Resources Books

A must for anyone who is interested in learning about this subject

This a book which enables a group of people to have fun following a sport. It teaches you what to look for and how to prepare yourself. It is a book that will help not only the so-so sport fans but also the very hard core sport fans. The one thing that I would have added to it would have been Chapter 23 How to go from 9th place in your league to 1st in the last five weeks of the season, but then again that's me. If you have a group of friends who like sports and don't know how to set up a league this is a great book to buy.

it allows for the whole family to come to the table as one and play the game the way it should be played. the team of gus and jim is outstanding!!!!!! i can't wait for the next version!!!!!

This book covers all the beginner aspects of the fantasy sports game. It offers the necessary steps to beginning your own league and if your a seasoned veteran helpful hints to get the winning edge. I can attest to the George Griefs and the Jermane Allensworths from my own experiences.

The book is an excellent tool that allows all to enter and enjoy the wonderful world of Fantasy Baseball!!!!!

If business were a religion, this would be the bible.
Awesome, practical information that can be implemented immediately!

Neil has written a remarkable guide for the salon and spa industry. His tested business methods have proven to become the standard in the industry. If you follow the systems and use the analytical models, you can't go wrong! This book should be on every salon owners desk to use as a referrence.

Fast Forward is a must read for anyone in the salon spa business and for that matter any business. This book addresses topics from A to Z on Quality management. I found excellent guidance for my many qustions from finance to teamwork. The needs of any business owner in today's rapid changing business environment must be met with the right information. No one has time for costly mistakes. Neil's book is a "must have" tool for any salon leader.

Owning a copy of Fast Forward is like having a PDR (Physician's Desk Reference) for your salon. If you need any answer, it's in there. This is a great reference book for anyone in the salon or spa industry. It's just chock full of useful information. Just the other day I needed wording for a help wanted ad. I picked up my copy of Fast Forward and bingo - there it was. I highly recommend this book.

For those in the beauty industry and for others looking to make the salon and spa field a career, there is no better guide than Neil Ducoff's book. In a business where most Salon and Spa education focuses on technical skills, sadly disappointing those in search of practical and relevant business information, you will be pleasantly surprised. Whether its leadership, finance, employee issues, marketing or system building, you will find the help that leads you thru all the avenues. Neil's experience, wisdom and bits of humor run throughout this book. Well written, readable and in a "reference format", you'll find yourself turning thru its pages often. Five years later it still holds a prominent space on my desk. Highly recommended!

Don't let this book's small size fool you! It's filled with good, practical advice on staying fit and active while in the confines of an airport, plane and hotel room. Ms. Melanson offers some great tips on how to keep your circulation moving as well as your muscles limber and fit. As a personal trainer, I will be giving this book to my clients to take on their travels!

Ms. Melanson makes it possible for the most unlikely candidates to succeed in exercising. I know. I am a new convert to her way of thinking. This is a simple recipe book for stirring up better circulation, better metabolism and good energy. She explains the exercises clearly and made me want to try a few of them out.

Fly Fit is a fun book that gives good advice on keeping fit while traveling. Not only is it informative, but it's small size makes it easy to toss into your carry on bag and take with you. I highly recommend it. This book will go with me on my travels!

I love this little book. Ms. Melanson offers so much sound advice that seems easy to follow in an airport or sitting on an airplane. I can't wait to try it out when I go to Chicago next spring. The book, although small enough to fit in a purse or even a jacket pocket, is packed with practical tips and concise instructions on how to get the most out of its advice. A great stocking stuffer or office grab gift. I sure could have used this book on my trip to Italy last year!

It is an amazing book. A must read if you do alot of traveling. The book is not too long and easy reading. I would have liked this years ago before I started traveling.

Approximately 250 pages of the book are loaded with titles broken down by subject and age group. This is really helpful, especially since lately I've been looking to make homeschooling easier. My goal is to use literature, cd-rom games and movies more so that my homeschooling can become less of a monumental task. This will be a huge asset! Thank you!

Maureen Wittman, Catholic homeschooling mom extraordinaire, has compiled the book list dreams are made of. She has created a subject-by-subject list that gives a brief synopsis, age range and a special note to identify Catholic titles. There are 950 books listed! They are all readily available (in print) and easy to find at your favorite bookseller or library.

