D Books

This book was an emotional journey with the author through her struggle to educate herself about the available testing and available treatments for "all possibilities" that were causing her to deliver pre-term and miscarry. Very informitive. A great read for husbands who need a little insight....

This is an amazing book. Darci Klein paints an extremely powerful and realistic portrait of the anxiety and anguish of pregnancy after miscarriage. She also writes about the strain of loss on relationships, especially between spouses, and how these strains can be repaired.

Her story is interwoven with medical information that makes it an essential guide for women who face the same problem: needing to know more than your doctor tells you and to be stronger enough to overcome the many obstacles to becoming a mother and building a family.

Very easy to read, but with a depth & heart that only someone who lived this pain could describe.

It is a great story that I think all women should read, especially moms. I had a fairly easy and smooth pregnancy with my little girl, i didn't realize how lucky i was until i read Darci's story. I admire her determination to complete her family, she is a brave woman.

This book really educated me and helped me to understand the struggles many women have in carrying a baby to term. Darci's story is heartbreaking at times but also empowering and uplifting, esp. when she educates us on how to better manage our obstetric care. I also enjoyed the style, which blended personal accounts with research and fact. A must read for anyone who has had a miscarriage and for those who have not, because chances are you know someone who has had one who could use your support and understanding.

I recommend this book primarily for women in the determined phase after their miscarriages, who want to hear a strong, steady voice describing one mother's search for answers to her recurring losses.

Interweaved in the story are background facts, statistics about loss, the National Institutes of Health's woeful funding on miscarriage, and what she feels is the incriminating lack of chromosomal testing on early miscarriages to separate women into those who had "bad luck," and those who have a problem that can be treated to save pregnancies.

Klein's story is passionate and clearly told. She was adamant that she not lose any more babies and demanded medical intervention to save them.

I do think, however, that her mixture of stats and story is not very helpful in the early days following your first loss. It's hard to feel emotionally involved in her journey when you are constantly being fed facts in an order that might not be what you want to know, when you want to know it. Her writing is very edgy and strong, a voice that might be difficult to relate to during your saddest days.

But for those of you who have had two losses or more, those of you who are determined, frustrated, and maybe still a bit angry at your lack of answers or your care, then this is a solidly written and researched book about the journey.

Read a full review at www.pregnancyloss.info

I have read this book as one of my elective courses at Wharton West. Prof. Friedman discussed in his book about how acting with authenticity (being real), integrity (being whole), and creativity (being innovative) affects performance. By acting with authenticity, I feel much more purposeful at work and home. I am more committed and drive persistently in myself and people around me, which help to improve the performance for myself as well as people around me. The leadership skills I have learned from this book:

Align actions with core values by choosing what matters most: I become more result oriented and focus on those important tasks that matter most to my core values.

Cultivate awareness of true leadership priorities in all domains: I have shared the new concept of leadership in this class with my boss, my colleagues, my husband, my son and friends and I do see the action from all domains.

Ethically influence others to generate support in all domains: The efforts I have put in the experiments have generated positive results both at work and home.

I hope this review help you to choose this book and act with urgency to lead a richer life with four ways win at work, family, community and personal level.

Thank you Stew Friedman! This work is engaging, enlightening, and inspirational--giving us all insight into what it means to be a 'Total Leader.' It answers the fundamental question most people ask about how to integrate all of the various pieces of our lives. I especially enjoy hearing the stories of the Total Leadership participants, and how they've grown and are able to see the world in a different light after going through the program!

I'm definitely sold on this Total Leadership Program! However, it is, not without constant work and reevaluation, as Friedman notes, that we can achieve both a meaningful and professionally successful life. I recommend this book to anyone, especially women and those in transition, as a useful guide about how to structure your life in a meaningful and productive way. It certainly helps me rethink the things that are important to me in my day to day life. :)

I took two intercontinental flights recently and took the time to go through the "Total Leadership" program. And, before I begin my review, I want to say that over the past ten years or so I've seen an absolute avalanche of "leadership" books come out - most of them gimmicky and useless. This is not one of them and in fact I believe the title may deter people from purchasing this; do not be one of them.

