Works Books

I purchased this book on impulse at an airport kiosque shortly after it first came out, in a very clunky home-drawn sort of cover. I was feeling it was high time (around age 48) that I learn or try to re-learn a few basic facts and concepts about electricity that I'd been exposed to all my life but never quite absorbed. Why? Maybe to be a little more savvy about doing electrical home repairs, to grok a little better what was going on inside computers, but mostly because I just want to understand how things (and nature) work around me. Like reviewer Godfrey I'd dawdled over this for a long time, unable to get over the hump of reading some dry explanation of this stuff. And this book worked. I got the basic feel of electronics I'd been lacking and really enjoyed the book itself, outlandish as it is. I'm guess I'm just nutty enough myself to have enjoyed Kenn's nutty little-green-men approach. Nutty to Meet You! Dr. Peanut Book #1

This is by far the best beginners book on electronics that I have ever read. The book uses metaphors to teach about electronics from conductors to transistors. So simple that anyone can get a basic grasp of electronics. It's a great book to launch your study of electronics if you really want to understand what's going on in the circuit instead of just memorizing theorems.

There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings is an engaging and educational introduction to the science of electronics for lay readers. Written in a narrative, storytelling style, There Are No Electrons covers basic electron theory (and why it's the "Easter Bunny" of science), voltage, current, resistance, magnetism, and much more. Written to be accessible to readers of all ages, from high school science students to the fortysomething who wonders how his computer is really powered, There Are No Electrons blends entertainment with solid information into a clear winner. Especially recommended for public and high school library shelves.

My physics/chemistry teacher in high school recommended this book over ten years ago. I read it during college and it helped demystify all the mathematical descriptions by giving me an understandable picture. It's a bit more difficult to visualize electron behavior in electrical components than it is to picture a bunch of wild, crazy green people doing stuff. Highly recommended for physics or engineering students for improving conceptual grasp of basic electrical theory.

I bought this book because of a review in Make magazine at the time. It really is a cute book that offer some entertainment into learning about electronics and electricity.
Pros: Easy to read, fun and entertaining. The book teaches you about electronics in a away that is easier to understand than most other book out there. A real outside the box book.
Cons: The book can be difficult to follow at times and may require a go back and read again in some instances.

All in all the book is a good book (really good for beginners) and is worth picking up for a read if you are interested in electronics and how they work.

I train Ving Tsun in the Moy Yat lineage, so my review comes from that perspective. I think Sifu Belonoha's book is an amazing reference guide that can supplement serious Ving Tsun (Wing Chun) training. Bear in mind, however, that this is not a book you buy to learn Ving Tsun kung fu from. It is supplemental material if you are a student in training. It could also be used as a guide for a new person to show what you can expect from ving tsun training.

The book covers details in applications and forms, diet recommendations, work out habits, ving tsun history and lineage, etiquette, customs and so forth. The level of detail of this information is unmatched in its thoroughness and accuracy, and frankly, this is the first and last ving tsun reference book you will ever need. I recommend using this book with the guidance of your sifu, and to not dig further ahead in your training than you are introduced to concepts in class. But this is a priceless supplement to review techniques and forms you have already been introduced to.

If you're looking for a book that will teach you kung fu: don't. Find an instructor, then buy this book.

Being a student for 13 yrs, it was good to find a book that covered so many topics of wing chun and his approach to it all. While I may not agree with a lot the author had to write, too much outdated info, he stayed faithful to the minimal of the art...namely a good description of the forms. The photos and explanations may help someone who forgot how to do the forms. Otherwise not much else if you never practiced wing chun.

Not the best organization. Very detailed and covers lots of information. Doesnt cover dummy form...Odd

"Everything should be done as simple as possible, but not simpler"
The book starts with this Albert Einstein phrase, and Mr Belonoha does it very well when writing his book.

I am new to wing chun, I've been training since last september, and bought this book to get to know the background and philosophy of this art. It has been very helpful for learning the names of techniques, understanding the basis af a certain move or technique, where and how to employ it,
and to get a general view of this great martial art. GREAT BOOK

It is simply one of the best books on the market on Wing Chun style Kung Fu.
You cannot go wrong purchasing this book.

