56fbfe20-a568-45ce-afab-e266ed53a358TrueNewShip83HistoryAmazonLargeBooksreviewrank18103651810370740768697http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Historia-Historical-Mostly-Fictions/dp/0740768697%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D074076869787339http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DJzMpZvcL._SL75_.jpg7561http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DJzMpZvcL._SL160_.jpg160131http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DJzMpZvcL.jpg500409Chris ReganHardcover818.60297807407686991000740768697Andrews McMeel PublishingEnglishEnglishEnglish10802499USD$24.99Andrews McMeel Publishing1256Book2008-09-01Andrews McMeel PublishingAndrews McMeel Publishing265910264USD$2.64132USD$1.3228170011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnewn%2FxN3KaFmh1TRHWvq4S7IbZqM9UJXnGdlgglhGE5kjH4WGxC1yiOJ4KH5fXbSOwbSWL00%2F9IvXtmccGLXwFjRA%3D%3D1648USD$16.48Usually ships in 24 hours5.020407407686974112008-11-28

The history we didn't learn in school

The formula is easy...take a fact and a date from history, present it and then comment on it in a comical way. "Mass Historia" is set up in this manner and it largely succeeds, due to author Chris Regan's wit. If the format looks familiar, Regan was the co-author of Jon Stewart's "America (The Book)". <br /> <br />Arranged in chronological order, "Mass Historia" covers a broad range of historical topics with U.S. presidents leading the way. Some dates are more thoroughly covered than others but there's usually a good laugh with almost every observation. There are some factual errors, however, which include wrong dates for Benjamin Franklin's electricity experiment, William Howard Taft's date of death and that John Adams lived "well into his nineties". (He died at ninety) Sometimes Regan tends to overplay his hand...there are too many inane references to President Taft's weight, British cuisine, Tom Brokaw's "greatest generation" and homosexuality. Those aside, the author has created a book that's easy to read in one or two settings...or several. The "artwork" adds to the attraction, but it's really Chris Regan who should be given enormous credit for coming up with something funny to say about each of the 365 days of the year. (366, actually) "Mass Historia" is a very good book and I recommend it.07407686975002008-11-09

You Should Really Buy This Book

"Mass Historia" is a great hybrid of witty and smart...."fun-telligent", you might say. It's so hard to put down, that if they had made this into a page-a-day desk calendar, I'd be sitting in a pile of torn-off sheets laughing hysterically on January 1. This book makes a perfect holiday gift, so snap up several copies. Don't forget to keep one for your collection, too.07407686975112008-11-06

an incredible book

This history buff loves every page of this book. Both informative and laugh out loud funny, it does what is comedically almost impossible... it doesn't run out of gas! <br /> <br />Most books like this either start off great and then fade out or they are hit and miss from cover to cover. <br /> <br />This book puts the Onion compilations to shame. AND IT'S JUST ONE WRITER!!! <br /> <br />From start to finish the book delivers the hilarious goods with huge laughs and the desire to bust out the Encyclopedia to cross check something. <br /> <br />And Regan's research is always dead on <br />I hope it becomes a best seller07407686975112008-11-06

Truly hilarious

The beauty of this book is that it is hilarious on every page and keeps it up from Jan 1 to Dec 31. Incredibly researched and devastatingly funny. You don't need to be a history nut to love this book. But if you are, you'll love it even more <br /> <br />It should become a classic07407686975112008-11-06

History made funny

Why couldn't Chris Regan have been my history teacher? I never would have dozed off in class if his lessons were anything like those found in the hilarious "Mass Historia". Then again, I may have been too dumb back then to appreciate his smart, witty look at the past. <br /> <br />This book spans the ages, covering many of history's most notable births, deaths, wars, beheadings and touches upon milestones in everything from literature to transportation to hot wings, (first "Hooters" opens, October 4th, 1983. It's in there). It really does cover a lot of ground and keeps you laughing and engaged the whole way through. Hilarious, well illustrated, and fun. Highly recommended. <br />You can't change the past, but with Mass Historia, Chris Regan has done a very fine job of making fun of it." --Stephen Colbert<P>The History Channel meets Comedy Central in this sidesplitting, quasi-historical almanac by Chris Regan, a five time Emmy award winning comedy writer and one of the coauthors of Jon Stewart's bestselling <I>America (The Book)</i>.<P>Regan flips through our nation's historical calendar to offer up unknown, unrepentant, and often-unbelievable facts for every day of the year. Based on genuine, historical occurrences, Regan sets out to rewrite history with his unique satirical voice.<P>As Regan explains, "Enjoy this book, learn something from it, but do not reference it in any scholarly paper." Consider entries like June 12th, 1991: "Russians elect Boris Yeltsin president. Yeltsin suggests a toast to Democracy, wakes up shoeless on a bus eight years later." Or Regan's entry for May 15th, 1718: "A London Lawyer named James Puckle patents the world's first machine gun, because lawyering was not doing enough to crush the soul of mankind." The reader will also learn about the November 11th, 1918 birth of "Armistice Day, which was later changed to Veterans' Day, so that Americans could more easily pronounce what they annually ignored."<P>Full-color photographs, along with amusing sidebars, lists, and mock historical images aid in providing definitive answers to historical curiosities such as, "Who is buried in Grant's Tomb?" or the similarities between music moguls Kevin Federline and Johann Sebastian Bach. Readers will even discover that Alexander G. Bell's famous cry of, "Mr. Watson, come here, I want you," during the first telephone conversation was, in fact, the invention of the Booty Call.0312377347006137430X14165536570525950346031235952745Bargain Books2452Arts & Photography13819741Audiobooks2458Biography2459Business & Investing537584Calendars2460Children2475Computers & Internet2476Cooking, Food & Wine67702Film712385011General AAS882684Greeting Cards & Accessories2484Health, Mind & Body2487History2492Home & Garden2497Humor, Comics & Pop Culture2498Literature & Fiction2501Mysteries & Thrillers2505Nonfiction2512Parenting & Families2513Reference2514Religion & Spirituality2503Romance2515Science & Nature2504Science Fiction & Fantasy2516Sports16303581Teens2524Travel251254011Custom Stores44258011Specialty Stores283155Books4477Satire4456Humor86Entertainment1000Subjects283155Books4466General4456Humor86Entertainment1000Subjects283155Books713219011General AAS4456Humor86Entertainment1000Subjects283155Books9940General9928History & Criticism9822United States10311World Literature17Literature & Fiction1000Subjects283155Books394181011Hardcover394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155BooksR8REUIH38X7INSide-SplittersR1H3EWCMF65XEWThe Perfect GiftR25IOZBG6JIIXFHysterical HistoryR2VNQ7HNHESASXNuclear fiction and fact0679410384http://www.amazon.com/Maus-Art-SPIEGELMAN/dp/0679410384%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D06794103842303578http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5169DZXAQ0L._SL75_.jpg7553http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5169DZXAQ0L._SL160_.jpg160114http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5169DZXAQ0L.jpg475338Art SPIEGELMANHardcover94097806794103861500679410384PantheonEnglishEnglish1000Pantheon135Book1991PantheonPantheon2407009999USD$99.992798USD$27.981900005.020406794103845222003-09-22