My favorite part of the book are the essays. Maureen gives great tips for using your local library that I have already benefited from (think way less fines :)) and how to build your own library. The essay about creating your own literature study is worth buying the book for all on it's own!

Thank you Maureen for creating such a valuable resource that will be in use in my home for many years to come!

Maureen Wittmann, a Catholic homeschooling mother of seven, has been a library afficionado for years and handily organized her "finds" in this well-organized and very useful book.

For the Love of Literature is designed especially for Catholic homeschool parents (though other homeschool parents, grandparents, librarians, etc. will find many, many titles of interest). It's a guide to using real books - biographies, historical fiction, beautiful picture books, etc. to study any subject area of interest. The book lists (organized by subject) include brief descriptions, appropriate age level and a special notation to identify specifically Catholic titles.

The book lists are extensive and up-to-date (meaning that she only included books that are currently in print) which means, among other things, that this could be an extremely useful resource for using your library well and making suggestions for your library to purchase.

Introductory essays cover topics such as library tips, building a home library, reading aloud, creating a literature unit study, and detailed explanations of classical education and the Charlotte Mason method - both of which are very compatible with the use of living books.

This is a very helpful book that I've been recommending to all my friends. It's a great blessing for anyone who would like to use living books to supplement (or perhaps even replace) textbooks with their children, make better use of their library or simply find worthwhile books for their very voracious readers. There's something for everyone.

Any parent or teacher who would like to spice up a lesson in math, science, history, art, or music would be wise to obtain this helpful guide.

Divided into each core subject area, the book notes each of 950 titles as to the book's age and grade level, from preschool to adult, maturity level and if there is a need for parental guidance. In addition, most of the titles contain a brief description--enough for a parent or teacher to decide whether the book is right.

Other helpful features include guides to classical and Charlotte Mason based education, using the library, building a home library, creating literary unit studies, and more.

If you are a parent, a teacher or a homeschooler, you NEED this book.

In her friendly, warm style, Maureen Wittmann shares her depth of experience in "teaching core subjects with literature".

Maureen has a special talent for describing an entire book in just a sentence or two. In this thorough yet pleasant guide, she describes 950 of them. She explains various educational methods, from classical education to Charlotte Mason homeschooling, as well as how to make the best use of your public library and how to build your own home library.

Whether you have been homeschooling for decades as I have - or you just want to enrich your child's education - or wherever you are on the parenting spectrum: this is a book you will want to own and cherish.

This book is very helpful for anyone interested in putting attention getting signs on their church marquee. Lots of choices.

I am a Christian school teacher and I use these sayings on a board outside of my classroom for students to read as they are entering class. I change the saying every week. The students (and staff) look forward to seeing the new message each week. Quick way to get interesting Godly messages to students.

The United States of America has all kinds of unique cultural phenomena. American football is pretty much a solely American sport. Wal-Marts and McDonalds are now spreading around the globe like spores, but those multi-billion dollar business would never have survived past an initial store in any other country in the world. Another uniquely piece of American culture are billboards and road signs. A sub-category of these would be church signs which though contain all the pertinent information about services and such, often include some sort of short message that changes on a weekly basis. Mary Katherine and David Compton enjoyed reading these signs as they traveled through the country and began collecting them in a notebook. This book is the "fruit" of their efforts. In 134 pages the authors include around 300 messages that they have seen on church signs over the years. Some are humorous, some are thought-provoking, and a few are both. Just a few samples include:

"Creation bears God's autograph."

"Turn or Burn"

"Christians never meet for the last time."

"Experts made the Titanic, amateurs made the ark."

The book makes a nice little gift for a Christian friend or family member and is also a nice resource for churches to have incase the usual message writer goes on vacation for a week.

"Forbidden Fruit Creates Many Jams: Roadside Church Signs Across America" has been assembled by Mary Katherine Compton and David Compton. In the introduction the Comptons describe this compilation of church signs as "a soulful slice of roadside Americana."

The messages include invitations, threats, puns, political comments, satire, and advice. There are musings on God, the devil, the Bible, prayer, and other topics. Along the way are a number of cultural references.

A number of the signs have an unpleasant flavor of arrogance or intolerance. Examples: "God said it, I believe it, that settles it"; "April First: National Atheists Day"; "Turn or burn"; etc. Some of the messages hint at a larger cultural war between Christian fundamentalists and secular society; this aspect of the book is particularly intriguing.