Michael Lesy's Wisconsin Death Trip, originally a doctoral thesis, is one of the most touching, poetic, beautiful, harrowing, moving and dislocating works I have read. Basically a compendium of found glass plate negative photos taken by the (himself knock-knees odd) Charles Vam Schaik in and around the rural community of Black River Falls WI, and leavened by snippets taken from the Badger State Banner newspaper and the Mendota State Record Book (an insane asylum), as well as a few personal reminisces, the book instead is a commentary and an indictment of a brutal time of economic dislocation, social upheaval, religious confusion and obsession, and personal decay in a farming community. It is an endless repitition of suicide, madness, arson, children dying of disease, and of a mostly sternly religious people living the grimmest of lives of back breaking work in the country. The photos by their sheer repetition and some of the games played with them by the author, pound out a tattoo of strain, people only barely suppressing their madness, and a society truly on the edge of collapse. Hardly the bucolic paradise so often evoked in our time.

The afterword by the author provides some backstory and statistics backing the point up, and illustrating in numbers and facts what the pictures and excerpts made clear by anecdote, and is also well written.

This was something of a cult book in the mid 70s, a most unusual way of looking at local history, lifting up the rock under which society had crawled. It is haunting, tragic, striking. You will never forgot it.

Buying a classic again. This is the U of New Mexico Press version. The earlier publisher had the picture of the baby in a coffin on the cover. That was better, but the contents are the same.

This is an interesting and slightly macabre book which is strangely beautiful. My son, who is Sam Witt, the poet, told me about it because he had been so moved by it that he wrote a poem associated with it in his soon to be published book, SUNFLOWER BROTHER. The old photos are stunning from the horses to the dead children. I am hoping to get the dvd soon.

"Wisconsin death trip"is an accurate documentation,not only of "agrarian white"culture at the end of the 19th century but,in many ways,the whole of white culture in america at that time..Contrary to popular belief,the"good"old days were not really so good..Yes,they may well have been less complex,but infant mortality was very high,illnesses which today are highly treatable being killers not only of children but of adults as well,daily life being,for most,a drudgery,with little to show for one's efforts...There were few saftey nets,no antibiotics,no pensions to speak of,no recourse against the harshness life,or against a system that,like today,favors the wealthy..
Insanity was not understood,and "treatment"such as it was,often did little to help the afflicted...Wisconsin did not have a monopoly on such things,anymore than,say,los angles has a monopoly on street gangs,or newark has a monopoly on ghetto housing...
The novelty is perhaps in the seeing of the photographs and the documents all together in one volume,so that one can peruse the sorrowful aspects of that period as it affected one particular area...

I read this book over 16 years ago. It left a lasting impression that will stay with me forever. It may not have the same affect on others but reading some of the reviews posted here, I know that it has on most. You can't really ask somebody "did this really happen?" becuase they either died then or in the 100 years that have past. We have no perspective on these people, places and times other than to read books like this. If any of these folks were alive today and heard someone say, "those were the good old days." They might be inclined to give the speaker a quick education. This book will do it for them. I have pictures just like this in a family archive. You wonder how anybody lived into middle or old age. Disease, starvation, hypothermia, and farm accidents all took their toll. Winters are hard enough in the south. Why did these people decide to stop the wagon in Wisconsin or if they lived thru their first winter there, why didn't they head south? I went to a Brewers baseball game at the end of May some 25 years ago and wore a down parka and was cold. You can still see houses in small towns outside of Milwaukee that look like the houses in this book and you can feel the desolation, pain and suffering looking out at you thru 100 year old panes of glass.

Excellent print quality.. A glance at common people in random daily-life shots. It's a book worth a place in your hands

This book was not by Jack Kerouac. It's by Robert Frank. It's one of the seminal books in the history of photography. Many see it as a hate letter to America, but that's a shallow reading of the book. It's some of the best documentary done by a non-documentarian of the American culture of the period. If you really want to see great photography with a point of view, this is a good start.

