Peter Books

I started reading this book and nearly threw it down after just two chapters. There were numerous spelling and grammatical errors which initially made me question the validity of the material being presented. Fortunately I pressed on. This book, though not a masterpiece of English prose, is hands down the most understandable, comprehensive text on the subject that I have read. The book breaks down material from vastly diverse disciplines and explains them in a manner that a layman can understand. Prior to reading this book, I read Space Mission Analysis and Design (SMAD), also of the NASA Space Technology Series. I found that this book (The Lunar Base Handbook) presented the same topics as SMAD, but in a more understandable format. I found myself often reading a topic in The Lunar Base Handbook and then continuing my education in other books from the Space Technology Series such as SMAD. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in lunar development or space exploration.

This book is a MUST for eveyone seriously interested in lunar exploration. Since Wendell Mendells generatuion-inspiring lunar base document, this is the most complete overview on technical and non-technical aspects of the selenological adventure. One can start as an amateur: after having completed this large volume he/she will have an excellent interdisciplinary insight into our future on the Moon.

In this book, Peter Eckart has assembled the collective writings of many of the leaders who are developing advanced engineering and science concepts for a return to the moon and the establishment of a permanent lunar base, which is capable of exploring the moon in great detail. These writings are not reprints from a conference or a previously published paper, but a detailed summary of the work to date on a variety of subjects from the site selection of a lunar base and the transportation means to get to the moon, to the details regarding advanced exploration and regenerative life support systems. The book also includes the more mundane systems needed to make a lunar base function, such as the thermal control system and the communication system.

While portions of this book maybe overly technical for some readers, there are numerous sections that provide a general overview of equipment, lunar exploration history, and transportation techniques. There are two sections, one written by Buzz Aldrin and one by Jack Schmidt that describe in great detail various aspects of lunar exploration. Typically, most astronauts authored writings found in books are simply a page or two. All in all, I couldn't find a topic that was omitted from the book.

I also conducted a comprehensive review of several sections of the book, which are related to my engineering area of expertise. Specifically, I reviewed the thermal control system, power system, EVA, and life support sections. In all these sections, I only found one error, which appeared to be a typo. The lone error leads me to believe that other sections were equally as error free.

In summary, I always enjoy reading books like these, because they show that even though the US government does not support going back to the moon, many individuals are still committed to returning people to the moon. Finally, regardless of your technical ability, you can learn a great deal from this book.

This book, which is not only extensive and exetremely usefull but also very easy to read, provides the only complete overview of aspects considering the moon from an engineering point of view. All aspects are explained and start with basics and summarizes all possibilities. My book is full of post-it notes where the parts are marked that I had to use frequently. It is the most used book from all my moon-related books I have, because it is so complete. The essays from lunar explorers around the world are a nice extra. It would be a good study object for a course.

This book, which is not only extensive and exetremely usefull but also very easy to read, provides the only complete overview of aspects considering the moon from an engineering point of view. All aspects are explained and start with basics and summarizes all possibilities. My book is full of post-it notes where the parts are marked that I had to use frequently. It is the most used book from all my moon-related books I have, because it is so complete. The essays from lunar explorers around the world are a nice extra. It would be a good study object for a course.

Ooh, Ah! the revelations that abound and resound in Kathleen Sweeney's Maiden USA! Get inspired on media literacy, as racy as it gets from Reel to Real. Discover a fecund treasure map to media awareness, which rouses us all up to the next level of empowered creativity. Kathleen Sweeney is the Goddess Durga of Media, cutting thru swaths of "Eyecon" demons and ignorance about girl identity; she is our media maven, and a media mechanic who regenerates our collective engines. Her wisdom is both fun and transformative.
Sweeney has opened and affirmed these eyes with her smorgasbord of media icons and plenty of truth serum. She reveals who and where we are in the culture of media now, and how to traverse that culture as well as to produce it. This is the "bodymindcentering" of media lit, a true hit with wit and grit to nourish us with its empowering maiden's milk of sanity. Reading it leads to media activism with a myriad of mission and means.