Shoah in Metaphor

A few years ago, when I first read MAUS, I was filled with trepidation at the thought of a comic book about the holocaust. As a holocaust educator, I worried that any trivialization of the topic might do more harm than good. After I finished reading MAUS, I walked away believing it did a better job of communicating the loss, suffering and lifelong consequences better than almost any novel or scholarly work I had ever read.<br>Spiegleman could have bombed on this one: too much 'comic book' or too much history would have ruined the work and caused a nightmare. Instead, he found the most remarkable juxtaposition of human understanding and tragedy communicated sensitively and sorrowfully, in a way in which those of all ages can identify.<br>My concerns about the Jews portrayed as 'mice' were quickly allayed: these mice had more humanity than most people. The metaphor was so powerful and 'receivable' that I do not think it would have worked any other way. I would recommend it for High School and above, because of its intensity, but at the same time it's hyper-reality is so magnificent that no one studying the holocaust or Shoah, whether at the beginning level or far into a scholarly career, should escape reading it. It is a masterful classic and has left a lasting impression on me for the entire time of my own studies.<br>Elizabeth Kirkley-Best, PhD, Director: Shoah Education Project (Web)06794103845012003-01-11

A beautiful piece

I reccomend this book to any one. It is a touching story that opened my eyes to the horrors of the holcaust.06794103845112002-02-18

A set of books that will never leave your mind

I'm ordering my second (replacement) set today-- I've lent these books out so many times, and I didn't get them back last time. I know why... these are books you can't forget, you don't want to lose, books you want to look at again and again and share with your friends. I've read much about the Holocaust and been moved by many stories, but none seemed more real or more human than these incredible comic strip figures. Spiegelman captures his father's attitude and dialect so well that I can hear him speak in my mind. Everyone should read these books, Jew or non-Jew, young or old. We must never forget.06794103845002001-10-23

Stunning.

Incredibly, this story could not have been told in any other medium - it had to be in comic form.<p>Vladek's story is amazing and horrible, and though he did not die in Auschwitz, perhaps he did not survive.<p>Speigleman captures his father's horror, and lack of horror in chilling detail, often with little editorial input.<p>I reread both books almost monthly, and never tired of putting voices to the drawings. <p>No simple review can wrap-up the power of these little drawings, or of Vladek's calm recall one of the most regretable events of the last century.<p>Compelling, frightening, powerful and addictive.06794103845112000-03-07

Thanks, Mr. Spiegelman

This set of books is so terrifically done that I cannot recommend it enough. I have owned the set for a few years now, and every time I reread the books I notice another facet to the drawings or text that adds something new to the story. The first time you read the books, you won't have time to really look at the pictures, but as you read them again, read slowly and observe at the backgrounds and the other people in the panels.<p>I can only imagine how gut wrenching this series must have been to write for Mr. Spiegelman, but I thank him for doing so. This story brings the Holocaust down to such a personal level, the people in the story are real human beings whose lives don't just begin and end with the Holocaust. You get to see how they lived before, coped during, and survive with the memories of the war years.<p>Finally, to this day I am moved to tears by the last few pages of the second book. Although Vladek Spiegelman comes off as a racist miser at times (i.e., a real human with flaws), the reunion with Anja is drawn with such genuine emotion between the characters that it is almost painful to read. Imagine yourself in that situation with your significant other and the scene becomes so intensely emotional that you have to look away.<p>It helps to have a background in the Holocaust but is in no way necessary when reading this book. It should be part of everyone's library!2375General2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books713038011General AAS2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books4389General4366Comics & Graphic Novels1000Subjects283155Books713158011General AAS4366Comics & Graphic Novels1000Subjects283155Books4994Holocaust4992Jewish5035World9History1000Subjects283155Books5039General5035World9History1000Subjects283155Books713323011General AAS5035World9History1000Subjects283155Books394181011Hardcover394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155Books1UKWFABXRF7HMy Favorite FictionB0006YOVJGhttp://www.amazon.com/medical-detectives-Berton-Roueche%C3%8C%C2%81/dp/B0006YOVJG%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0006YOVJG6332624Berton RouechéUnknown BindingTruman Talley BooksEnglishEnglishTruman Talley Books372Book1981Truman Talley BooksTruman Talley Books3999USD$39.990100005.0204B0006YOVJG5332008-05-03

Deadly fogs, horrible diseases, and brilliant medical detectives

Berton Roueché wrote for the "New Yorker" magazine for almost half a century, and was winner of the 1950 Albert Lasker Medical Journalism Award. His many volumes on physicians and medical detectives, including this book, were collected from his articles in the "New Yorker." <br /> <br />"The Medical Detectives" volume II is great bedtime reading, because the good guys, i.e. physicians and epidemiologists always get their villain (whether it's a germ, poison gas, or a disgruntled boyfriend). Volume II's twenty-three case histories date from 1947 to 1984, before the days when Big Insurance dictated how long patients would stay in hospitals and what kind of treatment they would receive. Some of the doctors in this book actually made house calls! A couple of the cases really stayed with me, because the patients were kept in the hospital for weeks at a time just to track down a diagnosis. In one case, a man had the hiccups. In the other, a woman had a headache. Can you guess what would happen to these patients if they went to an emergency room, today? <br /> <br />Anyone who is interested in medical detection will be both engrossed and instructed by Roueché's careful, detailed true-life mysteries. The cases contained in this volume range from the man who hiccupped for 27 years through the deliberate poisoning of a family. One of my favorites from 1948 is called, "The Fog". This does not refer to John Carpenter's famous 1980 horror movie, but a true story that is in some ways even more frightening than anything Hollywood could produce. It takes place in Donora, Pennsylvania, a gritty mill town along the Monongahela River, which is infamous for its fogs: "They are greasy, gagging fogs, often intact even at high noon, and they sometimes last for two or three days." <br /> <br />The Donora `Death Fog' killed 20 people and left hundreds injured and gasping for breath. Roueché tells this story of America's worst air pollution disaster through the observations of eye-witnesses, one of them a physician. London usually comes to mind when Death comes stalking through a thick fog, but this story is every bit as atmospheric as one by A. Conan Doyle, and "The Fog's" detectives are real people. <br /> <br />This collection of true medical stories starts off a bit slowly, but you will end up wishing for Volume III. <br />B0006YOVJG5012008-02-15

