Franklin Books

I have been in the field of Cardiovascular Technology over 33 years, and never came across a book so simple and easy to understand about heamodynmic calculations. Now a days people depend on computer calculations, but it is not perfect. This book gives you the basic and if computers go wrong you will never know unless you know the basic. For any student or professional I strongly advice to have this book. DON LADKIN CARDIOVASCULAR TECHNOLOGIST. UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL P.O.Box 2529. RIYADH 11461. Saudi Arabia

This was a great book for fast research I wanted to do, and had no time for more complicated books. It can be read by both children and adults.
There are many photos, paintings, chronological charts and quotations by the great artist. It's very well organized and cohesive.
I recommend this book for everyone.

This book is part of the Artists in Their Time sieres by Scholastic. The series features artists from different media and styles, including, Georgia O'Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, Paul Cezanne and Paul Gaugin, amongst others. This book is intended for the young student who would be in middle school. As an introduction to the works of Moore and a biography it is very good. The approximately fifty pages are very colorful and expressive by displaying some of the drawings and sculptures of Henry Moore. The book does a good job of explaing tecniques and the difficulties and process of working with certain media. The influences of Moore are noted as are the results of those influences.I found this book very informative even though I had prior knowledge of some of the art works of Henry Moore. Without doubt the student will be blown away by the pieces featured in this book and probably want to learn more about this man. The book features an excellent glossary and a listing of museums and galleries around the world that have pieces by Moore. This will be very valuable(some have virtual tours) for the student who is doing a report on Moore as the listing of museums and galleries includes the web sites. This is a great book for the middle school student to learn about one of best modern artists, who was genius in his field. For further reading(or looking at the sculptures) you may find some of these books useful Henry Moore; (Twentieth-century masters), Henry Moore or any other of the fine books by David Mitchinson about Henry Moore. Recommended for middle school and community libraries and the young students introduction to the wonderful art world of Henry Moore.

There are hundreds of herbs in this massive 600 page guide to the magical use of herbs. The book covers lore, history, healing, lore, folk uses, shamanic and ritual uses. It states that most magical herbals contain mere shadows of the real magic of herbs and sets out to give us some of that real magical lore. In addition there are chapters of using herbs for healing, preparing herbal remedies, making incenses (with recipes, herbal dyes, making herbal paper etc. I would say that if you can only buy one herbal, buy this one, because it will tell you more than twenty others.

I purchased this book for my son who is now an adult. I read it to him when he was little and wanted to give him a nice memory of that time. He really enjoyed seeing the book again. It was nice to be able to find it on Amazon.

This book is a fantastic book for kids. It Makes the complicated science of genetic engineering seem as clear as possible while giving examples of foods that would capture a teen's attention (such as potatoes that are scientifically engineered to absorb less oil when made into french fries.

On August 6, 1945, at the order of President Harry Truman, the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bomb exploded at 8:15 a.m. and killed 70,000 people in an instant. Thousands more would die of radiation sickness within weeks, while thousands of others who survived would be sick, scarred, and deformed for the rest of their lives. Three days later, the U.S. dropped a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki, killing another 40,000 people. That second bomb compelled the Japanese government to surrender and ended World War II. However, the Hiroshima bomb started the nuclear age. Since August of 1945 nuclear devices have been exploded only in tests and not as part of military operations. But today North Korea officially admitted that it has nuclear weapons, efforts are being made to curtail the development of Iran's nuclear program, and the major concern is that terrorists are going to get their hands on a nuclear device.

That is why Clive A. Lawton's "Hiroshima: The Story of the First Atom Bomb" looks at not only the bombing of Hiroshima, but the politics and science behind that military decision as well as the consequences that extend to this day. Lawton, a former high school principal in Liverpool, England, has written and broadcast extensively on moral and religious issues that affect education, and I thought there was an indication of something akin to an agenda when the front flap of the book refers to the bombing of Hiroshima as a "disaster." However, this informative book more than maintains a sense of balance from start to finish with regards to both the history and issues being covered.

