Howard Books

I just want to add, Jays analysis of the ISOMORPHISMS process with induction to the lower frontal reverse cyclops is right on. My boyfriend Richard and I both read it even twice during our vacation in Key West. The rest of the night we just could't stop talking about Jay's work.

Fantastic Jay, keep it up...

with love, simply Patrick

Siegel is an Excellent author, I highly recommend this book to anybody interested inthe field of parallel Processing. Way to go, Siegel!

I just want to add, Jays analysis of the ISOMORPHISMS process with induction to the lower frontal reverse cyclops is right on. My boyfriend Richard and I both read it even twice during our vacation in Key West. The rest of the night we just could't stop talking about Jay's work.

Fantastic Jay, keep it up...

with love, simply Patrick

Whereas modern medicine has become so technologically oriented, here is a book which emphasizes the humanity and the need to take the whole person into account.
The author is an eminent gastroenterologist who has been practicing medicine for almost 50 years, and he still enjoys his work because he he enjoys people and helping them.
It is a book which every practicing physician should read, and can also be most helpful for patients.
A wonderful book by a wise and compassionate human being.

I am a returning student, non-traditional. I have been in science and research for 6 years, and now I am returning to undergraduate classes in hopes of gaining admission to medical school. I found this book in a used bookstore and have not been able to stop reading it. Excellent essays and ruminations on what empathy is, how it is attained and lost and how it might be taught. Excellent reading of an academic nature directly applicable to any student planning on entering the healthcare field.

Hello, I am undergraduat student with a goal of becoming a caring physician. While I was working as a volunteer at the University Hospital, my coordinator told me about this book. I wrote to the publisher and requested a copy from them. This was by the far the best book I have read in my college career. The chapters are well written and organized. Chapter 3 in this book was the most remarkable chapter for me. It opened my eyes in many different ways. It sort of helped me become even more mature... A Must Buy for all the pre-medical student and Medical Students.

One word describes this book: OUTSTANDING! Given these two statistics: (1) Every seven seconds, a baby boomer turns age 50, and (2) the divorce rate is up 16 percent for marriages of 30-plus years, this book is a MUST READ for all couples who fall into the empty nest/second half marriage category. Don't let the word "fighting" in the title make you think for a minute that this book is only for couples whose marriages are on shaky ground. It is for ALL couples wanting to build, keep, or return to a great relationship.

This book is the best of the best. It is the best of the book The Second Half of Marriage by David and Claudia Arp in which they identify eight challenges every marriage in the second half faces. And, it is the best of the strategies and techniques of the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) developed by Stanley, Markman, and Blumberg. Not only do the authors suggest powerful, yet simple, ways couples can upgrade their communication and conflict resolution skills, they also stress the importance of building couple friendship, having fun, becoming empty nest lovers, and keeping the relationship strong.

Do you want the rest to be the best? READ this book!

Although we are an empty nest couple, it doesn't seem that way with the pets we inherited from the kids when they moved out. We have 3 cats, 1 dog and an iguana to keep us busy now. I think the kids were easier to raise!

This great book isn't just for couples who have a truly empty nest. Many midlife couples today find that their nests get refilled with boomerang adult kids, aging parents, visits from kids and grandkids, or grandkids on a full time basis.

I liked the section on how to learn about the danger signs of behaviors that can lead couples who have been married for decades to the divorce court. There is also good information on the major issues that midlife couples need to deal with in order to have a strong marriage.

One word describes this book: OUTSTANDING! Given these two statistics: (1) Every seven seconds, a baby boomer turns age 50, and (2) the divorce rate is up 16 percent for marriages of 30-plus years, this book is a MUST READ for all couples who fall into the empty nest/second half marriage category. Don't let the word "fighting" in the title make you think for a minute that this book is only for couples whose marriages are on shaky ground. It is for ALL couples wanting to build, keep, or return to a great relationship.

This book is the best of the best. It is the best of the book The Second Half of Marriage by David and Claudia Arp in which they identify eight challenges every marriage in the second half faces. And, it is the best of the strategies and techniques of the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) developed by Stanley, Markman, and Blumberg. Not only do the authors suggest powerful, yet simple, ways couples can upgrade their communication and conflict resolution skills, they also stress the importance of building couple friendship, having fun, becoming empty nest lovers, and keeping the relationship strong.

Do you want the rest to be the best? READ this book!