Recommended by Experts to Medical Students

This book was recommended as a gift to a pre-med student. She was excited to receive this as it dove-tailed with a course she is currently taking.B0006YOVJG5442007-12-19

"House" without the snark

This "classic collection of award-winning medical investigative reporting", published in 1988, is an excellent book. Each of the 25 case studies originally appeared as an "Annals of medicine" piece in the New Yorker, and there's not a dud in the bunch. <br /> <br />Most of the cases happened in the 1950's or 1960's, when sophisticated, CSI-era analytical techniques were unavailable. Nonetheless, there is no sense that these stories are dated. Roueche is a natural storyteller and has the rare ability to present technical aspects in a way that is intelligible to the non-expert reader, at just the right level of detail. <br /> <br />It's like 25 "House" episodes, but without the gratuitous obnoxiousness, condescension to the reader, or the ridiculous constraint that only a limping, misanthropic painkiller addict can be right.B0006YOVJG5002007-11-13

Awesome!

This book is amazing! I love it and recommend it to my friends. The author formerly wrote for a New York magazine, and his stories cover decades. It is interesting to see how some diseases such as Lyme's first became known and how the tools available to the medical profession have both changed and some have remained the same. Read it, you will love it!B0006YOVJG5002007-07-30

Wonderful Book!

I was given this book by one of the epidemiologists that was featured in the book. He had great respect for Roueche and loves his articles. I think these stories a very well written and really hold your attention. They also give you a good history of diseases and conditions. Great book!Contains three fascinating tales of strange illnesses, rare diseases, poisons, and parasites--each tale a thriller of medical suspense by the incomparable Beron Roueche.015602777104252123000595091318078177195107817708741000Subjects1Arts & Photography2Biographies & Memoirs3Business & Investing4Children's Books4366Comics & Graphic Novels5Computers & Internet6Cooking, Food & Wine86Entertainment301889Gay & Lesbian10Health, Mind & Body9History48Home & Garden10777Law17Literature & Fiction13996Medicine18Mystery & Thrillers53Nonfiction290060Outdoors & Nature20Parenting & Families173507Professional & Technical21Reference22Religion & Spirituality23Romance75Science25Science Fiction & Fantasy26Sports28Teens27Travel283155BooksB0006D9MPUhttp://www.amazon.com/Mifflin-County-Amish-Mennonite-1791-1991/dp/B0006D9MPU%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0006D9MPUS. Duane KauffmanUnknown BindingMifflin County Mennonite Historical SocietyEnglishEnglishMifflin County Mennonite Historical Society472Book1991Mifflin County Mennonite Historical SocietyMifflin County Mennonite Historical Society12341USD$123.419668USD$96.681100005.0204B0006D9MPU5002007-10-15

Confession of A Most Moving Kind

That which was good (Inside the Third Reich) is now even better for "Spandau" is Speer's soul-searching account of and reflection on himself and his life while he was imprisoned for 21 years. The book was written in a day-by-day diary entry form so one almost feels one is there with him sharing his emotions and observations. He made it quite clear from the very outset that writing kept him sane but ".. it must be more than a matter of organizing sheer survival. This must also become a time of reckoning. If at the end, after these twenty years, I do not have an answer to the questions that preoccupy me now, this imprisonment will have been wasted for me. And yet I fully realize that even at best my conclusions can only be tentative..." Upon his release in 1966, he left the mass of papers of his prison diaries lay untouched, unread for over ten years before he finally published them. Apart from the historical importance, readers will enjoy the writing of a fine intellectual mind despite his sad observation that "Diaries are usually the accompaniment of a lived life. This one stands in place of a life." This is an immensely personal and moving book that no one could afford to miss and deserves much more than a running commentary. B0006D9MPU4572004-06-09

Wonder Boy of the 3rd Reich

First hand accounts of the workings of the German High Command and the interactions between the parties, including Adolph Hitler, are rare and becoming rarer. Many of those involve left memoirs, but those are becoming difficult to find, as most are now out of print. Speer's Spandau writings are among the endangered species. <p>Anyone who wishes to understand the minds of the men who made the Reich work and particularly the mind of Adolph Hitler can do so by the evidence of their deeds at one level. However, the records of their thoughts, conversations, behavior and rationalizations while they did so is certainly a facet of understanding. The writings of Von Manstein, Doenitz, Rommel, Guderian, and the diaries of Joseph Goebbels are each worth the reading in this sense. As is Albert Speer.<p>Speer was imprisoned longer than any of the other members of Hitler's inner circle. He had many years of solitude to contemplate his deeds and reflect on how and why he came to be imprisoned in Spandau. Maybe these musings qualify as revisionist history. Maybe they're merely self-serving rationalizations. But his anecdotes will definitely add to your understanding of the 3rd Reich. You don't have to believe everything he says, but it's worth reading it and making the choice for yourself.<p>Speer thought of himself as a 'nice guy'. You can't make an informed decision as to whether it was true without reading what he had to say. In the end most of us believe we are 'nice people' and are justified in whatever horrendous deeds we pursue.B0006D9MPU5442004-02-26

Fascinating account

What a good story. I couldn't put the book down. I recommend that you read a book on the Nuremberg trials (Persico's is a good one) before plunging into Speer's diary. Speer wrote his diary while paying his 20 years sentence at Spandau prison for his responsibility as one of the leaders of the Thirch Reich.B0006D9MPU59112002-09-18

Spellbinding Recollections From Hitler's Architect!

