Reviews Books

I found this book to be very useful and thorough with its detailed solutions. The layout is well-organized, easy to refer to, and everything is straightforward and instructive. Definitely recommended for anyone who wants to progress quickly with their GMAT preparation.

I got the entire 4 book set. Heard great things from my colleagues about this series. They really lived up to my expectation though the book covers could have been laminated to make them sturdier! The solutions are very details. In the back, it also sorts all the official guide questions by type and by number. Studying using both Turbocharge and OG is very effective for me.

Awesome explanations! Sometimes even eye-opening solutions. Good to know there's more than one way to skin a cat. I think we should all try to use the shortest cut to solve any problem to gain valuable time on those ones we are unsure about.

A very good solutions book for those tough math questions in the Study Guide! Many different ways of solving the very same problem is laid out. I also like the tables in the back of the book. They re-sorted all the OG and Study Guide questions by type and topic. Very useful if you want to tackle one major math topic at one time in a progressive manner!

Medessentials is a great book. Slightly more detailed with better charts compared to First Aid. Both books though have information not contained in the other, while a large majority is in both. I would recommend any first years considering books for studying for Step 1 for their second year to consider buying this and using both First Aid and Medessentials together (annotating 1 or both of them) as you go through your courses/review throughout the year making the 4-8wks/study before boards easier.

I have to disagree with the reader who gave this book one star review. This is a REVIEW book, not a text book. It's true all the tables, diagrams and illustrations come from Kaplan lecture note(the note alone sell for $600, you may get them used from ebay for $300), but medessential picked out only the highest yield material from these notes to include in this comprehensive review book. I only studied Kaplan and Goljan patho and got 234(98)(I will try to upload my score sheet here). I didn't like FA myself, b/c it's too boring and it's just piles of disorganized facts, there is no comparison like Kaplan did.

I suggest you visit your local Barnes and noble to read this book first before making the purchase and see if it suit your style.

I graduated from medical school 13 years ago from another country, just passed my step 1 last year, Kaplan and Goljan definitely are critical to my success.

Good luck for your boards!

The book was wonderful for a quick Anatomy, Embryo, Histo, Phys and Biochem review. Basically it's good for everything but Path. And lets face it - most of us use Goljan Rapid Review for that. If you have used or like the Kaplan lecture series books, this will work for you. Its a high yield review of lecture material in Kaplan mainly in chart format. Its main advantage over FA is the use of pictures that help to illustrate the anatomy and embryology. I love it and have pushed FA2008 aside in favor of this book. In quick review - you WILL need a different Path review book, but this is more detailed and better as a high yield review of general info!

THIS IS THE BEST AND MOST COMPLETE BOOK YOU WILL EVER NEED TO PREPARE FOR USMLE STEP 1!!! FOR THOSE WHO NEED A GRRRREAT REVIEW BOOK FOR STEP 1. YOU ARE GOING TO SHOT YOURSELF IN THE FOOT IF YOU DON'T BUY THIS..IT SHOULD BE WITH YOU WHEN YOU ARE IN BASICS!! IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE BOOK LEARN IT LOVE IT UNDERSTAND IT!!! I GUARANTEE YOU WILL RAISE YOUR SCORE!!!!
I AM 100% CONFIDENT ABOUT THIS BOOK AND HOW GREAT IT IS!!! BUY IT!!!!
ITS A MUST!!!!

Yes first aid is there but it doesn't cover the depths of Medessential..The uniqueness about KAPLAN MEDESSENTIALS is that it goes by organ system. IT starts with the Embryo, and finishes up the chapter with Pharm and Path!!!

It is the complete thing!!! And No I don't work for Kaplan, I just had the pleasure to use this book for step 1. I was blown away with how it fit the real style of USMLE!!!

I wish I had it when I was in basics, because it helps draw out the most important facts that are a must for step 1 instead of bombarding your head with useless facts.
Thank you KAPLAN!!

I have found this book to be quite informational on different aspects that will be covered on the certification exam. I continue to use it as in my studies and as a reference.

This is the best product I have ever used. It is excellent to have a guide that gives you rationale for an answer.

Medical Coding Specialist's Exam Review Hospital is a wealth of information for anyone planning on taking either one of the hospital exams. It contains challenging coding activities and explanations to the answers. It also has mock exams that really get you thinking! The book also pinpoints the importance of preparing for the exam, test taking tips, and what happens after the exam. A great book!!

