Research Books

Under the Eye of the Clock is the autobiography of Christopher Nolan, the talented young poet with cerebral palsy. He can't walk or talk or write in the usual manner. Since Nolan lacks the use of his hands, this book like Dam-Burst of Dreams, the book of poems that preceded it, was written by means of a typing stick affixed to his head. The book succeeds both as pure artistry and as a window into the world of the disabled. Nolan has re-named himself Joseph Meehan and told his story entirely in the objectivity of the third person. This brilliant stroke allows him to avoid excessive self-pity while making his sufferings and triumphs real and deep. Nolan's use of language had earned him comparisons with James Joyce, Yeats, and Dylan Thomas. Nolan stretches the meanings and implications of words, rearranges their spelling, and even invents new ones to communicate his moods and perceptions and illuminate life, his own and those he observes, with his unique poet's sensibility.

As a college English and literature instructor, I intend to make this book a required reading if it becomes available in print again. It should bless all readers because it becomes a reminder that NO matter what the circumstances, people should still be respected, loved, and appreciated. And, with this in mind, the reader may receive a self-esteem boost when being reminded of inner-personal value. I appreciate this book so much. I have three copies and continually loan them out.

Christopher Nolan's "Under The Eye Of The Clock" is an autobiographical account of his incredibly awe-inspiring and miraculous life. Born a cripple, he could have been consigned to the rubbish heap but instead and against all odds became a celebrated writer of this Whitbread Book winner, "The Banyan Tree" as well as an early book of poems. Without taking anything away from Joseph Meehan (a self portrait of Nolan), he couldn't have overcome his debilitating handicaps to scale the heights he did without the steady support and tender loving care of his family. A father, mother and sister who are such warm and emotionally intelligent human beings anybody would be blessed and proud to have them as family. The school principals, teachers and fellow students who accepted him, nurtured him and gave him the chance to prove himself equal to the best among physically whole human specimens are themselves shining examples of humanity who deserve as much recognition in Nolan's lifestory. Although it has been compared with James Joyce's "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man", it is in reality nothing like it. Whereas Joyce's work is for the most part depressing and full of pain and harshness, Nolan's story is so morally uplifting you almost forget its grave subject matter. Nolan's dazzling and inventive writing style is also unique and something to relish. He coins and mints new words which have a yet found a conventional meaning but are so emotionally accurate you know they're right. Read this if you're feeling down and need something to restore your faith in mankind !

To learn about such an exceptional poet who, without the faith of his family, would never have been revealed to the world, gives the reader a new view of people's limitations. I bought 12 copies of this book (when it was in print)and somehow have given them all away over time.

I found my way to this book after I had read "The Banyan Tree" by Christopher Nolan. This was a book that I read and reviewed back in February, and ever since I have been mystified why the book never seemed to gain the wide acceptance of readers. All of the reviews that have been posted by readers for "The Banyan Tree" have been 5 star reviews, and the same is the case for "Under The Eye Of The Clock".

If you read you understand how difficult it is to write anything, much less a full book, and then have it selected for and win a prestigious award. In the case of the book I review now it was the 1987 Whitbred Award that was awarded to Mr. Nolan. All very impressive, but that's just the start.

This is an autobiography written by a very young man who next wrote the book "The Banyan Tree" and would take 12 years to do so. This is a painfully candid, but uplifting book about a man with the support of a wonderful Family overcomes extreme realities that are his life to become an Author of international renown.

Mr. Nolan cannot speak, he can barely move at all. He types with what he calls his "Unicorn Stick" that he wears on his head, and even then his head must be supported while he works.

An Autobiography is a courageous work if honestly presented. When you add Mr. Nolan's additional challenges he faces as a writer, and as a person living with his physical issues it becomes an extraordinary autobiographical book.

I hope more readers find Mr. Nolan, he is a unique writer of immense talent, and if you pass by his work you deprive yourself of great literature.