No figure emerged from the Second World War with greater controversy and attention than did Nazi architect and Hitler confidant Albert Speer. Sentenced to twenty years in the military prison in Spandau for war crimes, Speer was the only one of the principals tried at Nuremberg to admit his culpability in the horror that was the Third Reich. Many questioned his sincerity, for although he said all the right things, it was extremely self-serving to do so at the moment of final judgment, for his capitulation surely saved his life. Yet Speer served his twenty years and then was released to live out his life amidst even greater controversy, for Speer had compiled an amazing 25,000 page secret diary during his long confinement. <p>This treasure trove of personal anecdotes, reminiscences, and observations was eventually serialized into two distinctive books. When the first was published in 1969 in Germany, the diary, entitled "Recollections", caused a literal firestorm of controversy based on a range of observations and positions taken by Speer. Yet the book, released a year later in a translated version for the English-speaking world as "Inside The Third Reich" was a runaway best seller based primarily on the detailed and absolutely spellbinding descriptions Speer offered regarding the principals of the Nazi regime. Shortly thereafter, Speer released the present volume, entitled "Spandau; The Secret Diaries". His observations, tidbits, and anecdotes about Hitler himself were endlessly fascinating and occasioned a lot of dinner conversation all over the world. Likewise, his portrayal of the day to day life within the so-called Nazi elite gave reader s a graphic and telling account of what these people were like, and how it was possible that they could do so much of what they did. <p>It also establishes a consistent pattern of personal denial of any real responsibility for what had happened on Speer's part. He claimed to have been only tangentially involved in what happened to the Jews, and that he never understood that the policy of deportation and relocation to 'work camps' was part of a conspiracy to systematically murder all of Europe's Jews. Yet careful readers find that his role as Chief Administrator Of Armament Production, which employed slave labor by both Jews and other subjugated prisoners of war certainly had a systematic policy of working these slave laborers to death.<p>In later works he claimed to be less involved in the politics of the Third Reich than in the day to oversight of functional management of its policies. This is a fascinating book, and one cannot help but to come to admire this man and his struggles to maintain his balance and his sanity during the two decades he was held at Spandau. It provides a penetrating look both at his own mental processes as well as sharing his ruminations about various details and aspects of life within the whirlwind of excitement, agony, and horror that the years of Nazi reign in Germany represent. This is a book I can highly recommend. Enjoy!B0006D9MPU513132001-11-28

ALBERT SPEER'S SPANDAU DIARIES

This is an excellent book which gives a brilliant account of the day to day life of the Nuremburg men at Spandau. While Albert Speer's thoughts on the 'Third Reich' are interesting, I much prefer his diary entries which incidentally cover his time spent at Nuremburg too. Some entries are only one or two lines long but they make a very sensitive and moving account of himself. I loved reading about the various dreams he had in Spandau (some of which were very vivid) the attitude to him of the other prisoners are interesting too. Referrences to Rudolf Hess make fascinating reading but for a full picture of Hess I suggest that reliable back up information of a sympathetic nature be read as well such as the book by one time Spandau Director Colonel Eugene Bird (The Lonliest Man In The World) now sadly out of print but worth seeking second hand through the internet. Albert Speer could not have known that Rudolf Hess was genuinely ill with an undetected stomach ulcer when he wrote how Hess complained so much of being in pain. The reality of Hess's very real illness was only discovered after Speer had been released from Spandau. The book also highlights the sometimes harsh treatment meted out to Rudolf Hess. The diary entries show a sensitive and intelligent man who wondered how he was going to get through his 20 year sentence. It is an extremely human and moving account and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the Third Reich and in particular anyone who is seeking to know what the men at Spandau were really like and who are willing to put any pre-conceived prejudices they may have or have heard about Nazi's aside.<p>A brilliant read!<p>Louise Brown<div>He served as Hitler's architect, the undisputed master of the German war machine, and the one responsible for conscripted foreign labor in the Third Reich. And, when Albert Speer was captured and sentenced at Nuremberg--after becoming the only defendant to plead guilty--he started keeping this secret diary, much of it on toilet paper. After 20 years of imprisonment, he found 25,000 of the smuggled pages waiting for him, and from those entries he shaped this deeply powerful document. "Albert Speer's book is a deeply moving document. It is also of extraordinary political and psychological interest...a must for anyone interested in psychological motivation of political action and the problem of guilt and repentance. But, beyond this it is so fascinatingly written that I could not put it down before I finished it." --<i>Erich Fromm</i>.<br><br> <br></div>0684829495067976812203068066140671728687155970756912426Mennonite12404Protestantism12290Christianity22Religion & Spirituality1000Subjects283155Books076432070Xhttp://www.amazon.com/Miriam-Haskell-Jewelry-Schiffer-Collectors/dp/076432070X%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D076432070X67347http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51R14VTJ72L._SL75_.jpg7558http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51R14VTJ72L._SL160_.jpg160125http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51R14VTJ72L.jpg500390Cathy GordonSheila PamfiloffHardcover688.20929780764320705110076432070XSchiffer PublishingEnglishEnglishEnglish11105995USD$59.95Schiffer Publishing1256Book2004-05-01Schiffer PublishingSchiffer Publishing3908403200USD$32.00700011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnewYmtspAcNCAbWHLRi0EsbS0Z9gxhzMoOlMpYxBoKNuUAhH4pJgjNQcogt2m94NcNu0itNkmrrJlrGyoDM4MrLhg%3D%3D3777USD$37.77Usually ships in 24 hours5.0204076432070X5002008-08-08

Miriam Haskell Jewelry

Book was purchased as a gift for my mother. Arrived on time, in great condition as it was listed. There was a small tear on the cover - but it was listed this way so it was what I was expecting. I just taped it up! She won't mind as she will be delighted with the book. 076432070X5002007-12-16

Best Vintage Jewelry Book Out there!!

Let me first say that I have a ton of vintage jewelry in my personal collection and I also sell it in our family owned antique store. I purchased this book and read it from cover to cover. WOWOW, what a great book. So much great information and easy to read. These girls did a wonderful job in the layout of this beautful book. The pictures to say the least are all stunning and really show up great in their book. <br />I would recommend this book to anyone that has ANY kind of interest in vintage jewelry. This book really explains how different designers tried to copy the Haskell style. Great reference on how to date pieces and also identify key Haskell style trademarks. <br />Thanks for a wondeful book!076432070X5112007-04-04

For the Collector

Serious collectors must have this book on their shelf. Close-up photographs show the jewelry's intricate designs in detail.076432070X5332007-03-31

MIRIAM HASKELL JEWELRY (SCHIFFER BOOK)

This is a fantastic resource book for the Vintage Jewelry Collector or Seller. It is wonderfully organized & beautifully illustrated with many large color pictures. The descriptions are concise & precise. Values are given after each description. <br />There is also a wonderful & informative section on Identifying & Dating Haskell Jewelry~vintage to present~including clasps & materials. This section also has clear close-up photographs. <br />I feel it is an invaluable tool for the serious collector. And well worth the investment!076432070X5562006-09-09