What an inspirational inside view from a free thinking woman/writer/artist/Mother.
If you want to understand the barrage of media influencing our young women and long to see girls be encouraged to take the reigns into their own hands- then this is a delightful and insightful ride- full of ideas, rich with hope- a must read for ALL of us!!!

WOW!
I just got the book!
It looks incredible!
I'm so excited to read it.
What a wonderful gift you have made in documenting all of this.

A candid, accessible, brilliant review of girl icons as presented in the media over the past 20 years (with nods to Barbie and a few other earlier famed love/hate icons). While so much academic writing can be abstruse and sometimes even cynical, Kathleen's book is optimistic and readable. Her call for media literacy as an antidote to negative narratives is cogent and smart. Her descriptions of work done by Real Grrls and other girl filmmakers and photographers is inspiring. Required reading for Millenial Girls, their parents, teachers and anyone else who loves media.

This gem of a book is not only important, informative, and thought-provoking--it's also clever, funny, and downright brilliant. If you have a daughter, or you are one, or you know one--or even if you don't--Maiden USA is an enthralling read. What a splendid job!

Clever, witty and one of my favorite charming duos. Long live Hal and Mary-Ann!

A funny book that actually will make you laugh out loud. Beautifully written with engaging and unexpected characters. Peter J Smith is a wonderful writer. Do yourself a favour and buy this book today!

This book is conceivably the funniest book that I have ever read! A must-read for anyone with a quirky and creative sense of humor!

I love this book. Even after several readings, it still causes me to laugh aloud. "Make Believe Ballrooms" has seriously affected the way I look at Maxfield Parrish paintings, and that is probably a good thing. If only there were more . . . .

We have here what we may term the Seinfield of fiction. A story about so much, yet when trying to put it into words one comes up with "it's sort of a story about...nothing." However, among the barrage of "meaningful" fiction loitering pretentiously on bookstore fiction shelves, this novel says infinitely more about life, with its simple and effecting prose and utterly laugh at loud situations and characters, than any torturous "story with a moral" that you'll find on the best seller list. You will laugh out loud...I am not being figurative. You will laugh out loud often and with the unembarassed intensity that usually only a witty best friend can inspire. You will also feel strangely touched by this book. I say "strangely" because, perhaps like me, you won't be able to quite put your finger on why. Perhaps it is because life consists of a series of "nothing" events and coincidences, challenges and changes, silly as they may be. You will see the absurdity of life in this book and, upon closing it, realize how beautiful that absurdity is. Risk your life to find a copy of this amazing book...it is difficult to find, but then again, so are most worthwhile things. Find it, read it, and then write Mr. Smith a thank you letter for writing it. It is a rare gem in a slough of mediocrity.

Brown is able to establish the foundations for anyone interested in late antiquity with clarity and scholarly depth that is unparelled in the field. This book, although taking a broad picture of the period, and focusing on a shallow over view, rather than taking an indepth look into any perticular aspect of the period, is still scholarly enough to interest even the most particular historian, but will catch the interest of the beginer also. Browns conclusions are well thought out, and are based on an extensive, and acurate picture of the period. The documentation is incredible, hundreds of documents are quoted, and carefully indexed, in a book under 200 hundred pages, so the most nitpicky readers can see exactly where Brown is comming from. This should be the model for broad view scholarly work, this is truly an excellent work.

Brown does an excellent job of introducing the reader to the period of late antiquity in this work. He is able to cover the major political, social and philosophical transition of the Roman Empire of the Antonines to the emergence of the Christian Succesor States with clarity, and accuracy. Although this work does not take an indepth look into any of the many subjects that fall in this period, it is an excellent overview, and maintains a level of scholarship that is almost unparalled in a work of this nature. The book is documented to an excellent degree, so that even the most critical reader can see where it is that Brown is comming from. I would recomend this book to anyone from the avid scholar to the most casual reader.