"Total Leadership" is about finding your way when you have multiple responsibilities tugging you in different directions. Until now, I've often felt family pulling me one way, only to find the more time I spend with them the more I resent the time it takes away from work. Similarly, on business trips for example, I fight with feelings of guilt for being away from my family. And that's not to mention the the toll all of this takes on my health, when I'm too busy to exercise or just watch the game with friends. I'm here to say this book can help, like finding the long lost manual and finally figuring our how to do new things with a product, this book acts as a guide to finding a semblance of control in your life. It's not about sacrifice, and it's definitely not found in the idea of "balance", this book advocates a powerful third way: overlapping your domains and drawing boundaries.

What makes this book especially effective are the exercises the author puts the reader through. The reader is asked to define the issue, starting with the multiple responsibilities and challenges s/he faces, then it moves on to defining your domains, where is it that you spend your time? Most of the readers (including myself) would find four areas: self, family, work and community. Then, with domains defined, you can identify stakeholders in each domain and begin the process of finding ways "to live your life in accord with what really matters to you." The reader is asked to discuss his/her vision for a future life (post-change) with trusted individuals s/he has previously identified. A particularly effective step is then speaking with others about living your life differently, such as: your boss, significant other and friends, and getting their opinion and feedback on your plan, and as difficult and challenging as this may be it ends up providing the most powerful incentive to change through accountability and stakeholder buy-in. In many cases, I found that as much as I was building bridges between domains in my life, I was also creating boundaries (for example, no longer do I check my blackberry or the Internet between the hours of 6pm - 9pm.) But some of the biggest changes are personal ones that are for me and my family, other readers will likely find similar decisions they make without necessarily sharing them.

This book is not about easy decisions, or difficult ones, its about drilling down to what's most important in your life and building from there.

Ultimately, this book is required reading once, in my opinion, you are put in a position of responsibility. It is effective in maintaining a mindset conducive to responsible living, it provides a non-cookie cutter approach and it creates change in your life through practical exercises.

For these reasons, this reviewer highly recommends "Total Leadership."

I wish this book had been available 20 years ago when I was a senior-level corporate executive, struggling without much success to balance everything in my life. At that time, I had a large corporate staff to supervise and was married and the father of four teenagers, three sons and a daughter. Moreover, I was actively involved in several non-profit organizations. Finally, whenever possible, I tried to "squeeze" into my already busy life a occasional round of golf, a visit to one of the local art museums, "going out" to see a film. What I should have done -- but failed to do -- is what Stewart Friedman recommends in this book: to reflect on and then explore (through a four-step process of discovery) the relative importance of four domains in my life (i.e. work, home, community, and self) and determine (a) whether or not the goals I was pursuing in each were in synch, (b) in synch with the other goals, and (c) and how satisfied I was with what was happening in each and all domains. That was then...

Now, here's my take on a few of Friedman's key points.

1. Most people (including business leaders) function in the aforementioned domains. Once each has been measured, he challenge is to make whatever modifications are necessary to establish and then sustain harmony between and among them. "The whole fits together elegantly."

2. According to Friedman, "total" leaders possess great strength because they do what they love, drawing upon the resources of their entire (four-domain) life. By acting with authenticity, they are creating value for themselves, their families, their businesses, and their world. By acting with integrity, they satisfy their craving for a sense of connection, for coherence in disparate parts of their lives, and for the peace of mind that comes from strictly and consistently adhering to a code of values. Meanwhile, they "keep a results-driven focus while providing maximum flexibility (choice in how, when, and where things get done.) They have the courage to experiment with new arrangements and communications tools to better meet the expectations of people who depend on them."

3. At the same time, a "total" leader does everything she or he can to help others (at work, at home, in the community and for themselves) to become aware of whatever changes may be necessary within her or his own domains; to have a sense of urgency about making those modifications; to decide to commit to appropriate action that will create for each a different, better future; to solve whatever problems encountered when pursuing the giving goals, meanwhile sustaining commitment despite any barriers, delays, distractions, etc. Total leaders also ensure that "people who depend on them" have the support and encouragement they may need by celebrating incremental successes while resisting "slippage."

