Wang Books

My written and spoken Chinese comprehension is somewhere between Basic and Intermediate. I've been searching to no avail for material that can up my current level. Alas, the books I've seen are either too easy or above my league. "Everyday Chinese for Travelers" offers more than the run-of-the-mill Ni Hao's and numbers with more situational and practical examples. Maybe it's a stretch, but I would have wanted traditional and simplified Chinese characters together in the text. Also, some pinyin pronunciations may be off. But overall, it's a great resource book and highly recommend it for "halfways" like me!

This is the first book of its kind on the market and it was a real relief to see it when it came out. It covers everything an advanced student of financial econometrics needs to know and does so with impressive mathematical clarity.

I can see this book doing very well indeed, and the contents list alone should be enough to recommend it.

Elvis Presley's story is so fairly well known that it has become part of the American Dream canon of rags to riches. A new biography by history professor, Charles L. Ponce de Leon, begs to ask the question: What can another Presley biography add to our understanding of the man? "Fortunate Son" would not satisfy the ardent fan of Presley, but would perhaps fit the bill for those who want to know more about Presley's life but do not want to invest the time in reading Peter Guralnick's expansive two-volume biography ("Last Train to Memphis" and "Careless Love"). In fact, "Fortunate Son" reads like a cliff notes version of Guralnick's Presley biography; this point is evident as one peruses the notes section. Ponce de Leon illuminates Presley's high (1956 television appearances) and low points (1960s movies) in a succinct manner without giving the impression of rushing the reader despite the biography being only 212 pages.

"Fortunate Son" does not add any new information on the King of Rock and Roll as much as compress and develop a taut, concise picture from various past biographies and historical resources. In Ponce de Leon's view, Presley is a casualty of fame. The author points out 1958 to be the crucial year where the slow unraveling of the King began (Presley is drafted into the U.S. Army and begins ingesting amphetamines to stay awake during his long rounds/drills; Presley's mother, Gladys, dies). Presley's lack of challenge and isolation grew as he was cranking out a "travelogue" (Presley's term for his movies) in as little as three weeks during the 1960s. And sadly, the King's health and appearance went into decline, especially in the late 1970s, but no one in Presley's circle was on par with the King to confront the ailing singer. Ponce de Leon writes, "This was the terrible, tragic downside of being the King. Elvis had no equal; with everyone close to him being in his service, no one close to him could give him the help he needed."

"Fortunate Son" not only tracks how someone born in a shotgun house in Tupelo, Mississippi can rock millions by the tender age of twenty-one, but also chronicles how this same Greek-god like singer becomes a parody of himself and ultimately dies prematurely at the age of forty-two. A riveting account told in a tightly drawn narrative.

Bohdan Kot

Widmer and Wang give a wonderful taste of contemporary film and fiction in this book, which would look good on any coffee table or bookshelf of any film connoisseur. It is also a good insight into the art of film in Communist China. Through it, you gain a better understanding of life and hardship in such a volatile period in China's history through the eye of a lens.

A textbook for graduadte students or anyone who has already a good background in classical measure theory and is interested in nonadditive measures and nonadditive integrals. Although the necessary background is included in the second chapter, it is clear that a detailed study of "crisp" measures is necessary before reading this book. Although going deep into quite advanced topics the authors still keep the stutent's needs in mind - each chapter is followed by well chosen exercises. The appendices E (New Directions in Fuzzy Measure Theory) and F (Representative Applications of F.M.T.) show the possibility of next research and may be valuable for researchers and postgraduate students.

There is a problem with most standard texts on electromagnetism. Take Jackson's "Classical Electrodynamics" for example. Beautifully written, with elegant explanations of Maxwell's equations. But the problems given in such a text are often those with purely analytic solutions. These are certainly desirable. But the reality is that a lot of actual modelling of electromagnetic problems requires a computer to find the answer.

Different methods are useful. Of these, what is now called methods of moment, has emerged as one of the most powerful, as shown in this book. It is a technique that can be coded to tackle many integral equations that arise when you have a nontrivial geometry to consider.

The book is indeed rather specialised. But for some of you, it will save rummaging through research papers describing the method.

This was a great book and has proved itself to be very useful in the clinical setting. It may seem like a long list of points for some of the formulas, but if discernment is made as to which points are used with what kind of stimulation (tonification or sedation), results can be exceptional.

An easy to read historical book dealing with the origins of the Civil War. Dr. Levine is succinct and thought-provoking in his analysis. Imploying political, economical, and social factors, Levine explores attitudes and conditions in both the North and South. Professor Levine's concentraion on social aspects and their effects on the "average" American is refreshing. I had the pleasure of studying and being instructed in this subject with Professor Levine while a student at the University of Cincinnati, while he still taught at that institution. This is an excellent book for this subject. I would also reccommend in this area: "Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Man," by Eric Foner; and "James Henry Hammond and the Old South, A Design for Mastery," by Drew Gilpin Faust.

There is plenty for you to tackle in this field. This at least is one conclusion from the papers in this handbook. They describe the active areas of investigation. Despite the massive increase in computational power available to reseachers since the 80s, and better algorithms, pattern recognition still faces unknowns.

Closely tied to this is the entire issue of what constitutes robust computer vision. The book gives examples of applications where better methods would have tangible uses. Like being able to identify objects in a video stream. Or recognising human faces. The latter problem has achieved some prominence due to a heightened anti-terrorist mood since 2001. So at least some problems can usually get the researcher adequate funding.

This well-written text does not have the kind of rich plot or character development as Margaret Mitchell's Pullitzer prize-winning novel, but it just as much of a page turner. Plus, you won't need a box of tissues at the end! Additionally, if you cannot stay awake to finish the whole book...just remember that tomorrow is another day.....