Reviews Books

Well written and straight to the heart of the matter. If this review does not inspire you to purchase this book, you may count yourself among the hard core cases and should consider reading this inspiring work of words again! Our entire family is getting a copy! Once again, Jamie has captured the essence of the book and captivated her audience with her gift for the written word!

The insight expounded in this review far exceeded any preconceived notions that one would have about book reviews and their usefulness. If Jamie continues to spellbind her readers with the elegant and tactful phraseology, she will surely be recognized by the New York Times.

I have never seen or read anything as good as the review Jamie has written. This is her best work ever. I can hardly wait to read her next review. It was right on!!!!

This book is for anyone immersed in the human condition, waging a war internally and silently stuggling externally. Galeano's collection of thoughts and essays and stories stirs the emotions of the reader and forces them to consider the entirety of the Latin American canon of literature as a formidable one. It encompasses genres such as autobiography, biography, testimony, prose, and short story. This is poetry of the soul for the soul, and shouldn't be limited to those obscure literature classes dealing with oppression

is as Galeano define "Days and Nights of Love and War". The author open the memory box and let escape the pain and the love, the sadness and the joy. That is not only his box, it's my box too, all latinoamericans' box. So, when we open it we live.

The personal testimony of one of Latin America's foremost contemporary political writers, Eduardo Galeano's Days And Nights Of Love And War blends memoir journaling with an eloquent history to record the lives and struggles of the Latin American people under two decades of unimaginable violence and extreme repression. Galeano combines straight-forward reportage with personal vignettes, interviews, travelogues, and folklore with an impressive and engaging emotional enrichment that includes anger, irony, sadness, and humor. Days And Nights Of Love And War is very highly recommended for students of late 20th century Latin American political history and culture.

I discovered Florence King while taking a history class at her undergrad Alma Mater - American University in Washington D.C. - where one of her books, Southern Ladies and Gentleman was used as a primer of sorts for class covering the South since Reconstruction. I became a real fan of her writing and writing style, which is possibly the best in American publishing not only of our time, but of all time.

While her only fiction book was a let down, King excels as an essayist, critic and commentator of American life, politics and social comment. Her writing style is something that every person who takes pen to paper believes (mistakenly) that they are using - its concise wording gets to the point and almost jabs you in the eye with its simplicity and ability to convey her thoughts while changing your mind. Think of King as the ultimate guest at your dinner party of dreams, polite, but ready to snip any loose threads of conversation off lest they dangle in the air and cloud her view.

While I am loath to bring this name up, I will say that I believe Ann Coulter probably thinks that she is a writer on par with Ms. King. She is not. I do bring her name up for one reason: Coulter represents the opposite end of the spectrum on which King "write-fully" (bad pun intended) sits, making King the Grand Dame of true Conservative commentary and writing.

In reading King, park your political beliefs at the door and luxuriate in her keen eye for word usage, grammar and thought. If you are so foolish as to approach her writing with any preconceived notions as to your own beliefs, she will skewer you just as the dim wit that you you know you are not. King is not the type of person to suffer fools wisely.

If our national culture were really based upon the high lofty ideals that we think that it is, King would be a regular on Sunday morning political shows, putting their hosts in their place. But alas, America and Americans are a vapid lot, and thus we get what we deserve: Ann Coulter distracting us from her unfounded and outrageous opinions by wearing a little black dress like a hooker on her way home from a Saturday night job.

But we have King in print. While she doesn't enjoy the book sales that Coulter does, Kings works will bear the test of time and one day she will receive the type of honors due her as a real American treasure that she is.

These are reviews you turn to over and over again, always with pleasure, always with astonishment. With forever the question: Just how did she turn that phrase that way and capture both the essence of the book and its aims and failures?"

In a better world, Stephen King would be forgotten and Ph.D.'s in literature would be written on Florence King's oeuvre, for her erudition is astonishing, and her work cries out for annotated editions. These collected reviews are no exception, for she tackles everything from history to feminism to biography (her review of Strom Thurmond's life is one of the finest sustained passages of prose in English belles letters). All extremely well written, all as funny as hell.

One peaks at her soul for a reincarnation of Rabelais and Voltaire, for she is as burlesque as the former, and as poignant as the latter. To be reviewed by Florence King is to cower in fear of a withering aside that will haunt you to the grave. I am sure those who have suffered here have even the typeface of more than a few of these sentences burned into their memory.