Costume Jewelry at its best

Dealing with jewelry is both to me, profession and hobby. So I also like reading books about the stuff I love, and this one really got past my expectations. It helps getting insight not only in a really interesting branch of the jewelry business, but tells also about the people behind the design. At the same time, the author manages to give a helpful guide to the ambitioned collector of that kind. The book reminds one how much fun it is to create and wear exceptional pieces and tells some stories that are connected with those. The pictures are magnificent. This book is motivation for new ideas and simply fun to read. Miriam Haskell began selling especially beautiful costume jewelry in 1926, and her company continues to the present. Today, the jewelry that bears her name is highly sought after and the prices keep spiraling up. Claims abound that this is a Miriam Haskell, but is it a Miriam Haskell? This important new book gives collectors the key information to make intelligent buying decisions. It provides specific details on the art, design, style, materials, construction, and signatures, all vital to the identification and dating of Haskell jewelry. It also dispels many of the myths that allow wanna-bes and fakes to flourish. Over 600 beautiful color photographs display the most extensive collection of Haskell jewelry ever brought together. The jewelry is categorized by designer, specifying notable eras. The text provides notations on innovations, style preferences, and in-depth descriptions pointing to key Haskell identifiers. Readers, from casual admirers to serious collectors and dealers, will find in this comprehensive book the essential information and breathtaking pictures they seek.B001GQ3DUG1574325299076432911115743254260789496429518510History1862Fashion1Arts & Photography1000Subjects283155Books5085General5066Antiques & Collectibles48Home & Garden1000Subjects283155Books713331011General AAS5066Antiques & Collectibles48Home & Garden1000Subjects283155Books197497011General48Home & Garden1000Subjects283155Books713326011General AAS48Home & Garden1000Subjects283155Books13769Manufacturing227550Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems173515Engineering173507Professional & Technical1000Subjects283155Books14637History of Technology14631Technology75Science1000Subjects283155Books394181011Hardcover394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155Books050001664Xhttp://www.amazon.com/Most-Beautiful-Villages-Tuscany/dp/050001664X%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D050001664X18183http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61AXSZ6SNVL._SL75_.jpg7561http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61AXSZ6SNVL._SL160_.jpg160131http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61AXSZ6SNVL.jpg475389James BentleyHardcoverHugh Palmer945.500222978050001664094050001664XThames & HudsonEnglishEnglishEnglish12364000USD$40.00Thames & Hudson1224Book1997-09Thames & HudsonThames & Hudson39210002483USD$24.831150USD$11.505000USD$50.0032352011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnewL0z69RZ18iq0HB6vlpiGNKmHCoqEf%2FL4DETjMT85GmICX1x8ASMtS7flUDVGPtlfdqs26KXapG%2F3SiKYdHK9HA%3D%3D2640USD$26.40Usually ships in 24 hours5.0204050001664X5002008-05-26

beautiful villages of tuscany

i orignially purchased this book as a resource for a paper i was doing on tuscany, but when i received it and began to browse through it, i sat down and read the entire thing from cover to cover. the photography was magnificent; the information was just the right amount without going on and on; the entire product was stunning. i wanted to run to the internet and book the next flight to tuscany!050001664X3222008-02-12

Oh no, not another Tuscan picture book!

Yes, the photos are nice, but how many coffee table books with pretty Tuscan villages, cypress trees, and silvery olive leaves shimmering in the wind do we need? <br /> <br />Someone who reviewed this book suggested bringing it along on a Tuscan trip; if you put this large and heavy book in your luggage, you will have to leave the toothpaste, underwear, and a number of other things at home, particularly now that some airlines are apparently toying with the notion of lowering weight allowances and charging for the excess. <br /> <br />The text in most instances is not particularly helpful. There are quite a few books on Tuscany that do a much better job. And I was truly surprised to see the town of San Quirico d'Orcia included in the list of "most beautiful villages". I happen to know San Quirico and because it is off the usual beaten tourist path, it retains an "Italianness" that has been lost by, for example, Greve in Chianti, where one would be hard-pressed to find an Italian in that town's lovely main square on a Saturday afternoon. But San Quirico could never be called "beautiful", by any stretch of the imagination. <br /> <br />Despite my reservations about this book, it would probably be a welcome present for a friend who has recently returned from the grand tour of Tuscany and it will, at least for a while, have a prominent place on this friend's coffee table.050001664X5002008-01-12

Tuscany

Great service and beautiful pictures of Tuscany but somewhat dissapointed at the lack of an organized route map for efficient traveling to the various villages.050001664X5002007-11-17

Wonderful for so many reasons

This is the best for someone wanting to visit interesting places in Italy. It is not only well arranged and written, but it helped so much in trip planning. I highly recommend this to anyone traveling on their own to Italy.050001664X5012007-07-21

The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany

Since I love Italy as a place to visit, this book is great to own.Bentley highlights 37 villages and towns, both for their intrinsic beauty and for the part they have played in Tuscan history and culture. Page after page of Palmer's magnificent color photos evoke the beauty of the land. Specially compiled listings of hotels, restaurants, and festivals complete the tribute to Tuscany and its villages.With the recent popularity of such notable books as Frances Mayes' <I>Under the Tuscan Sun</I> and Elizabeth Romer's <I>The Tuscan Year: Life and Food in an Italian Valley</I>, a legion of new Italia fans are finding out what many already know: the charm of Tuscany cannot be denied. In <I>The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany</I>, author James Bentley and photographer Hugh Palmer offer a decidedly unique view of this remarkable region. Focusing on thirty-six villages and towns from all over Tuscany--chosen for "both their intrinsic beauty and for the part they have played in Tuscan history and culture"--the gorgeous full-color photographs, accompanied by superb accounts of each village, truly "bring the region to life, evoking the richness of architecture and landscape, and bringing out the charm of the Tuscan people." The final chapter is devoted to useful travel information, including passages on hotels and restaurants, market days and festivals, as well as a select bibliography and detailed map of the region. As beautiful as it is informative and entertaining, <I>The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany</I> is "the perfect visual tribute to the timeless beauty of these small towns and villages." 084782637601410090040500510520084782856505005418762024Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions2020Photography1Arts & Photography1000Subjects283155Books2093Europe2087Travel2020Photography1Arts & Photography1000Subjects283155Books465216General4959Italy4935Europe9History1000Subjects283155Books713314011General AAS4959Italy4935Europe9History1000Subjects283155Books713308011General AAS4935Europe9History1000Subjects283155Books67646General16973Italy16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books713823011General AAS16973Italy16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books16942General16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books713811011General AAS16917Europe27Travel1000Subjects283155Books713839011General AAS17025Reference & Tips27Travel1000Subjects283155Books197498011General27Travel1000Subjects283155Books713792011General AAS27Travel1000Subjects283155Books394181011Hardcover394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155BooksR1NMTJZPFFFBL0Favorite Vacation DestinationsRWX6AUSWDMFXAn Inside Look at StephR3C73WS9JTUI88Italian TravelsR32E60KPIWHK3WDreaming of Tuscany...14HOZPS8RRPZIItaly, The Books2Y6DDNGDL1NC3Decorate, Live & Eat Italian!XC0KGQAAIUL6Escape Your Not-So-Beautiful Life1WU1FHQ0RJ168Are You an Italy-Freak?9643ZCZ8JYSSTravel3L8TSFNQCOJGQGira's picks for armchair traveler0198538499http://www.amazon.com/Neural-Networks-Pattern-Recognition-Christopher/dp/0198538499%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D01985384991611769Christopher M. BishopHardcover006.497801985384931290198538499Oxford University Press, USAEnglishEnglishEnglish9509800USD$98.00Oxford University Press, USA1504Book1996-01-18Oxford University Press, USAOxford University Press, USA1916440000005.020401985384994662006-07-20