4. In Chapter 6, Friedman urges that those who aspire to become total leaders learn how to adapt to new circumstances with confidence to conduct several "design experiments" whose purpose is to increase the ability to be innovative with creative action. He identifies ten types such as "Appreciating and Caring" experiments that involve having fun with people, caring for others, and appreciating relationships. Daniel Goleman characterizes this as developing "emotional intelligence" and Friedman believes that it is very important in each of the four domains. Because each domain has different kinds of relationships, separate goals and strategies must be devised for nourishing ("humanizing") relationships in each.

5. In the next chapter, Friedman offers sound advice on "how to get going and make something new stick" during what is necessarily a never-ending process of human development. Once again, he stresses the importance of achieving "four-way wins" in each domain by "jumping" into the hearts and minds of others. "The best experiments are those that don't just get the approval from all your stakeholders, but will genuinely benefit them by changing their worlds for the better...When you're trying to make something new happen, you've got to know what others care about, so that you can adjust your actions. And you've got to know whom they trust, so that you know who will listen to whom as you seek to exert influence."

I can personally attest to the importance of each of these and Friedman's other key points. However, what he advocates is obviously much easier said than done. Consider the concept of "balance," of "integrating" what is most important in each of the four domains. Let's assume that someone achieves that. For most of us (including corporate CEOs), a proper balance on weekdays usually differs (sometimes) substantially from a proper balance during weekends. Moreover, obligations, objectives, and opportunities in the work domain, for example, change during the progression of a career. That is, our proper balances on weekdays and weekends frequently change, and that is also true of each of the other three domains. The key to effectively responding to these changes is to think and feel one's way through a four-step process.

Of course, Friedman is fully aware of this. In fact, in the final chapter, he observes that total leadership "doesn't end with the implementation of your experiments. This is really just the beginning. Being a better leader and having a richer life is an ongoing search, which I hope you will be on for the rest of your life. As long as you continue practicing authenticity, integrity, and creativity, you will increase your chances of scoring four-way wins - performing better and finding satisfaction in your various domains."

I presume to conclude this review with a personal note: After reading Friedman's book and before composing this review, I read The Last Lecture in which Randy Pausch (age 46) shares his thoughts and feelings as he awaits imminent death from pancreatic cancer. Actually, "awaits" is not the correct word because Pausch does everything he can to leave no "IOUs" behind for his beloved wife ("the woman of his dreams"), their three young children, other family members, friends, and associates. In his last lecture to his students at Carnegie-Mellon, he provides a "distillation" of how he felt about the end of his life. "It's not about how you achieve your dreams. It's about how you lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you." In my opinion, this is precisely the same message that Stewart Friedman communicates to his own students as they prepare for a career in business. The "total leader" is first and foremost a total person.

Stew's 'Total leadership' has had an incredible on my life. About a year ago, I sat for the first time and tried to figure out what I wanted in all aspects of my life. The journey has been eye-opening and very satisfying.

I now often go back to my writings and experiments and update them as I go through life in a much more determined and deliberate way; trying to achieve what I want in each of the "4 domains".

Thank you Stew for being such a mentor, be it in person or through your book.

The portrayal of our defense industry in this story is unfortunately accurate. We have placed so much emphasis on "smart weapons", that we have forgotten the real effectiveness of our military. The action and pace of this book will keep the reader enthralled and they will not want to put it down.

In an author's afterword, Peters decribes this book as his homage to Chandler, Hammett and Cain, which it most certainly is. But there's no overt emulation of the style of any of those authors; what one does experience is the exhilarating momentum of plot, vivid characterization, and the acerbic wit that those authors brought to bear in their work. Peters' protagonist is an honorable man making his way through a chaotic present, similar to Philip Marlowe in Chandler's novels, with a comparable eye and ear for the "luminous detail." And the first-person perspective makes for some great interior monologue throughout the book. Readers who are dismayed by the lack of moral center in the books of such authors as James Ellroy might find Peters' writing a worthy alternative.

