Berry Books

This book is very comprehensive, so it is a good reference book at any level. However, it is often difficult to interpret and tends to jump around from topic to topic. I do not think this is a good book for someone who is looking to learn statistical methods from the ground up or for someone who is doing a self-study, but it may be useful to people who are taking introductory statistics and want a book that provides more details on methods. There are almost no examples in this book. It definitely does not hold your hand.

For a beginner, it is really an excellent book. It almost has included all of the most important statistical methods practiced in medical research without pricing at detail loss. Its way of lucid writing and rich examples can help a beginner read through the whole book with some joy. For a senior one on this field, I still think that he/she can take it as a handbook and believe he can find some clue before he pays more attention to another throughly reading.
The new edition adds a lot of new contents especially the Bayes' theroy which is becoming a fashion in nowadays.

This edition if the classic text is extensively revised from previous editions. It offers a good background of theoretical considerations in biomedical statistics. It is particularly useful for the non-statistician physician who is involved in clinical trials.

This is definitely one of the most comprehensive of all biostatistics textbooks out there and it is also the best. Authoritative in style, it starts from the very basics and surveys in *detail* almost every method in biostatistics.

You will be impressed: Apart from *all* the basic techniques usually found in most biostatistics texbooks, it has two extensive chapters on Bayesian methods (with Gibbs sampling, MCMC, etc., you name it), extensive treatments of clinical trials, extensive treatments of longitudinal data and GEE models, extensive details on the bootstrap and jackknife, an extensive chapter on methods in epidemiology (risk ratios, Mantel-Haenszel method), extensive treatments of categorical data (contingency tables, logistic regression), and an extensive chapter on survival analysis. This is indeed a very extensive book.

"Statistical Methods in Medical Research" is also a book on methodology, so theorems and proofs are not to be expected. Also there are no exercises, but there are excellent illustrative examples of the various methods. While it is very descriptive, it contains enough mathematics to keep the presentation of concepts *complete*. It is also very up-to-date and has an excellent reference list.

In a nutshell, this is a work of great ambition and vision: it will cater for beginners and masters alike.

Caveat emptor. From now on, I check who the publisher is before I order a book on Amazon! $20.00+ for a paperback! The publisher of this book is a VANITY PRESS, which means the writer paid them, instead of the other way round. Great for the would-be author with a pocketful of money, but for the reader, assuming the book has any appeal past the cover blurbs at all, the biggest problem with the vanity-press system is lack of competent editing at a professional level (although I understand an author can pay them for that, too, but then who is "them?"). That is not to say that this book should not have been published, but is it worth the price I paid for it? Absolutely not. This book might be a jewel in the rough, but after my reading of the first few chapters, the definitive word is "rough." I won't finish it.

Good heavens and a head slap. I thought this was the same guy who wrote Empires of Sand, because this book came up in the list when I clicked the author's name. Two David Balls. Probably a million of them, come to think of it. I thought it was an odd switch in material, from France/Africa to North Carolina, but... I read the effusive reviews for this one, another caveat (who are these people? Do they have something to do with the writer?). So I ordered without thinking much about it (I do this a lot with an author I've read and liked). Imagine my dismay when I sat down to read it. And imagine yours if you buy this book, too.

This is a story beautifully written by Davis Ball. Although David Ball is not a Native American, he captured the spirit of the War torn south in Robeson County, N. C. during the Civil War.

Once you start reading this book, you get a true understanding of "the way things were" for the Croatian Indians and the way they dealt with it.

The setting is just prior to the end of the Civil War when thing s were at its worst for people in the south especially for the non-white members of Robeson County, North Carolina. Food was scarce, money was unheard of and any luxury items of the time just didn't exist.

When times are hard, all you have is your good name and you family. It was at a such a point when Henry Berry Lowery saw his father and brother unjustly killed by a crooked sheriff. Henry and his band of scavengers became outlaws as they tried to find justice.

