Ferguson Books

This is a gorgeous hardcover 4-volume set to decorate any home library, size 6.2 x 9.8 inches, in total 1363 pages.

This set consists very comprehensive, practical, and complete information. It is designed for home use and also can be found in the reference sections of libraries, and it's written in a simple and approachable language that makes it very attractive and easy-to-understand for any ages. And more, it includes some articles about mental and physical health including weight control that rarely appears in other similar titles.

Volume I includes the following topics: Your body, The first dozen years, The teens, The beginning of a family, The middle years and The later years.

Volume II: Diseases of the skeletal system, Diseases of the muscular and nervous system, Diseases of the circulatory system, Heart Diseases, Diseases of the digestive system, Diseases of the respiratory system, Lung Diseases, Diseases of the endocrine glands, Diabetes and other autoimmune diseases, Diseases of the eye and ear, Diseases of the urinogenital system, Cancer, Other diseases of major importance, and Surgery.

Volume III: Skin, Hair, Teeth, Gums, Aches & pains, Allergies, Women's health, Physicians, Nutrition & weight control, Mental and emotional disorders, Substance abuse, The environment & health, Health insurance, Home care of the sick, Health care delivery, and Voluntary health agencies.

Volume IV: Medical emergencies, Commonly prescribed drugs, and Physical fitness.

I highly recommend this set to anyone; it includes everything one must know about their health and body.

These encyclopedias are very thorough and useful. On several occassions we couldn't find the information we were looking for and this encyclopedia provided it for us. They are quite expensive but worth the expense in their informational value. I would buy them all over again!

I bought the 2000 edition about 7 months ago and my son has not been able to keep his nose out of them since we recieved them. His second grade teacher recommended them, and we are so happy she did. It is amazing to see my child actually wanting to read an encyclopedia! The fact that they are easily written (at least in the early parts of each topic) makes so much of a difference. I have used them too... the computer is nice as a interactive, flashy tool but nothing, and I mean NOTHING replaces teaching your child to research in a reference set. I recommend them to any parent with school age children. GOODBYE BRITANNICA!

This an excellent reference text for persons who want a comprehensive, but not overwhelming summary of the essentials of seamanship. One of the most notable aspects of the book is the 'cut-outs' that refer to navigation lights. These distinct pages of the book are very effective in testing the readers knowledge. These illustrations give a clear indication of an opposing vessel's position and situation without the reader having to refer to previous chapters. Moreover, the explanation and following illustrations of how to clear a fouled hawse are probably one of the best around. This book is recommended for those persons involved in the marine industry in a commercial sea going capacity. It would be a good addition to any mariner's library.

Once again it is important for the reader to appreciate something about Basil Lubbock (1876-1944). He was born to wealthy parents, educated at Eton and later won the Military Cross during the First World War. He could, therefore, have chosen any of the accepted "gentlemen's" occupations but instead, signed on as an ordinary seaman on a four-masted barque and rounded the horn before the mast. He was, therefore, a man of the sea who went on to write many fine books about ships of the 19th Century." This is yet another excellent example of his work

Research is the main ingredient to any book about ships or shipwrecks and it is people like Basil Lubbock who have provided inspiration to a great many who have attempted to follow his example (myself included!).

The Nitrate Clippers were those sailing ships which were predominantly required to carry Nitrates, Guano and similar cargoes. How many years must it have taken successive generations of birds in a single colony to create a field of Guano 200 feet (60 metres) thick? But they did and here we have the story of those ships which sailed to the South Atlantic, rounded the Horn and visited various Chilean ports to collect such cargoes.

In short, this is the story of those ships, the men who manned them and the storms they sometimes survived.

One of the author's comments which particularly caught my eye appears on page 6. It reads; "In the good old days when the world was not so crowded," - and that from a book written in 1932.

As with all Lubbock's work, this book is dedicated to those who made his work possible. Furthermore, his research is impeccable and many of the fine photographs are not found elsewhere. If you are interested in that period when sailing ships worked for a living, then this man's books are the key to a greater knowledge and understanding of what went on.