I find lots of listings get authorship wrong when the book is about a photographer's work. Amazon needs to fix this basic flaw in their system.

Looking at this again after many years ( I first came across it about 25 years ago) the images are as poignant as ever. This is truly a great book of photographs and is perhaps the best photojournalist's collection ever published. The new edition has all the gravity and attention to detail that the work deserves.

In this new edition of THE AMERICANS, the publisher, Steidl seems to have taken every step necessary to maintain artistic integrity of Franks vision. Even going as far as having Frank supervise the new printing of the photographs used in the book. The paper used in the book is very high quality, perhaps even 'archival' grade. Of course, there is the Kerouac introduction that both rambles, amuses and enlightens. There is a small pamphlet included in the book briefly telling the background story of how this new edition came to life. While this pamphlet is basically an advertisement, it also provides the passing fan of Robert Frank with a greater knowledge of what Frank has done over the course of his life by listing other books and movies that Stiedl will be publishing in the future. Thoughtfully, museum dates are also given for those interested enough to travel to D.C., SF or, NYC for the 50th anniversary celebration and exhibition of the book. From Steidl, this is a fine book; from Frank, a work of art; and a labor of love from all involved.

We're lucky to have this edition. Robert Frank is an old man with health issues now. That he is healthy enough to oversee this work is wonderful. Everything about this edition - especially in comparison to the 2007 Delpine edition I purchased earlier this year - is first-rate. I wish I had known this was coming out!

The book is a little smaller than the Delpine, but that's the only real negative (if it is one) I can think of. The main thing to me is that the photos themselves are how Frank intended them to look. Gone are the overly-lightened faces that plague the Delpine book. This is a pet peeve of mine that kills many photos in this Photoshop age. This is very obvious in the New Orleans trolley photo. In the Delpine work, the faces of the white passengers are totally washed out, and the black faces are awkwardly lightened (someone apparently thought they were helping Frank's work). That's all corrected here. In this Steidl edition things are shown as they were intended. One can even see details in the face of the man at far left, even though it is partially obscured by a window reflection.

Also, on several photos more of the frame is visible. This was most noticeable to me in the Butte, Montana photo of the woman looking out the car window, with several children in the back seat. A good portion of the left side of the photo is now visible, along with more shown on the top and bottom. The new crop just seems more "right." Not too mention that the face of the child in the middle of the photo is too light in the older edition.

Simply put, comparing the two editions is an eye opener. I first saw these photos years ago in a much earlier edition (I believe it was the 1969 Aperture work) and I still marvel at the depth of the images in that printing. I don't have that edition in hand, so I can't do a direct comparison, but I believe the Steidl images are much closer to that ideal. Franks prefers his images a little on the flat, low-key side. Another difference is that the photos are now printed on a non-glossy paper. I was surprised at this at first, but now I believe it works much better for this book.

In short, if you want an accurate, lovingly-printed edition of The Americans at a reasonable price, this is the one. Highly recommended.

I love the recipes in this book. The first one I tried (Cheese puffs) have been in demand in my house ever since. This book is a nice introduction into French cooking without being overwhelming. It's comfortable and down to earth... plus, the food has been delicious.

Very basic advice: a roast beef and tomato sandwich with creme fraiche for example. Simple recipes with thrifty cuts of meats for stews, soups (just add liquid!) along with many potato recipes (with more creme fraiche) from well-known and obscure bistros throughout France. Note: quiche is called 'tarte' here with no cross reference. Salads with anything you'd put into a sandwich, oil and vinegar dressing. Good new-cook gift or a quick read for the armchair traveler but I expected more from this famous food writer.

This book is great! I've lived in France and I believe this book really does deliver classic bistro fare without all the grease you can find in so many sub par Paris bistros! I agree with another reviewer that the recipes are hit and miss. For instance, the potato gratin just doesn't do it for me.

Most of the dishes require ingredients you find at the regular grocery store, are quick to make, and delicious to eat. I appreciate her complement/menu ideas. I feel that I've slightly improved on a couple of her lamb recipes and now include them in my list of recipes for entertaining.

I wish I had the same quality of book for southern French style of cooking.

