F Books

Defin. a book worth buying! -very helpful & makes civil procedure really easy to understand.

Glannon's guide is God send. if you purchase Glannon's E&E, you must also purchase his guide to learning Civ Pro through MCQ's. It is great!

Love it!

The book was delievered in great condition, within a moderately good time frame. It has proved very useful in my 1L studies!

Glannon clearly and succinctly provides examples of possible multiple choice questions that could be found on exams. Unlike a lot of other guides I've seen...it's not confusing and it's not a chore to read through the book.

Without a doubt this is an essential key to success in civil procedure. I basically outlined this book along with my class notes and got an A on the exam. Very, very, very good aid.

This book was recommended by a friend. It has great recipes and helpful information. Love it.

If you only buy one book on cakes, make it this one. Read the author's invaluable instructions on technique, ingredients, equipment etc. before you begin baking. No matter what level of baker you are you will learn something new. One caveat: while this is not a "fussy" book, it certainly is not for "cake doctors"--be methodical and follow the recipes to a "T"--you will be thrilled with the results!

This is a great cookbook for anyone who likes to make cakes from scratch. The coconut cake recipe is absolutely delicious! This is the only cookbook I use when I want to make a cake. Her directions are easy to follow and even a novice like me gets great results!

This is got to be your first step to cake education. Its more than a cook book, its a baking course between 2 covers. I recommond it in the shelf of every beginner baker.

There are an awful lot baking cook books available these days, but few are worth anything. This book is one of the few truly helpful books that actually shows you how to properly bake a cake. Many baking books feature a famous chef on the cover, along with casual recipe instructions and the admonition that this really is easy to do; usually, this is a lie. This book fills in all the details, and is really the only cake cook book you will need.

Please note that this is not a "throw it together and bake" kind of cookbook; for these, I suggest books like The Fannie Farmer Baking Book, or Pillsbury's Best of the Bake-Off. The chapters are arranged like a textbook. The author expects you to systematically bake your way through each chapter in order, gaining skill and experience with each chapter. You are not suppose to skip around at random, picking out a few appealing recipes. The first chapter has pound cakes, the easiest; last chapter has European tortes and gateaux, the most difficult.

It has chapters on ingredients, equipment, techniques, pound cakes, butter cakes, coffee / streusel cakes, cakes with fruit, sponge cakes, roulades, chiffon, angel food, american, cheesecakes, tortes and gateaux, filling, frosting, glazes, sauces and toppings, and decorations.

The quality of the cakes are very high. When I need a high caliber Sacher Torte in a professional setting, the recipe comes from this book. It has a rare and complete recipe for Genoise. It is also one of the few books that insists on clarified butter for the Genoise (the only other one I can think of is Beranbaum's Cake Bible). The only real complaint I have is the suggestion to bang Genoise batter in the cake pan on the counter just before baking (never do this; better a couple of small holes in the finished cake than a deflated cake). Her recipe for chiffon cakes produces more loft than conventional procedures. I also wish the author would use the classic European names for the recipe titles; it would make looking up certain patissiere classics easier. The last section tells you how to match frostings and fillings to the cake, some valuable and hard to find recipes for glazes, and a definitive recipe for creme anglaise. There is also information on substituting different baking pans, and a sufficient amount of information about cake decorating for the home baker.

The most vexing feature of this book is the format of the first part, which has critical information on tools, pantry, and techniques. This is a most important collection of information that is essential for baking, but is usually left out of most baking books. The bad part is that these three chapters do not have a listing of the subjects; if you need to find something, say how to fold an egg foam batter, you will have to leaf through the entire chapter to find it. All other chapters have a complete listing of recipes in the Table of Contents.

One can disagree with the author on a few points: unbleached flour does not have a higher protein content than all-purpose (this is brand dependent), the silly notion of melting chocolate in a 225 degree oven, and not supplying the flour measurements in weight as well as volume (she describes sift, spoon, and sweep, which is about 3 1/2 oz when I tried it). I also dislike her idea to dump out excess flour when flouring a cake into the sink; since flour tends to clog drains, I do it over a garbage can. The section on suggested equipment is comprehensive: 30 different cake pans are listed, about a dozen categorized as essential, and 50 different tools, about half categorized as essential. The pantry chapter has a good dissertation on the important ingredients and what to do with them. The chapter on techniques gives complete instructions for all of the important baking tasks, such as how to handle butter and fats, beating eggs, folding batters, lining baking pans, bain-marie, telling when cakes are done baking (it differs greatly depending on cake type), de-panning cakes, storage, and a fascinating section on freezing. The metric conversion table for liquids in the Appendix is wrong.