He also has other titles which deal with China Clippers, Colonial Clippers, Opium Clippers and so forth. Not only are they an excellent collection, they are each an equally excellent read and can only be fully recommended.

NM

In a high-tech thriller as compelling as today's headlines a team of acclaimed medical writers tracks the impact of one deadly drug--and its lethal course trough the politics of madern medicine. Gabe uncovers two cases similar to the St.Catherine teen's death--and learns that all three victims had been talking the new drug Virazine, Kimberly Lab's hottest, FDA-sanctioned wonder drug. With the help of Kate Reilly his Yale Medical School love, Gabe tracks down Kimberly's chairman, who offers him a lucrative consulting deal; an eccentric chemistry researcher turned wealthy Kimberly executive; the firms frail research genius; and a septuagenarian scientist whose precise exerpiments promise chilling answer to the Virazine puzzle.

I loved this book! This is the first book I read by JoAnn Fergunson, and it will certainly not be the last! Cliff and Lizzie's chemistry was intoxicating. I loved every moment of the journey!

I read this book, and the author gives you a complete picture of what it was like for her growing up in the early to mid 1900's. It's a fantastic book to read for those interested in a childs point of view of how life is growing up in a rural Mississippi.

Oliver Evans' story is a testament to the fact that individuals can make a significant difference. Ferguson describes Evans as an innovative engineer: "He was an inventor and mechanician by nature, sharply observant of principles and details."(12) That he achieved so much is due to his creativity and perseverance, but his abrasive nature and willingness to sue did not endear him to people.

Of Evans many inventions, the two that were most influential were the development of the automatic flour mill and the high-pressure steam engine. The former "is the foundation upon which all modern, mass-production industries are built. Evan's high-pressure steam engine was the prototype of all steamboat engines used in the Mississippi basin." (10)

In the automatic flour mill Evans devised a method of processing grain automatically without human help other than that necessary to monitor the system. The method in which materials were moved from machine to machine was the key. The bucket elevator and hopper boy were material-handling devices which Evans devised to transport wheat or flour throughout the mill. Conceptually and practically his idea consumed much thought and deliberation over an extended period of time. Millers did not immediately accept the concept.

At the time inventors had to apply for patents in each state's legislature. With patents from various states in hand, Evans went forth to promote his new mill. He thought its advantages were self evident, but first results were disappointing. When a federal patent law was passed in 1790, none other than Thomas Jefferson was one of the reviewers. Evans was awarded the third patent ever issued in the United States. Another twelve years would pass before the mill "seemed to `take off'". (33)

Evans spent much of his life enforcing his patent on the automatic flour mill. His rights were extended by a private authorization of Congress in 1808. But the law was still unsettled and one judge, Bushrod Washington, in 1809 "declared a patent right to be an infringement of public right." (52) However in Evans v. Robinson, Evans prevailed in defending the originality of several systems in his automated mill. Not until 1836 did it become clear what constituted a patentable invention. Thereafter the idea of combining machines into a system could be patented under the law.

Even though Evans used mistaken data on the relationship between steam temperature and power, his steam engine still proved to be a practical and useful machine. His "high pressure steam engine was much smaller than a low-pressure model of equal power and consequently was much easier to build and transport." (36) Evans built steam engines at his Mars Works and even provided an engine to Thomas Jefferson for his mill in Monticello.

Oliver Evans eventually prospered but only after a lifetime of struggle and sacrifice. As one of Evans legacies, he is credited with the "principle that federal patents could be protection in the courts. His aggressive policy...made it clear to observers that a patent right was a valuable form of property." (64)

Scott inspires us with his handling of beautiful soft colors to let us into the beautiful world of painting, viewing our great American landscapes. He urges us, who paint, with his wonderful creations to strive to paint better, to not give up. And he uses words to make us realize nothing is impossible, if we will only start, one step at a time, and ten minutes a day if that is all you have, to go towards our goals. His words apply to all of us, whether we paint or aspire to higher attainments in other areas of our life.