More than a how to write fast manual this book addresses the process of writing from start to finish. The steps are laid out in an easy to follow fashion with gems like "talent is the result of consistent practice" dispensed along the way. The author advocates a structured thought process without falling into the programmatic do's and don'ts of the ordinary writing text. In summary, great for a new writer or rusty writer looking for a writing framework to make the process easier. If you already have an efficient writing stlye then not needed, for the rest of us, great book.

I've had this book since the first paperback edition came out in 1990, and have referred to it many times over the years. The material is well layed out, easy to read and more importantly, easy to apply! You definitely won't regret buying this book!

When I first got into college, I had absolutely no idea how to
write. I had written papers in high school, yet it had always been an agonizing process. As a result, I dreaded every paper assignment, and put off writing until the last minute. Then, one day, in the midst of such procrastination, I discovered this book on the library's shelf.

Shelved between two books on grammar, this book looked like another long-winded treatise on sentence construction. Yet after opening the book, I was pleasantly surprised.

Sanford Kaye's book, Writing Under Pressure, puts forth an interesting, well thought out strategy for writing papers. Through a case study, and then specific applications, he outlines his strategy in a clear, easily understandable way that is immediately applicable. Yet this is not this book's main strength. Kaye clearly loves writing, and he communicates this in a way that makes the reader feel the same way. Now, this is the book I turn to whenever I feel overwhelmed by a writing task. So if you are looking for a book on writing, or even if you are not, you cannot do better than Sanford Kaye's Writing Under Pressure.

I think this is a great book for SAT essay writing preparation. It is also a great book for general essay writing. The book focuses on getting the meaning down in an organized manner.

I highly recommend this book, but only gave it a 4 because it focuses on the narrow, but important, issue of writing a theme under time pressure.

It should be in every SAT essay preparers hands.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

This book takes the !!ARRGH!! out of writing. Concentrating on academic assignments, the author, who has been there-done that, lets students in on his secrets of how to relax and make ANY subject interesting to the writer - and, therefore, the reader. Writing Under Pressure is clearly written (the author practices what he preaches), but contains enough lightness and human touches to make you forget you're not reading it for pleasure. I would recommend this book to someone who is learning (or re-learning) how to write assigned term papers or essays.

The ups and downs. The highs and lows. The good the bad and the ugly of LV advantage playing. Could not put it down.

Read it all in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down!

LV Pro is a card counter. He turns himself from a degenerate losing gambler into a degenerate winning card counter and shares all the details as he proceeds to build his bankroll trip after trip, beating the casinos at their own game of blackjack. Unlike the high-rolling whiz-kids on the MIT team in Bringing Down the House, LV Pro grits it out, starting on small teams, but deciding to make it on his own. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas is the usual rule, but not this time. The good games, the interesting folks who count cards and pursue them, sex, drugs, and money...all find their way into this genuine account of one man's pursuit of the Vegas dream.

I too have been following LVPro's adventures in the Blackjack Insider newsletter. When I heard that he was compiling a book of his trips, I just had to read it and see how it all started!

His approach to grinding out an advantage in BJ play against the casinos was written in a much more realistic style than other books I have read on the subject. I could relate to his goals, problems, highs and lows in his pursuit of the elusive bankroll.

His style of writing is easy to read as well as humorous. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and found many nuggets of knowledge that I can apply to my own pursuits.

I have followed Barfarkel's trip reports as posted on bj21.com for many months now. "You've Got Heat" is a compilation of the reports that blackjack fans have followed for several years on bj21.com and on Henry Tamburin's Blackjack Insider site.

"You've Got Heat" is not a how-to manual on card counting. It is, however, a very entertaining read about the author's journey into both the secretive world of the card counter and the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas.

Books such as "Bringing Down the House" would have one believe that card counters live a lavish existence and routinely throttle casinos for millions of dollars. "You've Got Heat" dispels this myth and shows that the card counter faces an enormous challenge. Barfarkel describes the emotional highs and lows of his grind against the casinos in a very straightforward fashion.