In the eyes of the people that were abused by a corrupt government, Henry and his band became heroes; in the eyes of the government, they were renegades.

The story is so much more than another Robin Hood story, but one of historic facts as this is the "true" story of a man that is still known as a hero one hundred and fifty years later.

The Native Americans at the time were illiterate and the story has a few pieces missing, well, that's where the author had to take over. Surprisingly, the book is very accurate being written by a man that has hardly stepped foot in this region.

As I read the book, I felt like it did justice to the legend of Henry Berry Lowery and his band of raiders. It was a book that needed to be written. The older generations are dieing off and the young generations need a hero. This is a book that is full of action and history. A history book is normally too stuffy for young readers, but I believe that this book will keep them on the edge of their seats from cover to cover.

With all this said, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in local history, Civil War history, stories of discrimination, and anyone just wanting to read a great book.

If you love poking into the obscure corners of history, you need to read this book. Henry Berry Lowery and his gang are driven into the swamp and hide there for years, living like a 19th-century Robin Hood and Merry Men. Tragedy, comedy, romance, and real history! A great combination! The author has discovered an astounding story, and tells it beautifully.

I don't care if you don't like "true story" books. Read this one. Henry Berry Lowery did exist, and he was a freedom-fighter, sort of, for his people (North Carolina native Americans), and he did some incredibly funny things and some incredibly violent things. But it's the writer who goes into the swamp to interview him and his gang who broke my heart and healed it. You never find out the writer's name and you don't need to. You won't forget him and you won't forget Henry Berry either.

I just wish someone had warned me first; normally I think "good literature" is stuffy. But this one is beautifully written AND it has low comedy and serious tragedy and bigtime action, which means that I couldn't put this thing down till past midnight. Open this one up on Friday, because you'll be wrecked at work the next day if you start it on a weeknight.

Perpetual office temp Bonnie Indermill returns once again in DEATH OF A DIMPLED DARLING. In this go around, Bonnie is assisting her best friend Amanda with her wedding consultant business. Amanda, who has just learned she's pregnant, is having a few medical problems, and Bonnie steps in to cover for her with Amanda's one and only client. Dealing with wedding chores is not Bonnie's cup of tea, but she perseveres and handles most problems with aplomb. When one of the bridesmaids is murdered, Bonnie does her best to deal with that problem, too.

Being closely involved with wedding plans causes Bonnie to re-examine her personal life. She's been engaged to Sam for months and has yet to name a wedding date. Actually, I found this plot line to be of most interest, as the killer's identity was obvious to me mid-way through the book.

DEATH OF A DIMPLED DARLING is an enjoyable read, but not one of the author's best, in my opinion, as I prefer books in which the author keeps me guessing right to the end.

I agree entirely with [a] previous review.... Carole Barry's books are consistently way, way above average. I just wish she would write more of them.

Carole Berry is one of my favorite authors. I have yet to come across one of her books I did not enjoy. Her books are quick reads because they flow smoothly and hook you from the very beginning making them hard to put down. If you are in the mood for a down to earth, easy to identify with book with humor and excitement, pick up any of Carole Berry's books. You are in for a guaranteed good time.

This is the text on musical form we used when I was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan School of Music many years ago. Other texts, such as Douglass Green's "Form in Tonal Music" are more commonly used nowadays, and that is fine, but I still have a fondness for this text because I used it. I found it easy to read and very helpful.

While it does have many musical examples, it discusses many other pieces. It is intended that your professor would supply you with an anthology or that you as a reader would simply go and acquire recordings of the pieces you are interested in hearing as they are discussed in the book. Musical form is more about hearing and a lot less about notation than, say, counterpoint or harmony (although they are about hearing as well). The idea of form is that you hear what is the same, what is different, and even when it is nearly the same, what is different and why. Composers create form and coherence in their works by the way they shape the music using their chosen materials. Some things are similar to each other to provide the frame of the piece, and others contrast to provide variety. It is really much more sophisticated than that, but you get the drift.

