Francis Books

This book stands out for its hands-on approach, and in-depth treatment of all PV related topics: From manufacturing and underlying physics to applications, with economic analyses. The associated theoretical ideas are dealt with in detail, you can't finish reading a topic and be dissatisfied with what you get out of it. You come away with basic understanding, as well as the ability to design and start working with anything you read about. Remarkable.

In all, great book.. I've used it out of a library, but can't wait for a cheaper edition.

One of the few books in the field that spans the theoretical aspects of photovoltaic energy conversion through direct application and design of systems for remote village electrification. Expensive but if you are in the field of PV application or system design, it is worth it.

I used this book as my primary source in an independent study I did in my Junior year of High School, entitled "Issues in Modern Urban Planning". It was absolutely indispensable. The case studies and the clear, logical, empirical approach to the matter broadened my perspective of the very real issues facing the modern world tremendously. I cheer Mr. Cullingworth for this fantastic tome.

A comprehensive review of the policies and problems of planning in the USA. Also of interest to studies of comparative politics. An excellent read.

Trevor Kletz's book is a summary of a lifetime of lectures on the subject of process safety. It is a fascinating collection of observations and ideas distilled from his many books on the subject. I always prefer material that has gone through the fire, which has served as presentation material for courses and training. He has a clear message, which is defined succinctly in the appendix of the book: "An atlas of safety thinking." Here, he defines the four guiding principles explained throughout the book: 1) intensification; 2) substitution; 3) attenuation; 4) and, simplification. For example, attenuation can be explained by saying if you can't eliminate the risk, maybe you can reduce it by changing the physical conditions: e.g. lower the temperature or pressure.

There are numerous examples in this small book. I found the paragraphs on nitroglycerine amusing. He described how operators worked with huge batches of material on one-legged stools to keep their attention keen. You'll have to read the book yourself on how they improved the process. Today, making nitroglycerine is probably the safest process in the munitions industry because inertia equates with mortality.

Trevor (I've emailed him a couple of times) comments frequently about inertia to change. He asks clearly why the oil industry and others continue to use large distillation columns without considering Higee distillation. Higee columns are much smaller making inventories of flammable chemicals small as well. Trevor's comments are well-supported; they remind me of an earlier innovator in business philosophy, another man I deeply admire: W. Edward Demming. Some of you may know him as the founder of modern quality science. He quickly realized that applying statistics to production lines did little to enhancing quality. Teaching the engineers did little to improve products. They were well aware of problems. Changing the mindset of managers is necessary. And, so it is in chemical engineering. We must look to new ideas if we are to reduce costs, shrink our carbon footprint, and cut environmental damage. Our major competitors, Europe and the Chinese are already thinking this way, don't you think it is time for us? Trevor reports that the Chinese are working on their version of Hi-Gee. Shouldn't we be working on ours?

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I think some explanations are needed on its title. According to the preface, the book was first published under the name of

* Cheaper, Safer Plants or Wealth and Safety at Work(1985)

and extended to the new title

* Plant Design for Safety - A User-Friendly Approach(1991)

and 70% expanded to the latest title

* Process Plants: A Handbook for Inherently Safer Design(1998).

The Aamzon's title may not be updated, but I got the latest one. It's slim(about 200 pages) and very readable.

Never has our country needed a book about our Pledge of Allegiance more than at this time. Barbra Clack's book comes to the rescue for both parents and teachers. Her book is a well-written, age-appropriate, and delightfully illustrated explanation of the precepts proposed in The Pledge.

Adults/teachers will benefit from this book also as they read it to their children. The back of the book contains additional information about our Pledge, the flag, and other symbols of American freedom that is quite enlightening, even to us old-timers!

My advice: parents, get a copy for your home. The book would also make a wonderful gift for friends or family with children. Teachers, speaking as someone with twenty-eight years of classroom experience, I would advise you to get a copy for your classroom and put one in your school's library. Share it with your peers; however, keep track of who has it, or you might not get it back! This one's a keeper!

I am a 30 year veteran school teacher. I wish this book had been available when I taught school. I have never seen the pledge explained in a better way. Every classroom needs this book in their library!

In this philosophical work on budget control politics, Professor Marini explains how the executive budget provided the practical means for the implementation of the administrative state.(AKA: The Nanny State or the The Bureaucratic State.) Marini however, goes beyond other critiques of the administrative state by demonstrating that state theory is in direct opposition to and hostile towards the natural rights theory of American constitutionalism. The question Marini will force careful readers to ponder is this: If the purpose of constitutionalism is the prevention of tyranny, what is the goal of the administrative state?

