Bruno Books

bought this book when it first came out in 1976 and have enjoyed it along with family since. the pictures are generous views of some of the animals and children who enjoy growing up with the animals. very funny in parts and a bit of sadness but that's part of growing up with animals. the cartoons are a hoot.

As a gay traveller it isn't always easy for two men to check in and have to fight to get a double bed. This guide is a good starting point for those in the same situation.

Siciliano and Khatib have assembled a massive and comprehensive tome on robotics, circa 2008. Sections of the book can be read by a diverse audience of undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and even the general public. Spanning any field associated with the subject.

There is considerable maths in the modelling of robots. Often to understand and control an arm. The multiple degrees of freedom of joints are wonderful for dexterity. But these often give an excursion into advanced linear algebra and control systems theory. Several chapters go into the necessary maths. You probably need at least 2 years of undergraduate engineering maths as preparation.

The myriad applications in which robots have been deployed is amply surveyed in Part F, Field and Service Robotics. In the household, there is of course the floor cleaning Roomba. A cute little gizmo, but it is not a toy; a genuine robot in its own right. The chapter mentioning it also describes an entire genre of competitors; mostly lesser known to the public.

Another chapter on agriculture and forestry talks about using robots for tasks like harvesting. Usually more successful when the terrain is flat and well defined; ie. having only one crop present. While the general case of a robot in hilly, wooded terrain with multiple obstacles and different species of trees is much harder to program.

I also ran into something in this chapter from my past, and it impressed me as to the book's comprehensiveness. At the University of Western Australia, there was a long running program to devise a robot sheep shearer. It started in the 70s and I met several of its researchers. I lost track of it after 1983, but I'd wondered whatever became of it. The book takes up the thread, explaining that the program took on the name Shear Magic, and was ultimately discontinued because it was never fast enough. But even in failure, this robotic application had a side effect. The demonstration of the technology was used by farmers to browbeat human shearers into moderating their wage claims, by playing off longstanding fears of workers about being replaced by machines. Of course, whether or not this was desirable may be a function of your political leanings.

To me, the most interesting section of the entire book concerned mirror neurons. This was a fundamental recent discovery in biology. The relevance to robotics is still perhaps speculative. Several robotics researchers have attempted to use it as inspiration for teaching a robot via its visual input and processing system. This contrasts greatly with the traditional teaching use of rule based formal logic, often involving the predicate calculus. The results described in the text are early but promising.

One slight curiosity is the relative deprecating of military applications. These are numerous and scattered throughout various chapters. Covering uses like landmine detectors, or the aerial Predator and its relatives that have seen much recent use in Iraq and Afghanistan for surveillance and attack. But at the top level of the Contents, there is no section on the military. And if you go to the Index, "military" is absent, while, for example, "mind reading" gets 2 entries. The downplaying of the military is especially puzzling given the historically prominent role of the US military in funding advanced robotics research.

These volumes contain chapters by various authors who are well-respected mathematicians and statisticians, providing interesting, useful mathematics with a variety of insights. (Although I am one of the authors, this review is not about my chapters, but those written by others; about my own work, I hereby let others comment; I remain neutral. To do otherwise would be inappropriate and self-referential). However, the other authors deserve acknowledgment of their excellent work.

With such an extensive selection of male photography books, it is rare to find one that is a true pleasure to look at time and time again. Stanley Stellar has combined great skill and a host of subjects to produce a book that is truly unique. Most books of this nature have a certain theme or mood attached to them. This is not the case with Stellar Men. There are photographs ranging from the beuaty of the male form to the darker side of homo-eroticism. This book has something to offer for almost every artistic eye. Stellar has an ability to focus more on the importance and impact of the male form to art, than just glorifying the nude body. Every page gives an example of this ability in a varitety of ways. Overall, I feel Stellar Men surpasses "coffee table" status, and has found it's place as an example of photography and art. Enjoy!

I went from a looser in poker to a consistant winner.Had I known of this in my school days I would have had straight A's

If I could cancel one murder and save one life from history, I'd save Bruno Schulz, killed by the Nazis in 1942. If I could save one lost book, I'd save Schulz's 'Messiah'. I can't. At least there is this book of strange treasures, Schulz's collected works. Actually, two books are included here: 'Street of Crocodiles' and 'Sanatorium Under the Sign of The Hourglass'.

