Hoffman Books

Don't let Amazon fool you this book is new and AVAILABLE! (It just came out in June 2000.)

It is the best source out there for people who collect Trek Action figures, ships and accessories made by Playmates. It covers the entire line from 1992 to the end in 2000. Images of all products, plus descriptions of accessories that came with the toys and a price guide. One of the more nicely done collectibles guides on the market today. Any Trekkie would want want for there collection.

As one who has collected these things for years, it certainly does bring pride to me to see everything in my collection presented in this beautiful full-color book. The illustrations are large and beautiful, but I was a bit disappointed to see not everything was displayed outside of its packaging. While I don't mind photos of the packaging, I wish everything in the book could have been shown outside of the packaging for consistency.

Those who purchase this book should understand that it does not list variants. There are far too many to account for them all anyway. The prices are a joke-- one must wait at least a decade or two for the prices to stablize. As I understand it, the author was forced to do add pricing under pressure from the publisher, so forgive the pricing inaccuracies.

Although the book is a fairly complete reference of Playmates Star Trek toys, there are just a few items missing. For example, I could not find an entry for the 12" Q figure. However, such omissions are few and far between. Buy this book if you collect Playmates Star Trek toys. It is worth checking out if you are a toy collector and missed out on seeing the beauty of this line.

I recently acquired this book and found it to be misrepresented. On the back the author states, "Playmates Toys produced Star Trek toys-action figures, accessories, and starships-in great abundance throughout the 1990s, beginning in 1992, and this book chronicles each and every one of them." This book DOES NOT chronical each and every one of them. It is missing various action figures released not only in the USA, but from abroad as well. In addition, there are many accessories and playsets that were not "chronicled" as well. Moreover, the values of each item are way off as well. What one personally pays for an item or what a secondary retailer is asking for them are not an accurate represenation of what these toys are worth.

In any case, while the book gave us colored pictures and its design was good it is only a good reference. A bit overpriced, but a good reference source nonetheless. I would certainly use it alongside other Star Trek handbooks and price guides in order to get an accurate reference of the entire toy line by Playmates (as well as others) and their values.

Though a great admirer of Clarence Carson's works in general, I had found the first four volumes of his history of the United States slightly less interesting than more thematic essays like *The Fateful Turn* or *The Flight From Reality*. Maybe it is because Carson is more at home in pure intellectual history, or because I myself prefer concepts over facts and chronology.

However, Carson's *Basic History of the United States* remains in my opinion the most reliable on the market. As a professor of American history, it is the only one I personally recommend to my students, and the best of the six complete histories of the U.S. I have read so far.

The six-volume series is divided into the following periods: 1- The Colonial Experience 1607-1774; 2- The Beginning of the Republic 1775-1825; 3- The Sections and Civil War 1826-1877; 4- The Growth of America 1878-1928; 5- The Welfare State 1929-1985; 6- America in Gridlock 1985-1995.

The fifth volume itself is comprised of ten chapters: The Great Depression, The Thrust of the New Deal, Toward the Welfare State, The Coming of World War II, The United States in World War II, The Cold War, Welfarism at Home and Abroad, A Second Radical Reconstruction 1960-1975 and The Conservative Response.

To those of you who are sick of the deification of FDR and JFK and the vilification of Hoover and McCarthy, you will find a treatment of these key figures that radically departs from the established liberal gospel. Hoover's exceptional charity after World War I is brilliantly documented, and his refusal to enact welfare reforms on a large scale is attributed not to a lack of compassion but to the fact that "as President of the United States, he was the head of the government, not theretofore thought of as a charitable organization".

Roosevelt, on the other hand, is presented as "a candidate seeking votes, not losing them by presenting hard choices", who in his campaign speeches, dishonestly presented himself as an opponent of government expansion: "I accuse the present [Hoover] Administration of being the greatest spending Administration in peace times in all our history. It is an Administration that has piled bureau on bureau, commission on commission... I regard the reduction of Federal spending as one of the most important issues of his campaign."

Carson goes on to show how the Constitution was brutally abused by the New Deal, approvingly quoting from H. L. Mencken's hilarious "Constitution for the New Deal" and concluding with a chapter on "New Deal Hoopla and Harsh Reality".

Carson's characterizations of the major political figures of the era are masterpieces of concision and lucidity. Of Roosevelt's wife Eleanor, he says that "she never shook off the settlement house mentality. As a President's wife for many years, she was inclined to view the whole United States as a social work project". As for Eisenhower, Carson says that although "he referred to himself sometimes as being 'basically conservative'" and "favored a greater separation of powers than recent presidents had practiced", he soon abandoned all pretense to being an opponent of socialist legislation, as his administration "shifted away not only from any foray toward dismantling the Welfare State but also from vigorously restraining it. Indeed, Eisenhower was detectably moving toward modest extensions if not expansions of welfarism."

Kennedy is shown as a "somewhat inept, inexperienced and at best mediocre" president who was turned into a national hero by Johnson's politically motivated exploitation of his televised martyrdom.