I've read almost all of Ralph Peters' novels, and this is probably my favorite to date. I passed it over in hardcover--frankly it didn't sound very interesting. I couldn't have been more wrong: it's one of the best written, engrossing novels I've read in a long time. Peters is one of the few military thriller writers that can name drop Thomas Hardy novels and actually make us believe his characters read them. I know what a cliche this sounds, but I couldn' t put it down. Peters has within him his best novel yet--some day he'll write the Once An Eagle of his generation of officers.

I just finished another excellent novel by Ralph Peters --- Traitor (hard cover).

I placed it at the bottom of a stack of books I brought home from the library, two weeks ago. I generally put his books at the top of my reading list, but the cover art was so impressively unappealing and the title so blasé that I almost took it back to the library unread.

It seems to me that Mr. Peters has proven his ability to write exceptional, and well plotted, thrillers. Why would anyone stick such an uninspired cover on a truly extraordinary read?

If someone likes Clancy, Higgins, et. al. they should love Ralph Peters.

After 25 years in the defense industry, watching the Services buy big things they don't need while neglecting small things they do (like enough pay so the troops don't have to be on food stamps), it continues to disturb me that the American taxpayer continues to allow Congress to sell out to what Ike Eisenhower called the "military-industrial complex". TRAITOR could have been a documentary. This is a great novel, thrilling and unpredictable, but it is also based on the real world and all the more gripping because of this.

This book is excellent. The book is easy reading and has easy to apply mental techniques to improve racing and training. Swimming in open water is my "weakest link". This book offers many mental training techniques that should be helpful.

I found this book to be good with many ideas. It did get a little redundant at times, which can probably be attibuted to emphasizing approaches to mental training. It definitely gets across the need for mental preparedness and ways to go about it. Reading it a couple times and and doing the exercises included in the various chapters is necessary to get the most from the book and approach.

I saw the author at the Velo Swap in S.F. in December 2006. Gave a great presentation and his way of thinking fit my training regimen for my bicycling. The style and presentation fit my mindset and when it is rainy, snowy, blowing or just don't care. You realize you are not alone and gives the tools and techniques that get you going. Not your average mental training guide but new stuff and odd angles make you approach your workout and mind in a different way

Success in sports requires as much mental strength as it does physical, and this book will teach you how to approach your sport... and your life.

I was hesitant to buy this wondering if I could really learn something about mental training from a book. I decided to give it a try and I am very glad I did. This is one of the best Ironman prep books I've read. I highly recommend it.

I looked all over for a kids book about Henry Thoreau to use with my 3rd and 4th graders. They really enjoyed this story! I highly recommend it.

Wonderful book, my adult friends loved it as much as the children. Thoreau was cool 150 years ago and knew then what ignorant people like GW Bush will never know. This book should be read by everyone!!!

This is a beautifully illustrated and clever fictionalized account of Henry David Thoreau as a man who turns out not to be so foolish as his townsfolk think. His neighbors in Concord think he's crazy for not wanting what they want: more money, more property, more industry, more things. Their incredulity is heightened when he decides to live out by himself in a small cabin on the banks of Walden Pond. As told in this story, the townspeople and especially the mayor are threatened by this challenge to their lifestyle and decide to try and kick him out by enlisting a toothpick manufacturer to come in and cut down the trees in Walden woods. He changes their mind by telling his story -- or, as the authors suggest: by bringing his townspeople out of their cloistered lives and into the woods for an afternoon.

Of course this isn't exactly what happened -- there were some industries in the area but logging had been taking place in the Walden woods for a long time before Thoreau got there, and while some of the townsfolk thought Thoreau was crazy, none of them were threatened by his lifestyle and none tried to threaten him. Still, the essence of the story rings true, and the authors use of poetic license serves to indicate how much of a contrast there was between Thoreau's convictions and lifestyle and those of most around him. A very nice story, that would serve as an excellent brief introduction to the life of Thoreau for newcomers of all ages.

One minor caveat on the otherwise excellent illustrations: Thoreau is here depicted as tall and lanky, something like Lincoln, when in fact by all accounts he was short and lean but built.

"The Trouble with Henry" provides children with an accessible classic story expressing the trials and tribulations of individuality and fostering sensitivity to the environment.

