Z Books

I could not put this book down and I am not in the medical field. Maria really brings the reader into her personal journey as a premiere doctor, scientist, wife, mother, daughter from Poland, now living in the U.S. For a lay person, her descriptions of microsurgery I found fascinating. As the frontier of medicine shifts to regenerative medicine using stem cells, I now have a better understanding of the potential to help so many people as well as the ethical questions posed. It was inspiring to hear this story of diligence and noble efforts. The style in which it was written, really speaks from the heart and that is what I appreciated most. Cheers to Dr. Siemionow for sharing her story and educating us along the way! I highly recommend this book!

This book was truly a joy to read. I could not put it down! Dr. Siemionow interweaves her life story as a surgeon and scientist with the developments of Plastic Surgery and Transplant Medicine. She gets your hooked with her story of reattaching the hand of a young wood-chopper and then travels through many years of research and discovery to her current work in face transplantation. It is a breath of fresh air showing the struggles and successes of reconstructive plastic surgeons, in stark contrast to the drama of cosmetic surgery that dominates news-media today. A must-read for any woman planning a career in medicine or science and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about medical science and practice!

For all those who cannot live without science fiction, this book is a real life- saver to help them distinguish between the good and the bad of what science fiction has to offer. If you happen to agree with the opinions of Pringle (as I do in 90% of the cases) you'll be able to read really smart reviews and then buy the books that appeal to you the most.

Researching and writing this book obviously was a labor of love for its author, David Pringle, and we (science fiction fans) are all the better for it. Personally, I have found this book to be highly useful, entertaining, and educational. For example, I can thank David Pringle for leading me to Olaf Stapledon's "Last and First Men", one of the most original and amazing books - of any genre - that I have ever read. Before getting the "Ultimate Guide," I am embarrassed to admit that I had never even HEARD of Olaf Stapledon! Similarly for other authors like M.J. Engh ("Arslan"), and for books by authors I HAD heard of, like "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick. Before getting the "Ultimate Guide," I basically only new about Dick through "Blade Runner." What's really cool about this guide book is that its author is so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his subject, but is not afraid to give bad reviews, even to famous authors, and good reviews to relative unknowns. Basically, this guidebook is a meritocracy, in that it doesn't matter how well-known you are; what matters is how good the book is. That not only speaks highly of David Pringle's integrity, but at the same time makes the book more valuable by increasing the reader's level of trust in Pringle's judgment. Having now read several of Pringle's recommendations, I now feel like I can trust his judgment, and isn't that the ultimate test of any guide book?

For the beginner this book is a wonderful, easy to use, easy to understand manual for the study of wild mushrooms.

It gives a complete soup to nuts (more like spore to the table) approach to understanding mushrooms.

For the more experienced hunter this book provides great incite into the care of mushrooms for food, handling/storage methods, and preparation of various species.

The recipes are excellent.

Overall this book is informative, a palate pleaser, and pleasing to the eye as the photographs superb.

The first part of this book has beautiful photographs of edible mushrooms growing in the wild. Really makes you want to go out and search the woods for them! The reader is told how to identify, collect and store the different varieties.

There's also a section on poisonous mushrooms with accompanying photographs and these are also discussed.

If you're in a hurry, go right to the recipe section where there are over 100 pages of the most pleasing looking meals that anyone can imagine. How does French Onion and Morel Soup sound? Or perhaps Fillet of Sole Bon Femme? Well, I can tell you they are delicious. Bon Appetit!

The Unabridged James Dean is one of the few truly indispensable books on the Hoosier genius. In fact, it's the gold standard on the subject.

I throughly recomend The Unabridged James Dean By Randall Riese!! It is an exhaustively researched and well compiled reference on Dean's short but facinating life. I was particularly impressed with the inclusion of many rare and interesting photographs as well as Riese's research into JD's television appearances. Often people forget or don't even realise that James Dean has left us with not only three remarkable film performances but also some excellent Television ones. A must have for fans!

If you only buy one book on agent systems you could do a whole lot worse than splash out on this thoroughly admirable and admirably thorough work from d'Inverno and Luck. Easy to follow (even if your Z spec is a bit rusty, as mine is), clear and really well set out. The authors have a deep understanding of their subject and a rare ability to communicate their ideas.

There are several books on intelligent agents and multi-agents systems that I've come across, but most are either too broad-ranging and shallow so that they don't actually get to important core issues, or they're too narrow and mathematical for my liking (and for many others). This excellent book somehow manages to pull off the feat of providing a good introduction to agents, while also drilling down to some fascinating and deep issues in multi-agent systems. What's particularly good is that it does two things - it analyses and explains the issues with really clear textual description, and then provides a more formal description (using the Z specification language) that is surprisingly readable.