From an Age of Equipoise to an Age of Ambition- the Poisoning of the Classical Spirit

I found this book to be an extremely clear and well-written explanation of the decline of classical Greco-Roman civilization. The period from the second to the fourth centuries, from the Antonines to Constantine, is covered. The author makes a very good case that the cause for this decline in the classical world was primarily due to a concentration of wealth and power into fewer and fewer hands. He shows this to be true in economic, political, cultural, and most especially, religious spheres. He also shows the obvious parallels with our own age without being heavy handed.

First he shows the grand show of power and tradition in the age of the Antonines to be primarily an empty hollow thing. It was the gigantism that precedes decline even if the players of the time could not see it. The societal restraints and governors that constrained individual ambition began to erode. The old code of civic virtue, of demonstrating your greatness by contributing to the benefit of the society, the polis, crumbled. Wealth was concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. The common people were forced off of the land. Bankruptcy became commonplace across the empire. Politically, power concentrated into a smaller and smaller circle centered on the court in Rome, and then Constantinople, and away from the provincial towns and capitals. Culturally and scholarly, all status depended on ones mastery of polished Greek and the ability to quote precisely from the classics (i.e. scholarship depended more on the size of your library than the size of your intellect.)

It is in the religious and spiritual sphere that this tendency to place all authority in the hands of an elite becomes the most insidious, and the most damaging. It is demonstrated that ,traditionally, the average man of the Greco-Roman world saw that world as alive with supernatural forces that he interacted with on a daily basis. The pagan participant in the mysteries experienced the divine through direct contact. This slowly changed with the rise of Christianity. Men were told that only "official" intermediaries could bridge the gap between heaven and earth. As a result this gap widened into a chasm. The old comforting classical assumption that heaven and earth lived side by side in gentle communion faded away. In the author's words, the leaders of the Christian church came to stand between heaven and an earth emptied of the Gods.

With all economic, political, scholarly, and religious power concentrated in the hands of a tiny, ruthless, corrupt elite, is it any wonder that the common man lost any interest in maintaining the empire? The old system of civic virtue and of the old delicately balanced system of obligations from ruled to the rulers, and the rulers to the ruled, had been poisoned.

Any of this sound familiar?

I cannot say enough about this extraordinary book. Everyone who is interested in the environment that led to the rise of Christianity will find this book fills in many details. Brown's analysis of the decline of classical Greco-Roman civilization is well done, concise, and comprehensive. I highly recommend this book!

From an Age of Equipoise to an Age of Ambition- the Poisoning of the Classical Spirit

I found this book to be an extremely clear and well-written explanation of the decline of classical Greco-Roman civilization. The period from the second to the fourth centuries, from the Antonines to Constantine, is covered. The author makes a very good case that the cause for this decline in the classical world was primarily due to a concentration of wealth and power into fewer and fewer hands. He shows this to be true in economic, political, cultural, and most especially, religious spheres. He also shows the obvious parallels with our own age without being heavy handed.

First he shows the grand show of power and tradition in the age of the Antonines to be primarily an empty hollow thing. It was the gigantism that precedes decline even if the players of the time could not see it. The societal restraints and governors that constrained individual ambition began to erode. The old code of civic virtue, of demonstrating your greatness by contributing to the benefit of the society, the polis, crumbled. Wealth was concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. The common people were forced off of the land. Bankruptcy became commonplace across the empire. Politically, power concentrated into a smaller and smaller circle centered on the court in Rome, and then Constantinople, and away from the provincial towns and capitals. Culturally and scholarly, all status depended on ones mastery of polished Greek and the ability to quote precisely from the classics (i.e. scholarship depended more on the size of your library than the size of your intellect.)

It is in the religious and spiritual sphere that this tendency to place all authority in the hands of an elite becomes the most insidious, and the most damaging. It is demonstrated that ,traditionally, the average man of the Greco-Roman world saw that world as alive with supernatural forces that he interacted with on a daily basis. The pagan participant in the mysteries experienced the divine through direct contact. This slowly changed with the rise of Christianity. Men were told that only "official" intermediaries could bridge the gap between heaven and earth. As a result this gap widened into a chasm. The old comforting classical assumption that heaven and earth lived side by side in gentle communion faded away. In the author's words, the leaders of the Christian church came to stand between heaven and an earth emptied of the Gods.