What a refreshing story! My daughter and I loved it. From the beginning to the end, children (and adults alike) will be caught up in the wonderful imagery created and clever "sounding" words chosen by its author. By celebrating the spirit of the individual and appreciating the simplicity and beauty of nature, children are introduced to Thoreau in a delightful and marvelously illustrated way. The Trouble with Henry is bound to be a favorite, especially among younger readers.

If trust is the glue that holds organizations together then you can trust that Jordan Lewis' new book Trusted Partners is an essential element of that glue. I have enjoyed Jordan's other books but find this one the most practical in its ability to translate wonderful stories about the business world into practical day to day applications. In addition, the final seven chapters of the book provide a guide for practitioners which we have incorporated into our evaluation of all our business partnerships.

While reading the book I needed to pause on frequent occasion and fit many of our current business relationships into his case examples. One of its greatest value may be to learn from others' mistakes and successes, and improve on this essential element for every organization.

Brilliantly written, "Trusted Partners: How Companies Build Mutual Trust and Win Together" contains all the essential directives for building, sustaining, and harnessing the succulent fruits of a harmonic coalition.
This 319-paged book is an exhaustive compilation of both ideas and pieces of advice. Its logical arrangement ensured that all those crucial information remain dynamic. This is an important text for anyone who is into (or tends to go into) any form of corporate alliance or similar association.
Every important ingredient required for building, improving, and nourishing partnerships is in this book. Most of them were illustrated with examples.
This is a sound Management book. It is all about winning. Almost perfect! But I did wish that it provided clues on how to constructively repair a partnership that has been damaged by egoistic tendencies.

Lewis has ventured into governance territory where few have trod--for example, asking how to structure boards of various types of alliances. To my knowledge, no other book has this type of material, which makes this book an excellent choice for corporate directors. (I am familiar with this audience, because I am the Editor-in-Chief of Director's Monthly, the official newsletter of the National Association of Corporate Directors, Washington, DC).

The basic premise is obvious: There can be no solid"partnerships" without trust. As the subtitle indicates, Lewisexplains "how companies build mutual trust and win together." It is imperative that individuals be worthy of trust. They must earn it and then sustain it with behavior based on core values. We all know that values derive from character (or the lack thereof), that values determine attitudes (both negative and positive), and that such attitudes are revealed by behavior.

My guess is that those in greatest need of this book will encounter the greatest difficulty when attempting to follow Lewis' suggestions. "Trust is at the heart of the knowledge economy....Rather than being a matter of blind faith, trust must be cone step at a time. Further, building trust between organizations is all-encompassing. It involves their people, politics, priorities, cultures, and structures." Organizations become untrustworthy when those within those organizations are untrustworthy. Over the years, all of us have been victimized by fraudulent claims, intentional misrepresentations, corrupt "politics", "a hidden agenda", broken promises, etc. If trust is to be built between organizations, there must be interpersonal as well as intrapersonal relationships based on trustworthiness.

Lewis's book is divided into three parts: Trust Leads to High Performance, Alliances with Key Partner, and Tools for Trust: A Guide for Practitioners. He follows a step-by-step process within each part, providing an abundance of observations, suggestions, and caveats. Who will derive the greatest value from this book? Here are my nominees:

1. Decision-makers who have the authority (not simply the responsibility) for their organization's cultural transformation.

2. Owners/CEOs of start-ups who are committed to building trust as well as sales and profits.

3. Those involved in M&A initiatives whose due diligence includes evaluation of cultural capital as well as material assets.

One of the book's most valuable sections (Chapter VII in the Third Part) summarizes "actions that establish trust-building habits." Note the use of the word "habit." Lewis is quite correct when insisting that time and effort are required to build and then sustain trust. Conversely, trust can be quickly compromised by a single act betrayal.

In this final section, the "trust-building habits" are classified as follows: Trust Conditions; Recruiting, Training, and Rewards; Management Behavior; and Other Activities. Once you have read the book, selected what is most appropriate to your own organization, and then begun the difficult task of implementation, it would be a good idea to re-read Chapter VII in the Third Part. The counsel Lewis provide will help you formulate your own tasks and objectives within the framework of the eight trust conditions and related practices.