In summary, this is a work of timeless scholarship and an exemplar of American prose that should stand as a ready textbook for the art of the review. A joy, a revelation, a hearty laugh, a stimulated intellect, a new fact, a valued friend, a companion voice, a hope for the future, and a pleasure of spirit are all available to those who read Florence King. Get it today.

I've long described Florence King as my favorite living writer (my favorite writer, period, is Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, who -- probably not coincidentally -- also wrote for "National Review" for many years). Yet I have avoided reviewing her books here, not only for fear of not doing them justice, but also because so much of how I try to review books has come from reading Florence King's own reviews. At what point is the pupil ready to grade the master?

Reviews are an art at which Miss King excels, which is why I was so happy to discover an advertisement for "Deja Reviews" a few months ago. This volume is a wonderful companion to "STET, Damnit!," the collection of her "Misanthrope's Corner" columns NR published a couple of years ago. "Deja Reviews" assembles about five-dozen pieces from NR and "The American Spectator." Most of them are reviews, but there are also a number of non-review essays including some NR pieces that weren't in the "Misanthrope's Corner."

Miss King is sharp of eye, wit, and pen. She famously has no patience with idiocy, and best of all possesses a wonderful facility with the language. I was about to call it a "gift," but I imagine she might object, rightly, to that word: she has worked hard over many years to hone her skills. It's not a "gift," but the product of time, energy, and mental commitment. I remember her writing once in the "Misanthrope's Corner" that she turned down invitations to go on television to discuss one or another of her columns. "If I had anything more to say, I'd have put it in the piece." I so admire Miss King not only for what she writes, but also for the effort she puts into her writing.

Her effort and skill make for a great reading experience. You don't have to be familiar with the books she's reviewing to enjoy what she's written about them. These essays are up to her usual high standards for style, humor, and dead-eye insight. As with her earlier collection, there's no index in this book, but that just means I'll once again be filling the flyleaves with my own notations. I imagine I'll learn a lot more about the art of book reviewing, and have a wonderful, entertaining time doing it.

Written over 150 years ago, Democracy In America is even more important and compelling today than it was then. This past fall, I had the opportunity to teach a Government class for my college. My class studied the second volume of this invaluable classic. It was such a pleasure to study it through a mentor's eyes. It truly came alive for me in a way that it never had before as I prepared to teach it.

Despite his young age, Tocqueville was a master at understanding human nature. Volume II is filled with both compliments for American culture and cautionary advice for us as citizens. It's amazing how accurate his predictions and warnings were. We are falling into the very snares and excesses about which he cautioned. I wish that all Americans would take the time to read this insightful volume. If we would simply heed Tocqueville's admonitions, we would be well on our way to rebuilding our great American culture and securing our liberty.

"When the taste for physical gratifications among them has grown more rapidly than their education . . . the time will come when men are carried away and lose all self-restraint . . . . It is not necessary to do violence to such a people in order to strip them of the rights they enjoy; they themselves willingly loosen their hold. . . . they neglect their chief business which is to remain their own masters." ~Alexis de Tocqueville

I didn't think it was possible for Tocqueville's to outdo volume 1 of "Democracy in Amercia" but I was definitely proved wrong! Volume 2 is more deep and philosophical in its approach to understanding American democracy and ties up any loose ends that might have occured in volume 1. A book that needs to be read now more than ever before, volume 2 deserves to be considered among the Great Books of Western civilization.

De Tocqueville was simply of one of the great social scientists writing about America and Democracy. From reading the book I deduced that De Tocqueville was a social scientist before Marx! He compares European culture and government with the fledgling culture and democracy he observes in America. He is very much impressed with what he sees taking place in America in the 1830's and hopes it will spread to Europe. He at first believed that America's prosperity was simply due to geography and their distance from powerful neighbors, he abandons this idea after his visit to America. He comes to realize that the West is not being peopled "by new European immigrants to America, but by Americans who he believes have no adversity to taking risks". De Tocqueville comes to see that Americans are the most broadly educated and politically advanced people in the world and one of the reasons for the success of our form of government. He also foretells America's industrial preeminence and strength through the unfettered spread of ideas and human industry.