Another important point to know is that these forms become named and identified after the fact. Composers do not follow rules per se. They create great music and then the rules are distilled from their practice. Now, it is true that these rules are taught to later generations and great composers were generally schooled in the practices of their day. However, they then promptly pushed what they were taught into new areas with new ideas and approaches. And then the rules get changed. Breaking a "rule" means making a mistake and therefore bad music. Good music by its very achievement creates the rules for lesser composers to follow. Geniuses become the law.

This text explained Musical Form more clearly and thoroughly than any other musical form books I own (Leon Stein, Spring/Hutcheson) and gave excellent examples. I very highly recommend it for study of Musical Form and Analysis.

Contrary to what the last poster said, I do not find it a big issue that there is no Anthology for Analysis to accompany it. The anthology that accompanies Green's book is VERY expensive. Most of the examples in Berry's text are available very inexpensively as a used copy at your local sheet music store.

Wallace Berry's, Form in Music, is easier to read than other music theory books. The book explains musical forms such as; binary, ternary, rondo and others. Berry uses proper terminology and eplains why other words or phrases should not be used. He clearly defines musical terms and gives a formula for musical forms. He cites many pieces of music to prove or show how the formula is realized. He also explains how some pieces and composers broke the formula. My one complaint about the book deals with these citations. There is not enough musical notation examples to read and look at when Berry refers to a piece. He refers to pieces that are never notated. When dealing with musical form and analysis one needs the music. In Green's Form in Tonal Music, Volume 2 is a whole book full of musical examples. Green, however, is not as readable as Berry.

As you might tell by the title, this is not a book for the music novice. But for the reader with a good grasp of theory, this book is a blessing in furthering the understanding of what happens at the deeper levels of music. True, Berry's sentences are long and involved, but worth wading through to get at the content. If you love music theory, you simply must have this book--it's an unbelievable amount of information packed into one small space. It completely changed my understanding of music theory and the way I think about music theory. Not a summer read, by any means, but buying this book was definitely a no-brainer!

Structural Functions in Music is an excellent source of ideas for any composer, performer, or student. Though not entirely an 'easy read', it is full of useful information. It covers several fundimental areas of music, and provides a very scientific and in depth look. As a composer, and a music lover in general, I have found a great deal of inspiration from this book. Though a bit dense for the average reader, I consider it a 'must have'.

Very informative. Berry explores deep into the chore of musical functioning. An extremely useful resource for students and professionals alike. However, grammatically, Berry's unending use of extremely long run-on sentences, unnecessary wordiness and excessive punctuation take more than their toll on a reader. The structure of every last sentence in this book is so complicated that it is often difficult to understand what idea Berry is attempting to convey. There are at least four commas and often 1 or more colons and or semi colons in almost every single sentence. A good tool, but difficult beyond necessity to the point of hindrance.

This book illuminates the distinction between the beliefs and values of Chinese people from those promoted through governmental policies. The history and complexity of spirituality in the Chinese and Tibetan region are examined in this well-researched book and are interwoven with a compelling, contemporary story. The story and characters, along with the author's structure and style, make this book an easy read that keeps your interest throughout.

This is a great book. Not only do you gain insight to the plight of the Tibetan people, but insight into another spiritual way of life. Truly enjoyable and was hard to put down!

To Move The Mountain will draw you into the mountains of Tibet and the conflict between the people of Tibet and the Chinese Government. I came away from this novel with a new appreciation and understanding of the history, culture and beliefs of Tibet. The book is a great read. I found it to both fascinating and satisfying.

The books begins with an introduction, then many images from the Tres Riches Heures, and at the end there is a commentary of the pictures.

The big problem is that the pictures were made in the sixties, they are fuzzy, unsharp, the colors are not vivid and bright, such a very low quality of photocomposition is no more acceptable at the end of the 20th century. It is high time that a newer edition be made available in English, as is already the case in French.