With all economic, political, scholarly, and religious power concentrated in the hands of a tiny, ruthless, corrupt elite, is it any wonder that the common man lost any interest in maintaining the empire? The old system of civic virtue and of the old delicately balanced system of obligations from ruled to the rulers, and the rulers to the ruled, had been poisoned.

Any of this sound familiar?

It made it very easy to find where the lighthouses are located and a nice article on each one.

On medium-weight, semi-glossy paper, this beautiful and durable map folds out to approximately 2 feet by 3. On one side is a three-color highway map of the coasts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, inlaid with paragraphs on several of the lighthouses and framed by watercolor pictures of each. The reverse side describes all 50 Massachusetts lighthouses, standing or not, and both New Hampshire's. The descriptions give a short history, the optimal viewing spot, directions, contact information, hours of operation, transportation options, etc.

If you are interested in lighthouses, Massachusetts or New Hampshire, shipping or maps, you will probably love this great map. Travellers will find it indispensable. What a bargain!

No traveller in search of Massachusetts' lighthouses should be without this extremely useful map. Beautiful watercolor illustrations too!

This map and guide covers lights in both MA and NH. In June of 2000 I used this map to visit Lighthouses in MA & NH. This map was very useful. On one side is a map pointing out the locations. On the other side there are details for each individual light such as: directions, hours, and phone numbers. I am from Michigan so I was not familiar with New England at all. Some of these lights were hard to find even with the map because some roads are not clearly marked. But I did find everything I was looking for. The price of these maps is an incredible bargain. Some people buy two of them so they can hang one on the wall to display the watercolor images and get another to use.

This was a great resource in locating lighthouses - compact, yet gives specific directions on which lighthouses could be visited and how to get there. Very nice layout, design, pictures, etc.

High end mathematical theory has veered away from actually doing arithmetic because most of the problems being addressed required a tremendous amount of calculation and that calculation was difficult in the days of only pen and paper. About twenty years ago the advent of big/fast computers (by the standards of those days) began to allow the ready solution of these problems without requiring large numbers of people doing the computing.

Borwein and Bailey have been pioneers in the exploration of the types of mathematical problems that would lend themselves to solution using digital computational means. This book describes this new approach to mathematics, commonly called 'experimental mathematics.'

Obviously in computer related mathematics it began with a lot of emphasis on prime numbers, on calculating the value of Pi to ever greater precision. It has since moved on to many other classes of problems, and the work of the principle researchers in the field is summarized here.

See my book review that appeared in American Scientist

http://www.math.rutgers.edu/~zeilberg/mamarim/mamarimhtml/mathexp.html

"Mathematics by Experiment" is a ground-breaking book about a new way of doing math that generated so much excitement it was reviewed in "Scientific American" six months before it got into print. The authors are long-time collaborators David Bailey, chief technologist in the Computational Research Department of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Jonathan Borwein, professor of science at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, B.C.

They write that applied mathematicians and many scientists and engineers were quick to embrace computer technology, while pure mathematicians -- whose field gave rise to computers in the first place, through the work of beautiful minds like Alan Turing's -- were slower to see the possibilities. Two decades ago, when Bailey and Borwein started collaborating, "there appeared to be a widespread view in the field that 'real mathematicians don't compute.'"

Their book is testament to a paradigm shift in the making. Hardware has "skyrocketed in power and plummeted in cost," and powerful mathematical software has come on the market. Just as important, "a new generation of mathematicians is eagerly becoming skilled at using these tools" -- people comfortable with the notion that "the computer provides the mathematician with a 'laboratory' in which he or she can perform experiments: analyzing examples, testing out new ideas, or searching for patterns."