It is quite rare for anyone to write a successful sequel to someone else's work. But Carr and Green have written a brilliant continuation to H Beam Piper's book "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen."

H Beam Piper's book was one of his "Paratime" books. Back when he was writing, the idea of an empire built on travel between alternative worlds was a comparatively unusual one: until recently only Piper and Keith Laumer (Worlds of the Imperium et. seq.) had done anything like this. Recently the genre has expanded enormously with Barnes's "Closers" series, Harry Turtledove (Crosstime Traffic) and David Weber (Gates of Hell) amongst those getting in on the act. If you've read and enjoyed any of those, H Beam Piper's Paratime books were the original.

In Piper's book "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen," Calvin Morrison, a state trooper from our world or one like it, is accidentally transported to another timeline where Gunpowder is controlled by a corrupt church of the "Gunpowder God", Stryphon. He breaks the church monopoly and helps a kingdom which the church was about to crush to survive.

Green and Carr's sequel is about the major war which follows when "Stryphon's House" comes back for revenge.

I strongly recommend this book, but agree that to get the most out of it, read "Lord Kalvan of otherwhen" first.

H. Beam Piper (1904-64) was one of the premier science-fiction authors of the 1960s, and should rightly be considered one of the all-time greats in that field. Among the wonderful books that Mr. Piper published during his all-too-short career was Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen. In that book, a Pennsylvania State Trooper name Calvin Morrison is accidentally lifted out of his own space-time continuum, and deposited on a parallel Earth, where some of the Aryans went east, across the Pacific and into North America. Dropped into the midst of a war of conquest, directed by a religion that holds a monopoly on gunpowder, Calvin must use his knowledge of military history to save himself and his new friends.

In this 1985 sequel, Piper fans John F. Carr and Roland Green take us back to the world of Lord Kalvan. Having saved his new nation of Hos-Hastigos from destruction only last year, Calvin Morrison (now Lord Kalvan) now finds a new campaigning season upon him. But, the House of Styphon is not about to see this new force put an end to their gunpowder wealth and authority. And now, Kalvan must prepare to meet an even greater threat, and once more use his knowledge of military history to save a seemingly impossible situation.

Now, I am a massive H. Beam Piper fan, so I went into this book with a little trepidation. I mean, can anyone write a book in Piper's universe with anything like the right feel to it? Well, in fact this is an excellent book - well written and a worthy sequel to the original. All of the characters are here, but they have grown and changed, just like you would expect real people to do. The action is almost non-stop with some excellent battle scenes and tons of action and adventure.

So, if you are a fan of H. Beam Piper, or just his Lord Kalvan story, then you should get this book. It's great.

Also, if you are a fan of alternate-reality science fiction, then this book is something you should consider - but definitely read Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen first.

H. Bean Piper wrote Lord Kalvan Of Otherwhen and then passed on before he could finish the story. In "Great King's War" John Carr and Roland Green have continued the story and in the process expanded the Piper Universe. This is an outstanding book, well worth any military science fiction/alternate history fan's attention. The paperback from Ace is getting hard to find in good or better condition, but a hardback edition can be purchased from Mr. Carr at Hostigos.com. It is well worth your time and money. Mr. Carr has also published two additional volumes in the Kalvan saga; Kalvan Kingmaker and Seige Of Tarr-Hostigos. If you enjoyed Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, I think you will enjoy the follow on books.

A copy of this book is now available in electronic format from Baen on its Baen Free Library webscriptions site.

In the top 5 of military sci fic/fantasy books I've ever read! I stumbled across this book years ago and could not believe it was so faithful to the orginal story by H Beam Piper (Lord Kalvin of Otherwhen) Its a fascinating period of Terran history grafted onto a realistic alternate world and done with style and swerve! I have written both Mr Carr & Green about the followup but it seems stalled. Both of them did their research on this one however and it shows. No miracles from the "real" world to help, tons of political intrigue, realistic characters etc etc. For anyone who likes good deep stories and hard realistic fighting will enjoy this read. You can actually smell the gunpowder and hear the thunder crash of steel on steel!