Only for an expert

Mr Bishop's book is very well written and contains a lot of useful information on neural networks. It is outlined well and progresses in a logical form. If, however, you are looking for a book that gives discussions with concrete examples of neural networks applications or set ups, you will be sorely disappointed. The mathematical treatment is universally generalized with very few specific concrete examples shown. Even the exercises will not serve you well. The term 'graded' is used; however, that simply referes to the description of difficulty. There are no answers to these exercises, so unless you have a teacher or are already firmly familiar with the material, you will not know if you have completed them correctly or not. Even worse, the exercises are in general not written to reinforce concepts in the chapter, but in most cases extend the chapter material into new regions. <br /> <br />In summary, this book should only be purchased by someone already familiar with neural networks and their mathematical basis. Anyone else will be wasting their money.01985384995222006-04-06

Fabulous

This is the best book I have found for a general study of the of neural networks. I found this particularly useful when looking at how to write my own NN frameworks. The depth of the mathematics allowed me to easily answer questions like: 'what if I replaced function abc with xyz'. I have found other texts failed to show key mathematical derivations, or to explore the subtleties of what the maths imply. <br /> <br />The book covers a plethora of topics from simple gradient descent through second order techniques and conjugate gradient, through to the use of 'bayesian techniques' (basically confidence intervals on network outputs), monte carlo techniques etc. Similarly error functions, non-linearities (sigmoids, softmax etc.) and data preparation are all treated. <br /> <br />The extensive bibliography also provides excellent references for further study, (a whos who of the field, as well as actual titles). My copy is now dog earred from frequent reading.01985384995462004-01-28

Sheer pleasure.

If you want a very good, intermediate introduction to pattern classification this book must be on your bookshelf. It even does a very nice job explaining the EM algorithm in a few pages! Basic calculus is all you need to understand the book. A must read.01985384995352003-09-15

It makes a difficult topic easy to understand

The theories of NN and PR are quite difficult to understand. But this book makes them much easier. The author can explain the concepts without using too much formula. If other authors could follow his step then the life is much easier!01985384995012003-07-22

Recomended book to read

This is a recommended book to read for people who would like to read about statistics and maths. People with few knowledge about these sciences will find it a bit difficult to read.This is the first comprehensive treatment of feed-forward neural networks from the perspective of statistical pattern recognition. After introducing the basic concepts, the book examines techniques for modelling probability density functions and the properties and merits of the multi-layer perceptron and radial basis function network models. Also covered are various forms of error functions, principal algorithms for error function minimalization, learning and generalization in neural networks, and Bayesian techniques and their applications. Designed as a text, with over 100 exercises, this fully up-to-date work will benefit anyone involved in the fields of neural computation and pattern recognition.This book provides a solid statistical foundation for neural networks from a pattern recognition perspective. The focus is on the types of neural nets that are most widely used in practical applications, such as the multi-layer perceptron and radial basis function networks. Rather than trying to cover many different types of neural networks, Bishop thoroughly covers topics such as density estimation, error functions, parameter optimization algorithms, data pre-processing, and Bayesian methods. All topics are organized well and all mathematical foundations are explained before being applied to neural networks. The text is suitable for a graduate or advanced undergraduate level course on neural networks or for practitioners interested in applying neural networks to real-world problems. The reader is assumed to have the level of math knowledge necessary for an undergraduate science degree.038731073804710566930132733501052171770103879528453573History549726Business & Culture5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books407484General3448Certification Central5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books713165011General AAS3448Certification Central5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books3896Neural Networks3887Artificial Intelligence3508Computer Science5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books132552011Pattern Recognition3870Algorithms3839Programming5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books657762General5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books713164011General AAS5Computers & Internet1000Subjects283155Books465200General4954Germany4935Europe9History1000Subjects283155Books713311011General AAS4954Germany4935Europe9History1000Subjects283155Books5039General5035World9History1000Subjects283155Books713323011General AAS5035World9History1000Subjects283155Books713585011General AAS227361Mathematics173510Professional Science173507Professional & Technical1000Subjects283155Books394181011Hardcover394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155Books0806528230http://www.amazon.com/Never-Suck-Dead-Mans-Hand/dp/0806528230%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D080652823042560http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41N1cCMi3CL._SL75_.jpg7549http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41N1cCMi3CL._SL160_.jpg160104http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41N1cCMi3CL.jpg500325Dana KollmannPaperback5099780806528236800806528230CitadelEnglishEnglishEnglish8901495USD$14.95Citadel1304Book2008-02-01CitadelCitadel85600715USD$7.15690USD$6.9032120011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnewQoAXesptD2xpUiU8LE1oGTbqgzC4hQw7KkJGApCMNWIVjfbK%2B7XfYPit7EW5akBGjRUDPOxgqjDUmuxxfvHdCQ%3D%3D1017USD$10.17Usually ships in 24 hours5.020408065282305002008-09-05

Informative and Funny

I really enjoyed this book. Full of good information and entertaining to read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject matter. 08065282305002008-07-21

A completely honest look at what it's like at crime scenes

This was a fast read for me because of the subject. I was transfixed as each story was told. I only wish she'd recorded even more experiences. These tales will stay with me forever and I highly recommend this book.08065282304002008-05-31

Hardcore Science, ridiculous actuality

This woman is quite adorable. I found myself surprised at how, even though I picked the book up because I like crime nonfiction, I found it wasn't really a story about crime work at all. Some of the stories were very amusing but the deeper understanding I carried away was what a funny life it is. I greatly enjoyed the story of her parent's reaction to her crime stories and them not wanting to visit her work. I enjoyed the stories about her getting quite a rude introduction to being a crime worker who isn't a police officer and I loved the story of her sneaking home to take care of her dogs and accidentally pressing the panic button that allowed the whole department to hear her dog cooing. If you are looking for a hardcore crime solving book then this might be a little soft for you. If you're looking for a story of how ridiculous the actuality of crime is through the eyes of a quirky young mom then this is probably right up your alley. 08065282304002008-04-19

Must read before you decide to become a CSI!