This cookbook contains a collection of recipes inspired by and taken from a wide array of French bistros. Patricia Wells has assembled a terrific array of cookbooks, but this may be her best. With a few exceptions, these recipes take what I consider to be basic ingredients and turn them into a wide array of delicious, easy to prepare dishes. There are a few recipes that call for things that are uncommon to the American palate (e.g. rabbit), but overall this cookbook contains a huge number of easy to make, accessable recipes that will be enjoyed by Americans. The book is divided into 12 sections covering salads, desserts, pasta, soups, etc. It is also a regional tour through France with a diverse selection of recipes from big city bistros and small town or rural restaurants. Each recipe has a paragraph or two describing the bistro from which it was taken and some discussion of regional cuisine. One thing that I REALLY liked about this cookbook is that it will give you ideas for other concoctions. That is, as I was trying some of the recipes, I was constantly thinking `using A with B' is a great idea. For example, there is a great recipe for poached eggs in a wine sauce. A great idea! Another (minor but important) thing that I liked about this book was that it was bound so that it could be propped open on the kitchen counter. There are also flaps on the front and back cover that can block the page open so that you don't have to go fishing through the book if it does flip closed. This is a cookbook that we return to again and again, definitely worth the money.

This is a cookbook as a cookbook should be. The recipes are direct, succinct and just what one needs to prepare the dish without elaborate fuss. And most of the dishes are great. If I had to settle for one cookbook only, this would be it.

i'm an advocate of Morris' book. in fact, our organization bought this book for all of our staff. it's the best "blessed" book i've read b/c it's less about how to get and more about obedience and responsibility with what you have. it also came at a time in ministry when i was having a difficult conversation with a couple from church who didn't understand the principle of the "tithe." morris gives the best biblical summary of understanding the "tithe." every church leader and every Christian should read this book!

Mr Morris, paints a simple clear picture on living a blessed life inside God's Word, His will and His heart. Some have criticised the tithe aspects of the book, but I trust that these people will eventually read their Bibles and understand what is required of them, by God. Mr Morris' book draws a clear distinction between the truth and deviant teachings such as the prosperity gospel, which appears to be very popular, and even the "poverty gospel". As such it provides a healthy, balanced view in achieving an extraordianry life in God. I am in the process of applying Mr Morris' advice, but my trust is not in his book - rather in God's grace - therefore I know I will not be dissappointed.

I was at the International Chruch of the Foursquare Gospel national convention in Houston recently and Robert was one of the speakers.

The title of his book was a little bit of a turn off at first for me. It sounded like another "prosperity" or "bless me" book. This was a misjudgment on my part.

He is a very gifted speaker and has been given tremendous insight into tithes, offerings, first fruits, and the firstborn.

The book encourages one to be obedient to the Lord in giving and realize that tithing is really a principle of first fruits found throughout the whole Bible.

I would highly recommend this book.

An insight from the book is Jericho. It was a tithe or first fruits for the children of Israel as they started taking the promised land. God wanted all the gold and silver for the Lord's house. The rest of the gold and silver from other cities would be theirs. Achan was cursed for stealing from God as the book Malachi said it would be.

I always go back to Amazon. I can find what I need and hassle free.

Excellent book!!
The Blessed Life was passed on to us by a close family member beore she died..
Our thought process has been changed by the truths in this book..
I recommend it to all Christians who truly want a Blessed Life..

Well organized and full of information for both the newbie and also a more experienced blogger who wants to deepen their effectiveness (or experiment more). I work with synagogues, and found the approach of blogging for "ministry" can be useful and much more broadly defined than for churches alone. Very easy to read, full of practical examples.

I was actually pleasantly surprised with this book. I knew going into this book that I was in for a lot of great information and disciplines in creating and maintaining a blog. I did not expect how creatively it was written. I think we have certain expectations for "how-to" books and this one surpassed my expectations.

If you have started a blog or are just thinking about it, grab this book. There is a lot of focus on churches creating and using blogs, but not to the extent that it leaves the individual out. The writers took time to teach us a little history as well as give us clear detailed info on the how, why and where of the blog world. Chapter 9 & 10 focus on starting a blog and then building a blog well. I love chapter 11 titled "Build A Really Bad Blog". It's kind of the how-to in reverse.