Sylvia Gonzalez CCS, CCS-P

This is a MUST have book if you are studying for the CCS or the CPC-H test. It is clear and to the point, and easy to understand. Each Chapter has invaluable information that you need to know for the tests, and then it is followed by a quiz and then the answers after that. There is a CD that is included that is VERY helpful, because it has mock tests for both the CCS and CPC-H. After finishing the test then it is automatically scored so you know how well you did and what you need to study more.

Rita Montierth CCS-P, CPC-H

THIS BOOK MADE ME THE BEST STUDENT IN MY CLASS, TRUST ME IT WAS NOT ME IT WAS THANKS TO THIS BOOK. ITS USER-FRIENDLY FORMAT MAKES BE VERY MOTIVATED AND FOCUS. ITS CONCISE STYLE HELP TO COVER A LOT OF FIELDS IN FEW HOURS AND TRUST ME STILL YEARS LATER YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU LEARNED. IT GETS TO THE POINT IN A LIGHT WAY.

This book is an excellent source for the boards. It reviews important topics that are important to know and gives you an advantage. I liked the format of the book and it made studying painless and more enjoyable. I also used the following:
Microbiology Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers
(ISBN: 0971999635) by Patrick Leonardi
I used both books for the USLME and it defintely helped me pass the USLME with ease. I felt both books gave me an advantage over other students taking the test. Both books are a must for passing.

I used this book primarily during my microbiology course. I did reference it while I studied for Step 1 also. The end of this book that contains "Summary of Medically Important Bacteria/Virus/Fungi/Parasites" is a great resource to have. Get this one early and read it, then reference it as needed for your board prep.

Warren Levinson is a genius! This book is absolutely brilliant. I would recommend it to almost anybody who doesn't like dumbed down books like Lippincott. Levinson's Microbiology is clear and comprehensive. It tells you exactly what to focus on, and cuts out extraneous details. The immunology section is even better! You'll love this book. The questions are even fantastic in helping you remember all the bugs, and the quick summary reviews at the end make this book worth your while. One recommendation for the next edition is to add more clinically relative laboratory perspectives. Make tables and keep reviewing until the day boards comes.

Very helpful study guide.
During my 2nd year of nursing school, many of the test questions were from this book. Has helpful rationales with each questions that helped me to understand the concepts.

Here is the lowdown. Medical-Surgical Nursing is alot of material. This book puts the Data in Outline Form and highlights critical and key points. It comes with a diskette, I find most helpful in verifying my level of understanding. I bought the Lipincott's series as well but this is the book I use. I rarely refer to my textbook, because the narrative sometimes gets to be too much, leaving me swimming in facts. This book will NOT do that to you.

Remember going through nursing school and the MOUNDS of reading to be done? This book is the best thing since sliced bread! Very to the point, great to do care plans by. A short sentence on patho, obj and subj signs and symptoms, tests related to illness; medical, pharm, and nursing care, I could go on and on. Great job on this one. I wouldn't do without it.

This book and disk together form an invaluable aid to nursing students. The book is written in a clear, quick and easy to follow note type format. It includes teaching tips, nursing notes and nursing interventions as well as critical thinking questions. The disk has a series of NCLEX type questions that can be accessed in either study or test mode. One of a series of worth-the-effort to own books.

This is book is awesome! It gives you pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of the different disease states, but in an understandable way. The book is so well written that you will retain most if not all of the material upon reading the whole book. You develop a platform of knowledge that will allow you to add details to the different diseases are your training progress. Unlike Harrison's which is a reference book you will find yourself going back to this book for refreshers on many topics and concepts of medicine. Great book, great purchase! Would highly recommend it to everyone who really wants to learn medicine and have a firm knowledge base.

Very good review book of medicine. I would recommend it to anyone-whether in med school, residency, or private practice. Easy to understand and all you need to know is right there.

This version is even better than the version I had 8 years ago. It has become required reading when I precept medical students.

This is a great book for medical students, residents, and even attending physicians, who wish to have succinct description of key medical syndromes and their therapies. It is perfect for getting an overview; this might be all you need in a particular instance, or else the discussion in this text will provide a great framework for further, more detailed, study from one of the standard large textbooks of medicine or a journal article. I have found that my understanding of an advanced treatment of a topic is greatly improved by having a simplified overview first, and this book is unbeatable at that.If you take a weekend and read it cover-to-cover, you will find that on Monday morning, your knowledge and confidence in internal medicine is greatly improved.

it was shipped to the wrong address, and when it finally did arrive at the correct destination the covers had been damaged. For a few more bucks I would have rather picked it up at the bookstore.

