Reviews Books

Knight's Risk,Uncertainty and Profit(RUP) is a classic work ,especially with respect to Knight's analysis of the distinction between risk and uncertainty and the role each plays in the decision making calculus of the entreprenuer or the firm.For instance,Knight recognized that the negative impact of uncertainty could be reduced for those firms that were able to increase their size and get larger and larger over time.Advertising would allow firms to deal with the uncertainty of consumer responses to the introduction of new products over time ,as well as to changes in consumer preferences.Knight was the first to clearly recognize that economic profit is the return to the successful entreprenuer or owner of the firm to compensate them for the bearing of uncertainty.Knight's analysis of the connection between uncertainty and economic profit corrected the errors of Ricardo and Marx,who regarded economic profit as an unearned surplus .Keynes's integration of expected economic profit into the specification of his aggregate supply function,Z,where Z =P+wN(P equals expected economic profit),can be traced back to Knight's earlier discussions.It is strange that economists still are having trouble specifying Keynes's Z function nearly 70 years after the publication of the General Theory in 1936.However,Knight's theoretical analysis of uncertainty at both the micro and macro level is not as impressive as Schumpeter's analysis of uncertainty in his Theory of Economic Development(1912)or of the path breaking analysis of John Maynard Keynes in chapters 6 and 26 of the A Treatise on Probability(1921).In this latter book,Keynes operationalized a quantitative method of dealing with uncertainty(insufficient weight of the evidence,w)by means of his conventional coefficient of risk and weight,c.This coefficient allows a decision maker to incorporate uncertainty and nonadditive probabilities into a technical analysis of decision making.The only author who comes close to Keynes is D.Ellsberg with his practically identical index to measure ambiguity called rho.There are still some unanswered questions that can be asked in this area of economic thought.Why didn't Knight cite the earlier work of Joseph Schumpeter on the risk versus uncertainty distinction?Further,why didn't Keynes cite both Knight and Schumpeter in his chapters 12 ,17 and 22,where he discussed the issue of the effect of uncertainty on investment in new capital goods and on stock market speculation?

Frank Knight hit the ground running with his dissertation, which he published as Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit. Knight makes a simple but important distinction between quantifiable risk and uncertainty. The distinction between risk and uncertainty is important in understanding markets, profits, and entrepreneurship. Knight connects entrepreneurship with uncertainty and profit. These factors do not square well with conventional notions of perfectly competitive equilibrium.

Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit is a work of major importance. This book constitutes a serious alternative to the theories of entrepreneurship developed by Schumpeter and Kirzner. While most modern economists underemphasize entrepreneurship, Knight examines uncertainty and entrepreneurship as a way of bridging the gap between abstract theory and economic realities. Knight saw the obvious fact that we do not live in a world of perfect competition. He, like Shackle and Keynes, recognized that we must explain uncertainty if we are to ever understand how the capitalist system really works.

Knight was a major figure in the generation of interwar economists who sought to explain the dynamics of capitalism. Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit is indispensable to anyone who aims at understanding uncertainty and dynamics in microeconomics, along with the work of Schumpeter, Hayek, Coase, Kaldor, Mises, Lachmann, and Shackle.

Even though the recent research in microeconomic theory has paid attention (somewhat reluctant in my opinion) to the topic of the "uncertainty", i.e. the Knightian uncertainty, it has not been successfully incorporated in the main theoretical framework, yet. The one of the evidences may be that we still cite D. Ellsberg's paper in QJE as the one of the most important work in this field: it is like citing Keynes' "General Theory" in every microeconomic paper as in 1950s and 1960s.

The book is pleasant to read: it is full of insights, usually forgotten by now, including the complemental tendency of the theoretical and empirical works in economics. The most important accomplishment is that he argued that the exisence of the "uncertainty", the event whose probablity cannot be estimated priori or from empirical data, explains the instablity of the perfect competition, the (lucklustre) justification for the monopoly and the oligopoly, and the superiority of the private property system (capitalism). It is noticable that many phenomenons metioned in the book can be still applicable now, and the last part implies the author's thought regarding to the path of the capitalism, which is explored in more depth in Schumpeter's work despite the differences in two economists' predictions.