Having read negative reviews of the cheap, paperback version of this book, I took a deep gulp and sprang for the expensive hardback. This is a case where spending more for the hardback version is more than worth it. The pictures are very large size format, with the gold intact (unlike the paperback version). The quality of the paintings is excellent. The book is beautiful to display, look at and/or study. I have been copying one of the illustrations, and having a great time.I love medieval illustrated books. I have not found another one in this large a format, with such detail. If you are into illuminated manuscripts, you must have this one, there can be no argument. (Hardback version)

Enter the magical medieval pages of the illuminated manuscripts of the gifted Limbourg brothers and discover a world long gone, but one which seems oddly familiar in a storybook sort of way. The colors (nicely reproduced in this hardback version of the book) will dazzle you - the skies were painted with an ultramarine made from costly lapis lazuli. The compositions, drawn in the pre-perspective days of the 15th century, will delight you. Many of the religious illuminations are moving - the Death of Christ captures the grim darkness into which the world has been cast in tones of grey and brown with only the shining gold halo of Christ piercing the gloom; God in his heavenly lunette above the picture looks sadly down on the scene, brilliant amidst reds, blues, and gold. But it is the pictures of the calendar - a wonderful record of daily life among the rich and the poor alike - that will charm you the most. The Duke feasts, the peasants warm themselves before fires, the plowman tills the soil, the farmers shear the sheep, and the pigs forage for acorns. And rising in the background of each of these magical scenes, in regulation storybook fashion, is a shining white castle. This hardcover version is a beautiful book that you will treasure for years.

The writer takes an interesting approach to history, looking for oddities in the historical record and then thinking them through. The result is she brings alive life in Kyoto during the diificult years of the 16th century.

This book is a bit of a paradox. Working with incomplete primary sources, Mary Elizabeth Berry has put together a remarkably textured and complete picture of Kyoto in the late Medieval period of Japan. The book examines the fate of 'classical' Kyoto, the political and economic changes of the time, and shows a view not commonly seen in historical Japan: that of the urban commoners who had to live underneath and among the Samurai. Well worth reading for anyone who wants a much better understanding of the period, and of Japanese history in general. The only things that keep the book from being perfect are Ms. Berry's tendency to repeat herself in order to emphasize a point, and a lack of good maps. It makes the book somewhat longer than it probably needs to be, and also somewhat dry. Best consumed in small chunks with time for reflection in between.

A sweet story that children can and will enjoy.

Charming, enlightning, marvelous illustrations!!! That pup Blueberry is a warming story about a little boy and his pup. Illustrations really tell the story of a great friendship. A must read for all ages!!

I'd never read Linda Berry's Trudy Roundtree Mysteries, but was really pleased. Family in fitting, family heirlooms and some basic genealogy made this book a great way to pass my own genealogical down time. The cover art on my advanced reading copy was very cleaver and I was able to use it when I got lost in family relationships. I'd love to see Trudy Roundtree tackel some more mysteries invovling genealogy.

At the Ogeechee bicentennial celebration, ten living mayors are on the program to speak including the oldest Julian Stubbs. However, the day after he gives his chat he is found dead having fallen down stairs at his relative's B&B.

Chief of Police Henry Huckabee and Officer Trudy Roundtree investigate the accident that quickly proves to be a homicide. However, the cops also have other crime inquiries to make as someone tried to steal valuables including diamond earrings from the Stubbs family house that Willie and Della are converting into a B&B. Making their cases more difficult is the family fails to cooperate as they are distracted because they learned that an extended family member Kevin Purvis eloped with Gretchen Holland. As the two law enforcement officials continue to ask questions of the extended Stubbs kin to include the Purvis offshoot, the investigations turn muddier.

Though the Stubbs extended family has too many subplots to keep score of, this is a delightful regional police procedural as the two dedicated cops struggle with a case loaded with a B&B filled with eccentric suspects. Trudy also deals with her jealousy as she fears her boyfriend might be turning to her best friend for affection. Southern cozy fans will enjoy the investigation into the murder of the elderly former mayor.

Harriet Klausner