I must say this book is great. MedMaps will truly guide you through pathophysiology! Loved the price, too! I've found it hard to come by inexpensive books this good that I will be able to use throughout my training.

MedMaps helped take a lot of subjects and compressed each subject into one page.
I used the book and added information,like pharmacology and more pathology and then used it to review for exams.Its like making your own review book while your studying.
The format is easy to use with a note page and the material is perfect for second year med school.It is accurate and up to date.

Wow, what can I say, this was a really brilliant idea. All the maps and charts you get from different lectures compressed into one book-- AWESOME. In fact I'm using it right now to go through hemostasis. Love the format, love the blank pages for writing. Love everything about this book. Buy it and there will be no regrets!

this is one of my favorite books of all time. NYRB is now my favorite place on earth! THANK YOU THANK YOU! (ps. this is a classic, all should read it)

Shortly after the death of Daniel Paul Schreber, Sigmund Freud used his (Schreber's) memoirs as the basis for a fantasy of his own. Everyday readers are lucky that Schreber wrote down so much of what he saw, heard and felt during his many years in German mental asylums, for his own observations are far more artistic and harrowing than anything Freud ever wrote.

In this book, Schreber takes us into his world--the world of the genuine schizophrenic. He writes of the "little men" who come to invade his body and of the stars from which they came.

That these "little men" choose to invade Schreber's body in more ways than one only makes his story all the more harrowing. At night, he tells us, they would drip down onto his head by the thousands, although he warned them against approaching him.

Schreber's story is not the only thing that is disquieting about this book. His style of writing is, too. It is made up of the ravings of a madman, yet it contains a fluidity and lucidity that rival that of any "logical" person. It only takes a few pages before we become enmeshed in the strange smells, tastes, insights and visions he describes so vividly.

Much of this book is hallucinatory; for example, Schreber writes of how the sun follows him as he moves around the room, depending on the direction of his movements. And, although we know the sun was not following Schreber, his explanation makes sense, in an eerie sort of way.

What Schreber has really done is to capture the sheer poetry of insanity and madness in such a way that we, as his readers, feel ourselves being swept along with him into his world of fantasy. It is a world without anchors, a world where the human soul is simply left to drift and survive as best it can. Eventually, one begins to wonder if madness is contagious. Perhaps it is. The son of physician, Moritz Schreber, Schreber came from a family of "madmen," to a greater or lesser degree.

Memoirs of My Nervous Illness has definitely made Schreber one of the most well-known and quoted patients in the history of psychiatry...and with good reason. He had a mind that never let him live in peace and he chronicles its intensity perfectly. He also describes the fascinating point and counterpoint of his "inner dialogues," an internal voice that chattered constantly, forcing Schreber to construct elaborate schemes to either explain it or escape it. He tries suicide and when that fails, he attempts to turn himself into a diaphanous, floating woman.

Although no one is sure what madness really is, it is clear that for Schreber it was something he described as "compulsive thinking." This poor man's control center had simply lost control. The final vision we have of Schreber in this book is harrowing in its intensity and in its angst. Pacing, with the very sun paling before his gaze, this brilliant madman walked up and down his cell, talking to anyone who would listen.

This is a harrowing, but fascinating book and is definitely not for the faint of heart. Schreber describes man's inner life in as much detail as a Hamlet or a Ulysses. The most terrifying part is that in Schreber, we see a little of both ourselves and everyone we know.