One of the coolest things in the book was hearing from bloggers around the country about their take on blogging and how it has affected their lives or the lives of the businesses/churches they are involved with. I enjoyed hearing the real world ideas.

This book really starts from the beginning by asking 3 questions...
-Is it a tool or a toy?
-What problem are you trying to solve?
-What is the return on ministry?

The writers go on to explain that "Blogs are tools, not toys. Blogs help solve real problems. Blogs deliver a true return on ministry."

I also appreciate the hopeful message from start to finish. As churches and Christ-followers, we have an amazing opportunity to share our story with others. The blog world is open and ready for the taking. This book consistently draws you back to intent. The writers want you to be excited about who God is in your life and they want that to burst out on your blog.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone thinking of or already in the blogging world. It's very easy to read. It is not extremely technical. And when it does get technical, they have done a great job of explaining themselves so no one gets left behind. It has real life stories and history. It is a quick read.

I learned a lot that I didn't know about blogging from this book. It would have saved me a lot of problems if I had had something like this when I started blogging a year ago.

If you are looking for some help in defining and establishing a blog for yourself or your ministry you will find this book helpful. It gives some great insight in to establishing a good blog for the right reasons.

This book is awesome. it will make you think about the various was you can reach people. It will make you take a look at yourself and motivate you to reach others in ways you havent thought of before.

I'm just glad I read this book while my children are still young. Now I get to use all of Merilee's fabulous ideas from the start! This book reads so quickly too and the ideas don't require anything but the desire to have your children be truly, deeply happy in life. I love how she discusses our society's misinterpretation of self-esteem. True self-esteem comes from true self-sufficiency -- not from mommy and daddy always coming to the rescue! It's so refreshing! MUST READ! This is the instruction manual for parenting that should come with every new baby! :)

I'm highly considering giving this book to anyone having a baby. It is SOOO wonderful, I cannot possibly tell all the great things.

But in case you are wondering, everything is in this book. Ideas of how to handle allowances, jobs, money management (I wish I were taught these things!), etc, etc, etc.

For any parent out there that just wants to be a better one- READ THIS BOOK! And then pass it to anyone you know!

Its been said before, but this is the best parenting book I have read. It is practical, fun to read, and full of ideas which will change your life. It provides your children with ways to gain experience, knowledge and direction. I hope my children will have many friends who were raised by parents who used this book. If I had to describe it in one word I would choose: empowering.

I haven't even read all the way through this book yet, and already know it's probably one of the best guides out there for raising confident, capable, caring ADULTS. Too many parenting books focus on raising children, and end up forgetting that the goal is to one day have your children leave the nest and be able to get along fine without you. The section on financial training alone is invaluable. If all children were raised and trained with these ideals, there certainly wouldn't be the credit mess there is now. If you have kids, PLEASE read this book and takes it's ideas to heart. It may make you the odd one on the block, but it will make you a much better parent and your kids will thank you.

I am very impressed with the thoroughness with which the author addresses the topic of teaching children to work, save, and become independent adults. In all of the reading--and research--I've done, none compares with Boyack's "Plan" for parents to raise independent and confident children. Never before have I seen a detailed, age-appropriate "how-to" list of what we need to teach in our families to produce the kind of adults that seem to becoming more and more rare in our society. I admit that I am feeling a bit over-whelmed by The List, as my children are already 3, 8, 11, 14, and 18 years old (and I am therefore quite a bit behind the schedule!), but I figure "better late than never" and will do my best to get them prepared for life beyond the family home. All in all, suffice it to say I WISH I'D HAD THIS PLAN YEARS AGO!

this book is nothing like i thought it would be. i was looking for something that would give me more on conversation style than actual vocabulary words/signs. i got more out of a dictionary than this. it was a complete waste of money, for me. the pictures are decent. they lack variation & real life feel (well, maybe that is the disappointment of the overall book). i do not recommend this book for someone trying to learn another language and not just the subtle niceties.