In this virtual laboratory Bailey and Borwein, with other colleagues, were among the first to discover a number of remarkable new algorithms, among them an extraordinary, simple formula for finding any hexadecimal or binary digit of pi without knowing any of the preceding digits. Further research led to proof that a wide class of fundamental constants are mathematically "normal" -- probably including pi, alhough that remains to be proved.

Their section on "proof versus truth" is an example of the gems even a mathematical tyro can find among these equations. Bailey and Borwein don't claim computers can supply rigorous proofs. Rather, the computer is a way to discover truths -- and avenues for approaching formal proofs. But often, the authors add, "computations constitute very strong evidence..., at least as compelling as some of the more complex formal proofs in the literature."

Drawing on their own work and that of others, Bailey and Borwein not only explain experimental mathematics in a lively, surprisingly accessible fashion but give many engaging examples of the "new paradigm" in action.

The collaborative work of Jonathan Borwein and David Bailey, Mathematics By Experiment: Plausible Reasoning In The 21st Century provides a complex and informative text for advanced mathematics students which offs an historical context and rationale behind experimental mathematics, as well as how modern technology enables the analysis of new examples and the discovery of patterns in a previously unimaginable "laboratory" of raw processing power. A thoroughly detailed work, Mathematics By Experiment offers a veritable wealth of meticulously presented examples which are most especially recommended for graduate-level mathematics studies.

If one peruses the mathematical literature for the last one hundred years one will notice that in most cases no diagrams or pictures appear. The level of rigor in all cases is impressive though, but unfortunately this makes the understanding of the results much more difficult. There seems to be an inverse relationship between rigor and understanding in mathematics, at least for those who are new to the subject at hand. In order to gain this understanding, the drawing of pictures and diagrams is useful, along with a certain amount of experimentation with the concepts at hand. Intuition, how mysterious, and however ill defined, plays a role in both the understanding of mathematical results and in their discovery. Many mathematicians do not want to acknowledge this, as a visitation to a typical conference will readily verify. The attitude has been expressed that mathematics has "always been abstract" and therefore that pictures or diagrams violate its spirit. Even a well-known geometry center whose goal was to use sophisticated computer graphics to visualize complex mathematical objects lost its funding, to the consternation of a few but with glee to most.

Thus the way to discovery of mathematics, i.e. the heavy use of intuition, the disorganized shuffling of concepts, and the experimental doodling, has been masked by the final product of this process: a superb example of logical rigor and organization called modern mathematics. The authors of this book however think otherwise, and they give the best apology for the role of experimental mathematics than anyone else in the literature. The book is packed with highly interesting examples and challenging exercises, all of which are ample proof of the need for doing experimentation in mathematics.

In addition to these considerations, the book is just plain fun to read, and even though time constraints may prohibit the working out of every exercise, the book could be used profitably in a graduate course in mathematics or even possibly in an undergraduate course at the senior level. Hopefully this approach to scholarship in mathematics will take hold in this century, and mathematicians will not only write down their final results with all their splendid rigor, but also how they got there. This would serve to educate younger generations of mathematicians in just how discovery in mathematics is done and increase their efficacy in the same. The book will also assist those who are trying to build machines capable of discovering novel results in mathematics. Machine proofs of difficult theorems and conjectures are now a reality, and in the twenty-first century we will no doubt see many more of these.

This book therefore contains a lot of hints about how to proceed in mathematics. Its acceptance will depend on how well it does its job in the creation of new mathematical results and in the teaching of them. Results in mathematics that seem plausible serve to make conjectures and motivate the construction of rigorous proofs. This book is a first step in a hopefully larger work.

By a brilliant Dutch author of children's books who is far too little known and appreciated.

This was a great book. my mom and i both loved it.it is one of my favorite books. i love stories about cats and i also LOVE!!!! cats.

I liked Minnie because it was funny and it shows that cats are smart too

Minnie is a wonderful book. Anyone can read it, but I would strongly recommend reading it if you're a cat lover. Being one myself, the plot of this book made me smile. Tibbs, a reporter for a newspaper loves to write about cats but is not supposed to. When Minnie, a young girl, comes along one day and ends up living with him, his job gets much easier. Since Minnie used to be a cat, she gossips with other cats to get news which no humans knew about yet. Minnie is also a handful, but Tibbs and her become great friends. This book is a quick and fun read full of imagination.