Others who have posted reviews of this book are certainly correct in their assessment -- it's engaging, harrowing, enlightening, etc. HOWEVER, nobody has addressed the actual CAUSE of Schreber's insanity which, of course, is key to the reading of his memoir. The patient in most cases, and certainly in this case, is unable to tell us matter-of-factly what is troubling him. Instead, he tells us of his dreams or his imaginings, or his horrible delusions. It is then the psychiatrist who untangles the web. I can't recommend highly enough, as a companion to Schreber's memoir, the book "Soul Murder: Persecution in the Family," written by the psychiatrist Morton Schatzman. The book is now out of print, but can still be found used. Instead of describing the book,I'll quote from the jacket flap: "Daniel Paul Schreber (1842-1911), an eminent German judge, went mad at the age of 42, recovered, and eight and a half years later, went mad again. It is uncertain if he was ever fully sane, in the ordinary social sense, again. His father, Daniel Gottlieb Moritz Schreber (1808-1861), who supervised his son's upbringing, was a leading German physician and pedagogue, whose studies and writings on child rearing techniques strongly influenced his practices during his life and long after his death. The father thought his age to be morally "soft" and "decayed" owing mainly to laxity in educating and disciplining children at home and school. He proposed to "battle" the "weakness" of his era with an elaborate system aimed at making children obedient and subject to adults. He expected that following his precepts would lead to a better society and "race." The father applied these same basic principals in raising his own children, including Daniel Paul and another son, Daniel Gustav, the elder, who also went mad and committed suicide in his thirties. Psychiatrists consider the case of the former, Daniel Paul, as the classic model of paranoia and schizophrenia, but even Freud and Bleuler (in their analyses of the son's illness) failed to link the strange experiences of Daniel Paul, for which he was thought mad, to his father's totalitarian child-rearing practices. In "Soul Murder," Morton Schatzman does just that -- connects the father's methods with the elements of the son's experience, and vice versa. This is done through a detailed analysis and comparison of Daniel Paul's "Memoirs of My Nervous Illness," a diary written during his second, long confinement, with his father's published and widely read writings on child rearing. The result is a startling and profoundly disturbing study of the nature and origin of mental illness -- a book that calls into question the value of classical models for defining mental illness and suggests the directions that the search for new models might take. As such, the author's findings touch on many domains: education, psychiatry, religion, sociology, politics -- the micro-politics of child-rearing and family life and their relation to the macro-politics of larger human groups." For me, this book shed a great light on "Memoirs of My Nervous Illness." In reading the other reviews, I get the sense that some people have concluded that Daniel (the son) "simply went mad," or "something went wrong," when the truth is that his father was a border-line personality and one sadistic man who inflicted his own brand of insanity on his children. If only we had something to document the father's childhood . . .

To begin with, the reader should be forewarned that what the author suffers from is not the idiomatic English "nervous illness," or mild neurosis, but a fundamentally different way of seeing the world, stated best by the author at the beginning of Chapter 5:"Apart from normal human language there is also a kind of nerve language of which, as a rule, the healthy human being is not aware." The book's profundity and the author's depth of insight are such that, after reading a few pages of the first chapter, one is reminded of nothing so much as Proust's Remembrance of Things Past: "Souls' greatest happiness lies in continual reveling in pleasure combined with recollections of their human past."....But, after this, the book becomes as disturbing as Proust is essentially soothing. For the author feels himself utterly isolated from other men, not even deigning to recognize them as men at all but as "fleeting-improvised-men" which "creates a feeling in me at times as if I were moving among walking corpses." (Ch. 15) What I found so disturbing about the elaboration of the author's viewpoint and recounting of his tribulations in the asylum is that there is something in his viewpoint that rings essentially true: We do not and can not know even those closest to us on the deep spiritual or "nerve language" level the author exists on in perpetuum. It is this essential truth combined with the author's matter-of-fact, almost cheery, tone that made reading this work such a strange experience for me. For English readers, such characters do exist in fiction (Poe's Usher kept occuring to me, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein), but the tone of such psychically unstable characters and what we would call their nervous disposition are consonant with a mind gone awry and thus not to be taken so seriously. Of Schreber, just the opposite impresses itself upon the reader. It is this dissonance between tone and subject matter that render the book strange. For the view it expresses is essentially a dark one. If one reads closely, a terribly dark one. The only thing comparable to it is the worldview of the Gnostics: That this world is essentially some sort of mistake, and that there may be no way to "fix" it, as it were. The main reason to read the book, to my mind, is that it is a well-written,non-fiction account of a unique state of being (although readers might want to check out Proust as well as The Gnostic Religion by Hans Jonas for similarities.) But, caveat lector, the book is not for the faint of heart. It may keep you up many a night. It did me!

A lot of these directors have had entire books written about them since this book was published, but the authors manage to make this book so entertaining and fascinating that I've reread it twice-- I usually just read nonfiction once and then use it for reference. If they would put England's The Incredibly Strange Film Show (and the spin-offs Son Of... and For One Week Only)out on DVD, it would rival this book. Until then, this is the most vital source of information on cult movies.