Las Vegas guidebooks and Travel Channel specials generally show only the glitz and the glamour of Sin City. "You've Got Heat" explores the various cultures and subcultures of Las Vegas from many angles, ranging from the ritzy shows at the Bellagio and other high-end Strip properties to the prostitutes, vagrants, and other unsavory characters at the city's numerous run-down casinos.

Anyone with an interest in either Las Vegas or blackjack will like Barfarkel's book. Frequent Vegas travelers can learn a great deal from Barfarkel's experiences. All aspiring card counters should read this book so that they may thoroughly understand the focus and discipline required for long-term success.

i,i,i, think the book is very goooood, it was like a nice juicy steak and not like just like dry kibble..... Beause i am her stalker and alien!
-TiffanyTheDog.com

I wrote this study guide ten years ago and, overall, I would say that books such as "Absalom, Absalom" are extremely difficult to read and should not be taught in high school or even in undergraduate school. Faulkner wrote a series that is easier to understand, humorous, and has his usual depth of spirit: "The Hamlet," "The Town" and "The Mansion." I think every time a teacher assigns "Absalom, Absalom" to anyone besides a graduate student majoring in English, you are doing Faulkner a disfavor (as well as the student). I suppose teachers assign "Absalom, Absalom" out of inertia - it's Modernism - it's always been taught - so let's keep teaching it . . .

Carol Siri Johnson is an expert and daring writer. She is the best writer I have ever read. Her book, whatever it's called, is so good that I cried when I read it. My teacher gave me an A+ for the whole year because of a book report I did about it. Carol is like the mother I have never had because I am an orphan. And oh, by the way, I love cows too.

This guide to Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner stands head and shoulders above other published study guides of the same book and compares favorably to the best of contemporary scholarship on this complex and peculiar giant of American literature. The precision and clarity of Johnson's writing is second only to her incisive yet empathy-tempered insights into the cultural origins and psychological dynamics of of William Faulkner's creative genius. It might well be said that Johnson herself is guided by a daemon driving her to educate, illuminate and uplift the masses of the great unread, so vast is her talent for explication and exegesis, so graceful her dance through the hermeneutic spiral. Buy this book and you will be lead into undreamed of realms of knowledge and wisdom by an actual PhD.

This fine interpretation should be used by any person who endeavors to understand the body of Faulkner's work. I daresay even old W.F. himself would have benefited from reading this text. I only wish I had had assistance like this when I was in school.

This book is the first account of US foreign policy in the 1990s that treats the decade as genuine history. I mean that it does not simply offer a chronicle of the period, or a set of newspaper clippings and individual events - it offers a guiding historical interpretation that sets those years in relation to the Cold War before and 9/11 and beyond. It is very convincing that there is far more continuity today with the foreign policies of those years than many people, left or right, give credit for. It is a highly persuasive interpretation of the period and I believe will remain the standard account of its foreign policy for a long time to come.

This is a tremendously important book that explains what happened when the Berlin wall fell and America's foreign policy establishment was forced to confront a world that was no longer organized by the US/Soviet rivalry. As it becomes increasingly clear that the "war on terrorism" is only a part of the broader foreign policy needed to protect our nation in a complex and multi-polar world, this is the book to read if you want to understand how the next generation of policymakers will draw on the lessons of the recent past to set a new course. Chollet and Goldgeier know what they are talking about. They have done exhaustive research, and each of them has hands on experience in the foreign policy business. It's a bonus that the writing is lively and engaging. Don't miss this book.

An excellent read for someone who wants a non-partisan approach to history's impact on international relations and foreign policy. Additionally, Chollet and Goldgeier postulate how our current state of affairs will shape tomorrow's. This is a perfect book for someone who wants to understand where we were and where we are going.

