Buck Books

Mermaids On Parade: America's Love Affair With Its First Olympic Women Swimmers is a fascinating compendium of stories and interviews with more than two dozen American women who competed in Olympic swimming events and helped to bring the sport to the enthusiastic attention of the sports minded public. Buck Dawson's informative and engaging text is enhanced with a profusion of period photographs of the female athletes who dominated this women's sport event from 1907 to 1957 and rose to excellence in this competitive sport with grace, beauty and personality -- making generations of girls want to learn to swim and to compete. Mermaids On Parade is highly recommended reading for Olympic sports enthusiasts, women's studies supplemental reading lists, and anyone who has every thrilled to a women's swim meet competition.

First off, this book is not a hardcover as advertised. It's a legal size paperback. The photos would have made the book but they were blurred and extremely poorly replicated. The photo collection and newspaper shots looked like good choices. I only wish I could have see them clearly.

I wish that this book explained more about each article, but the stuff they put in was also important. I don't regret buying this book by any means, but I like other books in the series.

This is a basic overview of the 13 Articles of Faith and what they mean to us as Latter Day Saints. Each Article of Faith is included plus illustrations and explanations of each concept, such as revelations like the Word of Wisdom, putting the 13th Article of Faith into simpler concepts like being kind, doing service, and being honest, as well as a short intro about the background of the Articles of Faith. All my children (ages 2 through 9) love this book as well as the other in the series. I plan on buying the others as we can.

This book is one of the most thorough discussions on the ins and outs of digital libraries I've ever seen. Lesk knows his stuff, both on the library - classification - document side and on the computer - technology side. Unfortunately, the reader also needs to be conversant with both sides, especially the technical. I feel the book is sometimes too heavily tilted toward the engineering/technology side. Kudos to Lesk, however, for his discussions of the economics of information, intellectual property, and international activities.

This is a very informative, well-balanced book on digital libraries. Lesk considers both the pros and cons of electronic versus print-only libraries, and provides detailed descriptions of how to digitize and distribute a variety of content - text, images, audio, video, etc. He also gives historical and philosophical background on issues concerning digital libraries. The only problem I had was that some parts were too technical for me to understand. This may be because I'm just starting out in the field, and the book may be more accessible to those with more experience. However, I think the addition of a glossary to the book would help quite a bit. Overall, I found the book educational and enjoyable, and I recommend it highly.

I recently purchased "Serial Film Stars", which was also written by Mr. Rainey, and was very pleased with it. I felt it was well worth the nearly $100 I spent for it. My satisfaction with this book led me to purchase this second book written by him which also cost about $100. I found it much less interesting than the prior book. My mild dissatisfaction with this book is based mainly on it's cost. My rating would certainly go up if the book had cost in the $50 range. In addition, the binding could be better. The cover is already starting to warp a little.

Veteran film historian Buck Rainey should be heartily commended for this long-awaited book, which, for the first time, lists all serials (and most of the related series) in one volume. Liberally sprinkled with illustrations, this handsome and well-researched volume ought to be mandatory reading for film scholars everywhere! And thank you, Mr. Rainey, for providing a detailed index and an extensive bibliography.

Im going to night school to learn how to do the insurance coding and this book is many times confusing. It jumps around sometimes and also asks questions regarding something I didnt read. Also Im only on chapter 3 and Im not sure if I will be able to pass the test for the class. Maybe they could have made it more simpler? More elementary as It seems like you have to already have had a job in the Medical Field to do this. However I kinda feel that the job is going to be more on the job training and the more you do it the easier it will become.

I am happy with my book. It came in a timely manner in perfect condition. I will be ordering more books from you in the future. I did check other on line stores and found you to be the cheapest.

