Reviews Books

I found this book simply sensational, once it has hundreds of interesting puzzles on math and logic. One learns a lot by reading it.

With 430 puzzles, problems, paradoxes, and brain teasers, this book is a mammoth puzzle collection, compared with most math teasers and puzzles book available. But what is important is not the quantity, but the quality and charm of the problems presented. Each problem is presented with a full length solutions that makes the book absolutely an instructive experience for the reader. In some cases the author even discussed on how others had attacked and failed the problems.

Additionally the book is fully illustrated with clever diagrams and sketches, which make the reading even more pleasant for everyone. You, your freinds and family will spend many hours trying the vast array of puzzles prented in this book.

This excellent collection of teasers has inferential problems in arithmetic and algebra, and includes geometry, mazes, magic squares and a lot of chess-board tours. The answers are often gems in themselves -- things mentioned in passing and left to the reader to establish -- e.g. "... of the twelve ways that eight queens can be placed on a chessboard without attacking one another..." At twelve years old I spent many an hour finding those twelve ways. There is a small problem with the age of the book, first published in 1917. You could buy an airplane for 400 pounds ($1,680) then, and the money puzzles in the first chapter assume familiarity with British pounds, shillings and pence (and ha'pennies and farthings). The Dover edition of 1958 included a preface on British coins and stamps, and another on the game of cricket, but this edition was in 8vo rather than the original quarto, making some of the diagrams very small. I received my copy in 1936, at age eleven, and have cherished it ever since. I still find challenges in it in spite of my Masters degree in Mathematical Physics!

Dudeney was one of the two fathers of puzzles today. Amusements in Mathematics has many of Dudeney's best puzzles. An excellent book.

This was the first Recall book I ever purchased and it was immensely useful. I used it to review for Gross Anatomy and for a cadaver lab exam. It's quick and easy question/answer format made for easy reading, quick access to the information that I needed (and none that I didn't), and I was able to retain much of what was in the book. You know that you have impressed the proctor when you are able to not only answer them correctly and give other pertinent information regarding their question resulting in a wide-eyed stare from them!!! The book is small enough to fit in your back pocket, it was a little heavy, but it was a "good" heavy. It was worth the price. I have several other students in my class that are looking to get some of the books in the series. I have ordered the Pharm. Recall and can't wait to get it.
I will stress though, that it is best for review and not learning the material for the first time. There is no way you would get out of it what you need to if you hadn't already had the material in your noggin.
Best of Luck!

As a big fan of the recall series, let me talk to you about my particular experience with the Anatomy Recall. I bought the book in 2002 while I was doing my second anatomy course. In my first anatomy course at KFU in Dammam 2001, we practically had to memorize the whole Snell's Anatomy textbook regardless of how significant the details were as there was the possibility that anything might appear in the MCQs or in our essay questions. For those who read Snell's as undergraduate students would realize how hard the task was. It was very easy to fall into the trap of trying to memorize everything with the same level of priority and missing the essential information among the loads of the insignificant details. I had very hard time with anatomy then. In my second course at Otago University, I bought the book and was amazed how my life was made extremely much easier with the book. It helped my anatomy in three ways. First, it had enabled me to make sure that the must-know essentials have been covered with the appropriate priority level, which meant more efficient way of studying with regard to time spent to outcome ratio. Secondly, it had provided me the skeleton or the framework of the basic knowledge that I could build on using textbooks which potentially can be very helpful for answering your essay questions if you develop a clear framework of the subject you would like to write about. The third way was as a memory aid facilitated by the writing style used in the form of simple questions and answers. This style of writing makes it very easy to read without the need of the great level of concentration and ability to follow the thought line of the writer needed in the essay format. That makes an excellent book as a light reading. In addition, being small and easy to carry in your lab coat pocket, it can be used in the lab as a quick revision before you start your dissection or as a checklist of the important anatomical structures and relations that needs more attention.
After you finish your anatomy course in your basic science years don't get rid of it because you will need it later on. As trainee intern now, I still use it as a crash course in anatomy for exams and as a refreshment of my anatomy for surgical runs cuz it usually have many of those important details, surgeons love to pimp their poor helpless students with.
Having said all of that, I have never said anything about relying solely on it as a way of learning your anatomy. I believe it is a very useful tool to aid your learning in anatomy if used correctly. So, make sure that you have a proper textbook of anatomy, a hand drawn atlas, access to a dissection atlas (i.e. photos not drawings), go to your anatomy dissection labs, and discuss what you learn with your mates in the class and teach those who are less fortunate in anatomy wisdom than you are. Using all the different sensory modalities (I would not recommend using tasting though!) and your higher central nervous centres (i.e. your brain!) will make you more likely to remember your anatomy.
Even though in my opinion that it is not the best book in the recall series, The book is so special to me as it was the one which introduced me to this series which I became now quite fond of.

