Vans Books

This book is wonderful. These are similar to the questions asked on the registry exams. Not only do they give you the answer to the pretests, but they provide references to the subject so you can read about it to further your understanding. This is the best investment I have made!

This exam review text is well researched. It is very thorough in its content, following the format of the National Board for Respiratory Care's national exam. The book is divided into components for pre-testing without prior review, into review by specific areas of practice, and into the "real" exam, followed by in-depth explanations of the basis for the correctly keyed answers. Such an approach has been very helpful in preparing graduates of two year Respiratory Care programs for successful passing of the advanced national exam. As an instructor of Respiratory Care, I find this book to be more rigorous than the exam itself. While this book's exam questions are not the exact questons as administered by the national testing agency, they more than adequately represent the content of the exam. This very specialized book belongs in the hands of serious national exam candidates.

The Politics of Permanent Crisis is simply one of the best books on contemporary Africa to come out for ages. The author, who has been writing sensibly on Africa, political reform, and foreign aid issues for many years, takes on a whole range of often contradictory academic work to help explain why Africa has been unable to grow faster despite increasingly levels of external financial assistance. Van de Walle argues coherently that local politics within many African countries have combined with donor practices to militate against the fundamental changes required for African economies to take-off. Seen in this light, the lack of reforms and disappointing outcomes from foreign aid in Africa are not mysteries, but rather the logical outcomes of the incentives under which the various players operate. This is a seminal contribution to our understanding of Africa's economic and political dilemmas -- and an excellent complement to Bill Easterly's "The Elusive Quest for Growth". If there is any shortcoming in the book, it is a minor quibble that van de Walle seems too dismissive of the role of individual leaders in sparking recovery (e.g., surely, Jerry Rawlings and Yoweri Museveni deserve some personal credit for turning Ghana and Uganda around). This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Africa's development challenges and the role of the international community.

Nicolas van de Walle's prize-winning book explains the puzzle of African exceptionalism with an intelligent and nuanced framework. Focusing on the politics behind the seemingly permanent crisis, van de Walle explains the pervasive rise of neopatrimonial rule on the continent -- a political system that depends on patronage and clientelism, and which is a feature of many low-income, largely subsistence-based polities around the world. Van de Walle's dual training in economics and political science, and his extensive experience living and working in many of the countries of the sub-continent, make this book deep, broad, and credible. I've recommended it to many who want to understand what is behind their t.v. screens: why has poverty grown in Africa? Why is this the region most troubled by small-scale political wars? Its scholarly but accessible style, complimented by extensive footnotes and references, also make this an excellent book for students.

This piece of literature tells all, from the use of simple one gas instruments to undertanding Mass Spect readings. If you thought you knew about air monitoring read the book, I gaurantee you will find some excellent information.

As a CIH, I've often wanted a resource that would explain the pros and cons of different air sampling equipment. This book is just that. It embodies the authors' many years of knowledge in the safety field, and is extremely practical.

Curious about whether a 10.6ev or 11.7ev PID is the way to go? This book tells you how to find out! Need to know how accurate and reliable passive sorption tubes are? This book covers that too? Want to know how to use an Hnu or OVA? Check out this book.

This book has been extremely useful for me in real-life settings. I highly recommend it. -Andy Hilliard, PE, CSP Vice President, SCA Environmental ahilliard@sca-enviro.com

The only complaint I might have with this book is the format, it's a big book, and given how often I need it, a smaller handbook (like the CRC handbook) would be more convenient. But then that might hurt the readability.

The book itself however is awesome, comprehensive, readable, plenty of illustrations, minimum of jargon, and useful for engineers and scientists.

This book has the most extense inventory, sector by sector, of data related to processes, emissions and control techniques. Therefore, we have here a major supply of guidelines and useful information for our work in our everyday struggle to "play doctors" with our own planet.