As for "McCarthyism", instead of describing it as a paranoid and totalitarian witch-hunt, Carson shows how liberals managed to shift public indignation and fears from the very real threat of Communism to McCarthy's occasionally excessive methods, and have used what Ayn Rand called the pseudo-concept of McCarthyism as "a convenient weapon to beat anyone over the head with who begins to gain an audience for charges against" communists.

But the greatest treat in the book is Carson's chronicling of the intellectual and political rebirth of conservatism from the 1940s to the 1980s. Here you will find information on the pillars of modern conservatism, from Friedrich Hayek to Ludwig Von Mises, Ayn Rand, William F. Buckley, Russell Kirk, Leonard Read and others I had never heard of, and the various books and reviews in which they defended their ideas. Carson's treatment of Rand is unfortunately unfair and not very well informed. He presents her as an emigrant "from Europe", for instance, instead of stressing her first-hand experience of Soviet tyranny. And like many critics, he fails to grasp the difference Objectivism makes between altruism and benevolence.

But such flaws as Carson's *Basic History of the United States* evinces are so minor in comparison with the massive distortions of liberal textbooks that this six-volume history stands high above any of its competitors.

A straight forward, easy to read and understand explanation and description of 20th century US history. Why this is not taught is state run schools is strange since it is the most honest, comprehensive analysis of the strange events of the US government during the 1900's. He is completely objective in his work. He does not go into controversies such as FDR setting up the Pearl Harbor Attack in order to intentioanlly drag the US into WWII. He simply states what the record indicates in an extremely well written style. Carson is probably most knowledgable historian of this generation. This and his other works are must reads.

i was looking for a `basic' recounting of american history from colonial until the present -- carson's text does a credible job until reconstruction -- where he becomes polemical (vol. 3). vols. 4 & 5 surprisingly become harsh right- wing critiques of the failure of american government/the courts/media and so on. in vol. 4 he has an unnecessary extended debunking of darwin, for example. unless you share his passion, you will likely find the one-sidedness and unrelenting `tell it like it was' style overbearing and disspiriting. paul johnson, for example, i believe shares carson's conservatism, but does not let it overwhelm his compelling surveys of history. on the other hand, apart from the cursory review of nearly all history in vol. 1, the recounting of american history from colonial times up until the war between the states seemed balanced and to meet the books modest aims. the narrator, mary woods, i believe, reads the text well. as an alternative survey of american history, you might consider daniel boorstein's (i didn't get the spelling right, i'm afriad) multi-volume work, the american experience. it is full of insight detail, but it is hard to extract a barebone basic history of our country from it. even with carson's bias, his volumes provide a good sense of america's time-line. it is a pity he has allowed his passion to cloud his sense, and in that sense i don't regret the printed versions of his text being out of print.

One of the better written tax textbooks. Will actually NOT put you to sleep when you read it. Easy to understand examples.

I am using this book in my Federal tax accounting class. I have more about taxes from this book than I have ever in my whole life. Great tax examples and many resources to solve each problem.

This book was difficult to read, often wandering off on a tangent. I know the subject of taxes can be difficult but this text made topics that I was already familiar with seem confusing again. Each chapter has several examples, many of which were helpful. But many were also not clearly explained and a few made me wonder if the paragraph was truely finished. If you have a choice, pick up some tax software and a quickfinder guide to go with this class.

Dr. Hoffman's book provides ample case studies and illustrative examples of what he considers to be the "Uncaring Child Syndrome." As a conservative Christian parent I have experienced hostile, defiant, and malignant behavior from my son. His unwillingness to participate in church activities and follow the Lord is disturbing to me. My son is certainly "uncaring" when it comes to being a part of our family as well as our church family. Dr. Hoffman's book and his six discipline steps have not helped me as a parent to transform my child from one who does not care to one who does about the Lord or about his parents.

Finally I have found a book that unravels the bewilderment I have faced in the many years spent raising my child. This book is exactly what it says...a "survival manual"! As I was reading the many step-by-step approaches to handling my "difficult child", I couldn't help but thank God that there is hope. The author couldn't have organized it better; the book is extremely easy to follow and is by my side practically every moment. I urge every parent who is faced with a difficult child to read this book.

Thank you Dr. Hoffman! Your words of wisdom and well thought out treatment, has allowed me to bring back sanity to a "fractured" home.

The idea that you must have "anxiety" in a child, before he can change behavior, was at first frightening. However, when I followed your advise, the results were astonishingly positive.

Your chapter on dominance and lower dominant children, has made me very alert and aware of the dangers of negative peer influence.

Thank you Dr. Hoffman...

Recently I took a trip from Perth to Cairns by rail and this book was my primary source of information that helped me prepare my itinerary. I spent a few days in all major aussie cities on my way to Cairns. This guide helped me in two ways, first it helped me to quickly gather general information about particular place where I took a break and it's surroundings. Second, it helped me to narrow down day trips, sightseeings and walks (which are *plenty* to choose from local tourist kiosks in hotels, YHA...).
One thing that I didn't find in this book was enough tips for budget accomodation - if I didn't by an accident find the official YHA Australia web site I would never know how good this organization is in this country (at least compared with YHA in most part of Europe). So, if you need budget accomodation then certainly checkout YHA web site before booking any 'budget' places mentioned in this book.
Otherwise I can't say anything bad about the book, it does a good job covering all aussie states and I beleieve that the content will satisfy the adventurers as well as tourists.