But culture wars aside, there are some delightful and thoughtful entries along the way. A couple of my favorites: "Road rage? How would Jesus drive?"; "Thank God for dirty dishes. At least you have food." Overall, a fascinating look at this cultural phenomenon.

The authors compiled a list of church signs they have seen while on the road. 134 pages of one, two or three clever eye-catching signs per page. It started with the title, on an empty church in North Carolina. Then they kept a notebook with them as they traveled and recorded these "snetence sermons" as they call them, adfter their epiphany in North Carolina. One of the catchiest, "When you meet tempation, turn to the light."

This is an easy read and a very enjoyable one.

This is the best book I have read regarding penny stocks and how to get started. There is more practical knowledge in these 142 pages than anywhere else. This is a down-to-earth book by a down-to-earth investor.
One of the best parts for me is the section entitled "What a Bargin Looks Like" - listing seven key areas to look for when purchasing a stock. Big Al also list stocks from his own portfolio. This is a big help when evaluating your own picks - by reviewing his.

This is a great little jewel of a book. After reading it, the writer has provided great details about his strategies and how he plays the market to make a good return on his investments of about 106 different stocks.
The best part is that you can start small and build up your investments and get paid doing so. This book should be in every serious investor's library and you won't find any hype or fluff in this book, its compact with just hard hitting facts and how to make money on a shoestring budget.

What a great, great book! I don't usually leave reviews, but I am something of an investing book guru, because I own dang near all of them. In the past year or so I've read 12 "penny stock" books and (while this isn't entirely all about penny stocks) this the best one hands down. Aside from being an entertaining read, this book is filled with information regarding sectors I never thought about for penny stocks. This book is worth whatever I paid for it just for his one single penny stock strategy. Let alone he gives his whole investment strategy is this 100 or so page book. I enjoyed reading this book and wish the author would write more, because his hatred for the wall street hypocrit/coward nearly matches mine.

My pen name is Big Al. I am also the writer of this book. When you self - publish a book if you don't review and promote it, then no one will. Which is what I am doing now. I have read dozens of investment books and they all ignore the almost unknown world of small-cap and micro-cap investing. Not to mention my specialty of penny mining stock investing. And yet this is precisely the world where the small investor of limited means can make a killing. Once you make your first killing in my world you will be in it for life. Just like I am. Let me introduce you to my world. A world where you can make a killing on a chump-change investment.
The most exciting thing about my world is that anyone can afford to enter it. You can become a player for an investment as low as $500.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced investor this book is a must read. The stock market can be very complicated, but Fred's forty years of knowledge and experience gives you the insight needed to invest correctly and make big returns on your money. The book is easy to read, a mixture of intellgent writing with humorus anecdotes. I highly recommend this book!

One tip for cutting pieces from these books - Laminate the whole page first and then cut out the pieces. The lamiate will not pull off after cutting as long as the plastic is hot enough. You can also laminate the chart pages right into inside of file folders and use re-stick glue for the pieces. It keeps the pieces together so they don't get lost.

The concept of this book is great, and the pictures are very vibrant and inviting. My only problem with the book is that you have to cut out each and every piece, and they don't make them easy shapes to cut out! (Not a lot of straight lines; lots of squigly lines.) Plus, you have to cut them out once, then cut them out again once you laminate them. I know this sounds petty, but to a teacher who is already short on time, it's an important factor.

This book is so awesome, I bought the other 2 in the series. After laminating onto file folders and cutting out the pieces, I use Post It glue so they stick to the charts. This is an easy way to have meaningful, independent centers for ALL students. For advanced students, I copy the blank charts for each group. Then students sort the words and write them with dry erase markers onto the correct place (on the laminated pages). I've also found these a very good way to get parent helpers involved.

This is the PERFECT center activity!!!
I have been teaching for many years and this is by far the BEST product I have found for easy to use and make phonics word sort centers. I've always had to make my own- what a pain! My students love to use these in small groups because after I introduce the words with the whole group, they are able to complete the center on their own and then play the game that is included. Some tips- I laminate the charts to the inside of file folders. Then I use Post-it (or Avery?) restick glue on the back of the laminated pieces. That way, none of the pieces ever get lost and they stay right inside the folder. I also laminate the student pages if I'm using these with only a few students at a time. They can use white board markers and just clean the pages for the next group. ALSO these are perfect centers to set up for when parents are helping in the classroom!