Amanda's House was well written on a lot of different levels. Ms. Buck captures the issues with working with battered wives and the lack of self esteem and cycle they find themselves in. She captured the ambiguous feelings that victimized children experience as well. I am a school psychologist and worked on a domestic violence hotline for years and I can verify that Ms Buck knows her stuff. I liked the fact that the book also dealt with how people are treated when they have reach a certain age. Ms. Buck is of that certain age (75) thus had the experience to write about it. I believe this is her first novel which gives us all hope that we can never start too late. Amanda's House's has a well thought out plot. The main characters seem real. I am usually a mystery reader so I would have liked maybe some extra intrigue. Maybe the next book

... presents a unique comparative study on the transfer to China of American ideas about the organization of scientific research and its roles in society. Though the author is primarily interested in the social history of American science in a period of rapid industrialization, about a third of his book is concerned with Chinese students then in the U.S. and their perceptions of the American models and Chinese society. The book gives extensive coverage on the views of policy-makers of the Rockefeller Foundation's China Medical Board, which sponsored the Peking Union Medical College (Beijing Xiehe Yixueyuan), and that of the Boxer Indemnity fellowship program (later to be named as the China Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Culture).... The book pays special attentions to the social and institutional framework in the development of modern Chinese science, in particular, the roles of the Science Society of China, which was modeled after the American Association for the Advancement of Science and founded at Cornell University in 1915. Among the founding members of the Science
Society of China (Zhongguo Kexueshe), the most prominent figures include Hu Shi (Hu Shih), Yang Chuan (Yang Xing-Fu), Zen H.C. (Ren Hong-Juan), Zhao Yuanren (Chao Yuen-Jen), Bing Zhi (Ping Chih) whose activities and views have been covered extensively in Peter Buck's book.

Despite the contributions of the American-trained Chinese scientists, however, Peter Buck's main conclusion of the book is that the attempt to make science take root in China had largely failed. Quoting the phrases of a Chinese sociologist, Fei Hsiao-tung, from his book of the 1940's, China's Gentry, Peter Buck wrote: It was clear that "the need in present-day China to modernize quickly" could only be "met by the introduction of Western knowledge," but those Chinese who had the requisite technical abilities had~~ isolated themselves from their countrymen. They had conspicuously failed to~ "find a bridge by means of which they might bring over and apply their knowledge to their own communities. Without such a bridge modern knowledge [was] ineffectively hanging in the air."

According to Peter Buck's analysis, such assessment of the new scientific establishment in China was not only shared by some Chinese scientists and observers, but also by their American sponsors and advisors. ...

Many readers of this book may find Peter Buck's conclusion to be unfairly critical towards the effort by American-trained Chinese and their American mentors to implant modern science on the Chinese soil. This is true to a certain extent...The tremendous political and social constraints presented during the timeframe (1876-1936) might well be beyond control of the Americans and the Chinese scientists. Peter Buck himself acknowledges that there is no easy alternative method for underdeveloped countries to develop science:

"There can be no question but that, in exporting science, the West has been more preoccupied with furthering its own ambitions, imperialist and otherwise, than with meeting or even attempting to discern the needs of backward countries." Yet, according to Buck, the apparent alternative-refraining from exporting advanced science and technology and making no effort to construct or to encourage others to construct more appropriate bodies of knowledge--was and is no solution at all. The most valuable contribution of Buck's book is that it presents more perceptive questions than ready answers. As a Chinese reader who is more interested in the response of Chinese intellectuals to the West than in the subtlety of American thoughts on the sociology of science, I am somewhat disappointed with the unevenness of statistics concerning American-trained Chinese in the book. I believe this book is not suitable to serve as a source book or "bible" on the American-trained Chinese. However, it can serve an equally, if not more, important purpose, i.e., to stimulate our reflections on the intellectual footsteps of our forerunners. The American-trained Chinese covered in this book are known for their dedications to the uplifting of China through the development of science. ...

Each of these three "John Sedges" Novels...Pearl S. Buck starts out slow, as you read and adjust to the story line, each novel gains momentum and you end up wanting to complete the story! So, as an avid reader, to all other readers, don't despair as you begin each of her "Hometown Anywhere" style novels! They get better and better...

Knowing many of the people interviewed for this book from my local American Legion Post makes my review slightly biased, but I have given copies of this to several relatives who have thoroughly enjoyed reading it. This is a set of individual stories, some of men who saw horrific action in WWII, and others from men (and ladies) who saw no action at all. All in all, it is a fair composite of what it must have been like to have come of age in a small town in Southeastern Pennsylvania during the time of the Second World War. Very enjoyable -- and it will make you want to come to Newtown to meet these heroes in person.

Prospective buyers should be aware this book contains fantastic information on money management for teens and young adults and that it also contains a chapter--a serious chapter--on tithing and the gospel behind it, and that some of the chapter review questions have more to do with what the Bible says about money management than what a financial advisor would tell you.