The first part of the book Van Creveld describes German air operations in the early phases of the Second World War. The Luftwaffe was extremely effective in interdicting and preventing enemy counterattacks, also Luftwaffe officers and army officers directed the attacks. But Van Creveld argues that the Luftwaffe wasted their resourcers against civilian targets such as railroads. The next air force that Van Creveld analyzes is the Soviet air force. The Soviet air force was under complete control of the army and acted as flying artillery to prevent any German counterattacks from appearing, but the Soviet air force engaged in hardly any interdiction missions against the Germans. According to Van Creveld the Soviets had the most effective form of aerial warfare since their role as flying artillery impeded the Germans from stopping the Soviet attacks. The final air force that Van Creveld evaluates is the Israeli air force. During the Six Day War, the Israeli air force was able to destroy lightly armored trucks but could not due any damage to the Arab tank forces. In the 1973 war the Israeli airforce couldn't provide close air support due to the presence of SAMS. Van Creveld than concludes the book by writing a chapter about the Gulf War that is strongly crititcal of the USAF. In Van Creveld's opinion if the USAF wasn't addicted to strategic air warfare than it could have closely cooperated with the ground forces in destroying the Iraqi army. In the appendix chapters USAF generals reply to Van Creveld's criticisms by stating that the Allied bombing campaign in Western Europe allowed the Russians to gain air supremacy and have effective close air support operations and the same applied to the IAF's performance in the Six Day War. The only weakness of Van Creveld's book is that he ignores Allied close air support operations in Western Europe from 1944-45, but otherwise this an excellent description of how the Russain and German airforces operated in the Second World War and how the IAF operates today.

Blargh! That was the sound of my brain spewing out all the garbage thoughts I had about strategy before I read this book. Dr. van Creveld, et. al., provide a remarkable (and concise) analysis of manuever warfare and the coexistent application of airpower. You're missing the boat if you think this book is Stewart Smalley self-motivational testimony for the "Zoomies" (Air Force). This book concisely provides the six tenets of maneuver warfare within the first 10 pages, giving the lay-reader an excellent oversight into how it is that the United States dominates every battlefield (and by extrapolation, the reader can figure out why disasters such as Somalia occur when the military deviates from that 'winning' formula).

In describing the history of maneuver warfare, van Creveld pre-empts the maneuver warfare nay-sayers by going beyond simple parallels of the German model. Yes, he gives the reader an outstanding version how Nazi Germany 'Blitzkrieg' tactics (really the application of maneuver warfare concepts) devasted Europe in the opening months of the Second World War. But Dr. van Creveld also goes into detail regarding the Soviets' masterful turning of the tables on the Eastern Front, Israel's decisive brilliance in the Six Day War, and maneuver warfare's direct role in the defeat of Iraq in 1991.

Now, who should read this book? In my humble opinion this book should be mandatory for all new military officers and senior non-commissioned officer. Not because it espouses air power's importance in modern warfare, but because it gives the reader an excellent template from which to build a cohesive team and winning strategy for overcoming challenges. Hell, you could even cull out all references to air power and strictly look at the six principles of manuever warfare - I'm strongly considering doing my master's thesis on "Maneuver Warfare Concepts and Modern Business Strategy".

In short, whether you're a military member, aspiring military historian, or a business person looking for new creative techniques to conquering the competition, this book is for you!

Alicia's Happy Day/El Dia Mas Feliz De Alicia is a softcover, bilingual English/Spanish picturebook featuring enthusiastic color illustrations, a dash of Latino culture, and a spirit of all-around mirth. A young girl is have one of the happiest days of her life, and wishes to share that happiness. The reason for her joy is revealed on the last page - it's her birthday! "May you have a day that's twirly-swirly. / May you hear salsa and start to dance. / May the flags all fly for you. / Taxicabs all stop for you." The gushing joyful sentiment is quite contagious in this delightful read-aloud story.

We use this book in the classroom to celebrate our kids' birthdays. The illustrations are fun, and it's nice to have a book with a cultural twist, alot of my students relate to it, and the others get to ask questions about the others cultures and the words they used. A lot of FUN!

This is a wonderful cookbook. Oftentimes vegetarian cookbooks' recipes are difficult to "veganize". Not so with this one! Most of the recipes are vegan already! Also, my roommate has Celiacs Disease and eats a VERY strict gluten-free diet. I have no problem finding recipes in this book that satisfy both of our dietary restrictions.

The recipes are great but also the book is very informative on various food items. I enjoyed reading it as much as I did cooking from it. The book is divided regionally ie The Northeast, South etc. Each section consists of a brief culinary history of the region, followed by the recipes, with anecdotes and little essays regarding particular food items thrown in. Very interesting.