This book is a visual delight! It has large, glossy pages replete with beautiful and fascinating photographs and diagrams supporting a variety of interesting articles. Considering the truly extraordinary presentation quality, the price is very reasonable. I suspect HHMI is deliberately asking a modest price in order to increase sales and therefore the number of people who might become interested in the topic -- they do other kinds of outreach to educate/motivate potential scientists. Kudos to them.

Any smart high school student or college undergrad who has had a good experience with a course in biology would probably be delighted by this book.

Exploring the Biomedical Revolution examines the work of frontline scientists and how they are changing the face of modern medicine, with chapters presenting articles on research enhanced by vivid color photos. Many titles on biomedicine are inaccessible to lay audiences; not so this book, which focuses on explanations which are easy to understand, yet with plenty of scientific detail added for those involved in health care. Highly recommended.

~This book is very well-written, composed of many short (c. 2 pg) articles on various subjects relating to biology/medicine, such as Sickle Cell disorder and Huntington's Disease. Not only are these articles very informative, they are interesting. ~On top of that, there are some really great pictures, including a pull-out poster of deadly microbes. ~The material covered in this book is fascinating, but it's not something that you think about every day (unless you're a biologist or you're really into biomedicine). It stimulates thought, and brings you to the realization that, yes, this is sort of cool. I was somewhat interested in the broad category of biology and medicine, but when I bought this book, I was affirmed in my belief that biomedicine is a remarkably intriguing field of study. ~I would strongly recommend this book to anyone remotely interested in biomedicine. It is a truly amazing book! 5 stars!

I read this book after meeting the author's wife. It made lots of sense and I used a modified version with my students at school. I only have one child. He is well behaved and knows we very seldomly just "give" him money. I have used the ideas from this book to keep communications open between us as he enters his teen years. It has been great and we are still very close because of Dr. Leftin's ideas.

Of all the parenting books I've recommended in my 20 years of counseling parents & families, this is the one from which my clients have benefitted the most. The Family Contract really works! Even with the toughest kids, eventually these techniques do work. It is very parent friendly and Dr. Leftin gently guides the troubled parent with humor and personal experience.

This is an excellent book for parents struggling to do what's right. The author provides the tools to accomplish what you know your kids need to be as happy as kids can be in this world. The techniques will make discipline much more matter-of-fact and much more effective. If the parents aren't yelling, the kids will discover that yelling is useless and, in fact, hurtful. And, in the long run, children will learn how to communicate in a mature way which, I would hope, would translate to happier marriages in the future. Why this book is out of print is quite bothersome to me...I was about to order 50 for some parenting classes. If you can get a copy--do so. It's a great gift, too!

This book is good, goes into detail about a lot of the rogues which is cool, and includes a short bio on most characters at the beginning so even people new to the Flash can enjoy it.

The story is great, and reveals a whole lot of secrets of the DC universe involving the Rogues and the Flash.

We see a lot of villians and that's a plus, throw in an appearence of Barry Allen and you have it, Rogue War. Good book, must have for any comic fan.

The only bad thing is I hate the way Wally is drawn, even if he has matured and what not he doesn't need to be like every other muscle bound hero, that and Wally doesn't crack one joke during the entire thing? Come on, even if Linda(his wife) has him in line he should still have his old personality.

Overall this is a good book, though I was hoping for glossy pages, but you can't have everything!

Like Mark Waid before him, Geoff Johns managed to breathe new life into the Flash during his long run on the series, particularly his re-vamping of the scarlet speedster's rogues gallery. Rogue War culminates Johns' monumental run on the series, bringing the long brewing war between the reformed villains and the Rogues to a head, with the Flash and Keystone City smack in the middle. Rogue War starts off with glimpses at the various Rogues and reformed villains: Mirror Master, Heat Wave, Captain Cold, the Trickster (new and old), the Top, etc.; as well as a startling revelation about the mother of the new Captain Boomerang. Everything comes to a close when Zoom returns to the scene, and Wally, Jay Garrick, and Kid Flash find themselves over their heads surrounded on all sides, and an ally returns to help them one last time. Though it takes what would be an otherwise hokey turn, Rogue War's conclusion and climax work surprisingly well. The art by Howard Porter and Livesay is great as always as well, helping make this package all the sweeter. All in all, you'll most likely read better super hero sagas, but you can certainly do far, far worse than Rogue War, which further cements fan favorite writer Geoff Johns as the best thing to happen to the Flash since Mark Waid.