This book was one of the best I have ever read. It is charming and witty ; you will never look at a cat the same way again. Minnie, a cat suddenly turned human, and Mr. Tibbs, her human friend, have exciting adventures throughout the story, which is hinted with humor. The main plot develops into the solving of a crime and then the public revelation of the criminal, a prominent citizen. It is truly a must read for cat lovers and the average reader alike.

The 10 principles learned in this book have changed mine and my wifes life! We have been applying the principles that are so easily explained by Peter Jeppson , Alan Williams, and Sandy Botkin, and after three months of applying what we've learned, we went from saving 5% per month to now saving over 20% of our monthly income! We have also built a 3 month surplus of monthly expenses, have lowered our tax burden, and for the first time in 5 years of marriage we our on the same page as husband and wife about our finances. There is no more arguing and guess work in our finances, which of course strengthens our relationship. This book is a must read for all married couples who are not on the same page when it comes to their finances. If you are wanting to take control of your finances, then read and apply the 10 principles taught in this book!

I have studied and enjoyed many books on money, personal finance, debt management and taxes. This book is the most comprehensive book on money that I have read. If you have read, "Rich Dad Poor Dad," "The Automatic Millionaire," and "The Total Money Makeover," (which are all fantastic books) this book will put all of those concepts together and bring clairity to each of them. It is a shame that this book is not more widely marketed. Having read the abovementioned books first, this book proved to be a powerful roadmap to implementing the concepts set forth in my prior readings. A must have for those of you who want to build wealth on any salary!

So powerful it will change your life, yet so simple it should be self-evident; the greatest single resource for achieving financial stability and independent wealth. This book quite simply changed my life - not just financially but amazingly enough emotionally; it completely revolutionized the way I view and manage money.

Money: What Financial Experts Will Never Tell You lays out a financial foundation for the management and accumulation of personal wealth. This is done through 10 simple rules which are laid out like pieces of a financial puzzle. The book shows you both what these rules are and also how to combine them to form a complete financial foundation and system for managing your finances and achieving independent wealth. This book is a complete resource covering everything from the emotional aspects of money and spending to practical wealth accumulation and taxation.

While the 10 rules are indeed simple to understand and grasp, they do as you should expect take effort to practice. The book helps in reducing this effort in several ways. It is easy to read and understand, laid out quite logically from basic topics to more complex ones, and provides in-depth real-life examples as well as additional resources to pursue. The bottom-line is that you can't go wrong buying this book - It will be the last book you seek on personal financial management returning you a dividend greater than anything you can imagine.

For those of you who do buy this book - congratulations your life is about to change for the better. My best advice for really making the best use of this book is to read 1 rule every 4-6 weeks and then spend the remainder of the time before reading the next rule putting the current rule in play in your daily life. Some rules take more time than others to implement well but everything is fairly straight-forward. If you do this then after a few months you will most certainly see improvements in your personal finances and after a year you will see a complete difference in your financial well-being. Good luck - I wish you all the success I have found.

The book was recommended to me by an aquaintence. I've read several books about personal finance, but this title is different. Based upon ten fundamental principles of personal finance, the authors give the reader step by step procedures to organize their financial situation and put it in order. Many books give in depth study of key aspects of personal finance. This book gives the reader a broad comprehensive plan to guide all aspects of personal finance. The reader is then in a position to make personal financial decisions based upon solid knowledge of where the reader is financially. Easy to follow. Very helpful.

Having read several books about the money, I was getting tired of being told to go get a financial education. Isn't that why I was reading the book in the first place? After reading the first chapter of Money: What Financial Experts Will Never Tell You, I knew I had finally found a book that told me how to manage my finances. Through the principles taught in this book I've gained the confidence to start my own business. My pathway to retirement is much shorter than it used to be. The authors have written in a style that is easy to follow and exciting to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in long-term financial health. I will use this book as a means of teaching my children about money.