This is a situation that most medical students will recognise. You've been humiliated by a surgeon in theatre and you desperately need to brush up on the anatomy of the wrist but you're tired, you're hungry, it's late and you just can't face trawling through a big anatomy text book to find the tiny pieces of information that your consultant will appreciate. Anatomy Recall is the answer to their prayers. Crammed into this relatively slim book is just about all the material that you'd expect to find in a standard anatomy tome. The difference here is that the information is provided in edible chunks. The entire book is laid out in a question and answer format, dramatically increasing the fact:word ratio and boosting your ability to recall it when quizzed. Diagrams are only included where absolutely necessary (brachial plexus etc) and contents, indexes and other `wasted' pages are cut to a minimum. This means that the book is small enough to fit into a white-coat pocket. However, there are probably more important things to occupy the bulging pockets of medical students and this book will stay on the shelf by day. Even so, the small size and bite-size nature of the text means that this book is perfect for reading on the bus, over breakfast or anywhere else that you can snatch a few moments. At the end of each chapter is a `power review' section providing the most salient and memorable points for when time is really short. There is even a handy bookmark provided to allow you to cover the question answers for self-testing. The authors claim that Anatomy Recall and a good anatomy atlas are all a preclinical student would need to learn anatomy. Having been there, I tend to disagree and feel that the only way to get a solid grounding in anatomy is by studying a respected textbook such as Snell's Clinical Anatomy for Medical Students. Anatomy Recall is useful for brushing up on anatomy knowledge once the foundations are in place but the edifice above is crumbling and decayed. This is a book that, in my opinion, no medical student can do without.

this book which is part of the immensley popular recall series focuses on active aquisition of knowledge as opposed to passive learning which is readily forgotten. With a topic as vast as anatomy, which is heavy on factual knowledge this text focuses in on key areas and delivers the must know facts clearly and simply. There are power review sections at the end of each chapter to help reinforce the most salient aspects of the anatomy and these really do aid with memorization of anatomy. It is not a replacement for a comprehensive text but with the aid of an atlas it is a fantastic method of maximizing your knowledge with minimum effort or as the series editor puts it high- yield information at your fingertips. buy it and get to grips with this immensley satisfying yet difficult topic.

Excellent book! I give it 4 stars because it's not an all-inclusive animated movie guide as it fails to mention the Dot character from the 80's, which was released in theatres, and there are few colored photographs.

I would save my money and instead check this book out from the library as I did because it's not worth paying as much as it sells for; unless, you want the whole animated movie guide to keep.

Bottom line: Great reference work, but I'd rather save my money and buy DVDs! :)

Jerry Beck is one the best animation historians out there and his new book proves this once again."The Animated Movie Guide" has a treasure trove of information on numerous animated films, even the most obsecure films get a mention.Jerry Beck KNOWS what is hot and what is not in animated films, so I would definetly pick up the films that get a good review in this book. I'll guarantee you'll find a film or film fact you never heard before, so pick this one up.

My daughter is using this as a resource for Computer Animation classes at the Art Institute of Atlanta

Beware - Jerry Beck's guide to animated feature films is totally addictive! If you want to sleep at night, forget it!
Once you start reading this book, you're compelled to read on to the next film and find out who animated it, who was involved, little stories about the production, and if the film made money...I became totally obsessed!

If you are studying for NAPLEX, I would totally recommend you get this book and work through all the questions. I also took the review course given by the authors and it was EXCELLENT. Hall and Reiss are great teachers who organized and tied up all the loose ends that my pharmacy professors could not.