Dr. Marini, a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, explores the tensions arising from an "administrative state" within a constitutional regime of separated powers. He concludes that "the federal budget has come to be the principal instrument of politics in the American administrative state" (Preface, p. xii). This book should be included in the core required readings for the study and understanding of public budgeting, administrative theory and administrative bureaucracy.

"Charging that many widely held opinions found in the body of modern Jewish philosophy are inadequate if not false, Katz attempts a reconstruction of these belifes into a more compelling and tightly composed account of Jewish thought." The main concern is religious responses to the Holocaust by Eliezer Berkovits, Richard Rubenstein, Emil Fackenheim, and Ignaz Maybaum.

The best contemporary book on Jewish philosophy and theology I have read -- very insightful.

As a physician and Christian, I have a special interest in this area. Father MacNutt shares his questions and struggles and has some wonderful insights in the healing power of God and also deals with the questions why certain people are not healed. Strongly recommended!

Reviewer is Rev. Dr.Mary Clemson
We all have the power to heal and to be healed. Do you believe this? My husband didn't and I didn't try to convince him. I asked him to read this book, he did, and in a couple weeks joined me in the healing ministry.

By the way, my husband is a retired university professor and quite skeptical of most things. No more, God used this book to bring him full force into ministry. Prior to this he stood on the side lines supporting his "Pastor wife". Buy this book, the language is simple and it is easily understood. It will answer many questions and challenge your thinking about healing ministry.

PRAYER WITH SEARCHERS AND SAINTS is a collection of prayer exercises based on the lives of well known spiritual people from history. Most are canonized saints in the Roman Catholic tradition, but there are also people from the Hebrew Scriptures contemporary figures such as Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Thea Bowman and the women martyrs of El Salvador. Not all are specifically religious people, but their lives do somehow tie into the teachings of Jesus.

The book is set up in a way that makes it easy to use in daily prayer. It has prayers for morning and evening, as well as readings and biographical information about each person. It is designed to be used either individually or in group settings such as a prayer service for a school setting, liturgical gathering, or meeting.

Perhaps what makes this book unique is that it invites the person who uses it to enter more deeply into the lives of these great people of faith and see the ways in which they lived as followers of Christ. It also invites each of us not just to admire these great people, but also live lives that reflect the values of these people in a world that so desperately needs such witnesses today.

from Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Aug.29, 1998, p. B-10: "A panorama of Christian saints, but also including such people as the founders of AA, is outlined with prayers, information and worship suggestions. Readings are included for each one and a morning call to prayer along with a prayer of praise. It's a richly textured, handy guide to spiritual development."

This selection from the Companions for the Journey Series allows you to relate to Francis de Sales in a way that is easy to understand and gives you a feeling of oneness with God. Once you start reading you will not put the book down until you reach the last Meditation. The reflections themselves allow one to increase the power of your thoughts and imagination and help guide you throughout your entire life.

Praying With Francis De Sales is a must read for spirtual filfillment. The author gives solid themes of meditation to enrich anyone's life. The author touches some topics that everyone needs help in such as Heart to Heart, where the author reconizes the affairs of the heart and how it may lead you.The bond of friendship , where the author reconizes the important of a friend. If you are a person with the weight of the world on you shoulders and need some inspiring words and methods of spirtual healing to help you through life(as we all do)this is the book for you.

Rev. Springer, a former neighbor of Abraham Lincoln's, was a sensitive observer and careful recorder. His accounts of the men he ministers to are exceptionally moving. This book is an excellent resource for the Civil War scholar, with a highly readable and intelligent introduction. The source notes alone are worth the price.

The Preacher's Tale: The Civil War Journal Of Rev. Francis Springer, Chaplain, U.S. Army Of The Frontier is an intimate, candid, revealing, deeply personal record of the Civil War which reveals 51-year-old Francis Springer's thoughts and experiences on the nature of war, the meaning of violence, and the role of religion. Enlisting with the Union Army in the fall of 1861, Reverend Spring was with the 10th Illinois Calvary and witnessed the Battle of Prairie Grove in December 1862. Springer was later named post chaplain at Fort Smith where, in addition to preaching and ministering to the troops, he was placed in charge of refugees and displaced victims of the virulent guerrilla warfare which took place in northwest Arkansas. He also wrote articles and columns in the "Fort Smith New Era" under the pseudonym "Thrifton". Springer's appraisals of life in the Army of the Frontier are honest, insightful, and informative. Enhanced with several never-before published photographs, and appendices featuring accounts of six military executions that Springer participated in as a Union Army chaplain, including of previously unpublished last letters home of two rebel soldiers condemned and executed at Fort Smith, as well as a eulogy for Abraham Lincoln, make The Preacher's Tale a very highly recommended and valued addition to the growing body of Civil War accessible memoirs and biographies.