We have a program in the Las Vegas mail processing center where we find solutions for better communication with all employees. To our hearing impaired employees, we had training held in our facility by a certified interpreter who taught both craft and management employees to finger spell words and phrases. We were going to order another sign language book to be given by our plant manager to those who completed the training sessions as his appreciation to them, but there were those who read the reviews on this "Idiot's" book, hence, this is what I ordered. They use it as a refresher, it's well illustrated and easy. Everybody was happy with the book. For the next training group, I'll be ordering some more of this book.

The first part of the book, which provides background and explanation on deafness and deaf culture, is painful, answering questions such as: 'Can deaf people drive?' These are the usual dumb questions that hearing people ask about the deaf. Yes, they drive better than you do, moron, because they don't have a cell phone glued to their ear. However, the author fails to mention the heart-pounding thrill of being a passenger in a car driven by a deaf person who is in the midst of a highly animated signed conversation.

I do highly recommend this book: the sign language explanations, photographs, and illustrations are first-rate, and the companion DVD is an additional positive to make this book highly recommended for someone who needs a casual introduction to deafness and sign language.

Having taken 2 semesters of ASL, I must admit that I was disappointed to see a vocabulary list that I knew 95% of...but this book is definitely an excellent source for those with no or very little prior ASL knowledge. NOTE: THIS IS NOT ASL. The book is Pidgin Signed English (now called Contact Signing) which is easier to learn if your first language is English. That is, the grammar of ASL is absent in the presence of English word order. But the way the book is laid out, it's easy to learn! There's little bits of cultural information, how to engage and end a conversation, "do"s and "don't"s, and more! I like the little anecdotes, too.

Pros: Easy to follow, comes with a DVD to reinforce and clarify signs, decent amount of information for a beginner

Cons: NOT ASL (ASL "words" but not the grammar) and not terribly helpful for those with moderate exposure to sign language


Overall, it's a handy cultural tool that helps you learn a little language :)

My wife works at a doctors office where they have a couple of deaf patients. She has always wanted to learn sign. She couldn't put the book down. After two days she was signing non-stop. Originally she only wanted to buy the DVD instruction but I encouraged her to use this book too. Now it is the other way around. She goes to this book first and uses the DVDs as a backup. I also got her some ASL flash cards that work well for practice.

The only reason that B12 is not being hailed as the new miracle drug is because it is not possible for a pharmaceutical company to get a patent for it and make lots of money from it. Another result from this absence of profit is that doctors are not being informed that many ailments can be caused by a B12 deficiency and, therefore, do not test for a B12 deficiency and, when they do, they use the wrong test and, even when they use the correct test (which is rare) they misinterpret the results and, even when they prescribe a B12 supplement, they order the wrong type of B12, in the wrong form, etc., etc...
The best thing you can do is to order an extra copy of this book and just give it to your doctor. Unless he is a complete egomaniac, he will appreciate the information because there aren't any other authoritative books on this subject and the total amount of time devoted to teaching about B12 in medical school is only about 2 minutes.
Although it's true that someones ailment could be caused by something other than a B12 deficiency (the author admirably points this out in the introduction), not being cured when the cause is something as simple as a B12 deficiency because doctors are not trained to look for this, is tragic, especially when you consider the seriousness of some of the illnesses that a B12 deficiency can cause.
My sister suffered from depression for 20 years and tried a variety of medications, none of which helped very much. When she started a weight loss program that included small amounts of B12 given by injection, it seemed to help her mood. When she mentioned this to me, I did some research and found this book. I then found her a doctor who was willing to provide her with B12 injections of 2.5 mg (2,500 micrograms) three times a week. In a matter of a few weeks, her depression was gone. Before the B12, she just wanted to go somewhere and wait to die. Now, at age 54, she is planning and looking foward to the future. (By the way, the B12 must be in the form of injections to be effective.)
NOTE: I plan to ask her doctor where he orders B12. It's perfectly legal for someone to order it for themself and it will save someone a lot of money if they give themself their own injections. The thing is, the manufacture of vitamin supplements is not regulated so it's super important to find a reputable supplier that manufactures to pharmaceutical standards. If I get any information on this, I'll add it to this review.