De Tocqueville also saw the insidious damage that the institution of slavery was causing the country and predicted some 30 years before the Civil War that slavery would probable cause the states to fragment from the union. He also the emergence of stronger states rights over the power of the federal government. He held fast to his belief that the greatest danger to democracy was the trend toward the concentration of power by the federal government. He predicted wrongly that the union would probably break up into 2 or 3 countries because of regional interests and differences. This idea is the only one about America that he gets wrong. Despite some of his misgivings, De Tocqueville, saw that democracy is an "inescapable development" of the modern world. The arguments in the "Federalist Papers" were greater than most people realized. He saw a social revolution coming that continues throughout the world today.

De Tocqueville realizes at the very beginning of the "industrial revolution" how industry, centralization and democracy strengthened each other and moved forward together. I am convinced that De Tocqueville is still the preeminent observer of America but is also the father of social science. A must read for anyone interested in American history, political philosophy or the social sciences.

I am more than satisfied after I received the book and actually took a read. The book is well made and organized, containing super rich content in a compact size. I also found those photos in good quality.
Along with the book you also get the access to the Student Consult online which I think still needs improvement. The software took a lot of time to synchronize with my PDA and it generates many un-coded letters.
But anyhow, this book itself is worth the price. A must read for new dermatologists.

I bought this book a month ago,read it thoroughly and find it quite intersting and informative.It is different from the books usually written on dermatology.All questions asked are very common,informative and the one which are usually asked in the ward rounds and clinical meetings.
I recommend this book to all the dermatologists !

Another excellent secret series book that covers must of the essential dermatological facts that must be known by any health care provider. It includes lots of good quality photographs and interesting facts. Certainly, this book is worth the time and the money.

Reading Dime-Store Alchemy is a fine way to get to know Joseph Cornell's work (and of course Charles Simic's). Simic uses a writing style which pieces together different elements of Cornell's favorite authors and poets, beautifully reflecting the montage operation created by Cornell himself. As Simic ambiguously reveals aspects of Cornell's life in New York City, the reader finds him/herself on the same search for an understanding of beauty that the artist spent his entire life investigating. Don't miss it!

Then you will love this book of short essays and responses to Joseph Cornell's work by our Poet Laureate. It's amll and without a dustjacket, quite elegant and easy to take with you to read when you find yourself with a few spare minutes.

This elegant book reminded me of "Einstien's Dreams." The book is about the genius of imagination. Cornell's provincial life gave him the opportunity to observe his world closely and let it expand into his art. The writing by the poet Simic is a piece of art in itself.

Mark F. Berry's Dinosaur Filmography is wittily and entertainingly written and based on thorough knowledge of both real dinosaurs and the special effects used to recreate them. Berry has pulled together information from many little-known fan magazines, but he does not rely on recycling old material. He has done original research by interviewing several filmmakers, mostly effects artists. Berry's commentaries are full of infectious enthusiasm about the better films, but he is also
genuinely critical. He understands what makes dino movies
tick.

There are about 200 illustrations, about two dozen of them in color. Each entry includes a brief synopsis, critical commentary, notes on participants and the production of the film, and a section on special effects. Berry includes films but not TV; thus he has entries on the two Flintstones theater films but not the TV series. He includes animated features and some of the most important animated shorts, such as Gertie the Dinosaur, but not all cartoon shorts featuring dinosaurs. Documentaries are omitted.

Appendices briefly cover films with brief dinosaur scenes or minor saurian plot elements, abortive projects and the Japanese giant monster films. There is a major bibliography of books, magazine articles and online resources. Dinosaur Filmography
puts in the shade all previous dino movie books, except for
Stephen Jones' Illustrated Dinosaur Movie Guide (1993), which
has much shorter entries than Berry and is nine years older, but
is still worthwhile for Jones' sharp comments and excellent illustrations.

Mark Berry's 'The Dinosaur Filmography' is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in some time. It is meticulously researched and extremely thorough. It is also engaging in its analysis, which is often accompanied with first hand anecdotes from some giants of the dino-film industry. It is the kind of book I dreamed about having when I was a kid. Every dinosaur movie I've ever heard of, and some that I haven't, are here. Many are accompanied by photos that I've never seen, which is a real treat - especially for some of the classics, such as King Kong, where I thought I had seen them all. This is one of those books that you will never get tired of. It is equally entertaining whether reading for a couple of hours or paging through for a couple of minutes.