Still in print after almost 20 years? You know it has got to be good. This book was an essential part of my film education, turning me on to a dozen great flicks I might never have heard of otherwise.

Very good - really eclectic coverage. It has a lot of material on underground films from the late 60s, as well as "Rocky Horror", Alexandro Jodorowsky, and John Waters. Highly recommended.

This is one of the first serious film books I ever picked up. The picture of ol' Jack Nance from David Lynch's Eraserhead is what caught my eye. After reading the first paragraph of the first chapter, I was hooked.

Written by, arguably, the two best critics around -- J. Hoberman (who writes for the Village Voice) and Jonathan Rosenbaum (who writes for the Chicago Reader) -- this is an excellent look at a bygone era of movie-going. They document the midnight movie circuit that used to exist across the country for films too weird and strange for mainstream consumption. Sadly, most of these theatres are gone now -- swallowed up by the multiplex monster.

These guys clearly did their homework -- their chapters on the early careers of Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky, John Waters and George Romero are definitive. Best of all, their writing style is never dry or academic but very readable (it helps that these guys write for weeklies).

This book is a must-have for any fan of cult movies (and esp. the above mentioned directors). I have read it many, many times and it inspired me to be a writer myself. Great stuff.

If you're a libertarian -- or any liberty-loving person -- this book will delight you! Unique, original, very well written, overflowing with valuable information!

Jon Osborne is a wonderful reviewer and researcher. Each review is succinctly written, interesting and informative. I especially enjoy the actual quotes from the movies.

You'll enjoy seeing your opinion in print; you'll be reminded of special movies you may have forgotten about or might not have thought of in the same light as the author; AND you'll discover treasures that will surprise, intrigue and delight you.

Talk about entertainment: You'll have hours and hours of fun just reading about the movies, but then you'll have the movies themselves to look forward to!

A great reference that I refer to over and over.

No need to waste your time watching movies that end up just making you mad -- check out the movie first in this book. Don't head for the video store or switch on the TV without it!

I have just one question for the author: when's the sequel coming out?

I've been a subscriber to the Miss Liberty newsletter for three years. As a result of Osborne's reviews, I've discovered a number of difficult to find, but wonderful gems. For example, I loved the _The Man in the White Suit_ (1951), which stars a young Alec Guiness as a brilliant scientists who invents an indestructible fabric. It's a comedy that explores the obstacles innovators often face from entrenched interest groups. If it weren't for Osborne's reviews, I probably would not have found out about the movie.

Osborne writes well--dip into the book at random, and you will find insightful, witty commentary (even if the movie itself isn't particularly good.) I've already given copies to several of my libertarian/objectivist friends. Highly recommended!

When I was a young kid, somehow I always kept catching repeats of classic films on T.V. with my mom like "The Sea Hawk", "Casablanca", "The Man in the White Suit", "Johnny Tremain" and "Harvey" while reveling in catching films that I remember most and consider my favorites in the theaters, VHS or on cable like the "Star Wars" films, "Red Dawn", "Trading Places", "Moscow on the Hudson", "Ghostbusters", "1984" and "Total Recall". In some way or another, each of these films that I consider my favorites had a freedom/libertarian message to them and I guess its safe to say that their lasting impression was one of the things that contributed to my being a libertarian today. I find it interesting how Osborne is able to point out the libertarian themes of films like the ones I outlined above and have been able to go back and re-enjoy them again as well as see films I never thought of viewing. Its too bad that he didn't include films like "Independence Day" or "Braveheart" and this book was published prior to the release of other great, freedom-oriented movies like "Gladiator" as well as the "Lord of the Rings" or "Matrix" trilogies. Oh, well. There will be other editions I am sure. Until then, this book is well worth adding to anyone's library. Libertarian or otherwise.

I like the libertarian slant to this witty and inciteful guide, but really, that's just icing on the cake. The book is a great compendium of good films, fun films, and godawful films that anyone (even commies) would want to see. Each film gets a synopsis and commentary on its Libertarian content, but any guide that lists "Ghostbusters" next to "The Girl Who Spelled Freedom" has got to be good. If the Marxist Guide to the Movies were this fun, I'd buy it too. A must for any Cineaste.