The Flash: Rogue War basically picks up where the previous Flash trade paperback collection, "The Secret of Barry Allen" left off. It reprints Flash ½, 212, 218, and 220 - 225 in a story that has the Flash as pretty much a guest star in his own title until the final quarter of the book. The Flash's Rogues are a divided group with Heatwave, the original Trickster, Pied Piper, and Magenta all working for the FBI in trying to bring the rest of the Rogues to justice. To this end, the body of the original Captain Boomerang has been stolen and taken to a secret lab where they intend to revive the dead villain long enough to find out key information about the Rogues. Ashley Zolomon is taken against her will to be the one to talk to Boomerang.

Meanwhile the other Rogues including Captain Cold, Weather Wizard, The Top, Murmur, the New Trickster and others are hot on their heels and determined to find Boomerang's body and take out the turncoats. Things get especially nasty as these guys, particularly the Mirror Master show no qualms about killing anyone who gets in their way, often in a very creative and sadistic way. This eventually leads to an all-out battle royal between the two factions with the Flash, Kid Flash, and the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, caught in the middle.

But that's the least of Flash's troubles...his arch-enemy the twisted reverse Flash Zoom has returned and, in his own sick way, wants to make Wally West a better hero by making him feel the pain of loss. He recruits the original Professor Zoom and builds a cosmic treadmill to continually move time backwards to make Flash relive the moment when his wife Linda was hurt and lost the twins she was carrying. Zoom's powers are more than Wally can handle but help soon arrives from an unexpected source.

While I enjoyed the Secret of Barry Allen I thought Rogue War was even better. It resolves a lot of things about the whole Rogues Gallery and explains the almost symbiotic relationship and rather unique code of honor that they maintain. We also learn a bit more about the new Captain Boomerang including a startling revelation about who is mother is. It's interesting to hear Ashely Zolomon talk about the difference between the Rogues of Gotham and those of Keystone City. Johns does a great job of juggling the various personalities of the Rogues and making them each unique in more ways than just their costumes and powers. As always the art by Howard Porter and Livesay is outstanding. Bold and yet it never seeks to overpower the reader. A cover gallery is included.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

The era of "Reconstruction" in the aftermath of the Civil War remains one of the most controversial periods of American history, furiously argued over to this day, and "A Fools Errand" is one of the most valuable windows into it that we moderns, and especially the general reader, have access to, giving us an account of those times "straight from the horse's mouth".

Tourgeé was right in the middle of the events he describes, as one of the bitterly (and often unfairly) derided "carpetbaggers" in North Carolina, where he held various public offices, principally as a judge. A Union soldier, he settled there in 1865 with all kinds of high hopes for the rebuilding of the defeated South. Fourteen years later he returned North, utterly defeated and disillusioned.

All his and his fellows' work had been thwarted by a ruthless and efficient terrorist campaign, enjoying the near-total support of the local (white) community, and which the authorities in Washington were quite unable, and, as things dragged on, increasingly unwilling, to combat in any effective way.

In some ways this book has an oddly "modern" sound, perhaps reflecting the fact that much of the story remains so relevant today. Tourgeé's observations on his hero's (and by implication his own) resolution to enlist in 1861 display a dry cynicism worthy of the 21st Century, while this hero's letter to a northern Senator complains of the mishandling of the reconstruction programme in terms which anticipate later criticisms of another "reconstruction" following the fall of Baghdad.

It is interesting to note Tourgeé's complaints about the persistent tendency, even in the North, to romanticise the southern cause. He grumbles that before long, at this rate, men will be ashamed to admit that they ever fought for the Union. And this was written in 1879, over 60 years before "Gone With The Wind" and even 35 years before "Birth of a Nation". Clearly the will to sympathise with the fallen foe (once they were safely defeated) began far earlier than most people realise.

Yet he himself can show, if not sympathy, then at least understanding of the feelings of those who so brutally destroyed his work. One of the best things about the book is its ability, much rarer now in an age which takes colour-blind democracy for granted, to get inside the heads of those who rejected it - who saw themselves (and were seen by many others) as serving an honourable cause, though by the most dishonourable methods.

Tourgeé gives a vivid illustration of the levels of resistance which even a totally defeated society can bring to bear against the efforts of well meaning outsiders, even when the latter are backed by seemingly overwhelming force. At one point (Ch XXI) with an eerie topicality, he equates the depth of Southern commitment to white supremacy with "the zeal of Islam", and when (Ch XLV) he speaks of north and south as "convenient names for two distinct, hostile and irreconcilable ideas.- two civilisations" he again anticipates the language of the "war on terror". One recalls those lines of Kipling's

"And the end of the fight is a tombstone white
with the name of the late deceased
And the epitaph drear 'A fool lies here,
who tried to hustle the east'".