I saw the book in the hands of one of your US tourists and at the quick look I had, I liked what I could see HOWEVER!!! the information on the area south of Hobart in Tasmania was sadly not only not good, it was in fact not there. As a tourist operator at Cygnet in S Tas I was disappointed - for me and the fact that some of your people would be possibly missing out on one of the nicest corners of our state.

The book was just as expected. Took a little long to be delivered, but overall I was satisfied.

The Student Guild is helpful, but keep in mind that only the bulleted problems from Basic Complex Analysis are explained (only a few from each section). And the cost was a little high, expecially considering it's 135 pages.

I didn't find this anthology as effective in conveying the feel of a place as say, "A Key West Reader". Some of the pieces, however, made it worth the purchase - "Falmouth Whaling Log" by an anonymous sailor, "Nantucket" by Melville and Kurt Vonnegut's "The Hyannis Port Story" were gems.

Alice Hoffman has written an Introduction to this treasure chest of poems, diaries, stories, and musings about Cape Cod that makes the reader plunge into the many atmospheres and moods of this special place. Her seduction proves worthy, for this collection of prose and poetry edited by John Miller and Tim Smith manages to uncover memories and a long history of this unique haven for artists.

Cape Cod and its neighboring Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard have long been a place for writers to visit, to live, and to incorporate into some of the most important literature of this country. Herman Melville writes about the oddities of the Nantucketer. Among the writings is a Falmouth Whaling Log from the early 1900s. There are moments from the works of Henry David Thoreau, Edgar Allen Poe, Benjamin Franklin, Helen Keller, poems by Marge Piercy, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Sylvia Plath, and fresh stories from Adam Gopnik, John Updike, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer, and Edmund Wilson - twenty five entries in all - that bring back memories for those who have had the special joy of Cape Light.

This is a fine selection of quick reading stories that remind us how important (in its own quiet way) that this eastern most point of the United States has been - and continues to be: this fragile piece of land has inspired more beauty of words than almost any other idiosyncratic spot in the country. Grady Harp, December 2004

The twentieth-century bohemian artist Caryll Houselander is a fascinating figure in English spirituality. Described by Maisie Ward as a "divine eccentric," the mystic Houselander focused her work on those on the margins, especially troubled children and refugees. Permeating her vision of God as Father and Mother was an empathy with others, a firm scriptural grounding, a gift for seeing the divine in the ordinary, an intuitive Christology, and a devotion to Mary and the saints.

In "A Child in Winter: Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany with Caryll Houselander," Thomas Hoffman has selected passages from Houselander's works and organized them into a series of daily meditations for Advent and the twelve days of Christmas. He provides a scriptural passage to introduce each meditation, followed by a brief comment and closing prayer.

The meditation for the Saturday of the first week of Advent has stuck in my mind. In a passage from "The Passion of the Infant Christ," Houselander makes a distinction between "expensive" and "simple" people. Expensive people are those whose demands on us -- whether because they are "untruthful or touchy or hypersensitive or that they have an exaggerated idea of their own importance or that they have a pose" -- are so complicated that "we cannot respond spontaneously and simply, without anxiety," to them. Simple persons, in contrast, are those who accept themselves as they are and consequently make only minimal demands on others. In his comment, Hoffman takes Houselander's trenchant remarks and suggests that fidelity to our baptismal vows will move us away from being "expensive" persons and result in an honest gift of self to others.

This was good spiritual reading to help keep the Christian in the mindset of the real meaning of this time dedicated to the incarnation and to help him truly appreciate the advent/Christmas season in all of its liturgical length--from the first Sunday of Advent to the Baptism of Jesus. Caryll Houselander's writings stand easily on their own, and are well worth reading in their full and original texts, but Hoffman's reflections and short prayers were usually a good addition. They are nicely arranged to fit the season. While it is more common to use this type of spiritual aid during Lent, this volume shows that Advent is an equally appropriate time to use the same sort of approach. During the hustle and bustle of December and the "new beginnings" of January, these little reflections, short as they each were, serve as a healthy opportunity to reflect on what it is all really about. Though the tree and decorations of the cultural celebration may have long been returned to their place in the attic, A Child in Winter carries the reader gently through to the absolute completion of this holy season.

The book is a nice, quick way to cram all this information dealing with the AP american history exam. Its very much too the point, and doesn't add superfulous information. I would definatly buy it!

The book is a nice, quick way to cram all this information dealing with the AP american history exam. Its very much too the point, and doesn't add superfulous information. I would definatly buy it!

This book is especially good to advanced users with some basic pharmacologic background. It contains clinically useful drugs and their effects, abandoning those which you will never meet in hospital. I recommand it to senior medi students for their clinical rotation.

This new and significantly updated edition of Melmon and Morrelli's classic textbook of clinical pharmacology is a must- read for anybody interested in improving their therapeutic practices. The editors need to be commended for getting leading authorities to contribute chapters in their respective fields. This book should be equally relevant to medical students and physicians in practice. Overall, an excellent buy !