(Aug 2006 update) This book has been expanded with the addition of some 100 or more pages. The expanded version is really worth the purchase price(from Pequod Press) It explains more of the political situations Kalvin is facing and the internal wrangling of the opposing Styphon's House and its allies. Even the battle scenes get some additional work and unlike some of Carr's work this time he does a good job of illustrating the complexities of the fighting. We also see the character and background of mercenary captain Philidestro get more mention. There is alot more insight into the Paratime home culture and it's politcal ramifactions in Kalvin's timeline. Though either version is a must read, this new edition is the better money spent! Mr. Carr has done some excellent work here!

I live 2 miles away from West Pittston and know people who either knew the Smurls or who are related to them. I actually attended their national press conference when all of these events occurred. I will *never* forget the feeling that I had when I first heard the story as a teen.
I used to be really well read with this topic but once the 'drama' of it all died down I didn't think much of it.
I became interested once again because last week at a party I spoke with someone who is the nephew of the Smurls. He claims that the events were true and even said that something happened one day while his dad was visiting them. Another girl that I know was a next door neighbor to them and swears of its truth because she, herself heard things. These are seemingly 'normal' people who I have known a while.
...It is a very intriguing story that was, in my opinion, ruined by the 'Hollywood' interpretation via the made-for-TV movie.
Currently the family lives about 8 miles from their former Chase Street home in West Pittston. The people who live there now, as far as I know, have had no disturbances.
This book is a great summary of events and gives me even more chills because I am so close to the source.

For those that know anything about Ed and Lorraine Warren, you know that they are the real deal. This book, which was made into a horrible, less than thrilling TV-Movie, is truly amazing, fearful, terrorizing, scary, intriguing.... and more. I first read this book when I was in high school and I had nightmares for weeks. Since then, I've enjoyed all the account the Warrens have provided on their website, and hope to still enjoy more information Lorraine may provide (Ed passed this past year).

If you are interested in the paranormal, hauntings or the supernatural, this book is an incredible read! Be warned, it will give you goosebumps and you will be scared! At least, any normal person would be! If you are interested in learning as much as you can about these topics, you really SHOULD read the book!

I read "The Haunted" many years ago as a teenager and was totally moved and even scared to read about the Smurl's horrible event that plagued their lives and home.

This book is an in-depth read, and puts the reader inside the lives of the Smurl family. I felt like I was part of the family with everything going on. It's certainly a page-turner. The pictures also make the text come to life.

Given all the bad things that happened, their faith and strong family ties and values made them overcome the paranormal activity. The activity stopped around in 1986 or so. It's 20 years later. I wonder how the Smurl family is doing?

I read the book, and can relate to the truth because of my own experiences with the paranormal.
This is by far the scariest demonic case I've ever read about...
This world does contain mystery.

I rarely read books, but this one caught my attention (possibly because of the fact that it is a true story). I just could not put this book down. I had read for several hours the first night. I did, however, have to turn on several lights because I kept hearing strange noises in the dark! (And the slightest creaks had really startled me!) After I could no longer keep my eyes open (after three in the morning), I did have to try to get to sleep (not completely in the dark, though). As soon as I got up less than six hours later, I picked up the book and I didn't put it down until I was finished. I was so hoping for a happy ending after all of the torment the family had endured for so long. Their story is completely believable and extraordinarily written!
I would give this book a lot more than just five stars. Superb!

The foundation of this book is rooted in the belief that a conspiracy was behind the assassination of JFK and that the conspiracy was linked directly to Kennedy's alleged intentions of appeasement especially on international matters regarding Vietnam, Cuba and the Soviet Union. So nothing new there. Of course there were many powerful individuals and organizations who stood to benefit from harder stance on the perceived communist threat of the time, but is there evidence to suggest that Kennedy was removed from office by a conspiracy that originated in the highest level of office. James Douglass thinks so - and why wouldn't he? He places JFK on a pedestal, lures the reader into share his sentimentality on "what might have been" and in doing so cleverly dupes the reader into believing that such a great man could surely not have been killed by some deranged 24 year old nut case called Lee Harvey Oswald.