Substitute "south" for "east" and that pretty well sums it up. But perhaps there is another (middle) eastern example in our own day for those with eyes to see it.

This book is Tourgeé's "retrospect" on that part of his life. Sadder but infinitely wiser, he calls himself a "Fool" for his youthful aspirations, yet one somehow feels that that he retains a sympathy for that young idealist, and deep down still thinks the young Tourgeé (alias "Comfort Servosse") a better man than his world-weary older self. I am reminded of the survivor from World War One, who dedicated his memoirs "With deep emotion, to the man I used to be".

Though Tourgee wastes no time in presenting his views on the matter - they are in the title, after all - the rhymes and reasons of Northern Pro-Recon; Northern Anti-Recon; and Southerners are all presented in a lovely non-biased light, giving the reader all of the firepower needed to agree or disagree with Tourgee. All of this is presented in a genuinely engaging storybook fashion. Recommended as an introduction to Reconstruction or as a supplement to prior learning.

I was particularly impressed by Tourgee's use of dialogue. By constantly hearing both sides of each design and every brainchild, the reader is allowed to come to his or her own conclusions. Whether A Fool's Errand would be considered a historical account or a novel is ambiguous, but then maybe such a combination of fact and fiction is what allows literature to survive the passage of time as this work has. I was enamored as well by the way Tourgee, sitting as judge to all, openly and maliciously attacked both the plaintiff and the defendant for their contribution to the melee we know as "reconstruction". This is the only truly nonbiased approach, and it was marvelously implemented here. I feel too many works are skewed to facilitate the author's motives, especially those written about this era. Like a refreshing breeze from far away, this work brings clarity and insight to a misinterpreted time in our nation's past.

In college I took Howard Van Till's course in Advanced Astronomy and observed first-hand some of the research that went into this book. In person, Van Till is one of the most committed physicists and christians that I know. He takes a substantial amount of talent, integrity and faith and spreads the light for all. The Christian world has given him mixed reviews because many of them are strict "six day" creationists, which Van Till is not. You will be hard pressed to question his physics and he shows the flaws in many simple-faith approaches. I have read dozens of books on creation and cosmology -- this is one of the best.

It's a shame this book is out of print. The book is divided into three parts: The first describes what the Bible tells us about Creation and the Cosmos. The second details evidences gleaned from the study of the Cosmos, in particular, astronomy. The third section offers a new perspective on the relationship between science and religion, in constrast to a traditional young-earth creationist perspective.

Like the German Green's motto " neither Right nor Left but OUT IN FRONT" this book takes on both sides of the CED debate.
and in doing so moves the whole discussion into a new higher level:
---quote---
"It is my contention that neither the scriptural nor the scientific view of the cosmos is complete in itself, despite the fact that each view contributes an essential perspective on the complete reality. Through the spectacles of scriptual exegesis, we Christians see the cosmos as Creation: we see where it stands in relationship to God the Creator,who is its Originator, Preserver, Governor, and Provider. Through the lens of scientific investigation, natural scientists are able to observe the internal affairs of the material world--its coherent properties, its lawful behavior, and its authentic history. Both views are integral parts of what I call the 'creationomic perspective,' the view of the cosmos that is gained when natural science is place in the framework of the biblical doctrine of creation." preface pg ix
---end of quote---

The take home message is simple enough:

God is Creator, Sustainer, Law-Giver, and Provider.

The best way to read the book is to xerox the chart on pg 198 and keep it at your elbow. It summarizes the entire book!!!

To Scripture you address questions of external relationships:
Status Origin Goverance Value Purpose
To Science you address questions of internal affairs:
Properties Behavior History

This in a single table is the argument of the book, but to understand the critical component: the categories of questions you need to hear the example he uses.
Holding up a piece of paper, he asks you to describe it, one voice answers GREEN, another offers SQUARE. pg 204-5 The paper is in fact, both. Is these two pieces of information contradictory, of course not, it is complementary, coming from two different viewpoints. The extend the example in a way that the author does not, to which person do you address the questions concerning shape, to which do you address questions concerning color?