Being a teacher of gifted and high achieving students, I'm always on the look out for ways to tie Social Studies and Science together. My class loves hands-on projects, so I thought this might be a good fit for us. Boy, was I right! The projects are easy to follow, the steps and supplies are well planned, and most importantly, the kids LOVED the projects. Wave bottles were a major hit, and we'll be making Bubble Bath next.

The historic details about Ben's life were not only great additions to the descriptions of his inventions, but there were lots of quirky details about him that my kids loved (although they're going to skip the air baths!).

I'll definitely pick up more of Ms. Van Vleet's project-based books to use with my class!

Ben Franklin's creativity and ingenuity has always amazed me. His fingerprints are all over American history. He was a statesman, an inventor, an author, and a scientist. Now we can get to know Ben and recreate some of his greatest triumphs with Amazing Ben Franklin Inventions You Can Build Yourself.

The inventions are either replicas of actual Ben inventions or they represent a concept of an invention or contribution. The projects range from making a Feather Pen (five minutes) to making a Long Arm for objects out of reach (35 minutes plus drying time for glue). Projects which require adult supervision are clearly marked. Other projects include a Solar-Powered Oven and a Street Light (powered by a flashlight).

As creative and entertaining as the projects are, this is more than a classroom project book. Ben's personality shines through, whether he's powering himself across a pond with kite power at age ten, or proposing as an adult that the streets of Philadelphia be paved with bricks to ease travel and keep the city cleaner. The author includes a glossary, a timeline of Ben's life, and dozens of his Poor Richard sayings. The book is a pleasure to read, thanks to Van Vleet's lively writing and her careful research. Bonus--some Almanac-style fonts and many pictures.

So whether you want to get crafty or whether you just want to rediscover Ben Franklin, Amazing Ben Franklin Inventions You Can Build Yourself is an excellent choice.

If you have any book on amber in your possession, this is the one to have. Amongst amber aficionados, this is considered to be the "Bible". The chapter on differentiating between real amber and the vast number of fakes is vital for those that collect this wonderful gem. If you have the opportunity to get a copy of this book, don't hesitate!

Patty C. Rice brings a passionate love for her subject to this wonderful book. She offers a very comprehensive study of this beloved gemstone, from a detailed account of its long history, to the folklore surrounding it, to a thorough study of its scientific properties.She explores the many sources of amber worldwide, and gives an exhaustive study of the amazing variety of amber. Most helpful to a collector, she explains in detail how genuine amber differs from its imitations, and how you can perform simple tests to determine if yours is authentic.The mechanics of working with amber as a lapidary or jewelry- maker are also discussed. I loved the wealth of gorgeous photos, many of them from Dr. Rice's own impressive personal collection from all over the world. Her book does full justice to the beauty and enduring fascination of amber, and if you love it as much as I do, her book is a must-have.

I had read The Good Doctor and enjoyed it plenty for great characters, great writing and a slow-building, relentless tension. The Quarry has the same great characterization and prose, but nothing at all slow about it. The beginning of the story is enthralling, both the introduction to the main character and the first incident at the quarry (best not read liner notes etc more max effect). What continues seems a combination of Greene's "Power and Glory" (in terms of "feel") and Coetzee's "Waiting for the Barbarians" (in terms of suspense and pace). A fantastic aspect is the power of the not explicitly stated (e.g. main character's real name never revealed, ). And the construction and build-up to the denoument is something Tolstoy - like. The Quarry is clearly another example of the spectacular literature of South Africa.

In this stunning novel, Mr Galgut tells the story of a fugitive from justice hitchhiking in the desolate backdrop of South Africa and who is picked up by a driver, a minister on his way to a remote parish. When the minister discovers that the hitchhiker is a fugitive and confronts him in a disused quarry, the response is lethal.
This novel is a masterpiece featuring a story and characters utterly compelling. The author shows that even the quietest spots on earth can seethe with repressed violence. A blunt and tense read about guilt and evasion of truth. Justly enough, Mr Galgut has been compared to the greatest South African writers like Andr? Brink, Nadine Gordimer, J.M. Coetzee and Achmat Dangor.