Dana Kollman is hilarious, and very to the point. True forensics is nothing like it is on TV. Please read this if you are considering! Stories can be somewhat nauseating, don't read during dinner like I did. 08065282305002008-03-05

Fantastic!

I LOVED every part of this book. It's fantastically written and incredibly entertaining from start to finish. She has a way with words and is an excellent story teller! She was also my Forensics Professor at Towson University, so I may be a bit biased but I still think that this is probably one of the most entertaining books I've read in a long time. "Informative, witty...Kollmann delivers terse commentary and gory detail while puncturing common misconceptions about forensics." --Booklist <P>Step past the flashing lights into the true scene of the crime with this frank, unflinching, and unforgettable account of life as a crime scene investigator. Whether explaining rigor mortis or the art of fingerprinting a stiff corpse on the side of the road, Dana Kollmann details her true, unvarnished experiences as a CSI for the Baltimore County Police Department. <P>"Riveting." --M. William Phelps, author of Murder in the Heartland <P>Unlike the popular crime dramas proliferating on today's television networks, these forensic tales forgo glitz for grit to show what really goes on. Kollmann recounts stories that the cops and the CSI's usually leave in the field, bringing the sights, smells, and sounds of a crime scene alive as never before. <P>"Raw and real." --Connie Fletcher, author of Every Contact Leaves a Trace <P>Unveiling the process and science of crime scene investigation in all its can't-tear-your-eyes-away fascination, Never Suck a Dead Man's Hand takes you into the strange world behind the yellow tape, offering a truly eye-opening perspective on the day-to-day life of a CSI. <P>"Gritty, witty, and heartfelt ... a must-read." --Aphrodite Jones, New York Times bestselling author of A Perfect Husband1592403646B000VSEDMMB001C2DDRC159102447100611894052426Scientists2419Professionals & Academics2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books2375General2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books713038011General AAS2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books9944Literary Theory9928History & Criticism9822United States10311World Literature17Literature & Fiction1000Subjects283155Books11007Forensic Science11003Crime & Criminals53Nonfiction1000Subjects283155Books11322True Crime11314True Accounts53Nonfiction1000Subjects283155Books13872General13871History & Philosophy75Science1000Subjects283155Books713700011General AAS13871History & Philosophy75Science1000Subjects283155Books400272011Paperback394184011Mass Market401237011Trade394174011Binding (binding)388186011Refinements283155Books618083011Printed Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155BooksB000FC0SDWhttp://www.amazon.com/North-Star-over-My-Shoulder/dp/B000FC0SDW%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB000FC0SDW13573http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21l1Cyl5sZL._SL75_.jpg7556http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21l1Cyl5sZL._SL160_.jpg160120http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21l1Cyl5sZL.jpg267200Bob BuckKindle Edition920Kindle BookSimon & SchusterEnglish1199USD$11.99Simon & Schuster1448eBooks2004-01-07Simon & Schuster2004-01-07Simon & Schuster959USD$9.59100011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnew%2BBAOOiWjo9fPAyHd2NOanCc95gLpIhzxl7h3c2BSbH8dutnO9yv4usqWAUI7mUFl3MPKzt%2FygbH9VngGqA8yIg%3D%3D959USD$9.59Usually ships in 24 hours5.0204B000FC0SDW5002008-11-11

The Golden Age of Flight Described

I like the writing style of Bob Buck better than that of Ernest K. Gann, but the two tell similar stories covering approximately the same time period. Bob Buck's career with TWA was longer than Erenest K. Gann's career with American and the short-lived Matson, so Bob's stories extend into the jet age, but it's the stories from the 30s, 40s and 50s that I find to be the most interesting. <br /> <br />Bob flew a specially-equipped B-17 during WW-II, looking for lightning and other severe weather. It was funny that he literally flew all over the world looking for bad weather, only to learn that there's no better place in the world to find it than at his home base of Kansas City. <br /> <br />Ernest K. Gann's "Fate is the Hunter" is the gold standard by which all other aviation books are judged, but, well, I like "North Star Over My Shoulder" better. <br /> <br />It would be heresy to suggest that you not read Ernest K. Gann's "Fate is the Hunter," but it would be a severe omission if you were not to also read "North Star Over My Shoulder." <br />B000FC0SDW5002008-10-30

My Favoite Autogiography

This is one of the finest books, about an aviator's life, that you will ever read.B000FC0SDW5012008-01-28

Who better

I am a professional pilot who has done the freight, airline and corporate thing and now calls instructing corporate pilots his gig. (It's my wife who has the sign in so F off!) This has been been my mecca of aviation history. I was born 30 or so years late and I missed the glory years so I found the fountain of youth, wanna fight about it!? This book is THE penultimate tome of written aviatory (Bush said it so it's a word!!) history and I read it many times a year!B000FC0SDW4002008-01-08

North Star over My Shoulder: A Flying Life

Highly engaging. A chronicle of amazing change and progress in aviation in one man's career.B000FC0SDW5002007-10-05