The first part concerns Scripture and how to build a correct hermeneutic to interpret it by. Again he introduces a good illustration, i suspect from his years of teaching this has proven to be a good memory technic and organizing principle: good illustrations. It is the vehicle model of Scripture, pg 14ff, a caravan of vehicles carrying packages with things inside the packages, think a bunch of UPS brown vans. (looks remarkably like the compiler theory train) The vehicle is the cultural historical context as expressed in the literary genre the passage is written in. The packages are the specific story, particular symbolism in a poem, specific cultural patterns. The contents are God's message to His people, in all places, throughout all time. And from pg 83, "In either case, if we attempt to consume both the content and the packaging, we may encounter significant difficulty in chewing, swallowing, and digesting the combination. Those who want to feed on the truths of Scripture must take care to differentiate between food and packaging." The two cases to distinguish are a journalistic account of the actual events of creation(think video tape) from the primeval history account that we have in Genesis.(think metaphorical origins story- mythos)

Scientism and YEC(young earth creationists)- chapter 11, " more heat than light, the creation/evolution debate" and the real battle with unbelieving scientific naturalism as a religious doctrine. Van Till makes it clear throughout the book that the YEC position of apparent age is nothing more than bad science and bad theology, for it denies the coherence of creation. It denies that God created the universe with sufficent thought to have inside it the things it needs to build up the complexity we see around us. By more importantly it denies the value of creation as an arena for the providence of God, to operate through the use of physical means.

I finished the book with a touch of sadness. For the time, energy, and people the false debate of CED is consuming in the Christian community. While good frameworks like Van Till's are neglected for want of people to work on them. If AiG or ICR did not exist, and that energy and talent was used to advance Van Tills type of arguments the Church would be far along the way to competing with the real enemy. Scientism, the world and life view that we are nothing more than sophisticated machines, the result of mindless and random meanderings through the genetic space of living beings. This is a religious, a metaphysical battle, not scientific. For science rightfully limits itself to the things of this creation, the things we see and the forces we can theorize behind them. The YEC have diverted an enormous amount of energy into bad science, trying to fight a battle at the level of facts, denying the clear evidence for an old earth, while misinterpreting the preamble of the Great KIng of Genesis One as a scientific how-to-do book on the manufacture of us. Sadly we are all the weaker knowing that good ideas like this book have been around since 1986 and are yet to be discovered.

I hope you discover this book as a result of my review. It will well worth the time to read, and i didn't even try to tell you the gems in the astronomy section--part 2.

I purchased this book primarily to gain some basic understanding of kalman filtering, but have found the book so interesting and engaging that I have taken the time to rewrite the code to pascal and run the examples etc, as presented in the book. Being a systems engineer by education, but not by profession, the approach used in the book allowed me to apply some of my previous but unused training very efficiently.

The practical approach, along with just enough notation to be rigorous, makes for a thoughtful read, but is still easily understood. When combined with the examples, the alternative approaches presented and the code it achieves exactly what the authors state as their objectives.

This book builds up the concepts needed to understand Kalman filtering from very basic ideas like least squares, and tries to keep things grounded in practical examples. It is, as advertised, the practical approach, totally unpretentious, and clearly written.

The commenter referred to as the 'second commenter' in the author's comment has apparently withdrawn his comment and is not me.

Although I am disappointed in the second reviewers comments he is wrong concerning the code. Complete code is presented in the text and is on CD for all of the examples. Readers can now make up their own mind before purchasing the text. If you go to the Google Book Search and type in Zarchan you will be able to read the entire text. I suggest people who have previously been terrified of Kalman filters and want to learn how to build one, read the Introduction and possibly the second Chapter to see if the text meets their needs and is in accordance with their individual learning styles. I know that many readers have found the text useful.

I loved this book. It paints a colorful and touching portrait of the characters, Emma Deane and Mrs. Minshull. They seemed so real, I felt like I'd actually met them both. I cried at least twice! This book also gives a fascinating glimpse of life in another era. Don't miss this book!

I enjoyed this book a lot! It reminded me of an American Girl, but with more complex characters. The growing relationship between Emma and Mrs. Minshull, Emma's growing strength (both physical and mental), and her pride in her talent was neatly drawn. And just the right length for young readers! Would have liked more information about the canal life.

Ten-year-old Emma is used to working ten hours a day in a silk mill in Victorian England. When she is locked out for being a moment late, and gets a job on a canal boat, her life takes an unexpected turn for the better. I loved this book