I have been teaching for many years and this is by far the BEST product I have found for easy to use and make phonics word sort centers. I've always had to make my own- what a pain! My students love to use these in small groups because after I introduce the words with the whole group, they are able to complete the center on their own and then play the game that is included. Some tips- I laminate the charts to the inside of file folders. Then I use Post-it (or Avery?) restick glue on the back of the laminated pieces. That way, none of the pieces ever get lost and they stay right inside the folder. I also laminate the student pages if I'm using these with only a few students at a time. They can use white board markers and just clean the pages for the next group. ALSO these are perfect centers to set up for when parents are helping in the classroom!

I've read this cover-to-cover and had a chance to actually use a number of the activities in it with some of my clients. This book is a rare combination of background and context that will provide a powerful grounding for new trainers, inexperienced facilitators and managers asked to help build a team while also combining great explanation and setup for a wide range of activities that senior practitioners and OD professionals can use immediately. The explanations for each activity are clear and also cover what could go wrong as well as how to modify the activity and debrief instructions. I found the matrix in the book (talking about what activities could be used for what kinds of teams and what kinds of dynamics/needs) to be especially strong. If you do OD, facilitation,or work in teams, this is a very useful book. I don't find many games and activities books that are appropriate for a wide range of users--this one is. I very highly recommend it.

I manage an office of 70 lawyers that needed team building skills, but have a deep scepticism about the usual drills. I found this book to be clearly written, well organized and easy to adapt to my training needs. We used several of the games at a recent office retreat to great success. I strongly recommend Games That Teach Teams to anyone who wants to get their team to work, and play, better.

Games that Teach Teams by Steve Sugar and George Takacs, is a collection of 21 well-documented, carefully detailed, copy-ready games that help teams learn about cooperation and creativity, management and goal-setting, decision-making and communication -- and secondarily fun. It's the secondarily fun part that caught my eye. Any method that helps people develop team skills that has anything to do with fun is a method worth learning. Far too many team-building activities are built around "tasks" and "worksheets." These exercises are built around fun.

Each of the 21 games is described as a "frame game" The authors explain how ach game can be modified to focus on a different combination of skills or respond to a different team setting and composition, giving the reader more of a comprehensive instructional strategy than a collection of games. The authors also recognize that it's not just the games, but how they are led that makes for a good learning experience, taking great pains to detail facilitation techniques for each activity. They even include a table that carefully documents the skills that each activity emphasizes.

I was especially pleased to discover the inclusion of games like "ww.where and ww.when" that are specifically designed for building "CyberTeams." Here is an area of team development that is much neglected and critical to the successful deployment of the kind of communication infrastructure that technography is designed to implement.

As an in-house OD consultant, I am always on the lookout for new games to use with teams and energizers for off-site meetings. The collection of games assembled here provides a wide variety of time frames and a comprehensive set of objectives for team learning. The formats of the various games are simple and yet engaging -- and you won't be hunting everywhere for props and materials. I can't wait to try these out at my next off-site meeting.

if you are in the process for building a team and looking for activites to teach effective team behaviors, then this book is for you. This book can be used for a team just starting to work together or teams who have been working together for quite some time. There is much more to this book than the 21 teams provided.

The first section helps you determine what type of team you have by classifying teams. In the next section there is a model and structure for effective team development. Once you've determined the team classification and team development area, then you can use the handy matrix to select the most appropriate activity.

The book provides very helpful facilitation strategies for before, during and processing each activity. Each of the 21 activities has detailed well though out instructions and reproducible handouts. You have everything you need to facilitate any of the activities in this book.

This is a great book for students who face by first time a gas turbine course. The only disadvantage is the lack of explicit information about turboprop, turboshaft, ramjet and scranjet. But, overall is a good book.