Knight is one of the economist who lived in the transition of classical into neoclassical economics. The book predicts the emergence of more mathematical economists, but cannot escape from the influence of the former. The same thing can be said of the works of Schumpeter, Viner, and Veblen. Despite being one of the most famous economists, he and Schumpeter has no student who followed their lines of works: is it because their imaginative ways in conducting the reserach, or because of the trends in economics which trapped their students? (Stigler was a student of Knight, but which interest do their works share, except for their interests in history of economic thoughts?)

It is worth reading because it reminds of what economics is or should be about, not because it prescribes the solution which could not be found in the modern economic works. We are witnessing the transition of several countries into the private economics with the mixed results. It should be noted that Hayek's work is the starting point in this field, the transition economics or the comparative economics, but Knight's work is more appropriate, pratical, and dynamical.

Thus, if you are uncomfortable with the current economics, want to explore more idiosyncratic works in economics and think about the big picture in the path of the society, or are tempted to diverge from the dullness of the business books in your bookshelf, then this may what you have been looking for. Unless you are struck with the optimism that cannot be easily found in the present.

This is the standard work in the field, give or take some stuff Keynes wrote on risk and capital.

This is the best work of economic theory I have ever read. There is no work in economics that evinces better judgment on the main issues or that does a better job of balancing theory with a sense for the facts. Knight begins by defending theoretical (that is, deductive) economics. Unlike the economic rationalists, however, Knight does not believe that theoretical economics can lead to precise results. The application of the "analytic method" must always be "incomplete," he argues. Theoretical economics thus can only deal with "tendencies," that is, "with what 'would' happen under simplified conditions never realized, but always more or less closely approached in practice." This methodology Knight describes as "the method of successive approximations." Knight also warns of the dangers of rationalism and the necessity of constantly checking one's results against the facts. "When the number of factors taken into account in deduction becomes large, the process rapidly becomes unmanageable and errors creep in... It is better to stop dealing with elements separately before they get too numerous and deal with the final stages of the approximation by applying corrections empirically determined."

Armed with the method, Knight proceeds to tackle several important problems in economics, especially dealing with the theoretical construct of "perfect competition." By always keeping his head firmly within the empirically real, Knight is able to bring a great deal of sound judgment to a number of issues. Knight had a keen sense of human nature and how human beings behave in the real world of fact. He knew that most economists had made men out to be far more rational than they really were. Businesses, he argued, did not merely seek to meet the needs of the consumers; no, they sought to create new needs through innovation, advertising, and even a sort of manipulative hypnotism. In this, Knight argued, we find both progress and abuse, civilization and fraud. Knight also brings a good deal of sense to the problem of interest, demonstrating the psychological inadequacy of all time-preference theories of interest. But Knight's most important contribution consists in his analysis of the difference between risk and uncertainty. Risk, Knight argues, is a measurable probability that something could happen, like the probability that an individual will be struck by lightening or hit by a car. Uncertainty is a kind of immeasurable risk--e.g., predicting short term flucations in exchange rates. Knight's analysis is crucial to understanding economic reality. Knight's distinction between risk and uncertainty, for instance, explains why the rise of derivative securities in financial markets is so dangerous. Derivatives attempt to insure uncertainty, which is immeasurable, as if it were risk (which is measurable).

My husband and I just love these Jenny Linsky stories, and we have no kids! We had never heard of Jenny Linsky until my husband brought home a very badly beaten up copy of it from the dump of all places. We are now HUGE fans and plan on collecting all of Jenny's charming stories.

We are purchasing this series one at a time for our daughter, who is also named Jenny. She is eating them up! The stories are simple and sweet, but include lots of old-fashioned adventure, just perfect for young kids. We own several titles now and I have not been disappointed by any of them. Charming illustrations and great stories makes for a perfect combination! I recommend this series highly. Probably up to a fourth grade reading level.