The first, Schulz's masterpiece, is only 100 pages long. I could never choose a favorite book, but this is the one I reread most often. Any attempt by me to descibe its contents is a mockery. Reading it is like peering into a strange, dark painting: a mad father, a bewitching sister, a dark corner where something never before seen grows (almost) to life. This book may only take you a day to read, but I promise it will be a illumined and unforgettable day.

'Sanatorium', which I think was written earlier, seems in part a workshop for what 'Crocodiles' would become, but this is appropriate for Schulz: he is the master of life half-created: the life of mannequins, mad relatives, stuffed birds.

My only practical advice is: allow yourself to skim the surreal novella "Spring" if you get bogged down in it the first time you try. Just make sure you don't miss the rest of the stories!

There is nothing else like this book--and this one book is all there is. I envy anyone reading it for the first time.

i recieved the book just in time for classes this semester; great condition. thanks

No serious student of Buddhism can afford to ignore Conze's work as a whole, including his magisterial translation of the Prajnaparamita Sutra. This collection of essays and book reviews belongs in the library of all serious students of Buddhism. This book contains the short studies of a mature scholar who understood the nuts and bolts of the engine of Buddhism as well as the technical language in which the "manual" was written.

While the field may have become more crowded with more players since Conze left it, Conze's style and standard of scholarship is a model still worth emulating for all (Western) students of Buddhism. The essays collected here range from general overview of Mahayana to specific themes found in the Prajnaparamita, to comparisons to parallels in European philosophy, to Buddhism's realtionship to Gnosticism, to social implications of logical thinking, and more. His reviews of books, many of them now classic and basic fare for those in the field, are also very insightful. Clearly, Conze did not see eye to eye with Herbert Guenther, that other giantic student of Buddhism, on many an issue.
These essays will benefit mainly those who are already seriously committed to Buddhism and Buddhist studies. Not recommended for beginners.

As a cookbook collector I have certainly seen hundreds of cookbooks, some wonderful and some less so. Sometimes the author has a wonderfully approachable style and very easy-to-approach recipes, but the recipe selections just don't fit my palate. And sometimes the very opposite is true. Lately I have found how much I enjoy cookbooks that are filled with full-color photos -- it is almost better than eating to page through the book and just "devour" the photos!

Now we come to Three-star Cuisine. Not very impressive at first glance. No lists of ingredients in the recipes, no step-by-step instructions, no colorful photos (or even line drawings). And yet, this is one of my absolute favorite cookbooks ever. It is chock full of the most do-able "three-star" recipes I've ever encountered in one cookbook. No fuss, no muss, no complicated list of spices with odd names, or ingredients one can only buy in a well-stocked deli.

The recipe for Duck l'orange is one simple paragraph. And the last line is a suggestion to serve it with a mixed salad, shoestring potatoes, peas or stringed beans. Yet this recipe is all you need to produce a delicious Duck l'orange, I assure you. I have never once failed. Likewise, the recipe for flourless Sacher Torte. One even shorter paragraph. And again, this recipe has never failed me. This is an indispensable cookbook for cold buffets or dinner parties. It can also make an everyday meal into a special occasion -- without fuss. The hors d'oeuvres and desserts sections are worth the price of admission alone.

The recipes are all followed with wine suggestions, which is a nice touch. There are recipes for sauces, hors d'oeuvres and cold buffet, soups, fowl, meat, fish, egg dishes, chafing dishes, desserts, and a well-organized index. (Have you ever noticed how important a good index is to a cookbook?)

Bomer von Marx was "to the manor born" -- and has "lived on both sides of the kitchen door," as both a squire being served exquisitely-prepared dishes, and as a fine chef in his own right. He was also a restauranteur and a cooking school director. He knows good food! When this book was published in the 1960's a "three-star" restaurant would have been a pretty fancy establishment. But no matter how many stars one would assign to von Marx' cuisine, this is a real gem of a cookbook. If you love continental cuisine and want to prove to yourself that you can turn out one after another delectable masterpiece without fail, then find yourself a copy of this out-of-print cookbook. And one word of advice -- be careful not to loan your copy to anyone -- you won't get it back!

Trust me, I know. :)