Sunbi, the granddaughter and main character has been blessed(?) with special abilities to interact with dokebis. Whether it pays to be able to communicate or the possibility that these demons will haunt her as was the case of her grandmother(?) it deserves a read, as this story seems to intensify and fly me back to a land of dragons and spirits. The storyline is captivating and drawings, awesome.

DOKEBI BRIDE
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-08
A story of young Korean girl, Sunbi, who can see spirits that other cannot and living with society that does not accept it. As she grows older, she learns more about shamans and Dokebis from her grandma. She also becomes more isolated from society as she is the subject of ridicule from her classmates. The story is interesting adding a mixture of fantansy in a modern day of life in Korea. It is simple to follow each page as it leads to the next without being lost. The artwork is clear and concise as characters are distinguishable from each other, especially the beautifully drawn Sunbi. The Dokebis are spirits that may look scary, but are actually quite comical. Just check it out on netcomics.com

The best manga ever!!!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-29
Okay, so we call these Manhwa rather than manga.
But whatever the category it falls into, this is the best graphic novel I have ever read in my entire book-reading life!
I would recommend this book to everyone from even elementary school kids (there's a few parts with ugly Dokebis but there's no violence) to mature readers. Adults will find this book more engaging than any other graphic novel they are used to.
Plus, they will learn about a completely new culture: Korean culture. This is a fresh new title everyone should check out.
This book has completely changed my conception of manga.

V
El Arte del ¡NO!
Published in Mass Market Paperback by Editorial y Distribuidora Leo, S.A. de C.V. (2001-01-28)
Author: John Lowenberg
List price: $15.00
New price: $15.00

Average review score:

DE VIDA O MUERTE PARA LOS HIJOS ADOLESCENTES,
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-04-21
QUE CON DEMASIADA FRECUENCIA, Y SIN QUE LOS PADRES NOS DEMOS CUENTA, se dejan arrastrar a actos negativos por no saber decir que no a los amigos.

How many times have you felt trapped in
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2002-10-08
something you don't want to do, or go against your will to some place you don't care for ?

Just because you didn't know how to say NO, from the beggining...
Yes, the negative is very hard when you dont master the art of saying NO without hurting any feelings...

This is the real art of saying no and getting of unwished situations !!!

Mira, amiga, si no sabes decir "¡NO!"
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-03
ni te metas en un negocio, ni salgas a la calle ni tengas trato social de ninguna clase, porque eres LA VÍCTIMA PERFECTA DE LA EXPLOTACIÓN !

Si quieres cambiar las cosas yu obedecer a tu propia voluntad y no a la ajena,ES VITAL QUE LEAS ESTE LIBRO Y QUECASI LO MEMORICES !
No te imaginas cuanto lo vas a disfrutar y los beneficios que hará en tu vida..
No esperes más,amiga.
Pídelo con urgencia

SAYING "NO " GOES AGAINST OUR INNATE
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2002-07-31
feelings of pleasing.
I felt so ashamed to say No, that I got in trouble more tiems than I care to remember!
How about you?
Yes, saying NO is an ART, and only very few people are born knowing.
If you don't dominate masterfully this art...You will be domined against your real will.
This book is a treasure FOR LIVING the way you decide to live !

Aprende a decir no a todo lo que no quieras hacer
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2002-08-20
No te dejes manipular por los demás, debes aprender a DECIR NO. No permitas que siempre se aprovechen de ti, CON ESTE LIBRO APRENDE Y VALORA LOS CONSEJOS QUE TE DA PARA RECHAZAR TODAS AQUELLAS PROPUESTAS EN LAS QUE NO ESTÉS DE ACUERDO O SIMPLEMENTE TE HACEN SENTIR INCÓMODO O INCÓMODA.

V
English and Scottish Popular Ballads
Published in Paperback by Dover Publications Inc. (1966-02)
Author:
List price: $7.50
Used price: $9.00

Average review score:

The Child Ballads Republished
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-25
Great news for anyone interested in the traditional folk ballads known as the "Child Ballads" that Francis James Child's late 1800s compilation "The English and Scottish Pupular Ballads" is now republished in a fully corrected and revised edition with the traditional tunes reunited with the texts. The new edition by Loomis House Press (...) is now available in paperback and cloth editions - so far volumes 1, 2 and 3 (of 5) are issued. Amazon lists them but the three volumes are hard to find on the Amazon site. The earlier 1965 facsimile edition by Dover has also now been republished - but the Loomis House Press edition is greatly superior - and is available from Loomis in USA and Springthyme in UK as well as from Amazon.

Excellent "corrected" edition
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-22
Child's "English and Scottish Popular Ballads" is THE sourcebook for anyone interested in the traditional ballads of the British Isles, and also invaluable to all aficionados of European folklore and folksong in general. For those not up on their terminology, a ballad is a folksong with a plot, and Child's collection covers everything from foul murders to star-crossed lovers to Robin Hood, in five volumes.

I am extremely happy that someone has finally issued an edition incorporating the various addenda and corrections that Child made before his death. There is nothing here that Child did not write, so if you are looking for additional scholarship or commentary you will be disappointed; but the Loomis House edition vastly improves over the Dover facsimiles in completeness and convenience. Additional variants, comments and even some tunes (the one big omission in the original) are placed conveniently near the main text of each category rather than buried in appendices (most of which aren't included in the Dover editions at all). It's well worth the few extra dollars over the Dover books.

My one quibble is that they do not reproduce some of the typographical distinctions that Child occasionally used to indicate different features of a text, but this is overshadowed by all the good points of this edition.

Overall this is a wonderful and affordable edition; I fervently hope that all five volumes are issued as planned (it's been almost a year since Volume 3 came out...). I have no idea why Amazon makes these books so hard to find on their site: fix this, guys!

In summary: Buy this book. Now if someone would only reprint Bertrand Bronson's "The Singing Tradition of Child's Popular Ballads" as well....

finally back in print
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-05-26
I first heard of the Child ballads when I was about 13 years old and have been looking for a copy ever since. I was delighted to discover they have been brought back into print. This publication is particularly exciting since the editors have chosen to include musical notation collected by Child but not included in the original publication. Many of the ballads still sung today in Eastern Canada and the US were derived from these ballads, so these books are a facinating study of the earlier origins of these and many other ballads from the british iles.

It's alive ...
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2003-04-06
The English and Scottish Popular Ballads are, as noted here, out of print in their Dover edition ... but fear not, they are being re-issued (in 5 volumes, 2 of which are actually done) by the folks at Loomis House Press. (I am not affiliated with Loomis in any way; do a Google search if you want to find 'em.) The books are authoritative and complete, and it's disappointing that Amazon doesn't list them.

English & Scottish Popular Ballads Vol 1 by Francis James Ch
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-22
Superb. For anyone interested in either the words or origins of English & Scottish folk music this is essential. You can settle those arguments (over a beer) as to who has the correct words or the origin.

The biblography needs some getting used to but when you understand it you will find this book a good companion.


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