My daughters love the Jenny Linsky cat books. All of the drawings are extremely charming and the writing is so fluid that my nine-year-old reads them to her younger sister.

I picked up a Jenny and the cat Club book at a yard sale in the late 1970's. It quickly became my favorite book, and I still have it today. I tried to collect other Jenny books over the years, but they are hard to find in good condition - and expensive - so I was happy to see them all republished in hardcover! My collection grows!!

These books are wonderful - hope you will buy one for your kids - or yourself! :)

I thought this story would be far fetched being that Jenny goes to a "camp." But she actually goes to a kennel and it made more sense to me (talking cats, cat who drives--perfectly normal to me). Nonetheless, the story keeps in balance with the rest of Averill's series. My five year old truly enjoys this series. He loves cats and enjoys the fun adventures Jenny the cat experiences.

Unplug the phone, cancel all your appointments, put the cat out -- okay, you can keep the cat. But Robert Walser's wonderful "Selected Stories" must be read in an atmosphere of silence, with complete attention. You owe it to yourself to have a chance to appreciate this utterly distinctive voice. Others have called him a "comic Kafka," and others have complained that he is not a "comic Kafka," so perhaps we can stipulate that he is "the writer who is not a comic Kafka." He is, indeed a good deal more hospitable and accessible than Kafka, but he is not always comic in "A Little Ramble," (which might be my favorite of these collected short items), he can stop you in your tracks. I haven't read Walser's novel, "Jakob von Gunten," yet (though I certainly plan to) but I wonder if Walser's peculiar talents aren't particularly suited to a form that is ephemeral, almost furtive.

Read "The She Owl," which has a gentle charm. Read "Parisian Newspapers," which has an edge. Oh, read them all, listening to catch Walser's extraordinary voice. And aboave all, read "A Little Ramble," which might be the best onc-page story in the language.

Although his novel "Jakob von Gunten" is a masterpiece, the maniacal genius of Walser is more easily discovered in his short fiction. If Kafka's vision is maddening and claustrophobic, Walser, who deals with a similar kind of surrealistic world, applies a lighter, more deftly playful touch. Sometimes, the puns and literary license Walser take can be willful and test a reader's patience, but the sheer force of his philosophy and world view contained in these miniaturist stories are awe-inspiring, and are on par with the delirious vision of Kafka. Walser is a kind of a writer who can turn from anger to unbearable tenderness within a sentence. Many of these stories will move you and frustrate you at the same time, but all the risks he takes are still, and I suspect always will be, thrillingly modern and relevant. I only wish his excellent reworkings of fairy tales (I'm thinking especially of 'Snow White') could have been included in this volume. Walser has been neglected for far too long, and the longer his work languishes in obscurity, the world is that much more at a loss.

The "New York Review Books Classics" emails are always a joy to receive and read; whoever picks the books for this series has a wonderful ability to introduce me to writers I've never heard about before. This extract from a recent mailing proves my point:

'Robert Walser (1878-1956) left school at fourteen and led a wandering, precarious existence while producing poems, essays, stories, and novels. In 1933 he entered an insane asylum--he remained there for the rest of his life--and quit writing. "I am not here to write," he said, "but to be mad."'

The other reviewers here have described Walser's work much better than I could. It seemed to me that Walser writes with a light handed serenity which is very attractive, happy and playful. But on reflection, he seems to be communicating deep seated fears. For the past several weeks, I've read a story every few days, then thought about it for a day or two. It's been a rewarding experience, and Wikipedia has a list of many more novellas and stories still to be explored.

As usual, NYRBC delivers a beautifully produced volume, which adds to the joy of reading these stories.

Robert C. Ross 2008

"Wandering, what a brilliant, light blue joy you are!"