Douglass bases much of his pro conspiracy belief on selected pieces of evidence that seem to support his view that Kennedy was shot from the Grassy Knoll and that a team of conspirators were present in Dealey Plaza that day to ensure the assassins escaped and that Oswald was set up as the Patsy. Sound familiar? It does to me. It's been presented as the central thesis in countless dozens of books. Of course Douglass is unable to name the assassins, presenting the usual suspects as behind the plot, the CIA, Military Intelligence and Lyndon Johnson and of course the good doctors who performed the autopsy that evening in Bethesda. Let us not even think about the fact that the autopsy took place at Bethesda Navel Hospital because Jacqueline Kennedy requested it. Other doctors were preparing for the autopsy at the Walter Reed Army Hospital and no doubt a number of personnel were on standby in various medical institutions should there expertise be required. That is a large number of people. Let us think about that for a moment. And let's not even consider the silliness around a plot that involved shooting JFK from the front but setting some one up having them "shooting" from the rear. Think that one through!

Douglass presents a number of persuasive "facts" about the events of the assassination that will inevitably lead the reader to conclude he is right - unless they have of course read and considered the alternatives. Let us take the case of July Anne Mercer who saw a pick up truck parked on the curb of Elm Street near the Grassy Knoll at 1100 on the morning of the assassination. Mercer recalled that one of them had a package containing a gun or that looked like a gun. No let us consider this - can we honestly believe that a team of assassins would be parked up on the street 90 minutes before the motorcade was due to pass and in full view of the public? That is ridiculous, but it's also largely immaterial because it has been established beyond a reasonable doubt that the truck was owned by a local maintenance company and that they were undertaking work on behalf of the civic authorities. Douglass has all sorts of fake Secret Service agents on the knoll and cites the testimony of bystanders Gordon Arnold and Ed Hoffman both of whom saw "gunmen" on or near the knoll - incidentally both men saw different "assassins". He ignores the testimony of the three workers on the 5th floor of the TSBD directly under the south eastern window who heard THREE distinct shots and some 95% of witnesses who heard three shots. He ignores Amos Euins testimony that he saw a rifle protruding from the 6th floor window and that he saw the rifle fired. He ignores the many dozens of people - several in the motorcade - who were certain that the shots came from the TSBD. But of course most of all he largely ignores the medical and ballistics evidence that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Kennedy and Connally were hit by shots fired from above and behind. He chooses instead to believe that evidence was falsified.

One extremely irritating piece of irresponsible journalism centres on the alleged figure of Oswald in the doorway of the TSBD in the Altgens photograph taken just moments after the shot that hit Kennedy in the neck. The man in the picture was TSBD employee Billy Lovelady - who looked like Lee Harvey Oswald. Lovelady subsequently produced the shirt he wore on that day and identified himself as the man in the photograph. Few in the pro conspiracy lobby would agree with the contention that the man was Oswald. Douglass does however. The author also has Oswald escaping from the TSBD building by car minutes after the assassination with one or two other men in the car. Clearly an organized "get away". Yet we know beyond a doubt that Oswald took a bus and a taxi en route to his rooming house on North Beckley. Yes Douglass ignores this. Oswald then appears some 45 minutes later on foot walking through the Oak Cliffe area where he lived. Is this likely given the "fact" that he had just been spirited away ? I don't think so.

Douglass also cites as evidence of conspiracy the employment of Lee Harvey Oswald at the TSBD just over one month prior to the assassination. He neglects to mention that Oswald was bitterly disappointed not to get another job across town and that Roy Truly the warehouse manager had Oswald lined up for another job at another location no where near the motorcade route. But its so easy isn't it to ignore all those counter arguments because they are rather more compelling and in fact rather undermine the foundation of the book. Frankly as the educated reader will know, it's all been done before by the likes of Summers, Hurt, Lifton et al. But its been comprehensively addressed and debunked effectively. If there was a shot from the Grassy Knoll, it missed and the shooter escaped into thin air. If Oswald had any co conspirators no shred of evidence of them exists.