A fantastic treatise on a much overlooked medical problem!

As a third year medical student, I was largely unaware of the prevalence of B12 deficiency and its devastating repercussions. This book, a combination of anecdotal evidence and solid research provides a strong case for the importance of B12 testing (using Methylmalonic acid urinary testing not serum B12 levels!) and B12 treatment.

The chapters on B12 & Multiple Sclerosis as well as autism were particularly interesting!

All in all a great book! Easy to read, but with profound repercussions.

I have some technical questions I would love to ask the authors, should they wish to contact me.

Paul Theodorescu
paultheo2004@yahoo.ca

This book is a must read for everyone in contact with other human beings. I have dealt with the devestating effects of b12 deficiency for all of my 20's and 30's (at least) with everything getting nothing but worst in the last year. My little boy shares many of my symptoms and is being tested as we speak...now that we know how to test! My son's doctor had no idea how to test him. Two weeks into B12 therapy most of the symptoms that have been plaguing me for years are gone! The rest are slowly improving and I suspect that they will continue to improve. When I think of all the doctors and tests and appointments and medications and theories I have had over the past years, it is downright depressing. All I needed was what my body was screaming for...B12! Cheap, easy to get, effective and mandatory B12!!!!

This book lays it out well and is very well referenced. The format is very reader friendly with many great examples. If you are looking for a book that you could bring into your doctor for their education (for your own survival!), this is the one. It is an absolute horror that this illness goes unfound for so long in so many people. Protect yourself and your loved ones and have this book on hand always. This is the best gift you could give anyone. It saved me in ways I don't even want to think about. Thank you to the authors for this important piece of knowledge that is far too ignored in the medical community.

This book contains critical information that could change the lives of many people. Anyone with any sort of unexplained health problems, from Alzheimers to leg pain to autism, must read this. I also wish every doctor would read it and become more aware of the prevalence of B12 deficiency. After reading it at the library, I bought a copy for myself and one for my doctor.

If you have or suspect having a vitamin B 12 deficiency or if you need to learn about this deficiency for any reason, I recommend you read carefully the book " Could it be B 12 ? An epidemic of Misdiagnoses " by Sally M. Pacholok and Jeffrey J. Stuart. But don't let it be your only source of information about the deficiency. Because at least half of alternative reliable scientific reports about this subject strongly disagree with the major allegations of the authors of this book. You must also be aware of the alternative opinions before deciding on what to do about your vitamin B 12 deficiency. I am not a medical expert and do not say who is right or wrong. However, I am glad I researched other sources of information after I was diagnosed with B 12 deficiency and after I read this book. I couldn't find any other books on this subject but there are a lot of serious scientific reports published on the internet by credible hospitals, laboratories, medical journals etc. You don't have to be a medical expert to understand them, they are written for the general public. Some of the information on the internet is crap but a significant portion is reliable , very informative and based on sound scientific reasearch and experiments.

Search from Google under the headings of vitamin B12 deficiency, homocysteine, methyl malonic acid, intrinsic factor and pernicious anemia. A lot of articles will pop up among them by reliable hospitals such as the Mayo Clinic and some labs etc. Also search under the same headings from the websites of Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia, American Family Doctor and Lab test on line. There are many other websites that include reliable information on Vitamin B 12 deficiency. After reading the book " Could it be B 12 ? An epidemic of Misdiagnoses " my initial reaction was an anger towards my doctor who diagnosed me with a B 12 deficiency believing that he had given me false information. I also had written a very favorable review of this book immediately after having read it two and a half months ago on January 19 2008. I have hereby replaced on April 11th 2008 my previous review of the book with this one based on my subsequent research on the internet about the topic from about ten different reliable scientific reports from different sources. My initial review was based only on the book. The present review is based on both the book and my subsequent extensive research. About half of the medical literature agrees with the authors of this book on the method of diagnosing and treatment of the vitamin B 12 deficiency. The remaining 50 % that disagree also base their views on sound scientific studies.