If those within your organization are unwilling and/or unable to make a sincere and steadfast commitment to building and then sustaining trust, find another organization. And consider this fact: The companies which dominate their respective industries are the same companies which are rated the best companies to work for. Coincidence? I don't think so...and neither does Lewis.

It is not enough, says Jordan D. Lewis, for companies to share resources, ownership and profits. For partnerships to really work, the companies must be able to act as an alliance, sharing goals and strategies. The glue that holds alliances together, says the author, is trust. This book focuses on the ways trust can be created, fostered and maintained between business partners. The author begins with what he calls the eight conditions for trust:
1. Mutual need creates the opportunity.
2. Interpersonal relationships make the connection.
3. Joint leaders deliver on both firms.
4. Shared objectives guide performance.
5. Safeguards encourage sharing.
6. Commitment creates enthusiasm.
7. Adaptable organizations support alignment.
8. Continuity sustains understandings.

The author then discusses actionable guidelines and tips for fostering a relationship of trust with business partners. Among these are the following:

· Pick team players-Invest in relationships early to facilitate understanding of each other's business needs. Ensure joint leadership and team development.
· Define a single purpose-Every step taken in an alliance should reflect a shared vision about the business purposes of the alliance.
· Align your organizations-Create an alliance plan detailed enough that teams in both organizations will know what is expected of them. Align incentive systems within the organizations with shared objectives.
· Orchestrate many units-Facilitate the cooperation of leaders from all levels with their counterparts in the partner organization. Each of the participating units must satisfy the eight conditions of trust.
· Take nothing for granted-Manage the alliance and plan for continuity.

This is one of those books that you can enjoy reading even if you don't own a kitchen. The author's voice is soothing and the rhythms of monastery life echo throughout the recipes.

This book is one of a series. The recipes are simple, easy to follow,and by no means austere. Using seasonal ingredients, the results are delicious and imaginative salads. I have given several copies as gifts.

Thanks for getting this book to me quickly and in perfect condition! What an excellent book - full of great salad ideas that don't have complex ingredients!

This is truly a wonderful salad book - will make you famous for your dressings and salads. Not one bad recipie and easy to follow with few ingredients. I buy it for my friends and family too.

As a perpetual dieter I need to eat vegetables, a lot. I'd become very sick of salad and making them when I came across this book in my library. My entire family loved the couple of recipes I tried, and I was happy because everything tasted very good, so I bought the book. There is a great variety of salad types from potato and pasta to leafy and everything in between. The book is organized by season but don't be afraid to explore outside the current season, since different regions have different growing seasons, and grocery stores often (not always) have good produce out of season.

I'm a sonographer in a general ultrasound department of a hospital, graduated last year. I was looking through Amazon's list of general resource books for ultrasound, and took a chance on this one. VERY glad I did! This is a great book to keep around in the department, or even to study from. Great images, extensive topic coverage, and well laid out. I would recommend it to anyone in a similar position, no matter the experience. Not much in the way of neonatal ultrasounds, and I wish there was more on vascular, but it really does a great job with Abdomen, OB/GYN, small parts, etc.

I'm a 1st year radiology resident. This book is a good balance between time spent and knowledge obtained for a busy resident. Totally recommended as a first read before entering U/S rotation. However, coverage of vascular ultrasonography is minimal- so after mastering this your next logical step would be Zwiebel's book. Introduction to Vascular Ultrasonography(Fifth Edition)

I found myself reading this book when I had some free time at work, before I bought my own. It covers Abdomen and OB-GYN, so you dont need another book. For a textbook, its easy to read and the pictures are fantastic, so you know when you see it on your patient. I sold my other text books because I acutally read this one and refer to it. I love this book!!!

I am a second year radiology resident. I just completed my first US rotation. I used this book and thought it was great. It has nice pictures and a well-put-together text. All in all, I highly recommend it. One of the best of the Requisites series!

Great book that cover general and obstetric ultrasound in a concise way.
Highly recommended.

[A review of the SECOND EDITION, 2005.]

In the last 15 years, GPS has moved from an expensive and specialised application to a mass consumer market. There are numerous books on GPS; mostly directly at that mass readership. These typically concern how to use a device with a GPS receiver.