Douglass fails comprehensively in his task to convince that the assassination was a plot originating at the highest level. This is sadly another poorly presented thesis on this bottomless pit of a subject and judging by the other reviews here the author has already duped the majority into believing it.
Perhaps just about worth reading if your interest lies more in Kennedy than his assassination, but if you are looking for a balanced "common sense" approach to the pro conspiracy front avoid this work.

have you wondered who and what, in the united states, the "powers that be" are? that "shadow government" that might pull the levers and throw the switches, determine who among our leaders will survive and who will perish, set the nation's agenda?

have you questioned the conventional wisdoms about the assassinations of the two kennedy's, martin and malcolm?

have you pondered eisenhower's parting words warning us about the growing influence of the military-industrial complex?

and have you considered the ties between the israel lobby and that complex?

i highly recommend jim douglass's book, jfk and the unspeakable, why he died and why it matters. and strongly suggest you put aside (for now) the usual dismissive thought: ah, another conspiracy theory.

In the many , many years I have spent reading about what happaned to JFK in Dallas and why, this book is the ultimate. Mr. Douglas puts the facts into historical and spiritual context in a way to fit almost all of the puzzle pieces together as never done before. The parallel to what's happening today in terms of electing someone who will lead as JFK did is impressive and frightening.

How `bout this scenario ...

The good `ol Texas Oil Boys (increasingly invested in defense industries) want to control, possibly by eliminating, JFK so as to expand & preserve the nation's War Economy, about which JFK seems to have had second thoughts, with an eye on de-emphasis.

So they hire the C.I.A. to deal with the issue; especially in the case of the need to off Kennedy, whom else would YOU hire to kill the U.S. president on American soil?

The C.I.A. (as in "Corporate Interests of America") tries first to muscle their way past Kennedy in a showdown over Vietnam in the months just prior to 11/22/63, a "last chance" of sorts for the President.

But then, the decision to kill him becomes necessary & final and the C.I.A. does the dirty deed, providing a covert operation complete with designated patsy at no extra charge and backed by a fine "cover thy butt" propaganda & hit squad apparatus.

Madeline Brown has publicly stated that LBJ emphatically informed her that the assassination was the work of "the Texas oil boys and the C.I.A," a connection well represented and aptly symbolized in the form of Texan and C.I.A. bigwig David Atlee Phillips.

In the immediate aftermath of the murder, the hotshots from Texas exert their influence over the Dallas Police while LBJ and Hoover exert their powerful oversight of any potential independent inquiries. In addition, Johnson's new power as the nation's Chief Executive very quickly puts him into position to control the autopsy of JFK at Bethesda (as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces) and soon after to force Earl Warren to head up a Johnson-controlled committee of investigation.

The short-term goal of eliminating John Fitzgerald Kennedy has been stated, and begins paying off when the U.S. fakes an incident in the Gulf of Tonkin less than a year later that sparks the Vietnam War, and tons of profits for the likes of Brown & Root, Bell Helicopter and LTV.

And that's the truth! (Nicely detailed by Mr. Douglass)

JFK and The unspeakable by Jim Douglas is a Brilliant, Exceptional well written book that traces JFK efforts for peace while the powers that be opposed his policies in every way possible.JFK Did commit the Unspeakable. and that of course marked him out for Assassination!!also very revealing are Oswald CIA and FBI Connections.Jim Douglas Parallels The elimination of Oswald as the Patsy and JFK as the Cold Warrior who refused to go along with the party line!!

This book saved my marriage. Everything that I had been trying to say for years was finally said by an expert and not me. My spouse was able to read and understand through the book and he was not able to argue about what the book said, like he would have done had it been only me saying those things. I also learned a lot about my own destructive habits (lying was one of my big ones... "Are you mad?" "No, I'm not mad, everything is ok" when in fact it wasn't).

My suggestion is that you read it together, or have one person start reading it and writing comments into the book as you recognize yourselves in it. Then when the other partner starts to read it they too should write comments into the book as well. Later you should both go through it together to read the added comments and use those as talking points.

I also feel that if your marriage is in really bad shape that you read this book first because you HAVE to stop the "love bank withdrawals"... they are causing your marriage to go bankrupt. Once you have a handle on your withdrawals then your deposits (His Needs Her Needs) will finally be able to accumulate to the point of causing positive change. You can make as many deposits as you like, but everyone knows from life even that if you don't control your withdrawals that you can easily overdraft your account.

If you are struggling in your marriage, READ THIS BOOK!

This book is written so it is very easy to understand,no overload of hard to understand words. It has great ideas and solutions for marital problems. You will find much help in it. I can't wait to read HIS NEEDS, HER NEEDS: BUILDING AN AFFAIR PROOF MARRIAGE.
I can highly recommend this book!