This book is the best in the series so far. The mystery was very good and kept me guessing until the end. In fact, I had picked another murderer and plotter entirely. Also, Fidelmaa is much more likeable in this series. My main complaint so far was that I really did not like her. She was too haughty and full of herself with an acid tongue. In this book, that seems to change. We meet a much more vulnerable Fidelma, but one who is still as smart as a tack. She finds her way through the morass and one or two red herrings to discover the murderer and to thrwart a very dangerous plot against her brother's kingship. She sets out to find out who arranged an assisination of her brother and a rival king who is supposedly trying to make peace with her brother's kingdom, and discovers a missing monk from a neighbouring abbey, an illegal mining operation and a very dangerous political plot. Great stuff!

The Monk who vanished is a mystery set in 6-7th century Ireland. It is very detailed and brings the reader easily to this ancient time without sounding like a history or anthropology lesson. The mystery stroy is very well developed and has unexpected twists and turns that are justified and well put together.

The stakes are high indeed in this seventh installment in the Sister Fidelma mystery series, because this time she is fighting to protect her brother's claim to the kingship of Murman.

The Ui Fidgente, a major clan of Murman, have been adversaries of Cashel for a long time, and indeed they have long challenged Cahsel's right to the kingship of Murman, refusing to pay tribute. Now however the current prince of Ui Fidgente, has decided to put all the bad blood between the two clans behind him and to negotiate a treaty of peace with Cashel. To this end, he and his retinue have come to Cashel in a gesture of goodwill in order to hammer out some form of an agreement. However, just as the two princes are about to exchange greetings, an unknown bowman shoots at them, wounding both men. He is later found dead, wearing the emblem of the Golden Chain, which identifies him as a member of Cashel's elite bodyguard. This proves to be a bad sign for Fidelma's brother, for if he is found guilty of the attempt of the prince of Ui Fidengente's life, the kingship of Murman would then be forfeit to the Ui Fidengente! Another bad sign: in the abbey at Imleach, the relics of the holy man Ailbe, has been stolen. Legend has it that if ever the relics were stolen then the kingship of Murman would fall from Cashel and chaos would ensue. It looks as if the two incidents are tied and that Fidelma will have to do some rather nifty detective work to discover who exactly is behind this move to take the throne away from her brother and start a war.

This historical mystery series is a really good one even if Peter Tremayne's writing style is a little to dense and dry. However he has struck gold in his creation of Sister Fidelma. In Fidelma, Tremanyne has created a brilliant and charming heroine, with a thirst to see justice done and set things right. The plot of this mystery novel is intriguing and a little convoluted, full of red herrings and sub-plots that have sometimes very little to do with the actual problem at hand. However the final denouncement where Fidelma finally lays all her cards on the table makes everything worthwhile: the somewhat dry and dense prose, the convoluted plot with all its red herrings, and the somewhat ranting style of communication that nearly everyone save Fidelma and Brother Eadulf seem to employ. A book well worth reading inspite of the few nit-picking problems I had with it.

The seventh century in Europe became known as the Dark Ages yet Ireland remained a beacon of light where learning and enlightenment continued unabated. Rulers from around the known world sent their leading scholars to learn so that they could return home and educate the leaders. Women were treated as equals and even held office in the church. Sister Fidelma, daughter of a king and sister of the current monarch, is both a religieuse and an advocate of the law.

Long time enemies the Prince of Vi Fidgente and Colgu of Cashel the King of Muman seek a truce. As they near Colgu's home, an assassin hits both men with arrows. The Prince's men kill the culprit before anyone can question him. The King and the Prince accuse each other of duplicity and attempted murder. Unless Sister Fidelma can prove otherwise, her regal brother will be considered guilty and punished under Irish law. However, the clues take her to the Abbey of Imleach where a monk and relics connected to the case are missing with little hope of eminent discovery.

