Burton Books

This book was required text for a 400+ level undergrad (Junior/Senior) and graduate course at the University of Maine. I thought the text was very engaging, and adequately and thoroughly covered the major themes in Forest Ecology. This text continues to serve as a reference for me as I used this text for comprehensive examination review and in writing my dissertation. I have not reviewed other Forest Ecology books, however can say that this text is outstanding in the presentation of material and in its readability for those who have an understanding of general ecology.

This book is the required text for a class on trees and forests that I am currently taking at UC Davis. It is an imposing text and reads much like a journal of ecology. It is far from a good study aid for undergrads and grad students in forest ecology. However, given its copious literature citations, it could easily serve as a reference text for an advanced undergraduate course or graduate seminar.

The book comes full of graphs, charts and pictures, but much of it is superfluous. Key terms and concepts are not fully explained for initiates, a glossary of terms is non-existent for quick reference, and brief, detailed summaries of each chapter are not provided at the end of each chapter for time-pressed students. The book also contains numerous photographs of forest stands, maps, diagrams, and charts; however, because none of these are in color, they lose much of their visual impact, detail and valuable utility. Furthermore, there are no study questions at the end of each chapter for exam preparation. As such, initiates to forestry or landscape ecology looking for a good introduction to the field are pretty much out of luck.

Although the book has gone through four editions, it is still quite far from being a good textbook. In addition to the above mentioned comments, the writing style needs to be tighter. However, negatives aside, teachers and educators looking for examples of many of the concepts in forest ecology for use in class discussions will find this an invaluable text.

This book takes a critical look at the short and tragic history of the use of airpower by the Allies (US, and British/Commonwealth) in December 1941, and principally in the Philippines and Malaya/Singapore, with side excursions to other areas such as Wake Island. Airpower had been one of the great hopes of Churchill and Roosevelt for discouraging the Japanese Imperial Navy and Army from attempting operations in Southeastern Asia, Malaya, and the Netherlands East Indies, but it proved inadequate to the task, or to holding the Japanese from making their conquests of December 1941 - May 1942. Besides recounting the events of the period, it looks at some of the reasons for the failure of Allied air forces in the operations.

Having studied World War II in the European and Asian theatres I had never studied in detail the general reasons on the collapse of Allied Forces air power in the first month of the Japanese attack on US and Commonwealth Forces, in and around S.E.Asia and the Pacific during December 1941. The book by John BURTON filled in the gaps dealing with the airforces of the US and British Commonwealth and that of the Imperial Japanese Forces. I found his book to be easy reading without going into such detail that the text became tedious.

It was interesting that in the chapters the author generalised on a particular area/action and then identified individuals involved with that particular event explaining details and reasons why those events occurred. He jumped between what was occurring in Malaya to that of the Phillipines in the same time frame without losing the storyline. He also outlined in detail the other side of the story, namely what occurred with the Japanese, linking that information with the Allied version.

It was well researched and informative from both sides of the combatants without becoming bogged down in unnecessary detail that would have made the text a boring read.

A next to excellent story was ruined by the one act of adultry!
Rachel Emmons couldn't even use the excuse that she didn't know what she was doing. Just the age old cry "If you feel like it, just do it!"

One factor is that Ben Mitchell didn't know she was married due to her lies.
Granted she was escaping an abusive marriage but she had no guts and no trust. Too Bad!

Peter Emmons turned out to be one big piece of dirt. And she handled his threats well in the end.
Excellent supporting characters - well laid out story - excellent epilogue, ties it up nicely.

Story is a great read if you don't get suckered into the "Oh, poor me." syndrome.

I've always enjoyed Mary Burton. This book is no exception. Rachael Edmonds will do anything to flee her abusive past. She ends up shipwrecked.
She's saved by our Hero. The lighthouse keeper.
This book is filled with great secondary characters and a wonderful sense of community. It's a quick read and an emotional one. I enjoyed it very much.

While Hsun Tzu's writings are interesting in themselves, I found that a comparison of his work to both Confucius and Mencius provides much insight into the ways of human life. Particularly interesting is Hsun Tzu's take a human nature versus that of Confucius and Mencius. All in all this is an interesting read for anyone interested in philosophy, ancient Chinese culture or human interaction and life in general.