Extremely practical guide to save a troubled marriage. Well worth the read and thoroughly recommend - even for the sake of improving your marriage.

After 8yrs of dating and 4yrs of marriage, our relationship had become...well, boring. Our date nights, if we had them, were typical dinner and a movie. Something was definitely missing. A church marriage counsellor recommended this book along with The 5 Love Languages. It is a must read for BOTH spouses. Do not expect results with only one partner reading and/or applying it!

If you are thinking about buying this book or any other relationship book - do not delay! Dr. Harley's books (including His Needs, Her Needs) have been very helpful to my marriage following a crisis. He makes excellent points that somehow seem to reach both of us and explains things in a way that both of us understand without either one feeling hurt or attacked. It is a terrific book, and I believe anyone who reads it and adopts it in their marriage will see improvement.

This should be in the homes of every Baptist family, as it already is in most Amish families. As the book itself explains, it is a history of fifteen centuries of the suffering of the Baptist people and their martyrdom at the hands of the catholic church. A list of popes up to the time it was written is included in the back. It proves that Baptists existed long before Martin Luther, and were martyred for such sins as reading the Bible and Baptizing adults after they were saved. It is impossible to deny these facts because this book documented these horrors and was written hundreds of years ago, before political correctness came into being, using the records of governments most of which have since been destroyed. The names of hundreds of individual Baptist people are recorded along with descriptions of the accusations against them, their tortures and death. It is detailed, and too graphic for children.

The story of the Anabaptists is one of incredible pain and spiritual triumph. This impressive work was written in the seventeenth century and recounts the stories of many men and women who suffered and often faced terrible death for what they thought was right. Apart from individuals stories, the book contains many emotionally touching letters written by martyrs to their families and friends. The book also describes the sufferings of some of the early Christians and the later Waldensians.
The legacy of the Anabaptists lives on in the Amish and Mennonites. In fact, an article about Amish forgiveness in the aftermath of the recent tragic school shooting was one of the things that brought this book to my attention. Personally, I feel Christians of any denomination could take something useful from this book.
Overall, "Martyr's Mirror" is an extremely powerful and moving book.

A part of my family research - but brings the sadness, the strength and the Christian conviction to a very harsh reality. Something all of us from those roots need to read.

This is an excellent work and a great accompaniment to Foxes' Book of Martyrs. It is an enormous volume with much information I have not seen before.
I highly recommend it as an addition to every Christian's library, and to anyone studying the subject of martyrdom.

This is a must own book for those interested in Christian heritage. This puts Foxe's Book of Martyrs to shame. It is well worth the money you will spend on it.

Mission Raise Hell is an unforgettable tribute to the courage and fortitude of the men of the 2nd Marine Parachute Battalion. What an incredible gift James Christ has! With riveting details, vivid imagery, and palpable sentiment, he makes history come alive. Christ lets the story unfold naturally--the plot reads much like a WWII veteran recalling the events of the raid on Choiseul. I look forward to reading Battalion of the Damned and other books by this author.

I found this book fascinating. It reveals a brief but pivotal period in the lives of real soldiers, faithfully chronicled by the author. In it I found a captivating glimpse of our history. I am impressed by the dedication it must have taken to seek out and interview so many survivors of the mission on Choisul, after so many years. This is authentic history. I hope James Christ will continue to pursue our past with the same intensity and purity of this first effort. It is an invaluable record.

I found the book extremely good at recounting events from over 60 years ago. The writer did a wonderful job of locating so many survivors of this Solomon Island activity and recording their stories. More of us need to talk to those left of that generation and record (on paper, audio and/or video) their life stories. I thought Mr. Christ did a good job in telling the stories - jumping from group to group to show actions in an almost hour-by-hour retelling. He transported me through time and space to make me feel as if I was there at the time, dodging the bullets along with the men of the 2nd Marine Parachute Battalion.

This book shows what it was like from several marines perspective, not just one individual marine. That is what makes it unique. I found it riviting and shocking at the randomness of survival. My father was on the island and took part in the operation. He has told me his account, but this book takes you into the minds of all those still around to re-live a long forgotten battle, complete with the honesty of relating a story from 63 years ago.

If you want fiction, or a beautifully "produced" story, you'll have to check elsewhere.