Very well written history of aviation as viewed by Bob Buck

I found the book to be excellent. My father spent a career in what became TWA starting with TAT a few years before Bob Buck was hired into the merged airline. In fact, my father accompanied Bob Buck on the historic Rockwell polar flight. The book was so well written that I felt like I was getting a close up look at my father's environment over the years.Captain Robert N. Buck retired from TWA after having flown well over two thousand Atlantic crossings and thirty-seven years of service as chief pilot and director of thunderstorm research. During World War II he was engaged in weather research for the U.S. Air Corps, for which he was awarded, as a civilian, the Air Medal by President Harry Truman. More recently, Buck has worked with the International Civil Aviation Organization -- the UN's body for aviation -- to develop a new plan of world airspace. In North Star over My Shoulder, Bob Buck tells of a life spent up and over the clouds, and of the wonderful places and marvelous people who have been a part of that life. He captures the feel, taste, and smell of flying's great early era -- how the people lived, what they did and felt, and what it was really like to be a part of the world as it grew smaller and smaller. A terrific storyteller and a fascinating man, Bob Buck has turned his well-lived life into a delightful memoir for anyone who remembers when there really was something special in the air.Bob Buck may not be as famous as Charles Lindbergh, but he's well known among aviators for setting flight-distance records in the 1930s, flying a B-17 in the Second World War, and finally, becoming a commercial airline pilot who logged more than 2,000 trips across the Atlantic Ocean. <I>North Star over My Shoulder</I> is Buck's memoir of a life spent in the skies. He shares plenty of cockpit wisdom: "A copilot can make a trip or ruin it; get someone who talks too much, gripes about the company, tries to impress you, tells long and boring anecdotes, or is overly aggressive in suggesting ways to run the flight, and the taste is unpleasant." He also answers the question he says nonpilots are most likely to ask him: How do you overcome jet lag? "You don't," he says. Buck addresses offbeat subjects, too, such as what an airline pilot does when one of his first-class passengers is irate about the lack of caviar on a long trip. Readers fascinated by flight will enjoy this book, both for its historical perspective on advances in aviation ("a time no one will ever experience again") and the good advice that springs from almost every page ("sitting low tends to make you level off a little too high, while sitting up high tends to make you fly into the ground and not level off enough"). Pilots will appreciate this book, as will anybody who has ever wondered what it's like to fly a plane. <I>--John Miller</I>B000QRIGLCB000QCTOZYB000FCKIYQB000UZQIWEB000JMKVMG3048891Memoirs2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books2375General2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books713038011General AAS2Biographies & Memoirs1000Subjects283155Books618073011Kindle Books618072011Format (feature_browse-bin)388186011Refinements283155Books154793011Memoirs154754011Biographies & Memoirs154606011Kindle Books133141011Categories133140011Kindle Store154820011Travel154754011Biographies & Memoirs154606011Kindle Books133141011Categories133140011Kindle Store154780011General154754011Biographies & Memoirs154606011Kindle Books133141011Categories133140011Kindle Store156694011Aviation156693011Transportation156680011World156576011History154606011Kindle Books133141011Categories133140011Kindle Store0963869558http://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Soldier-Enemys-Answer-Firepower/dp/0963869558%3FSubscriptionId%3D05ERXYTS89KFGEPQR5G2%26tag%3Dthebookrevi0b-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D096386955887346http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C722K9M0L._SL75_.jpg7549http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C722K9M0L._SL160_.jpg160105http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C722K9M0L.jpg475311H. John PoolePaperbackWilliam S. LindMike Leahy3559780963869555940963869558Posterity PressEnglishEnglishEnglish8351495USD$14.95Posterity Press1360Book2001-08-09Posterity PressPosterity Press115551880USD$8.80689USD$6.892400USD$24.0015114011ATVPDKIKX0DERhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/help/seller/home.html?seller=ATVPDKIKX0DERNewnewS66AsaAADUbuQw9qAnLZnCU9eEu2IMGZ1iGwYOS3xQXeknWrjXFdD3TUPQj4psxTpwbJgiZddjc4MSOa87P7GQ%3D%3D1017USD$10.17Usually ships in 24 hours5.020409638695584002007-10-01

Outstanding Explanation of Effective Small Unit Tactis

Excellent book, but I am not sure the distinction is between Western and Oriental tactics. I suspect that American Indians, frontier scouts, the British SAS, U.S. Special Operations community, etc...would be very familiar with, and skilled at, these tactics. <br /> <br />A classic dilemma that resurfaces every time we go to war. Militaries, at least in the West, prepare to fight the last war and not the next one. As a free society, the public tends to forget the hard lessons learned and shuns warriors during times of peace. The end result is that we constantly are reinventing the wheel after every war/generation. <br /> <br />Victor Davis Hanson, in a recent editorial in the City Journal called Why Study War, gave a perfect example from the Post-Vietnam era; "The public perception in the Carter years was that America had lost a war that for moral and practical reasons it should never have fought--a catastrophe, for many in the universities, that it must never repeat. The necessary corrective wasn't to learn how such wars started, went forward, and were lost. Better to ignore anything that had to do with such odious business in the first place"...."A wartime public illiterate about the conflicts of the past can easily find itself paralyzed in the acrimony of the present. Without standards of historical comparison, it will prove ill equipped to make informed judgments." <br /> <br />A well-written and important book that provides an in-depth analysis of small unit tactics. <br />09638695585222007-08-21

Great Wisdom Simplified

<br />A sure test of talent and knowledge is the challenge of taking a very complex subject, explaining it in understandable terms and then offering solutions along with the understanding. My very brief stint in the Army ended long before Vietnam called the younger brothers of my generation. From the news reports it appeared that we suffered so many casualties only because the enemy was "sneaky" and prepared to die. How could the US lose to people who could not afford shoes? <br /> <br />Poole does a great job of bridging the gap from Sun Tzu to the muddy jungles of Vietnam and the significance of the lessons to our maneuver warfare. It is no accident that Boyd associate Willian Lind wrote the preface. <br /> <br />Poole finished the book just before 9/11. Our experience in Iraq and the Israeli experience during the past year show that we have much to learn. After 50 plus years of victories over various armies, the Israelis lost to what most consider a rag-tag army. Other than their heritage, they are as unlikely to defeat the Israelis as the sandal clod Vietnamese. <br /> <br />Poole's book is a gift to the small unit soldier and perhaps a greater gift to those in higher command who will order soldiers to assault targets with little understanding of what they may be facing. It may be at a distant command post or in the case of Somalia the commander flying overhead at 2,000 feet but unable to understand the river of lead flying down the street as he instructs troops to consolidate their positions. <br /> <br />This is a great aid to understanding current events and history from the comfort of your easy chair while balancing a martini on the arm. However, my sense is that it is far more valuable as a gift to a young trooper. In addition it should be mandatory reading ( along with Sun Tzu and Boyd's briefing slides) for every reporter who covers wars and "low intensity" conflicts. <br /> <br />Reading the book makes you appreciate Poole but feel uncomfortable with the contents. A great contribution. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />09638695585552006-11-24

Excellent Analysis on the Eastern Warfighter

As with all of Poole's works, we are treated here to an excellent analysis of the tactical sphere of war. This time, from the eastern fighter's perspective. Written, I believe, pre-9/11, the work itself is a thorough offering of actual techniques and wartime practices used by small units against western forces, but it is most remarkable in that it outlines in a concise and friendly manner what most analysts still fumble over on MSNBC. <br /> <br />In the world of tactical operations and small unit tactics, we can not ask for a better teacher than John Poole. Keep a close eye out for any and all of his works, for they have a lot to say about how and what western forces will fight for the next fifty years. <br /> <br />NOTE: This work makes a perfect companion to the author's "The Tiger Way," which outlines the ideal western method for combating such tactics. 096386955859