If the absolute inevitable truth of every word of that sentence isn't immediately clear to you, you may not be the kind of reader who will be knocked off your feet by Robert Walser, whose typical prose piece is always a kind of wandering. The most acclaimed piece (and the best, I think) in this collection is in fact titled "The Walk," a perfectly honest title that serves to summarize the plot.

If you're one who needs beginnings, middles, and ends...
If you insist on naturalistic dialogue...
If you want at least a modicum of happening...
you may not be the kind of reader who will rave about Walser to your friends, as I have been doing since I started reading him a couple years ago.

Walser was roughly a contemporary of Franz Kafka, who read and seems to have been influenced by Walser. Although Walser wrote four long pieces usually labeled as novels, his most characteristic works are short sketches, two to ten pages, only rarely resembling anything most people would call a story. Some of Walser's work was published in his lifetime, and he had a coterie of distinguished fans like Hermann Hesse. Then, after 1933, when he was committed to a "madhouse," he was as forgotten as a politician's promise. His rediscovery began with American and English readers, especially translator Christopher Middleton.

By our times, Walser is widely perceived as a pioneer surrealist; his work certainly has surreal effects, but his intentions, as I read him, were never to extend reality but merely to capture it as he alone saw it. That he was, perhaps, slightly mad and certainly eccentric did refract his vision in unexpected and original colors. His subject, even when writing in his not-fooling-anyone disguise as a simple man, was always his own strange, joyful, aimless personality.

Catch the word "joyful" there! Walser is NOT a depressing writer. He's a man enchanted with everything, from mustard to mountains. He's wry, salty, silly, satirical, and sooo penetrating.

The translations in this collection are close to the character of Walser's "wandering" German. There's another collection - Masquerade - translated by Susan Bernofsky. I prefer Bernofsky somewhat for syntactical cleverness in translating, but this collection includes The Walk, the most picturesquely brilliant of all Walser's prose.

Some critics have said that Walser was a columnist before there were columns, and it's easy to imagine Walser being a huge success reading his pieces on NPR, but for all their apparent inconsequentiality, Walser's works have a profundity that will accumulate as you read.

Robert Walser. I came to this Teutonic scribner by way of a jackass professor I had in graduate school. In his class on Modern European literature we read "Jacob von Gunten," a 1st person neurotic diatribe about a man enrolled in a servant's college. Unlike the professor's lectures, I enjoyed certain passages of that work immensely, especially the transcendental moments where the main character describes how he melts into the shuffling masses in the city where he lives. Other sections were less engaging.

I believe that Walser's short stories, at least the ones collected here, are better able to display his literary gifts than that novella. Clearly the masses are an issue he enjoyed writing about, and there are several stories that deal vividly with the dehumanizing reality of city living, as well as office work. Clearly, Walser writes most prolifically in the fist person, a voice that is often driven by angst and inflected with various neuroses (Walser himself ended up in a mental hospital). But what I enjoyed most about this collection were the stories that differed from his normal style. Stories like the "She-Owl," "Balloon Journey," and "Kliest in Thum" are some examples. These are short third-person pieces, often only a page and a half long, which tell simple stories as they bend perception, causing the reader to see the world with new eyes. I find these short pieces more entertaining than the fist-person stories, which tend to be heavy on the solipsism and lack structure (see "The Walk"). There is something Borges about the economy of these stories, and maybe some Cortazar in their oddness. This collection rewards a thorough reading. And afterward the reader will get a better appreciation for Walser's influence upon two of the world's greatest writers - Kafka and WG Sebald. Does Walser eclipse his literary offspring? I'll leave that up to you to decide. But one thing is clear, Walser's literary reputation needs to be reinstated -- and this collection helps.

For those who liked Keith Topping's British perspective in his earlier 'Slayer' volume, here is an update. This book covers only the 6th season - Buffy's resurrection, the Trioka, the musical, Willow-as-evil, etc. Each episode receives 5-to-8 pages of coverage, organized under various thematic headings: Plot summary, music, memorable quotes, comments on the women's clothing, continuity errors, logic flaws, pop culture references, etc. Topping seems to have caught everything, down to the tiniest continuity error.