By contrast, this book is meant for the engineer who has to design such a device. It is a compendium of technical papers covering many aspects you are likely to need. And undoubtedly some you won't, which should be reassuring. Because it means that you do not have to read all of this book for it to be useful.

The sensitivity of the GPS satellites and the resultant GPS ground resolution is amazing, as can be appreciated from some of the papers in the book. Due mostly to the stability of the satellites' orbits and their onboard atomic clocks. Chapter 7 describes how GPS requires corrections due to Einstein's Theory of General Relativity! Not just Special Relativity. As a physicist, I found this fascinating. GPS is perhaps the first field where General Relativity is used, not to be tested, but as providing a necessary quantitative model for getting correct results. Akin to how Newton's Equations have been used for 300 years in ballistics. Granted, most readers will be engineers, who might find GR a trifle exotic.

The book also has good coverage of the Russian GLONASS system. Perhaps for those who also want to use this for redundancy. Or to combine the signals from this with GPS for enhanced resolution.

I've been an engineer and PM working with GPS and GPS systems since the inception of GPS in the mid-80s. While employed by a major DOD research lab I was fortunate enough not only to have access to practically every GPS book and article available, but I also had the opportunity to meet many of the key people responsible for the design and development of the system (many of whom contributed to this text). From system design to receiver architecture, this is by far the best general reference I have found on GPS.

If you are looking at the first edition, please note that the publisher plans to issue a second edition in December 2005.

This is a great book to read if you plan on developing any type of GPS tracking system. While the book covers the the basics, you'll need some further resources on interfacing GPS receivers and such hardware to real-world devices.

An interesting article entitled "Tracking a Vehicle With GPS" can be read at www.closerworlds.com

A lot of mobile solutions are soon to hit the market such as mobile phones using GSM or GPRS to track a person. This book will help to understand how it all fits together. It would have been nice if the book could have touched on how older communication systems like VHF radios can transmit GPS data. For that you'll have to visit www.closerworlds.com or some other website with such resources.

I'm an aerospace professional that is very close to the GPS system. This book is one of the best in depth references that I could recomend. I am not a novice and this text may intimidate some.

This book is packed with research, statistic and lots of valuable information that I didn't see in any other vax related book.
It should be a must read for any parent

Wow!!!!
Neil Miller has done it again.All of information I would spend hours searching on the internet in a easy do read format.With footnotes to support each study.
This book is a must read for everyone.

My wife and I are going to be new parents soon, so the subject of vaccine safety is important to us. With all of the information on the Internet (pro vs. con), it's hard to find a good resource in one place. Mr. Miller's book answers the mail, as this book is a well-researched and invaluable resource to have at your disposal. Miller has clearly done his homework, citing hundreds of studies, documentation and personal testimonies. He clearly cares about getting to the truth of this debate and in the process, has done his readers a great service.

This is an absolutely important and phenominal read for anybody. I'm only about 1/2 way through this book, but it is completely fascinating and hard to put down. We Americans have been lied to regarding vaccinations and the diseases (as in how deadly they are) and this book through the writings and references proves it. This has made my position of not vaccinating my children become more concrete. I feel much more educated on this history, disease and vaccine. I would highly recommend it for anyone.

As concerned parents, we have been researching the safety and effectiveness of vaccines for many months. We participated in a presentation were the speaker was one of my favorite researchers and authors on the topic, Neil Z. Miller. He is a medical research journalist and natural health advocate and author of numerous articles and books on vaccines. Miller is also the director of the Think Twice Global Vaccine Institute. He has a degree in psychology (with an emphasis on statistical analysis) and is a member of Mensa.

The presentation was about two hours and only touched the surface on the extensive amount documented data he has discovered through government, medical and scientific journals. He started researching vaccines before his son was born over 23 years ago. What began as a parental endeavor for information turned into a public awareness crusade.

He tells us most of the vaccine information that the public is told is misinformation and propaganda. Accurate data is not released through regular media outlets.

During the presentation they polled the audience on various questions. We learned that the U.S. has more vaccinations than any other country in the world and we also have the 42nd worst infant mortality rate in the world.