America Between the Wars tells the story of 11/9 to 9/11 through informative, behind-the-scenes stories that illustrate the dynamic and contentious foreign policy debates from the fall of the Berlin wall to the fall of the twin towers. If you like the stories behind the history, you'll love America Between the Wars. And if you usually prefer novels, you may find Chollet and Goldgeier's narrative voice appealing. Rather than writing a wonky, boring foreign policy book as so many unfortunately do, the authors present a relevant and relatable book. Especially for those who lived through this period, America Between the Wars reveals critical elements of our past and our future.

I was in Jr. High and High School during the 90s and so wasn't very familiar with this period before reading this, and while interested and somewhat familiar with policy, am certainly no expert. After years of thinking I knew who neoconservatives were and what both parties "stood for", this book really put things into perspective and contextualized things for me. And though it's a "history", it draws extensively on interviews with leading policymakers & insiders during the period, so the text ends up reading more like a narrative (great for a novel-reader like myself).

In sum, this was really informative, interesting, and a quick read - perfect for anyone looking for a genuinely nonpartisan, nuanced look at how we got to where we are - both domestically and abroad. Definitely a must for your summer reading list.

Book was here on time. Book is in great condition. I am happy with it.
Thanks

As an educator I am always looking for the best test prep materials for my students, and by far this is the best. With its easy to use format, extensive vocabulary review and strong practice test questions this is the only book you will need to feel prepared for the AP Exam.

AP Human Geography w/ CD-ROM (REA) - The Best Test Prep (The Best Test Preparation for Advance Placement)

This book has been extrememly useful in helping me to prepare for the AP exam. It is easily understandable and as a student I find it refreshing to read a review book that doesn't put me to sleep. This book is full of interesting facts related to Human Geography, and the review tests were extrememly helpful with my preparations for the real exam.

I have been sort of worried about passing the AP Human Geography test. The material is challenging and the vocab extensive, but this review book by Mr. Christian Sawyer has made me confident that i will not only pass, but get a 4 or 5. The book is easy to understand as well as interesting with good examples and fun facts. The review vocabulary quizzes, multiple choice examples, and practice FRQs help me feel confident about the layout of the exam and what to expect. I recommend this review book to all taking the exam!

I like this book better than all the others for my students...it has practice drills, rubrics, some strong practice AP questions, and succinct, complete reviews--the vocabulary is excellent.

This is a fanastic topics book in approximation algorithms. The problems and proofs are challenging and concise, but written in a very accessible manner. It is a great reference book, and also a convenient place to grab a lecture from if you need something to fill our a course. I have found it extremely useful, and even fun to read. I highly reccomend it for any person interested in theoretical computer science.

Very good, it is easy to read the book if you have a good level
of knowledge and the experience to think some details in the
proofs of the theorems.
I think it is a very good book for a graduate student.

Vazirani's book seems well suited for a computer science researcher who has had a rigorous background in pure maths. The level of difficulty can be quite advanced. Also, it is not the sort of book that gives algorithm examples in an actual programming language. Not that this should be a handicap to a skilled reader. The algorithms are usually described in high level pseudocode. You have to manually instantiate these in the language of your preference.

The 30 chapters span a wide variety of computational topics. Some are simpler than others to understand. Like the chapter on finding the shortest vector from the integer lattice made from a set of linearly independent vectors. That requires only a year or so of introductory linear algebra.

There are exercises for each chapter. Some exercises are formidable. Essentially like little research problems in their own right. Another plus for the book.

I have been looking for books related to solving NP-complete and NP-hard problems approximately. There is another book by Hochbaum and I have that too. Unfortunately, that book is more of a research oriented book as it is written by several researchers. It's like reading several research papers within two hard covers. This means that one needs to have a sort of intermediate level of experience with approximation algorithms.

For a beginner, one would expect a book that starts from ground-up and that has been written as a textbook rather than as a set of research papers. The book by Dr. Vazirani, is the only book that is written by one author with a step-by-step evolution of concepts and ideas related to approximation algorithms.