There are also separate essays on (1) series creator Joss Whedon, (2) the network switch to UPN, (3) an update on BtVS novels (about a paragraph on each), (4) an update on BtVS and the internet, and (5) predictions for the 7th season, which was the last season of this underappreciated series that never gained the viewership it deserved.

I have the edition of Slayer for seasons 1 through 5, and it is really a good guide of the series. This book continues with the same fun observations, facts, and quotes. I know some people hate season 6, but for those of us that love it--this book is worth it. If you don't like season 6, maybe this book can help you see the good things about the season.

Season six is in my opinon the best Buffy season ever.
If you don't like it read this book. It will change your mind.
If it doesn't, then go back to watching Bewitched or Buffy season one. I guess the true spirit of the Slayer is lost on you.

This book covers the sixth season of Buffy and is the next volume in Keith Topping's 'Slayer' episode guides (the previous 5 seasons are covered in a single volume, also available from Amazon). Keith does his usual thorough job covering each episode in detail. Even if you disagree with his views, you can't dispute that he has a deep love for the show and a healthy respect for all those involved in its production.

As I have stated in other reviews, Keith Topping's Buffy and Angel books are the best unauthorised episode guides on the market. If you are a serious fan of Buffy and Angel, you only need the official guides and these books.

As an American, it hurts to admit that Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the quintessential expression of American cheekiness and derring-do, has been best chronicled by a Britisher. Of course, I'm teasing a bit. But there is no question that Keith Topping seems to have a better grasp of what is important in the Buffyverse than many of his contemporaries on this side of the ocean.

What Topping does not do is write one agonizing reprise after another of all the episodes of Season Six of the show. As viewers will no doubt remember, Season Six was quite agonizing itself without that point being hammered home all over again. Instead, Topping provides very short synopses, followed by myriad details of things that are unique, funny, or perplexing about each episode.

You will be treated to paragraphs on 'A little learning is a dangerous thing' (the power of misinformation), 'Denial they name is...' (Self-delusion in Sunnydale), 'It's a designer label..' (clothes, of course), valley-speak, geek-speak, logic errors, and ever more items that bring to light the aspects of the production which the viewer, caught up in the story, is likely to miss. All of this is done in a style that is an enjoyable mix of tongue-in-cheek and respectfully serious.

Topping is an excellent researcher. His ability to find countless relationships, both intentional and accidental, to other atavars of popular culture is uncanny. Nor does he hesitate to introduce the reader to the more analytic writings on Buffy and the Scooby gang. Despite the spottiness of Season Six, Topping manages to ferret out all the good parts - to the point where I have to admit that the book is better than the season.

If you are a fan then you will want this book. And you will want to track down Topping's other efforts on the show that nearly ate South California.

As a mom I am always looking for books that are easy and somewhat mindless... since each story (or "blog") is only a few pages long it is a great book to pick up during naptime, before bed, while the kids are in the bath, etc and take a short break from reality and have a few laughs while you are at it. It is also always nice to hear about other moms who have the same fears, joys, and concerns as you do as a mother. This is a light & quick read and a nice gift idea for new moms.

FYI, my thumb nail says this is by Stacy Morrision; she wrote the forward to the book. Rita Arens wrote the chapter introductions, several of the essays, and gathered the rest of the essays together.

I really enjoyed this book and showed several of the essays to friends and coworkers. I have recommended it to several people. The essays are posts from mommy-bloggers written over the last several years. The essays are very real and discuss the good, bad, and in between of motherhood. At turns it made me tear up, question my own mothering, feel I had a co-conspirator, made me go eehhk, and uhg, and ohhh, and snort out load in laughter.

Sleep is for the Weak is a great read for any mom. You will identify with so many of the situations. And the ones you don't identify with will give you more perspective on your own experiences.

I rarely laugh out loud when reading a book, but I certainly did when I read the first chapter. Hilarious! And because the book is a collection of stories, it is easy to read a few, put the book down, and then pick up again later -- which is so essential with the inevitable distractions a mommy reader will have.