Dr. Baylock, a well known neurosurgeon has documented damage in children's brains due to toxic overload from vaccines. He wrote the compelling foreword of Miller's latest book.

The "idea" that vaccines will keep our children safe is like playing russian roulette. Miller advocates parents being fully informed and know that they have freedom of choice, especially when it comes to the health and well being of their children. "Don't count on your doctors to give you all he information." Miller warns. He suggests looking at each vaccine independently and that is exactly was he has presented for all people in his book: Vaccine Safety Manual for Concerned Families and Health Practitioners.

We live in a pill popping society where there is a drug for every ailment, but we have more chronic conditions and diseases than we have ever had before. Drug companies continue to make drugs and vaccine manufacturers will continue to make vaccines. They will put pressure on the FDA to say that they are safe and the CDC to recommend them to the schedule. Currently families that follow the recommended schedule are giving their children 36 drugs by 18 months of age. "We are injecting healthy people with unhealthy substances." Miller said.

Miller says, "There are more vaccines in the pipeline". The next big push is for adolescent and adults vaccines, even vaccines for those with addictions. There are no studies done on combination vaccines and how they react with one another. Not to mention any reactions with other environmental, drug or food chemicals or toxins.

"This is not hearsay. I have documented all of this information." Miller says. The FDA and CDC have a 12-15 member panel. The FDA determines what will be licensed and the CDC will then recommend it to the schedule.

Congressmen Dan Burton held congressional hearings to investigate these committees. There were clear conflicts of interest including, members that owned stock or patent to a vaccine or they were paid consultants to the vaccine manufactures.

In June of 2000 there was a `secret' meeting of top officials from Big Pharma, FDA and CDC. There they discussed the evidence that vaccines were harmful and instead of alerting parents they spent the rest of the weekend on how they were going to cover it up. Robert Kennedy Jr wrote and article about this story for Rolling Stone in 2005. Click here to read article.

Miller also addressed some common questions including mercury being removed from vaccines. In 1999 AAP said mercury was going to be removed from vaccines; however it was not required for the current stock of vaccines to be returned or destroyed. Three years later to balance that out, it was mandated that children get multiple flu vaccines that had high concentrations of mercury (thimerisol the chemical that contains 50% mercury).

Many parents choose to space out vaccines or create their own schedule. Miller thinks there may be some merit to it. He gave a drinking analogy. The reactions are different if you have shot after shot of tequila or have 1 tequila shot that night out with your friends. He still warns that if you decided to space out or do single shots the vaccines still come with significant reactions. There is no testing or screening to know if a child has a predisposition or may have a reaction.
We do know that more and more children are having reactions and autism is on the rise. The good news is for parents that choose not to vaccinate there are either religious or philosophical exemptions available.

Miller tells us that Autism rates surpasses cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined. This is a true epidemic. He also mentions the flu statistics are false. "More people die in this country from asthma and malnutrition than the flu." Miller also spoke of the link between vaccines and asthma, mercury and autism but was very clear that mercury is not the only problem. "All of this information is documented information," he repeats.

We are conditioned to believe that vaccines are safe and vaccines are effective. If this was true children would not be having reactions and dying and people that were vaccinated would not get the disease. This is clearly not the case.

Another astounding bit of information was about the Polio Vaccine. There is an industry that raises monkeys and then kills them to use their kidneys to develop the polio vaccine.
Monkeys carry several viruses and one in particular, SV-40 is known to cause cancer. Numerous people were infected and cancer rates have increased 20-30% around the world.
This virus is also transmitted similarly to AIDS.


The Vaccine Safety Manual is the world's most complete guide to immunization risks and protection. It includes pertinent information on every major vaccine: polio, tetanus, MMR, hepatitis A, B, HPV (cervical cancer), Hib, Flu, chickenpox, shingles, rotavirus, pneumococcal, meningococcal, RSV, DTaP, anthrax, smallpox, TB, and more. All of the information, including detailed vaccine safety and efficacy data, is written in an easy-to-understand format, yet includes more than 1,000 documented citations. More than 75 charts, graphs and illustrations supplement the text. This encyclopedic health manual is an important addition to every family's home library and will be referred to again and again.