I have acquired the fifth edition of Gas Turbine Theory by Professor Saravanamuttoo to add to the previous four editions in my library. Like the previous four editions, I have found the latest edition to be the best book ever written on Gas Turbine Theory and Design.
I have noticed many improvements throughout the new edition with updated information on both Industrial and Aero Gas Turbine applications. In fact, it is the only textbook that covers both types of Gas Turbines with great clarity and depth for students ande practising engineers.
In particular, it has more illustrations with pictures and reference to actual Gas Turbine plant performance and design features as compared to the previous editions which makes it most relevant to real world applications.
As a practising engineer(O&M) in a Gas Turbine Generating Plant(630MW), I have found the inclusion of Performance Monitoring and Degradation to be most welcome given my special interest in this area.
I used the second edition as a student at University and the latest edition as my preferred and favourite textbook for the Gas Turbine part of a course that I teach in Thermal Power to final year students reading for the BSc in Mechanical Engineering at the University of the West Indies.
After comparing it to all other textbooks in this area, I consider it to be the most outstanding and excellent coverage of Gas Turbine Theory and Design for both students and practising engineers. It is extremely comprehensive with geat emphasis on details and contains the depth to provide the reader with a thorough knowledge of the subject matter.
It is my opinion that this book culminating in its 50th year of existence since the birth of the Gas Turbine engine would become a collectors item worth much more than was paid for it. It is real value for money and may be grossly underpriced. What a great bargain if ever there was one!
I would strongly recommend this new edition for students pursuing courses in gas Turbine Engineering at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and practising engineers involved in all applications of the Gas Turbine.

I have always used this book as a textbook of the gas turbine course for mechanical engineers and I find it perfect for its clarity and completeness.

This is the classic undergraduate textbook on gas turbines. Not much more needs to be said than that. Future editions need to be updated to include computer examples and more on cogeneration and combined cycles

This is one of the best books available in the market today covering both the theory and applications of gas turbines. It is unique in that the treatment contains both theoretical and practical aspects of gas turbine engineering. As an engineer who has spent over 23 years working with gas turbines I have used earlier editions of this book and it has helped me immensely in getting a clear understanding of gas turbine operations and specifically of the components and matching of turbine and compressors. It is a well-written and organized book that has clearly stood the test of time- this being the 50th year of its publication. Unlike many other traditional gas turbine textbooks, Prof. Saravanamuttoo brings his vast practical and industrial experience into the text -a feature that many operating engineers will appreciate. This edition is noteworthy as it incorporates latest technologies relating to gas turbines (advanced gas turbine, low NOx combustors, new cycles etc.) while retaining it classic lucid writing style. Every engineer who operates a gas turbine can benefit from this book as it will provide a deeper understanding of different components and their interactions. I highly recommend this book!

When you do, after reading this book you will be vividly aware of what is passing through your nostrils and into your lungs. You will have learned where the air you're breathing orginated, what assaults it's been subject to, and what you may have to do to improve it. The air you, and your children, breathe needs attention. This passionately written account examines the history of air, the people who have investigated it and the problems we're confronting in keeping it breathable. Although the story grows increasingly grim as it progresses, Sherman finds ways of offering some hope and solutions.

Air means breathing and Sherman laments his failure to see his son's initial breath. There were distractions - a Caesarean birth and the condition of Sherman's wife. A forgiveable lapse, one hopes. From that incident, however, the author derived a deeper interest in the air we, and his wife and son, respire. Air, transparent and ephemeral, still captured the interest and imagination of early thinkers. Aristotle's famous dictum of the four basic "elements" placed air after earth in importance. Few doubted that air was essential to life, however. Although the air was thought to hold things like spirits and deities, actual investigation of air didn't come about until the Enlightenment. Shedding the myths, people like Lavoisier, Dalton and others detected "new aire" and the idea of air comprised of several gases began to emerge. More than one experimenter put his life at risk investigating the properties of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Even with the new studies, the long-standing idea of the air containing "phlogiston" as evidence of burning was not easily dismissed.

Although all life has its effect on air, whether taking it in for use or expelling waste gases through breathing and less polite means, Sherman is most concerned with humanity's influence on our "breathable sphere". He offers a long discourse on the impact of various forms of smoke, particularly coal. In the Industrial Revolution, coal smoke was a sign of "progress", new wealth, restructured society with urban growth and gainful employment. That attitude carried across the Atlantic to the USA as industrialisation progressed there. As smoke and various other pollutants began choking the cities, objectors arose. Movements to curb smoke were organised, with minimal success. Britain's problem was exacerbated by the onset of fog. When combined with coal dust and smoke, the results were devastating. A Public Health Act was one of the first serious attempts to address the problem. Although the Act listed many noxious vapours, enforcement was lax and largely ineffectual.