The timing of this review coincides, not so coincidentally, with the time of year. Every October I pour over TV guides to see if any of the classic (and not so classic, but I love them just the same) dinosaur or giant B-monster movies will be on. Unfortunately for at least a couple of years running, I've seen all too few. Since there seems to be a specialty cable channel for just about every subject, why couldn't there be one on dinosaur and giant monster movies? I'm sure I'm not the only one who waxes nostalgic for the charm of these films - whether they be classic Harryhausen flicks or the rubber suit jobs that thrilled us as kids regardless (Unknown Island and The Land Unknown come quickly to mind). In addition to being a great read, Berry's Dinosaur Filmography book is the perfect resource for such a channel. Next October I'll be scanning the channel guides again in the hope that somewhere a cable programmer came to the same conclusion.

As a kid growing up, like most kids , I loved dinosaurs. That affection let me into a life long love of films in general, and that wonderful sub genre, the dinosaur movie. From Knig Kong and Harryhausens magnificent creations to the drek of Bert I Gordons enlarged Iguanas, I saw them all *(not to mention all the wonderful distant radioactive relative from Japan!) This book has all the well known (and not so well known) films of this genre. Filled with synopsis, commentary on the films and FX, great photos, and a lively, informative and wonderfully readable text. Never stooping to wild over intelectualization of the films, this book is a great treat and deserves a place of honor on any film lover, science fiction, or dinosaur fans shelf! Some Japanese kaiju fans might feel slighted, but Godzilla and Company are more fantasy creations than dinosaur, but there are listings of those films in the appendix. Another great McFarland book, and THE book on Dinosaur movies!!!

An outstanding resource to prepare for the boards. Of all of the texts that I reviewed and read, this was the easiest read and probably the most helpful to prepare for the boards. It is packed full of the facts you will need to successfully pass the test. It is also a great book for any diving doc out there who may want a decent text to review diving medicine. It would also be very useful to any physician who may find themselves taking care of patients who dive.

"Fantastic review! It is concise, complete, and well organized. The perfect tool to ace the Board Exam." - Laurie Beth Gesell, MD, Medical Director, Center for Hyperbaric Medicine, Director, Division of Hyperbaric Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

"Very useful and informative material for personnel staffing active hospital based hyperbaric medicine unit." - Keith van Meter, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine Head of Emergency Medicine, Charity Hospital New Orleans

"The essential starting block from which you should direct your preparation for the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine subspecialty board examination." - Jim Caruso, MD, FCAP, US Navy Diving Medical Officer

"Pleasant and entertaining, correctly detailed, and accessible to a broad audience." - Enrico Camporesi, MD, President, UHMS, Professor & Chairman, Dept of Anesthesiology SUNY Health Science Center, Syracus

"Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine Review For Physicians" contains information physicians need to know to do their work in hyperbaric medicine, and understand test questions for the board exam.

This review and study guide is an organized, easily readable, but extensive compendium of information in diving medicine, physiology, diving history and practice, physics, and clinical hyperbaric treatment of diving and non-diving conditions.

Among many new topics in this year's

edition are all 13 approved indications for clinical hyperbaric oxygen treatment complete with protocols, chamber equipment, codes, fire safety, and regulations. Sample test questions, with answers, step by step mathematical calculations, and explanations are included.

This book can be ordered by anyone interested in the topic areas, and is not limited to diving physicians. It is written "In Plain English" by Dr. Jolie Bookspan, former research physiologist for the USNavy.

A delightful review of the world of Doctor Who as it stood in the 1970's. It includes many rare pictures from the series as well as publicity shots and behind-the-scenes photos. From Adams, Douglas to Zygons (Terror of), this is a wonderfully produced Master-piece! A truly great book for all Doctor Who fans!

I've just read this wonderful book and it is WELL worthe reading so dont think twice about buying this book

This is my favorite non-fiction Doctor Who book of all time. The book is loaded with some never before seen footage and insightful data. The layout is wonderful and captures the decade that brought us Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. My favorite chapter of the book features merchandise from the 70's -- so far the only Who book that addresses this aspect of the show.