Hsun Tzu followed Mencius, Confucius, and the other better-known names of Chinese philosphical history. He represents an interesting departure from them, though.

He holds the same high regard for order, hierarchy, and ritual as the earlier Confucians. He combines it with some of the thinking from other schools, though. He flirts with Han Fei Tzu's Legalist pessimism about human nature. Hsun Tzu, however, asserts that proper behavior can be learned and taught. Deep understanding would be best, but even rote performance of one's proper roles and rituals are enough to save people from their innate flaws. He also takes on some of Chuang Tzu's mysticism. Hsun Tzu's "sage" seems almost to spread his upright influence just by standing among the lesser people, with a magical lack of causal relationship.

It's clear that Hsun Tzu wrote as one among many different schools of thought. He spends a good bit of time explaining the errors of the competing philosophers, making it clear that his own thinking needed justification in that environment. He does, however, add a few notes of his own. For example, section 9 describes a king's duties. The king, through his deputies, is expected to regulate fishing, forestry, and other use of renewable resources. This is not meant to deprive anyone or to enrich the king artificially, but to keep the resources productive for the long term. How I wish that today's leaders would learn from the knowledge of 300BC.

Hsun Tzu was not among the first rank of influential thinkers, but well up in the second rank. If you are building a library of Eastern classics, this certainly has a place on your shelf.

Review of The Index Fund Solution by Evans/Malkiel

This is a good primer on using index funds to build a core portfolio, both with tax-deferred funds, such a 401(k) retirement savings, and taxable funds. The contributions of Evans , an investment advisor, is sandwiched between Professor Malkiel's introduction and closing chapter. It is one of three books I have read recently on the subject. Bogle's 2nd book on Mutual Funds is more technical and Swedloe's book is similar but is more oriented to the Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) approach.

The only mention of DFA is to Rex Sinquefield, Co-chair and CIO of DFA whose name is misspelled and whose title is wrong. DFA's enhanced index funds, based on the CRISP indexes are a major omission in the Evans-Malkiel book. Individuals can purchase those funds either if their employer's 401(k) has them available or if they use an advisor who has a relationship with DFA. The DFA 9-10 microcap funds have vastly different characteristics of size and value than the Russell 2000 or Wilshire 4500 index funds.

A few minor quibbles The Sharpe ratio example (p 86) 1.14% should be 1.14

P47 implies that "defined contribution plans" started in 1978. They go back 50+ years earlier to money purchase, profit sharing and stock bonus plans. In addition recent legislation allows employees of non-profits to be covered under 401(k) as well as 403(b) plans.

Evans chapter on taxes might have mentioned federal estate taxes which have a great impact on qualified plan participants with sizable estates. His three recommendations for variable annuities are all more expensive than one he omitted, TIAA-CREF.

Malkiel's final chapter provides an excellent rationale for capitalization weighted indexes as the only practical index-fund alternative, compared to dollar weighted and price weighted. DFA has an interesting approach to foreign indexing involving equal country weighting.

Malkiel, in his recommended portfolios, doesn't mention DFA's products in the large cap, REIT, foreign and small cap areas. While MPT and efficient frontier portfolios may be intellectually satisfying, Bogle and I have some problems with how slavishly one should follow their results.

All in all, this book is a very good starting point.

Conrad M. Siegel FSA, Consulting Actuary

I've read 4 - 6 different books on index funds & exchange traded funds in the past 2 years; plus using the considerable resources of Mornngstar & AAII, both on-line & in print. This is the best single book I've read that covers the entire index fund intellectual & financial universe. Written to the level of an American college graduate, reasonably financially literate, but not a financial professional. The material is well organized, logical, fun to read, humerous at times, & easily understandable. Evans suceessfully avoids clogging up his book with the incredibly complex mathematics & numerology which characterize many books & studies in this area. If you're looking for a single comprehensive resource to understand index funds, this is my nomination! Good luck!

This book is dedicated to the intimate art of the little paper costume. This is not origami and is closer to paper dolls. The book is nicely laid out and the introduction maintains the illusion of this being a true ancient artform. What is the artform? Well, it is to cut out and assemble little costumes or disguises to be placed over the erect male member.