With similar problems emerging in the United States, opposition grew apace. Again, smoke and "progress" equated. There, however, the incipient women's rights movements made clean air one of its subsidiary themes. Concern for public health generally and children's health in particular, brought many women into the fold. One businessman, W.P. Rend, declared smoke to be the "incense burning on the alter of industry". With other industrialists and many politicians echoing this sentiment, those seeking cleaner air through legislation faced firm resistance. While some progress was achieved, the onset of the automobile created a fresh problem. The USA's love affair with cars has been well documented. Sherman traces the rise of "smog" in the Los Angeles basin and the halting attempts to curtail it. One thing was certain, people weren't about to reduce car use and the problem could only be addressed at the factory with new means of curbing emitted compounds. The impact of such regulation hasn't kept the USA from being the planet's greatest polluter.

Sherman's answer is necessarily a little weak. Although he's covered the Western world, it is his own nation that provides the readership he wishes to convince. He wants his fellow-countrymen to be aware they inhale 19 thousand times per day. "What enters your nostrils and lungs each time?", he queries. Think of the dust, mites, bacteria and chemicals carried on that air into your body. He reminds us that there are delicate membranes in the lung, which, if spread out fully would cover a football field. That very expanse means a thin membrane easily affronted. It takes little effort to damage the lung. And those inside your rib cage can only be taken care of by their owner. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Oxygen may not strike you as a lively protagonist for a book. Think again.

In a masterfully inventive biography of air, Joe Sherman weaves between geology and history, myth and science, to retrace our understanding of life's most precious gas.

From the Ionian philosophers of ancient Greece to the eccentric chemists and scientists who tested daringly with air through the Renaissance, Enlightenment and Industrial eras, Sherman invokes a lively, little known chapter in Western history.

He also explores myths in Hindu, Maori and Viking culture, showing the ways societies tried to make sense of the invisible gas that surrounded and sustained them.

In "GASP!," Sherman--whose non-fiction book on General Motors, "In the Rings of Saturn," was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize--blames the auto industry, weak government policies and America's obsession with cars as key factors tilting the scales of climate change towards disaster.

But "myth came before science and will outlast it" he writes in a meditative, vaguely hopeful tone. After narrating a 20th century atmosphere filled with germ warfare, radioactive pollution, smog and global warming, hope is about all we have left.

Read this timely homage to air--and make sure you take a few deep breaths.

I found GASP to be invaluable in telling the story of air "up close and personal." After 17 years in the air quality biz, I was stunned to find out facts I never knew about this much ignored but vital natural resource. From its cosmic beginnings to current techno solutions to air pollution, GASP reads like a biography, with air as its mysterious main character - - unpredictable, brooding and misunderstood. This book brings air down to earth; it makes us want to do things in our own lives to protect "one clean breath" for future generations. Bravo Mr. Sherman on a thorough and fascinating presentation.

I am a Joe Sherman fan.

Gasp! is, by far, Mr. Sherman's best cultural history to date. This book can be read as a history of cultural perceptions, a meditation on the element we take most for granted, or a demand for social responsibility in an increasingly toxic world.

Mr. Sherman at heart is neither a fiction, nor non-fiction writer. He is a cultural narrator. Part historian, common-sense speaker and fabulist with Gasp! he invites the reader to join him in a wrestling match with Air. He extracts specific and telling details and riffs both on the facts that underlie them, and the possible consequences they leave for us living in a Tailpipe World.

I have read several of his previous books including: 'Charging Ahead', 'In the Rings of Saturn' and 'Fast Lane down a Dirt Road'. These previous books all explored odd and specific topics as metaphors for our culture and times. Electric Car Innovations, GM's Business Unit of Saturn and the 20th Century History of Vermont are topics which Mr. Sherman converted into stories unfolding larger cultural and social truths.

In Gasp! he reversed his usual manner process and come away with a stunning book. Instead of a strange and specific topic being explored as windows into larger social forces, Joe undertakes the entire history and scope of the atmosphere. It worked. Somehow, it worked. Mr. Sherman has left me aware and pondering of every inhaled breath as chemical process, spiritual process and an underappreciated act of biological chance.