It was reported that this 255 page book, "Mission Raise Hell" is flawed, sophomoric, and unduly repetitive. I never picked that up. James Christ's approach keeps you in the tempo of the movement of young Marines in Choiseul. It is a gripping account.

Having fought in a war as a Marine Corps Officer, I'm grateful that the author reports the constant acts of the men he interviewed. And that's the point: it's an interview of microcosmic scale that focuses on every significant act of men engaged in a desperate ruse to win the macro war effort against the Japanese on Bougainville.

James Chrst. Remember the name. He's touched so accurately the hearts of those Marines on Choiseul as-well-as war fighting Marines everywhere.

Mr. Christ's literary approach in tone and tempo matches the WWII Marines I've conversed with as a life member of the Marine Corps League.

And if this is not enough to assert Christ's fine book as nuanced and sophisticated in the capture of reality, don't forget the name "Krulak."

Retired Marine Corps General Victor Krulak, who was the Lieutenant Colonel commanding officer of those men on Choiseul, has supported and continues to support this fine author.

I recommend on the basis of my experiences as a Marine Enlisted and as a Marine Officer that you read James Christ's book, "Mission Raise Hell". You will not be disappointed.

I'm coming to the end of my undergraduate studies (in PHYSICS!) and I was looking for some insight into what graduate school would be like to to try and figure out if a PhD is in the cards for me. This book is easy to read and FULL of useful tips. However the overwhelming majority of these nuggets of gold come from past PhD students in the medical/biological sciences. This began to get really annoying. I was constantly having to decide which comments to take onboard and which to leave behind (because I thought they wouldn't apply to me). As a result, I probably have in my head a very distorted picture of what grad school will really be like.
The title is very descriptive, it's just missing one word, but I suppose if they added it sales would drop significantly.

This book should be required reading for anyone applying to gradutate school in the sciences (physical or biological). A quick read of the text will give one plenty to think about before making the big decision. The earlier you read it the better off you will be. The most important reading regards selecting an advisor. I am in the process of completing my degree and in hind sight agree with the issues on which the author has choosen to focus.

The following was copied from another website's review of The Ph.D. Process, and I think it describes the book perfectly:

Graduate school in science is not an experiential extension of undergraduate education, where the passing of a sufficient number of courses usually guarantees one a degree; nor is it medical school or law school, where there is a delineated and set curriculum. Ph.D students are actually pretty much on their own--and they will sink or swim depending upon their own interpretation of how the system works.

The purpose of this book is to provide students with some insight into this unusual system. The authors--each a Ph.D. in the sciences--reveal the generally unspoken "rules" of the game. They offer the secrets of survival and success: What should you discuss in your application essay? What types of research advisors should you avoid? What kinds of research projects should you never undertake? How hard do you have to work? Are grades important? What steps should you take now to make yourself "employable" when you finish? What decisions can make or break your career? How can you network in the scientific community? What goes on at the oral defense, and how can you prepare?

Described also is the daily experience itself: research life, classes, seminars, journal clubs, lab meetings, interactions with peers and professors, qualifying exams, professional meetings, oral exams, dissertation preparation, etc. Anxiety, frustration, and joy-- all normal responses to a grad student's life--are also examined. (In quotes sprinkled throughout the text, numerous past and present grad students relate their individual experiences and emotions during their doctoral training.) A separate chapter is devoted to the special problems of foreign students, strangers to our culture and educational system.

There are many intellectual and emotional challenges inherent to becoming a scientist. This book prepares students for each stage of the experience. They will learn what to expect--socially, psychologically, and academically!

The PhD process is a great overview of graduate school in the sciences. It covers most basic topics such as choosing a type of school, applying, preliminary exams, comps, thesis work, etc. Of course each school does these things slightly differently, but the main points are there and the authors do a good job of pointing out where differences between programs are likely to turn up. This book also explains things that graduate programs aren't likely to advertise such as using students as `cheap labor' and what things to look for in an advisor other than interesting research. This is a fun to read honest book, and the anecdotes from current and past graduate students are the best part. I enjoyed reading them because so many of the same things have happened to me, and it's nice to know that I'm not alone.