As a fan of the blog, Surrender, Dorothy and so many of the other blogs that contributed to this book, I found it to be a wonderful collection of essays.

That being said, you don't need to read any of these blogs to enjoy this book. I wish I had read it prior to having my kids. Helps you realize you are not alone in this struggle called parenthood and that there are ways to see the funny side to almost any parenting situation.

Super read!

I purchased this book over the weekend, and was lucky enough to have it signed by several of the phenomenal women who contributed essays.

Wow. Instead of spending time with my husband (whom I haven't seen for three days), I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning laughing and crying. These women GET IT. It is so refreshing to read REAL stories from REAL moms---the good, bad, dirty, and hysterically funny.

Rita did a fantastic job of picking the best of the best, and I look forward to many more volumes.

This is a superb gift for any woman, anywhere. I am terribly pleased to have Christmas completely taken care of!

My 13 yr. old got this two weeks ago & loves it. He's read through it twice already.

Remember, this is a guide. It is great fun. Many interesting descriptions and a few tech BW images of comm badge, phaser modifications and alien monsters. There is also a description where and who first encounter a problem (reference to Star Trek episode).
The most interesting writing style - it's like all the Star Trek universe is NOW. Great.
I was a little disapointed - I was hoping for more. It's too short.

I used to have a very simple definition of a textbook: a book that contains a great deal of factual information, but puts you to sleep while attempting to absorb it. This totally fails to meet the second criteria (unlike, for instance, the TNG Technical Manual). Essentially, this is a collection of Trek trivia, in terms of equipment, creatures, and medical techniques, from the shows. However, from the style it is written in one can clearly picture a Starfleet officer actually reading and using this Guide. The descriptions are very clear, concise and interesting. One of them - Section 1.11, "Surviving Atmospheric Re-entry in a Pressure Suit" - is downright compelling reading. The mental picture of each step is incredibly vivid, and so involving that one can actually feel worried when reading the fatal consequences of anything going wrong. This is a brilliant piece of writing and extremely entertaining. For someone starting to collect Trek trivia books and/or manuals, this is definitely the one to recommend buying first.

Star Trek: The Starfleet Survival Guide written by David Mack is a unique little tome in that it is written in computer manual style... starting with 1.0 and ending at 4.15.But more importantly, this book makes you alert to the countless dangers that arise in space and how to cope.

This book has uses for standard-issue equipment that are nonstandard, for exanple remodulating a universal translator into a jamming device, recalibrating transporter enhancer armbands as temporal shields, or this one that you just can't live without sterilizing food and water with a phaser.

The second chapter is unconventional medicine which I found to be enlightening like modifying a type-1 or type-2 phaser into a scalpel, neutralizing Denevan neural parasites, or this one the proven herbal remedies for Mugato venom.

The third chapter is dangerous life-forms which helps with some very unique advice such as avoiding mind control by Elasian women, surviving an attack by a Crysstalline enity, or this onenavigating inside a Borg Cube or Sphere.

Chapter four is extreme scenarios like the following inducing solar eruptions for tactical purposes, surviving if you are shifted out of phase, or this one detecting and escaping temporal causality loops.

This book is full of things that happen or could happen and what to do. So, if you are traveling the universe soon... get your copy and don't leave home without it. There are illustrations in this book that help take you through the techno-jargon and I only mentioned some of the information in each chapter. Reading this book will enlighten you to a lot more survival information.

As it states in the book, "it should be noted that "The Starfleet Survival Guide" does not contain information on basic survival techniques..." This guide is intended as a specialized supplement to the basic survival manual. It reads quickly and is a weath of quirky information.

This is a great book for any Star Trek fan. This is a documented list of unconventional uses of standard equipment for situations that Star Fleet personel may encounter that requires a creative, if not vital, method for survival.

Great book. A lot of technical information, and if you're a fanfic writer of Star Trek, there are a lot good things you can incorporate into your writing.