I am SO grateful to have this particular tool by Cesar Millan to go with the Season DVDs. "Dog Whisperer Show Season 3" DVD is supposed to be released around July 8th, 2008, I hear.

I have had a large (2600 member) Yahoo email list for over 3 years now. This list has had over 14,500 members, who have used different elements of Cesar's solutions to solve the problem behaviors of their dog successfully, as well as to understand how to prevent them in the future. One of the greatest challenges we have faced there, is remember which episodes covers what kind of problems, with what kind of dogs in what kind of conditions. The episode guide makes finding those answers so fast now!

I am not sure which elements of this book I love more. The dog breed guide so when I am looking for problems Cesar has addressed by breed so I could just refer to that list. "Two days ago, someone was asking about their non-stop braying beagle Cesar solutions and they said they watched the TV show on Nat Geo. In just minutes, I had a list of the 6 episodes from Season 1-3. I LOVE my Season DVD's also available here but am constantly frustrated that there are only two line descriptions and in the 317 episodes from just those three seasons, I CANNOT remember which episode I saw what solution!

Having the Season 1-3 Episode guide solved that because NOW I was able to not only talk about which episodes were specific to beagles "who do have some - uhhhh, unique breed challenges that most urban people are not skilled enough to solve - g" but I was able to specifically refer to my top two favorite solutions for this kind of dog, that was used in the specific episodes for them to be able to watch and SEE what they could do themselves!

I also LOVE to read or write about the follow up stories of the successes that the dog owners have had including the simple recognition of the fact that the dog requires more work then they were willing to give and the subsequent successful re-homing into a forever home with people who understand how to work with that kind of dog to simply changing the HUMAN behavior to change the dog behavior into the desired outcome!

Since I work with so many rescue dogs and dog groups, I actually bought a second book to carry with me in the car so I can look up solutions BECAUSE if you go to the video page of the National Geographic Website you can see video clips of these same episodes to go with the book so you don't even NEED to GET the Nat Geo channel!!!

This book solves the problem that comes because the video clips only show the solution/result. I you have the book you can now get the whole overview, background not even discussed in the show and behind the scenes information to get context!

Then, if you get the free software Miro, you can download these clips into your computer to look up whether you are online or not or if you have an IPOD, to download those whole episodes to watch, based on what you identify that you need to look at from the information in this book! Finally you can amble over to youtube and see other video about successful Cesar's way examples.clips, including mine (under /cjanderson, where I show ten concrete examples of how I have used Cesar's Pack Leader techniques that I learned from the episodes discussed in THIS book's pages to help rehab over 25 problem dogs who were going to be euthanized if someone didn't step forward to help, and the someone who stepped forward here with those dogs was just me, a dog lover who watched and learned from the episodes listed in this wonderful guide!

It has never been easier to show someone else the simple and often easily and safely replicatable solutions to change problem dog behaviors using this guide with the online free videos of Cesar's Dog Whisperer Shows!

Great to know what episodes deal with what problem so it is easier to find those episodes on the three seasons of the Dog Whisperer DVD.

Can find out what happened long term to the dogs and the owners success rate using Cesar's methods on using energy.

Louise

This is an enjoyable book for fans of Cesar Millan. It gives a synopsis of episodes, in some cases including a photo. A sidebar tells how the owners and dogs fared long-term, and sometimes a "Behind the Scenes" paragraph tells about what happened that you don't see in the show, such as a production assistant got bitten during the filming.

I was gratified to learn how some of my favorite pet owners turned out. The woman who was anxious about going outside her home continued to improve dramatically, for instance. Some of the owners did not fare so well, however. They were not able to carry through as firm leaders and a few eventually gave up their dogs to new homes. Many made improvements but did not reach the level of leadership that Cesar showed on the show. Others achieved their goal of having the "perfect dog."

I've watched many episodes of the Dog Whisperer and this book reinforces what Cesar demonstrates onscreen. You need to be clear on how you want the dog to act and remain calm and assertive. You should not reward a dog for being afraid by showering him with affection. Dogs are not human children.

This book is for viewers who want more information about the episodes. If you haven't seen the show and want to learn about training your dog, you probably want to start elsewhere, such as reading Cesar's book "Be the Pack Leader: Use Cesar's Way to Transform Your Dog . . . and Your Life."