The chapters of "Hiroshima: The Story of the First Atom Bomb" are two-page spreads amply illustrated, many with color photographs and tinted black & white shots. The first eight chapters start with German scientists successfully splitting an atom in 1938 and then contrasts the war in the Pacific against the Japanese empire with the progress of the Manhattan Project. At the end of this first section Lawson establishes the military, political, and scientific realities that President Truman was facing in 1945. The next six chapters begin with Truman "Making the Decision" to bomb Hiroshima and ends with Japan's "Unconditional Surrender." Including in the illustrations are a striking set of before and after aerial photographs of Nagasaki showing the level of destruction. Lawson also explains how the hills surrounding the city meant that although the second bomb was more powerful than the first, using plutonium instead of uranium, the blast was not as devastating.

The final six chapters of the book are divided between what happened "After the Surrender" in Japan, where the survivors became known as the "hibakusha," and the socio-political ramifications of dropping the bombs. Lawson examines whether dropping the bomb was the right decision, covering the arguments on both sides, and traces the Cold War legacy of Fallout Shelters, antinuclear protests, and treaties to dismantle nuclear weapons. The back of the book contains a list of Key Dates from 1939 to 1956, a Glossary of a dozen terms, and a Who's Who of key figures. For those who are more interested in "The Science" than the history, there are a couple of pages devoted to key concepts from nuclear power to radioactive fallout.

That last section represents the overall strength of the book, which is in covering a lot of material in concise, focused, chunks of information. Lawson ends the main text with the pointed contrast of the dangerous new world in which we live after September 11th and the legacy of Hiroshima. There is a significant discussion to be had with regards to these concerns and "Hiroshima: The Story of the First Atom Bomb" provides a solid background on the history part

Dwight David Eisenhower probably was lauded a bit too much as the symbol of the Allied victory in World War II, but he was the Supreme Commander, after all. The inevitable name-calling he received from the press as a Republican President was unjustified as has been his casual dismissal for the fist few decades he was out of office. There have been some positive revisions of his history in recent years and I welcome them.

Eisenhower wasn't a fierce warrior in the way Patton or other battle commanders were, but battles cannot be won without logistics, supplies, and well-handled politics. In these Eisenhower ended up being the right man in history to lead the Allies to a complicated, but decisive victory in Europe during World War II. As President he helped America finish its recovery from World War II and the rebuilding of Europe. He was also able to handle the Cold War without a massive arms race that subsequent Presidents initiated.

This book covers his life in pictures from his boyhood in Kansas through his military career, Presidency, family life, and funeral. Dana Lombardy has provided page long introductions to the four sections of the book and the captions to the couple of hundred pictures. The four sections are his youth to 1932, his military career from 1932 through 1945, his life after the war and his Presidency 1946 through 1961, and his life after the Presidency 1961-1969.

This is a great way to take a look at the life of a great figure of the 20th Century and one of our two-term Presidents. Nicely done and recommended for all students of American History. It can provide a pictorial supplement to other books on Eisenhower's life that provide his life in prose with only a few pictures.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

My parents, who grew up as very poor children in the teeth of the Great Depression, held FDR in high regard. However, they did not share in the general worship of FDR by some of their friends. For my parents' friends FDR was more than a President, even more than a Hero. He was a kind of savior to them who inspired them, provided work to their fathers, and provided food that they were often ashamed to eat. My parents recognized the leadership FDR showed, and were grateful for some of the programs, but the idea that the government could provide everything for everybody seemed absurd to them.

As I grew up and read and began formulating my own ideas, I began to question the orthodox view of FDR held of these friends. I remember at one gathering of my parents' friends, a couple of us teenagers brought up some views that questioned the view of FDR as the savior of the nation. Wow, what a reaction! (Again, not from my parents, but their friends.) Later in life I met families for whom FDR was an unalloyed devil and if you had anything remotely positive to say about FDR it generated a similarly explosive reaction. Interesting stuff.

Regardless of your views of FDR, there is no question that he was the most influential president of the 20th century, even more than Reagan whose dominance seems so great because he was more recent. This very interesting volume provides a couple of hundred photographs of FDR from his boyhood through his funeral. I enjoyed the way the book did not center on his three and a part terms as president, but gave us many photographs that are not commonly seen. It is the private man we see here even more than the man in office (though there are plenty of those, too). They are printed in large format and allow the reader to linger over them and notice very interesting detail.

As usual in this fine series from Turner Publishing, the captions add valuable information about the photograph and the few pages of information that form chapter headings add just enough helpful information without getting in the way of the photographs.

This is an especially nice addition to the library of anyone interested in FDR, American presidents, or general American history.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

This book has some good quality photos from the past.
You can get this book from the Mercersburg Library for alot less
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