The costumes span quite a rangr from a pig (as pictured on the cover) to a space shuttle. Most of the book is taken up with the heavy printed pages that comprise the parts of the costumes. If you were to actually go ahead with one of these constructions, the dicrections are quite simple and clear. Just watch out for paper cuts.

All in all there are 14 models. The are The Dragon, The Cock (rooster), The Squid, The Moth, The Pig, The Fish, The Horse, The Dog, The Rose, The Car, The Steam Engine, The Space Shuttle, The Fire Engine and The Private Investigator.

This book provides and excellent introduction to the history and practice of Kokigami. The cut out costumes provided are beautifully crafted. An outstanding gift for the sexually adventurous, playfull, or curious.

Chretien de Troyes is one of the unsung heroes of world literature in general and Arthurian legend in particular. In Perceval he introduced the Grail, a fundamental symbol that fascinated other medieval writers, who expanded on it until the Grail became the defining object of the entire literature. And in Lancelot, Chretien created a story of love and betrayal that achieved almost equal importance with the Grail legend.

Chretien was the first poet to ascribe importance of any kind to Lancelot, who had been sometimes mentioned in Arthurian tales but never a major figure. In this poem, Lancelot becomes one of the bravest of Arthur's knights and, what is more, Queen Guinevere's lover.

The poem begins as so many do that concern Arthur--the court has gathered for merry-making and the festivities are interrupted by an evil figure. Here, it is Maleagant, who challenges Arthur to entrust his queen to any knight in the court. The knight will combat Maleagant, and whoever wins takes the queen home. Arthur is hard-pressed to choose, but the royal steward, Sir Kay, forces him to a decision by swearing he will leave the court if he is not chosen for the contest. Arthur submits to the demand and Kay is defeated.

Sir Gawain sets out to follow the captive queen and, perhaps, rescue her. He is joined by a young, unnamed knight, who is just as determined to rescue the queen. The knight, however, is forced to ride in a cart, a humiliating gesture that soils his reputation for the rest of the story. This "knight of the cart," of course, is Sir Lancelot, and he is bound to find and rescue Guinevere because of his deathless love of her. Lancelot and Gawain agree to journey separately to Maleagant's kingdom and try to save her.

Needless to say, Lancelot succeeds and it is during his stay there that he continues his adulterous liaisons with the queen, further complicating matters. Single combats and a lengthy term of harsh imprisonment ensue, and Lancelot can only be saved by the good things he has done for others.

Chretien's work has stood up well to the test of time. Not only is the quest perfect mixture of adventure and excitement--with numerous combats, near-deaths, and feats of courage and endurance--the story resonates with deep meaning and themes that are still important today. Humility is among the foremost--Lancelot is not named for nearly half the story, and he willingly endures the humiliation of the cart for the chance to rescue his queen. Love and betrayal are also prominent, as is the question of how deeply in love a person should actually be.

Burton Raffel's translation of Lancelot is a brisk read, both exciting and fun. As a non-French-speaker, I can't attest to the literal accuracy of the traslation, but based on his track record in Old English and Middle High German, it can't be very loose. The afterword by Joseph Duggan is very good, highlighting the importance of the poem and its themes, as well as the interesting notion--very strongly argued--that Chretien was not particularly fond of this story. In fact, it was probably not even his idea, which is why Lancelot is sometimes painted as a dolt and sometimes as an idolater, worshipping Guinevere as some would God.

If you're interested in medieval literature, particularly knightly tales and anything concerned with Arthurian legend, Lancelot is in indispensable read. You won't be disappointed.

Highly recommended.

This book has been translated into English, but I don't think that he translates as best as he could. He translates into modern/slang English, and not the English that would French would directly translate to. If you would like to get a general gist of Chrétien de Troyes' book, then this translation would be the best to read. Unfortunately, the lines of this book are only in English; there is no Old French to compare his English to. That does make it harder to read if you're into die-hard French Translation. For the average reader, this book would be a good buy.

The editor, Alan Downer, cautions the reader (as opposed to a spectator of the play) "not to allow himself to be troubled by the labyrinthine mechanics of the plot". Enjoy the comic aspects of the moment; the play will take care of itself. Downer argues that Sheridan envisioned The Rivals as a series of comic scenes, not necessarily a tightly woven plot.