I highly recommend this book -- it is the bible for the NAPLEX. The book by Leon Shargel is difficult to read and in too much detail. This IS the book to get for NAPLEX. If you need more background information for NAPLEX, I would also recommend you get the Drug cards (in small gray binder), Drug Information Handbook and Pharmacotherapy Handbook (HANDBOOK ONLY NOT anything else) by Dipiro et al. If you can, take the review course with Hall and Reiss, the authors -- it is worth the money and not only will it help you with NAPLEX but also shed light on a lot of points that are missed in pharmacy school. They zero in on what is important to know. Hope this helps and good luck!!

This book is an excellant sourse for NAPLEX preparation.I have seen all the other books.Among all it is the standard one.Get familiar with the basics, and follow this book to get good score.

This book is an excellent way to prepare for the NAPLEX exam. It is comprehensive, well written, and worth every penny. I took a live review course presented by the authors in Chicago and it was also super. I learned more in that course than I learned in 5 years of pharmacy school.

I HAVE GONE THRU THIS BOOK & SOLVED ALL THE Q&A 'S ITS AN EXCELLENT BOOK WITH NAPLEX TYPE QUESTIONS & THE ANS ARE EXPLAINED REALLY GOOD . THE BEST PART IS THE STUDY DISK WHICH HAS PATIENT PROFILES WHICH HELPS TO PREPARE FOR NEW NAPLEX. IT IS ALSO A VERY GOOD GUIDE FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS PREPARING FOR FPGEE. IT HAS ALMOST ALL TOPICS COVERED & I WOULD STRONGLY RECCOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR ALL STUDENTS PREPARING FOR NAPLEX EXAM.

This is a must for the articulate and must be read carefully, consistently or the extensiveness and expertise will cause one to re-read excerpts. Forwarning: create word document to capture the depth of the content to enable review of materials. The book is precise and very well organized. Only one area of weakness in material is more detail regarding corporate minutes. Unless you have been a corporate secretary and done this kind of work you won't grasp the critical issues in doing acquisitions and questions to seller. I do M&A-well worth the money.

Alexandra Reed LaJoux has done it again. Her most recent book on "The Art of M&A Due Diligence" is a valuable tool for the seasoned practitioner as well as the neophyte. She and her co-author Charles Elson effectively combine the big picture with relevant detail so that the reader has a clear understanding of not only the critical concepts but of the process of "due diligence." I found the chapter dedicated to "transactional due diligence" particularly useful. I would recommend this book to anyone serious about transactional work, either as a lawyer, investment banker, or businessperson.

When purchasing a company you need to know what to look for and where to look for it and what it is you are looking at when you get the information you asked for.

If you are selling your company you need to know what someone SHOULD be looking for, where they will look for it, and the kinds of conclusions they should be drawing from what they are seeing.

This book is an incredibly valuable resource in this process. It is organized very logically and is a series of questions and answers so you can hop around to the information you need for the moment. However, it is also written in such a lively manner that it is easy to read from beginning to end. I happen to be fascinated by this topic and think this is an incredibly helpful handbook.

I think that the way you conduct due dilligence says a lot about your chances of success with an acquisition. And I also think that if someone is trying to buy you, you can tell a lot about them by what they want to know and the conclusions they draw from what they see. In either case it behooves you to invest time and a couple of books in a book like this. Well, in this book.

Alexandra Reed LaJoux has done it again. Her most recent book on "The Art of M&A Due Diligence" is a valuable tool for the seasoned practitioner as well as the neophyte. She and her co-author Charles Elson effectively combine the big picture with relevant detail so that the reader has a clear understanding of not only the critical concepts but of the process of "due diligence." I found the chapter dedicated to "transactional due diligence" particularly useful. I would recommend this book to anyone serious about transactional work, either as a lawyer, investment banker, or businessperson.

Plot is the meat and main course of any and all fiction scripts script regardless of film genres - without a good plot, it takes a miracle to have a good movie. "The Art of Plotting: Add Emotion, Suspense, and Depth to your Screenplay" covers all you need to know to make your plot the best it can be, explaining the complex principles, advice on integrating characterization and exposition to make the story more compelling, how to spot and overcome common plot problems, and demonstrate how plot can enhance everything else about your screenplay. "The Art of Plotting: Add Emotion, Suspense, and Depth to your Screenplay" is enthusiastically recommended to aspiring screen writers everywhere and deserves a place on any community library's Writing and/or Film Studies instructional reference collection.

Someone famous once said, "This is the Emotion Picture Business." This book will help you add Emotion and Depth to your screenplays.