While the day-to-day, 9-to-5 (only it's sometimes more like 24/7) career of child-rearing is still largely a female domain, Mr. Mom is no longer a movie cliche, but an SAHD, or Stay-at-Home Dad. As more mothers bring home larger pay checks, and more paying jobs can be done at home, more fathers find themselves able and willing to do the daycare thing. Thus the rise of dads like Peter Baylies, founder of the At-Home Dad Network and publisher of its newsletter, and thus this very useful and pragmatic guide for "Men Who Clean Bathrooms and the Women Who Love Them."

The Stay-at-Home Dad Handbook would be an excellent tool for any expectant parent, male or female, who wants to look after both home and children. Baylies is full of clear and clever advice about establishing routines, cleaning house (and how to schedule this around the needs of a small child), dealing with tantrums, attaining and maintaining a satisfying social life, living on one income, working at home, avoiding burnout, and what to do when the kid hits kindergarten age. Some of this stuff men simply need explained to them, and Baylies does that with admirable precision, flavored with amusing examples of traditional can-do male attitude - there's a really good idea about how to recycle your old computer and edutain your child at the same time - and tips only a dad would think of, or publish. (Having fun in the summer months via the "ice cube meltdown in armpit" method comes to mind.) But the book's guy-ness comes through most strongly in the "Spotlight on Dad" profiles that finish each chapter: vignettes, some funny and some poignant, by other SAHDs about their at-home experiences: the frustration of waiting and waiting, a squalling infant in one's arms, for the breast-feeding mom who's stuck on the freeway; the guy who's finally taken the proud step of calling himself "a professional parent." ("And if you call me Mr. Mom, I'll hit you with my diaper bag.")

It would be nice to hear a little more about the less tangible rewards of staying at home: the ease and intimacy of life with one's child, the pleasures of not commuting and of being one's own boss. But not to quibble; with its attention to detail and the appendix of cool resources, Baylies's latest child is for any father-to-be who dreams of becoming a real pro. -- Melanie Lawrence for the FEARLESS REVIEWS

This is "THE BOOK" on stay at home dads! Fun and fast reading that offers valuable insight into the life of stay at home dads. Great parenting tips for both mom's and dad's. Read this book and you will be a better father. This book is a must read for any parent who takes parenting seriously.

As a recently back to work mom, I found this book to be incredibly helpful both for me and for my at-home dad husband. The chapter about how to deal with the "rush hour" time before dinner offers some great tips. I definately recommend this book to new moms and dads!

I had a chance to peek at an advanced copy of the book and I was floored by the creative advise and down to earth approach. I should have read this book 5 years ago when my son's were still young. Luckily I'll have plenty of time to practice on my daughter.

The book provides valuable nuggets of information for the stay at home dad. This grassroots hands on voices of experience book is a great resource with funny and informative reading.

Absolutely must for an IMG, has a lot of stuff starting on how to prepare a good application and also tips on writing personal statement and dos & dont,s for recommendation letters. I found it very useful and would definitely recommend it.

I bought this book on June/06, just prior the match season started. It totally changed my original plan. I was full of the info that is on the internet, the same that the thousands of applicants use. This book gives you in detail what you have to do in order to outstand from the rest. Focusing on the difficulties that an IMG has while trying to get a residency, set the profile of the SUCESSFUL IMG, and explains you how to become one. I relyed on this book only and obtained 10 invitations out of 30 applications, all from top centers like Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, or Mayo Clinic. Definitively, the best tool for IMG's.

I would swear and curse with joy, but I shall hold back!

The author of this book is to be commended on the exemplary structure and layout of this little gold-mine... I was hoping to find this work earlier, and I am only thankful that I have it in my hands right now!!!

Getting to the US, into a top-notched residency programme, while being a foreign medical graduate are all difficult things to combine and accomplish skilfully. It is absolutely wonderful to see a physician who made it, and who made it BIG.
I found this book thoroughly informative, believe it or not, on ALL the major steps required for that arduous process. Most texts offer scarse little tid-bits of already well-known facts that I needed to add MUCH more to. This book does that splendidly.
I particularly enjoyed the Seventy-Thirty rule.