Joe draws on an incredable knowledge of the Automobile Industry, cultural history and the sciences to this book a wonderful read.

This book is part Social History, Science History, and a meditation on a common-sense need for environmental awareness. If John McPhee and Studs Turkel had collaborated on work about the Air, it might be something like this book. But for those who have read him before, it is definitely the strange and insightful Joe Sherman writing this work. This book is some his best writing. Somethign to be thankful fo.

Last night, Mr. Bush the leading supporter of the Clear Skies Act, won the election. Unable to sleep, I instead finished Gasp!

Placing Mr. Bush's 'Clear Skies' into the context of Mr. Sherman's 'Gasp!' is something worthwhile for anyone who would care to better understand the Air and our relationships to it.

Among the big problems with air is that it is invisible (with luck) and that we don't have to pay for it. We get to regard with specific attention the food we buy, and if you don't like the tap water you pay for, you can always spring for bottled. Air, on the other hand, is taken for granted, and you usually don't even think of even one of the 19,000 breaths you take every day. Like any other big subject we don't think about, air is hugely complicated, but in _Gasp! The Swift and Terrible Beauty of Air_ (Shoemaker & Hoard), Joe Sherman has covered the topic fully in many different ways. He writes, "Understanding air, which is both big and amorphous, and small and right in front of you, demands a few mental oscillations." He makes the oscillations fun, from basic principles of gas exchange within your lungs to the different gods of the sky people have believed in to the evolution of our planet's atmosphere to the current worries about pollution and global warming. As if the subject isn't big enough, he has taken many discursive asides; he just has so many facts he has to disclose to the reader, but his grasp of his subject is sure and his ability to convey complexities in understandable terms is excellent.

Much of the book is devoted to the history of our understanding about the air and the thinkers who have tried to break down the invisible to see what it was made of. For instance, in 1648, the mathematician Blaise Pascal repeated the experiments of Torricelli with the new invention, the barometer. Not only did he check air pressure at the bottom of a tower stairs and at the top, he went to the mountains to try the effect. Pascal reasoned that air would weigh less and less the further one ascended, eventually winding up in a void. This sounds sensible to us, but it was anathema to the church; if there was a vacuum way up there, there was no Aristotelian scheme of higher spheres, especially the one that was where God lived. Pascal's ideas were attacked by the Jesuits. Lavoisier and Priestley eventually helped do away with the concept of phlogiston when they discovered oxygen, but the air explorers were not just at work in their labs. There is Other chemists took to the air in hot-air balloons and later hydrogen balloons. In 1862, Henry Coxwell and James Glaisher rode their basket gondola beneath a hot-air balloon to become the first to reach the stratosphere. Their altimeter indicated that they had reached 35,000 feet, but like most of the equipment and procedures of the flight, it went wildly wrong. They had a truly heroic battle against cold and a new malaise, altitude sickness, that imperiled their judgement and their lives.

The universe has spent a long time producing our atmosphere, and Sherman starts from the Big Bang to the Cambrian explosion of half a billion years ago, when oxygen was boosted to current atmospheric levels by plants, enabling the eventual takeover of the land by animals. The final third of _Gasp!_ is devoted to our very recent destruction of the atmosphere that was so long in coming. He has lived in Los Angeles, and he has written before about American car culture, and he is disdainful of how little attention governments in general, and our government in particular, are paying to air's problems. The phasing out of Freon and other such chemicals because of their destruction of the ozone layer that protects us from the ultraviolet is actually an environmental success story. Sherman shows, however, that just as in the current debate over global warming, such anti-regulation politicians as Tom DeLay insisted in 1995 that banning chemicals that destroy the ozone layer was all based on dubious science. The current administration is eager to relax rules that might bother business, and has wanted to relax pro-ozone rules as well, despite the documented reaccumulation of ozone since the rules were enforced. Profit-making corporations, Sherman shows, have a good history of making profits, and a bad one of serving public health. We have industrial (especially automotive) pollutants and the potential for weather changes that are going to reshape civilization; but he reminds us that "Clean air is about as public a concern as it is possible to imagine." It might be that corporations will get eager to forego profits for health, and it might be that government will get eager to draw up rules to make this happen; but don't hold your breath.