In his preface Richard Brinsley Sheridan reminds the readers that this play was not initially well received and, in fact, he had to withdraw the play to remove imperfections. His later version was more successful and today The Rivals is one of the few English comedies from that period that continues to interest modern audiences.

I found the beginning slow. The author's wordy preface was followed by a prologue in which two lawyers plead with the audience to give this play fair consideration. On the tenth night a new prologue replaced the pleading as it was now obvious that the revised play was indeed successful. In Act 1 I had some difficulty keeping track of the characters and I chose to reread the first act before proceeding. Thereafter, the going was much smoother and I began to appreciate the foibles of the characters and their confused machinations.

The protagonist, the young Captain Absolute, was sensible for the most part, although his plan to woo the capricious Lydia Languish was obviously destined for trouble. The other characters included his excitable father Sir Anthony Absolute, his father's patient ward Julia, the silly Mrs. Malaprop, the comic gentleman wooers Faulkland, Acres, and Sir Lucius O'Trigger, and the conniving servants Fag, David, Thomas, and Lucy. While Sheridan does encourage us to laugh at his characters, his satire is gentle. His characters are not at all unlikable, just a little eccentric and possibly not overly intelligent.

I recently read and reviewed Sheridan's enjoyable The School for Scandal and I recommend that the reader new to Sheridan begin with it rather than The Rivals. Both plays are short and can be read with little difficulty with the help of an occasional footnote. For my reading of The Rivals I used the Crofts Classics edition in which Alan Downer provides a useful introduction, a list of key dates in Sheridan's life, footnotes, and a bibliography. I give four stars to The Rivals. I previously rated The School for Scandal as five stars.

This is the first major comedy by Sheridan, a radical Irish actor and politician in George III's England. Not quite as complex and astute as his later She Stoops to Conquer, the Rivals remains a warm, unforgettable, and very, very funny play.

Here we meet the chatty Mrs. Malaprop, who proudly tells us "if I reprehend anything in this world, it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs"; her niece Lydia, lost in the world of lurid half-bound romantic novels; Sir Anthony Absolute, often wrong but never in doubt; Sir Lucious O'Trigger, of BlunderBuss Hall; and the rest. The dialogue and plot devices are well-crafted and funny; the social commentary is perceptive and satisfyingly naughty; but what stays with you is the humanity of each of the characters. These are not the charicatures of Restoration comedy, but personalties the reader will remember; ridiculous like all humans, but engendering empathy as well as laughter.

Sorry. Some things are just too much, and a robot which cries oily tears is one of them. As is a sailboat blown up by an explosive strapped to a remote control boat (it's tried twice in this book), a couple of beautiful women who are murderesses and/or criminals...hey, wait, there are at least THREE of those. And some nerdy guys who are developing major technological breakthroughs in artificial intellegence (hence the robot and the boat. Get it?) Add a car chase down a rocky mountain road and a shoot-em-up battle in a gun shop and five dead people--this is a thrill-a-minute book in less than 300 pages. It reads like a screen play, actually, rather than a novel, but if you like plot-heavy novels, this is a good one for you to read.

I loved Manmade for Murder. It kept me up till the wee hours of the morning, so that I could finish it. There was enough suspense and very imaginative "things" happening to Tommy without being overdone. It was a real page turner. I'm looking forward very much to the next book with Tommy.

This book offers practical wisdom on how to successfully design and implement a distance learning system. It is written by proven professionals who know what it takes to get a major change initiative completed in the corporate environment. I highly recommend the book!

This book is for those who want to learn more about distance learning, but don't know where to begin. The title of the book says "An Implementation Guide for Trainers and Human Resources Professionals" but this book would be helpful to any manager involved in distance learning, whether it is developing a program or evaluating the feasibility of implementation. Chapters include basic overviews of audio, video and web-based learning, determining if your company is ready and program design & delivery. The book includes some valuable information about the differences between the different methods of distance learning. This is a no-nonsense approach without a lot of fluff, but offers some sensible, solid content and a good introduction to the topic. Recommended.