This is a quite nice book by an author who is well-known in the field. The book is not thematic, instead it presents certain problems in each chapter along with the main approximation algorithms and correctness proofs. Yet, each new concept is well introduced with the problems. For instance, the author presents LP-based techniques on the same problem (set cover) in the second part of the book. This makes it quite easy to compare and understand different techniques. The last part of the book is a little bit advanced compared to the first two parts which uses combinatorial or LP-based analysis of the algorithms. The presentation of the PCP theorem- arguably the deepest theorem of computer science- and its consequences are also in the last part.

A warning though: The book is quite terse at times, which enforces a dense reading. This may not be suitable for an undergradute study. My only complaint is that the PCP theorem might well be introduced with a little more intution.

Overall, I rate this book as excellent. If you are interested in algorithms, you should definitely buy it. Also, buy the "Complexity and Approximation" by Ausiello, Crescenzi and others. They provide a more comprehensive and thematic treatment. It also has an excellent bibliography and list of NP-hard problems. These two will make a great couple. The book edited by Hochbaum (Approximation Algorithms for NP-hard problems) on the other hand presents detailed information on the algorithms.

We received this book as a gift and it was been a life saver. As new parents we had no idea of all of the information we were expected to keep track of. This book makes it so easy to track feedings, diapers plus sections for gifts, excercise and food. We now go to our doctors office and just hand them the book so they can see how much she eating and how many diapers she goes through. We encourage you to buys this if you are a new parent, you will be glad that you did.

We received this book as a gift and it was been a life saver. As new parents we had no idea of all of the information we were expected to keep track of. This book makes it so easy to track feedings, diapers plus sections for gifts, excercise and food. We now go to our doctors office and just hand them the book so they can see how much she eating and how many diapers she goes through. We encourage you to buys this if you are a new parent, you will be glad that you did.

Makes tracking feeding, diaper changes, gifts received, etc. brainless (read, idiot proof)-- which is just what a sleep deprived new mom needs. I found it really helpful to have prepared "logs" waiting to be filled in and to have one book/place to input all the things I needed to keep track of. All I had to do was remember where I'd put the Baby Daze book (e.g., I kept it at my feeding station with a pen attached to it) and the book led me through the rest. Plus, it's a nice keepsake of those first moments.

Although I don't have any children of my own, I've sent this book to all of my friends with kids and they gush over it. Amazon.com makes it so easy to send the book off, which I always do along with my regular "Dr Seuss" books for the kids. If you know someone who's about to have a child, do them a favor and drop this in the mail to them; they'll thank you often.

After I had my first child, I was so sleep deprived that I hardly knew what time it was, let alone how much my baby had eaten, whether she had wet six diapers a day, and what was the last "side" she had fed on. I tried writing things down in a regular spiral notebook, but it wasn't terribly organized. Baby Daze was great for me and my husband -- multiple categories well laid out, from feedings to diapers to gifts. It helped us to manage all the details of a very tumultuous time. Highly recommended.

A friend of mine recommended this book and although I am not an adoptee, I was intrigued by what she shared about the book. I am glad that I read it. If you're like me and you enjoy the search for a happy ending, you'll enjoy reading "Back to the Beginning." First and foremost, the accounts of adoptees searching for their birth families and vice versa was riveting; however, what I liked most about the book was the way the authors seemed genuinely interested in their clients emotionally. I thought the advice they gave to their clients was very sound; particularly the advice about approaching first time meetings between families, as well as how to manage their expectations about the process and its possible roads blocks. I counsel people every day in my job, so I'm sure what I read in this book will be woven into my practice somehow. Even if it's not, I'll be keeping this book on hand for those moments when I need a feel-good pick me up read...as well as a little perspective on how nice and easy my childhood was knowing my birth parents and siblings.

I was blown away! This book is so interesting!!! From the ins and outs of Private Investigation to the beautiful, touching and heartwarming stories, I could not put it down! I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in solid, well written stores about real life.

The warmth and sensitivity of these wonderful women comes through on every page. I've read it twice and recommend it to every single person involved in the adoption process. Then I'd recommend it to every person outside of the process. It's heartwarming and insightful. I wish I had known them when I searched for my birth family, or at the very least, had their book.