I wouldn't say that I received any great insights from the book because I had some experience with academic labs before I applied to graduate school and had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into. I found it a little calming to read about others' experiences as I was waiting to get started. I think most students who apply to graduate school have already spent much time in labs with current graduate students so this might not be that useful to them as practical advise; however, I found this book to be an excellent resource for my parents. My parents had no idea what graduate school is like, and the fact that I'm at school all day and only go to class for an hour baffles them to no end. Reading this book helped them to understand the structure and goals of graduate school. Though I still don't think they understand journal club. (Why would anyone join that club? It doesn't sound like very much fun.)

I recommend this book to grad students for their parents or to undergraduates who aren't sure if graduate school is the right path for them. This book gives great insight into what graduate school is really like.

The book definitely unfold the whole map of graduate school life, especially for (biological) science students. Many aspects and stages of doing science research and how to survive in graduate school are covered. However, the lack of insightful guidence is the main drawback of the book. Pointint out possible obstacles does not necessarily makes gradute students' lives easier. The interviews from (past) graduate students do help readers build up confidence because it is comforting to know many people suffer as they do now, but at the same time few specific steps or directions are NOT distilled by the authors. It's like everyone just talks their experiences without any conclusions.

Very cute book, lovely illustrations. My kids loved this book when they were younger, so I bought it for my niece's little girl and she loves it too.

This is a superbly lovely book for pre-schoolers and children in the early grades. After seeing it in Australia, I ordered three copies, one for each set of grandkids. My grandgirls, 5 and 7, made me read it to them twice, even though they both can read most of it, and I even caught the 9-year-old eavesdropping. It is one of those books whose illustrations match the charm of the text, and both text and pix are simple, straightforward, yet colorful and delightful and totally enchanting. It's the story of how Hush, a little girl possum, is made invisible by her Grandma Poss's magic and their subsequent search to make her visible again, which they do by cycling around Australia (and sailing to Tasmania in an umbrella) and eating the various specialty foods. Just naming them will make any Ozzie homesick: pavlova, lamington, vegemite, minties, etc. Even a Yank tourist like myself gets a little misty-eyed. The only thing the author left out was Victoria Bitter, but it is a children's book, after all.

This is a classic Australian picturebook which is becoming popular again as those of us from the generation who were kids when it was first published (1983) now are buying it ourselves and reading it to our children or nieces and nephews. Granted there's always the hey I remember this book when I was kid factor that drives up sales but unlike a lot of books which have this factor of when you get home and read them you remember that you never really liked that book back when you were kid because it is infact not that good, Possum Magic is remembered and was popular back in the 80's because it was a good book. Although some of the food (remedies for Hush's invisibility) inside are no longer uniquely Australian (which is a good thing), learnign about them along with the uniquely Australian wildlife inside this book would make an ideal gift or purchase for any Australian now living overseas to read to their kids and teach them a bit about their heritage. For anyone whose not Australian it is a great opportunity to learn something about Australian culture.

The basic tale of this book revolves around a little girl possum called Hush whose grandma (named Grandma Poss) who was an expert in bush magic turned Hush invisible to prevent her being eaten by snakes (now of course in reality snakes don't use sight like we do to find their prey but see the heat from the body like someone wearing night vision goggles does so being invisible wouldn't have actually helped Hush but anyway this is a fiction book and that's a discussion/lesson probably left for an age group older than this book's target market). Although Hush gets into a few dilemmas as the result of being invisible such as being sat on by a koala she still gets up to lots of fun like riding down the back of kangaroos like a slippery dip. Hush however wants to know what she looks like so asks Grandma Poss to make her visible again which Grandma Poss has of course forgotten, although she remembers it has something to do with human food. This is the tale of finding the cure and travelling across (with a bit of poetic licence by riding a bike and in a floating umbrella the vast distances of) Australia to find it.

Other good children's books about invisibility if that's what you were after include My Best Friend Is Invisible (Goosebumps) by R. L. Stine, You Are Invisible: CYOA #48 by Susan Saunders, The Invisible Day by Marthe Jocelyn, Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex, you can even get an illustrated version of H.G. Wells 1897 classic The Invisible Man (Great Illustrated Classics).

Delightful book with illustrations that takes kids 3-6 on an imaginative trip to Australia. I could identify with the main character, "Grandma Poss."

A wonderful picture book with a delightful story line and engaging illustrations, Mem Fox provides a culinary tour of the "best of Australia" in her book Possum Magic. Young people will learn about the geography and foods of the Land Down Under as they travel with Little Possum and his grandma searching for the foods that will make him visible again.