Ok, I've been writing scripts for decades now. What's the common complaint generations of script readers and producers make: Anybody can come up with an exciting idea, or a powerful hook. Anybody. And there are tons of ideas out there - just open a newspaper! The problem is execution - keeping a 90 to 120 page script exciting. We can all write 10 or 20 pages of exciting scenes - but most of us run out of gas. In one word, plot. The plot goes no where, or gets boring. How do you keep the plot interesting, emotional? Plot is the entire focus of Linda Cowgills's book, and she presents 180 pages of ideas and suggestions on how you can keep your entire plot exciting, eventful and emotional.

Answer this question - what's the difference between conflict and complication? Which one keeps the plot moving?


Table of contents:
1 - The Three Requirements of Drama
2 - Plot: Event and Emotion
3 - The Role of Conflict
4 - The Principles of Action
5 - The Tools of Plotting
6 - The Sequence of Story
7 - The Real Art of Plotting
8 - Common Problems in Plot Construction
9 - Tools for Analysis

Great book. Highly recommended.

Great book, gives a lot of detailed information to lay the groundwork, then gets to the nitty-gritty with three terrific chapters at the end -- the real art of plotting, common problems in plot construction, and tools for analysis. These chapters are really specific about how you put your information together in your plot, as well as address specific problems writers encounter. A great asset to any writer's library!

I have been getting the Forecaster for about 7 years. It has all the information you need to make good, informed picks during your fantasy draft. Ron's player comments are usually right on the money, and very entertaining. If you don't have the Forecaster and other members of your league do, you're starting from a serious disadvantage.

Ron Shandler's book is nothing short of exceptional - and it's indispensible for fantasy league players. His use of sabermetric tools is very sophisticated but also easily understandable. (Not many other guides discuss important concepts like Batting Eye, Base Performance Value and Speed Index.) Shandler's book is so solid and thorough you'll find yourself hoping that no one else in your league also owns a copy!

This is the first(definitely not the last) time I have ever bought this book. I have used it now after about 2 months into the year so much the ends are curling up from frequent use. I bought four other guide books for prep in our fantasy league. I NEVER USE ANY OF THE OTHER GUIDES ANYMORE!

Save yourself a lot of time and buy the only fantasy guide you need to buy. This book is not a rehash of the "same old junk" as all the others seem to be. It breaks down the reasons to grab people nobody knows about and goes "inside the numbers."

This is my new best friend that nobody will know about but me. I just hope the cover lasts all year!!

If you play fantasy baseball, Shandler's book has the best player analysis of any book on the market -- I've read a lot of them.

Shandler uses sabermetic principles to look at all players who played in the majors last season. The book is orgainzed by player alphabetically, dividing hitter and pitchers. There are some general articles on fantasy strategy in there too that are quite useful whether you're new to the game or an old vet.

If I was going to buy only one book on baseball, I'm not sure it would be this one -- the Baseball Prospectus has a greater range of players (includes more minor leaguers) and the team comments are very interesting. If I was was going to buy one fantasy baseball book... it would probably be this one.

In any case, it's worth picking up.

THIS IS A SYNOPSIS ABOUT SEASON 2 OF B G. IT COVERS EACH EPISODE, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, COSTUMES, SPECIAL EFFECTS AND SO ON. THIS IS A GREAT BOOK WITH ALOT OF BEHIND THE SCENES INFO ALONG WITH WHY THE PRODUCERS AND WRITERS DID WHAT THEY DID. ALSO INCLUDED ARE INTERVIEWS WITH THE ACTORS WHO DISCUSS THE SHOW AND THEIR CHARACTERS AND WHERE THE SHOW MIGHT EVENTUALLY GO. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS FOR ALL B G FANS. I READ THE FIRST SEASON AND WILL READ THE 3RD AND 4TH (WHEN AVAILABLE). THIS IS A MUST READ. SO SAY WE ALL.

Compared to official guides for other shows, the companions to BATTLESTAR GALACTICA simply cannot be beat for enhancing the enjoyment of the episodes. Most official guides tend to do two things. First, they provide a critically neutral description of the episodes individually and the season as a whole. Second, they tend to repackage pretty much whatever one as a viewer can pick up on their own.