After providing an introductory chapter, the book presents a "framework" for understanding agent systems (hence the title) in which it brings together various different notions of agents. The chapters cover the framework itself, the different kinds of inter-agent

relationships that arise within it (to get to multi-agent systems), and more complex agents with greater sophistication. There are also a couple of case-study chapters that show how the model can be used to give descriptions of BDI systems and the contract net.

Throughout, the authors provide really good explanations, and then also formal descriptions using Z. Whether or not you buy the claim that Z is the most used industrial formal method, it turns out that despite the mathematical nature of the Z specification, the book as a whole is really very readable. It is worth noting that the level of mathematical description in the book for describing the framework and the systems is pretty close to abstract code descriptions (which is perhaps not surprising given that Z is intended for use for specifying software). With the appendix intro to Z, the book should also be a useful resource for developers wanting to understand exactly what would be involved in building systems.

One of the difficulties I've found when reading about agents is trying to make sense of some very different ideas and systems, and trying to understand how they fit together. This book provides some of the answers. In summary, the book covers some basic agent concepts, and builds them up to describe quite complex multi-agent systems, moving from abstract ideas to descriptions of specific implemented systems, and showing how they come together. It provides an excellent

introduction to agents, and keeps going to address some much deeper issues.

Nobody alive on earth today can adequately describe the magic that is the Waitakere Ranges -- a unique place on this planet, unrivaled in beauty anywhere at any price. Travel around the Ranges, either on foot or by automobile, and you will be enchanted, spellbound.

Because words are horribly inadequate tools to describe beauty, the Waitakere Ranges must be experienced to be believed. However, _Untamed Coast_ comes about as close as possible to doing this place justice.

A magical book, for a magical place.

This is a great book. I grew up in this area and spent many happy hours on these beaches. It truly is a great present to share with friends overseas and with family.

I bought this book for my sister, who is an avid plastic canvas user, and she was amazed at the extremely high quality of the book and the contents.

This book contains the most beautiful peices I have ever made. The patterns are easy to understand and work. If you like delicate fancy items to make this book is for you. Other recommendations are gifts galore in plastic canvas book 4 and looney tune in plastic canvas book 7.

This reference has all the "A-to-Z" entries one would expect but the critical analyses of every one of Woolf's novels makes this a must-have book for the new Woolf fan.

This book supplemented a course I took on the works of Woolf. It is filled with interesting background material and helpful character biographies. Hussey skillfully condensed volumes of biographical and critical work on Woolf into one, user-friendly manual.

Han Z. Li's The Water Lily Pond: A Village Girl's Journey In Maoist China is the true story of a young girl's adolescence and womanhood in Maoist China. Han Li recounts life in a small rural village, where everything had value except the lives of girls and women as reflected in such incidences as a childhood friend who drowned herself rather than live in an arranged marriage, and a gentle neighbor who hanged herself after her husband beat her brutally for not bearing a son. Han Li tells of having the opportunity to attend a university, yet being subject to harsh urban snobbery and "student-thought spying" that made the ability to hide one's real thoughts central to personal survival. A tale of how political change in the Maoist regime had deep and lasting effects upon ordinary people, The Water Lily Pond is a poignant and compelling insight into that old Chinese curse of "living in difficult times".

If you enjoyed Anne of Green Gables, Han Li's The Water Lily Pond will be a very special treat. This story will touch your heart. Many times throughout, I was moved to tears or laughing out loud by the compassionate and insightful scenes of life in a China few westerners have ever glimpsed. As with many stirring novels, the little daily events truly enrich one's life in the reading of this gem.

As webmaster of Scleroderma from A to Z (sclero.org), a 550+ site that is available in 11 languages, I have read dozens of health and medical books. This remains my #1 personal favorite due to Sefra's practical advice for learning how to understand and cope with chronic (and often baffling!) illness.

Sefra spoke several times for our state scleroderma organization. She was always lively, entertaining, and a huge hit with the crowd.

Sefra passed away last year, right after another surgery. It never feels right for someone so geniuine and full of life and love, and a comforting shoulder, to be so suddenly gone from our midst.

Thankfully, she left behind her words, her wisdom, and her wit to keep us company. Please get this book. Read it and cherish it, and you will know, for sure, that you are not alone when it comes to dealing with chronic illness.

Pitzele, who has two chronic illnesses, has really put together a very informative and readable book. I liked her lists and her description of where to put things in the grocery cart. This book should be read in tandem with Cheri Register's Living with Chronic Illness--Register does a better job of handling the emotions, while Pitzele does well at practical matters. I also liked her book One More Day, a meditation book for chronically ill people. One drawback--Pitzele seems to be hard-nosed in dealing with feelings, discussing how people should pull themselves together and be adults. I think there is a time for going through one's emotions, and that is why I recommend reading Register's book alongside.