The authors of the book claim that most doctors in the world are ignorant about vitamin B12 deficiency. After finishing the book I initially bought this argument. However, after conducting the research on the internet I mentioned above I disagree that most doctors are ignorant about it. Surely there are a lot of doctors who are in fact ignorant about it and who misdiagnose. Even my doctor told me some things about vitamin B 12 deficiency some of which I still think are wrong. However, not all doctors who disagree with the authors are ignorant ; there are many among the disagreeing doctors who are very knowledgeable about this subject. Their methods of diagnosing and treating the deficiency maybe different than that of the authors. That does not necessarily make them ignorant. You can see this for yourself by reading their reports on the internet where they express alternative opinions about vitamin B 12 deficiency. Yet the authors of the book accuse all doctors who disagree with them with ignorance. I feel that it is unfair and unconvincing to accuse everyone who disagrees with you with ignorance. I got suspicious about that and found the alternative opinions. I am glad I did not let this book be my only source, I almost went and expressed my disatisfaction with my doctor based on this book. I regret that after reading the book and before reading alternative reports I got into an argument with a neuropsychiatrist whose acquaintance I made in a sports club who challenged the views in the book when I mentioned them to her.
Fortunately I did not go and quarrel with my own doctor based on the book ( it scares me to think I almost did ) because I had the sanity to investigate the deficiency from alternative sources.

The major allegations by the authors about which there is approximately 50 % agreement and of course 50 % disagreement among medical experts throughout the whole world have to do with the method of diagnosis and treatment of vitamin B 12 deficiency.

The authors claim that a serum ( blood ) B 12 test for a deficiency is unreliable by itself and must be accompanied by urinary methyl malonic acid ( MMA ) and serum homocysteine tests. Because in some cases a vitamin B 12 deficiency may damage the nervous system many years before it shows up on blood tests. Doctors who rely on the vitamin B 12 blood test alone could miss a B 12 deficiency if it does not show up on the blood test. The authors allege very strongly that the best measure of B 12 deficiency is the urinary methyl malonic acid and creatinine ratio test done properly along with serum B 12 and serum homocysteine tests. In the medical literature I researched there is strong support for this view. But there are also equally strong arguments in favor of the alternative view, claiming that on the contrary urinary MMA test results are not a reliable indicator of vitamin B 12 deficiency and that serum B 12 tests are more reliable. This is exactly the opposite of what the authors of the book claim.The book mentions that there are doctors that claim this. And it claims that these doctors are ignorant. However, in the reports the doctors state the reasons why urinary or blood MMA tests are unreliable and explain the results of scientific studies in support of their view. They are by no means ignorant.

The other major disagreement is about the method of treatment. The authors of the book claim that Vitamin B 12 oral tablets even in high doses are very often ineffective in treatment of the deficiency and insist that pain free injections directly into the blood is indispensible as a treatment method. They claim that nobody should lose time and risk ineffective treatment with oral tablets. In some cases this maybe true for swallowed oral tablets which have to cross the digestive system. However, I came across many different reports on the internet that mention the effectiveness of sublingual ( under the tounge ) oral vitamin B 12 pills that are also absorbed directly into the bloodstream. Especially during the recent several years many independent studies throughout the world indicate that sublingual vitamin B 12 pills have been found to be as effective as injections into the blood, making the injections unnecessary in many cases. After discrediting the oral tablets and strongly promoting the injections throughout their book even the authors back off from their claims on page 153 under the heading : " A Final Word about Oral B 12 " where they admit the promising recent studies about the efficacy of oral tablets administered sublingually. After I took 1000 mg of swallowable oral tablets for four months my serum B 12 level shot through the roof rising from far below the lower limit to more than twice the upper limit ! My doctor told me to discontinue swallowing the pills.

So, read the book and read any serious other sources you can find on the internet and then decide with your doctor about how you will proceed to diagnose and treat your or your loved one(s)' vitamin B 12 deficiency. Just don't take everything the book or the reports say for granted. Make your own analysis and draw your own conclusions based on a varied rich source of reliable information about this subject. Good luck !