Guys out there looking for more than JUST a book on getting through the hurdles?... this book is for those who want to do it and do it WELL. It's plain, and simple, and easy to read. I recommend it above ANY of the other books on the market. THIS ONE is the ONLY one of it's kind...

Thank you to the author. A tremendously honest piece of work. Congratulations.

It's a very comprehensive book and the tips it gives are really great and deal with real life. The LORs and interview sections are marvellous. The author has an indeed deep understanding of the successful application process for a residency in the U.S. What might miss from this book: maybe how can IMGs find an observership in the U.S for which he/she wouldn't have to pay, just like it is possible in Europe!
I recommend the book in highest terms to anyone applying for residency.

This is THE book for IMGs. Forget first aid and others. Nobody explains the finer details, the minutae that can enhance your competitiveness better than Anagh Vora. The book is a truly outstanding read and will help the readers in the process of obtaining a US residency.

Best would be to buy it by the 2nd-3rd year of medical college and utilise all the guidelines mentioned. Its 140 pages of information for just IMGs, so very much detailed as to what to do and what not to do.

Buying it will be the best decision in you quest for a US residency.

The best book you can ever get in General surgery. If you really want to enjoy surgery while you are reading, get Greenfield's. The sub specialty sections are awesome as well, you don't have to look elsewhere when you get this book.

i found this book the best surgical book covering
basic scince,general surgucal and subspescility topics including
anatomy,pathophysiology of surgical dieases and managment in details.

I came across this book back in early 2002, and since my best friend had the Sabiston and we were on a budget, i bought this one. This is deffinetly the best and the most complete book i could have bought on general surgery. It takes you from anatomy trough physiology in each pathology you read upon. Would recomend it to anybody, either finishing medschool, or starting your residency in General Surgery.

i'd rate in terms of comprehensibility &modern thinking greenfield>sabiston>schwartz

I happened to pass through this most wounderful book by mistake, but when I read through it,Ii felt really sorry for not depending on it as an additional but essential referrence during my college and postgraduate years, the chapters are well organized and deeply written easily read, the illustrations are very clear and informative, although I might suggest a second more expanded chapter on infections being one of the most serious sergical enemies infections. ..I really want to thank the editors and contributors for the enormous effort they have put here and all the knowledge I found in this great book.

I actually bought this book because I am always looking for great, meaningful movies to watch and when I saw it I thought this would be perfect!

Also - I passed it along to my friend who is a teacher and she has used it in her class for friday movie-days . . .

I just saw this book listed in my local paper and I ordered it right away because I have teens who are difficult to communicate with. Last night I actually sat down with my son and daughter and we watched "Scent of a Woman." We had a great discussion afterwards about cheating, friendships etc. This book was a god send. I recommend it to anyone with children who are tough to talk to. Thank you to the authors for this wonderful addition to our library.

Every parent has been confronted by the blank stare displayed by their child when confronted with a difficult topic they simply wish not to discuss with you. This book overs an antidote to that ennui with the simple, but brilliant idea of 'taking" your kid to the movies instead. This is accomplished by the easy expedient of slamming a video tape in your own home vcr.It offers the "safe" outlet of entertainment as a catylist for serious discussion by employing salient guidelines and analysis of over 100 theatrical films.

This is a terrific book for sharing with yor family and almost every family likes movies. The analysis is quite inciteful and the movies choices are interesting and inspired. The lessons are good ones and easily followed by children and adults.

I really like this book! The introduction is extremely helpful and provides a lot of insight into using films within the family structure. A giant step beyond just a movie guide, this book shows parents like me how I can use movies to learn more about my kids. I have a ten year old son who is not the easiest person to talk to, so I'm confident that many of the movies in Talking Pictures will provide the common ground needed for us to have some of those meaningful talks.