THE MONK WHO VANISHED is a fascinating mystery filled with unexpected twists that often lead to false clues and the wonderful Sister Fidelma, sleuth extraodinaire. However, the true beauty of the tale lies in the descriptions of seventh century Irish life as seen through the eyes of the religious and aristocratic leaders. Peter Tremayne is a gifted storyteller who provides his audience with a vivid view as if the reader is actually there. Even after a delightful decade of the Sister's stories, the latest entry remains fresh and hopefully means the start of another decade of tremendous historical mysteries from Mr. Tremayne.

Harriet Klausner

As an avid reader of the Sister Fidelma books I was more than pleasantly surprised by The Monk Who Vanished. It kept me guessing from the start with unexpected twists and turns.

Fidelma's world is brought to life in this seventh installment in the mystery series. This is a highly personal adventure for her with her brother's kingdom at stake. As always there is more than meets the eye in this adventure. With all of the sub-stories Tremayne keeps you guessing as to whether it will all come together in the end or if they are separet mysteries unto themselves. With everything thrown at her, Fidelma keeps her cool and saves the day with her wit and incredibly sharp mind.

This was a story well worth waiting for. I eagerly await the next installment!

I was recently diagnosed bipolar I at 37 years old. I'm also in in alcohol recovery through a major Detroit hospital. Reading this text was as if reading about myself. My wife has found its contents helpful as well. Dr. Whybrow must be commended on a masterpiece...he seems to be truly compassionate toward those who suffer this hellish disease. God bless you, doctor for professionals like yourself. "We" need you.

A Mood Apart: Depression, Mania, & Other Afflictions of the Self is a terrific book for those of us like myself who have suffered with Bipolar Disorder(Manic Depression) for 35 years. The book covers a wide range of topics including meds. Dr. Whybrow & his group at the Univ of Penn. are one of the leading research groups in this field. If it were not for people of the caliber of Dr. Whybrow and Dr. Kay Jamison of Johns Hopkins, I would not be in remission or medication stabile today. Dr. Whybrow's book "A Mood Apart: The Thinker's Guide to Emotion & Its Disorders" is the paperback version of the above book and not a new title. Maury Schiowitz

"A Mood Apart" is aptly subtitled " Depression, Mania and Other Affliction of the Self". It is a must-read by anyone touched with unipolar depression or Bipolar Disorder, whether sufferer, family member, physician, or researcher. It is an excellent volume for layperson and professional alike. Dr. Whybrow recognizes that other parts of the person, the soul are deeply affected by this illness. It's not just a chemical problem. Dr. Whybrow's writing style is clear, concise, descriptive and charming. Using several case histories through the book, Whybrow examines what we have learned against the light of real people and thus, brings the reader forward in understanding, one step at a time. He presented information that I have not found elsewhere about the limbic system and emotion and ties it all into the person, the patient that has to live with it. Singular views of the use of pills or therapy alone have finally been put to rest with his careful reasoning. He brings them together into a cohesive

I bought this book soley based on the few glowing reviews listed here. While I was a bit skeptical given how great people said this book is, I have to concur. I think this is one of the best books on depression and I've read quite a few. The case studies he presents are so well written it's like reading a novel. But he balances that with good technical insights.

"A Mood Apart" is aptly subtitled " Depression, Mania and Other Affliction of the Self". It is a must-read by anyone touched with unipolar depression or Bipolar Disorder, whether sufferer, family member, physician, or researcher. It is an excellent volume for layperson and professional alike. Dr. Whybrow recognizes that other parts of the person, the soul are deeply affected by this illness. It's not just a chemical problem. Dr. Whybrow's writing style is clear, concise, descriptive and charming. Using several case histories through the book, Whybrow examines what we have learned against the light of real people and thus, brings the reader forward in understanding, one step at a time. He presented information that I have not found elsewhere about the limbic system and emotion and ties it all into the person, the patient that has to live with it. Singular views of the use of pills or therapy alone have finally been put to rest with his careful reasoning. He brings them together into a cohesive