As a professional investigator for many years and an adoptive parent, I recommend this book without reservation. It is well written, touching, inspirational, motivating, informative and a great place to start for anyone interested in adoptive reunions or even in becoming a private investigator or researcher.

I couldn't put the book down until I had finished reading it. I cried tears of sadness for those who were not successful in finding their biological parents and tears of happiness for those who did. The authors are clearly dedicated to the work they do and give fascinating accounts of some of their cases.

This is quite easy to follow for beginners but you def. need a good stats background to do so!

No one expects statistics to be easy reading, especially when it concerns complicated models such as structural equation modeling (SEM). Nevertheless, this book manages to do just that.

Schumacker and Lomax have successfully put together a guide that explains to beginners (like myself) in simple terms how the whole thing works. As with most books that treat complex models, some basic knowledge of statistics is preferable before you begin to read it. But if your statistics is rusty and you have only vague impressions of probability sketches in your memory, fear not! Schumacker and Lomax are kind to us poor souls, and begin by introducing some basics in chapter 1 to prod your memory: terminology, variable scales, how to treat missing data, outliers and normality. And in chapter 2, they discuss correlation and covariance.

Before talking about structural equation models, Schumacker and Lomax dedicate chapter 3 to a number of statistical methods on which SEM is built. This chapter gives a basic overview of regression, path analysis and factor analysis. The review of these methods helps you to understand SEM better later on. They also provide an excellent understanding of the methods, in case you have not used them before or it's been a while ...

The rest of the guide covers SEM: how to develop and measure a model (chapters 4 and 5), how the model parameters are estimated and how you can check for reliability and validity (chapter 6), and checking for goodness of fit of your model (chapter 7).

In chapter 8, you are shown some examples of computer outputs by two software packages that can conduct SEM, EQS5 and LISREL8-SIMPLIS.

Chapter 9 goes into more detail on models and diagrams (regression, analysis of covariance, path, measurement and structural models). For those that feel by this point that they've gained enough experience, advanced topics such as cross validation, simulation, bootstrap and jacknife methods as well as multiple same and interaction models are covered in chapter 10. And for the super-keen, the technical bits are covered in chapter 11 (health warning: you better be up to speed on matrix algebra).

The great thing about this book is that you most likely will be able to run models and interpret results by chapter 7, and you don't need to go into the nitty-gritty if you don't want to. On the other hand, the details are there if you need them. In essence, the authors start at the beginning, building up slowly until you are able to handle a basic model, before going into more complex issues.

One drawback, I have found, is that this book was published in 1996. That's nearly a decade ago, and (fortunately) computer power and statistical modeling has come a long way since then. The authors, for example, are convinced that WordPerfect is the software of choice for word processing and that at some point in the future it would be possible to copy and paste diagrams into a word processing program. We've come a long way since then. Today, many SEM packages exist that are much more user friendly than some of the older stodgy packages that require you to enter data in a very specific way and interpret results by going through reams of data output. As such, the authors (or publishers) probably ought to update it with a second edition.

Nevertheless, the strength of the book lies in its guidance and explanatory power. And even if you use a different package, you can skim through the data outputs they use, and focus on your model, how to construct it, and of what pitfalls to beware.

I highly recommend this for anyone starting on SEM - your modeling days will be much happier with this guide.

This book lays out the basics of SEM in an understandable way. Doesn't address EVERY issue, but then again it's very accessible and application-oriented, with language not too highly techinical (in relation to other SEM texts).

This is a very good book about SEM for the beginners and advanced. The book gives a clear and concise principles and examples about SEM. This book definitely enables the readers clearly understand the subject.

Schumacker and Lomax make for a good first course in SEM. Although they are somewhat less technical than Bollen (1989), they are a little more up-to-date, and very good reading for a beginning student of SEM. I found the sections on confirmatory factor analysis and identification very useful.