If you look at the official guides to BUFFY or FARSCAPE you'll see what I'm talking about. The best route with BUFFY is to get the unofficial guides. These unofficial guides are written without much contribution by the creators, producers, writers, or cast, but they at least have an independent point of view. The BSG official companions, however, while not critical from the author's viewpoint, are remarkably frank in providing critical assessments by the producers and directors and actors and writers as to what did and did not work in an episode. Any fan of BSG will recognize upon watching that "Black Market" and "Sacrifice" are not highlights of the show, but it is incredibly refreshing to read statements by Ron Moore and David Eick and Jamie Bamber that indicate that they, too, believe "Black Market" was not a successful episode. Take the official guide to BUFFY and read what it says about "Beer Bad" or "Some Assembly Required." You'll get no hint that these are considered among the worst BUFFY episodes ever. But in the BSG companions you'll not only see the creative team agreeing with you on the weaker episodes, but they will provide additional insight into why they don't work. So on the first of the two points mentioned above, the BSG guides are head and shoulders above other official guides.

On the second point, i.e., the regurgitation of stuff you can get yourself on an alert viewing, the BSG companions also shine. Probably 80% of the contents of the books are not directly accessible to a fan of the show. For instance, in reading about the casting of Admiral Cain, I was unaware that they first approached Sigourney Weaver, Jessica Lange, and Angelica Houston before asking Michelle Forbes if she was interested in the role (though I have to add that it is inconceivable to me that any of those fine actresses could have been more effective than Forbes, who was simply outstanding). As with the first companion, there are substantial interviews with all the concerned parties about how an episode came together.

My lone disappointment with this volume is that it possibly contained less information not directly concerned with specific episodes. The reason for this is obvious. Whereas the Season Two companion was restricted to the same length as the Season One companion, the second season featured 20 episodes as opposed to the first seasons 13, along with the miniseries. This volume thus had more episodes to discuss.

Still, I think many fans will find this as enjoyable as I have. I'm aware that there are some who prefer the kind of guide that I abhor, one that gives a glossily regurgitated summation of what happens in each episode. I generally find these kinds of guides worthless. Give me one like BSG any day! I want behind the scenes scoop, not a repetition of what I can easily see for myself.

Companion books on the shelf are a key indicator of "nerd-hood". I think BSG (nerd) is one of the best shows on TV. It's more than Sci-Fi, it's a drama that happens in space. This book is a useful reference tool should you develop an interest in what goes on beyond the screen.

my short and sweet opinion of this book is a great have for the Battlestar Galactica Fan. A lot of Sci-Fi and Tech information with great information and wonderful pictures. If You are thinking of a low-cost gift for a BSG Fan, this book along with the Season One Book is a great buy.
So Say We All

Everyone must read this book. It is unique in every way. Believe me you have never read anything like this!

I have to admit, at first i thought i would never finish it. For me a book that was that long was impossible. this book was incredible, it broadened my view of possibilities. It is a very touching story. It is very unique and anyone can enjoy it. You must read it!

This is a great story based on a powerful character, Ulysses, who tries to get away from Buenos Aires and from his miserable life.

Well written and with an edgy sense of humor, you don't just read "Beer cans..." You get nicely drunk with it! Enjoy it!

This is a great story based on a powerful character, Ulysses, who tries to get away from Buenos Aires and from his miserable life.

Well written and with an edgy sense of humor, you don't just read "Beer cans..." You get nicely drunk with it! Enjoy it!

Well, behavioral science is the most important yet difficult part to masterize in the USMLE step 1. That's why a great teacher ( at least they say so ) like B. Fadem thinking of all the world's students, wrote this book.
You cannot ask for more. Written in an enjoyable manner, with high yield facts, review questions on Each Chapter, and a final review exam, concepts definitely get into your hard disk ( or you will have to see your neurologist ). It's a masterpiece worth a place in your shelf, and of course, it's price is insignificant for what you will get.

Great outline review of all the parts that fit under the rubric of 'Behavioral Science' according to the NBME. Prepared me well for the NBME exam, and was a good review tool for class exams in Psychiatry. Highly recommended! Fadem is a great teacher too!

You really need this book for Usmle as well as med school.Indispensable A book you will refer to over and over again

I used this book for my clinical neuro class and it was excellent! It even has some epidemiology and statistics. It's all I used to study for this subject on step 1!