Services Books

Author Lisa Belkin did her research, in this riveting book. Many who enter the field of medicine do care about helping people; doctors do care about their patients and are frustrated by health insurance, legal concerns and concerns for the patient and their families.

Based in a hospital in Houston, where Belkin did her research, you will not put down this book.

You will feel new empathy for doctors who agonize over the end of life issues with patients and their families.

I enjoyed the book. Makes you think about ethics a bit and the reality of financial constraints on the practice of medicine.

Despite the major advances in knowledge, skills, and technology in the field of medicine, this book shows that ultimately life and death fall back on the human touch. Following the workings of an Ethics Committee in a major urban hospital over several months, Belkin clearly shows that medicine continues to be as much an art as a science and in many cases there are no "right" answers, even when decisions can affect whether a patient lives or dies.
This is not a dry, mechanical review of how ethical decisions are made. Quite the opposite, the book captures your full attention from the very first page. You become fully involved in the heart-wrenching lives of actual hospital patients, as well as the no-win situations health care professionals and family members find themselves in when struggling with decisions that literally have life or death consequences.
For example, when she describes the process in which the life support devices are withdrawn from a young patient you feel you are there in the room witnessing the tragedy. Some readers might scream within their minds not to do it - perhaps there is something else can be done? Others may feel a sense of loving compassion over the ending of someone's suffering. Both types will feel incredible compassion for those who had to make the actual decision and hopefully will never have to make such a choice in their own lives.

Lisa Belkin has created an amazing book here - she definitely did her research. The book consists of a few case studies of patients who pose ethical dilemas. Belkin takes you inside meetings of the ethics committee at the hospital, she takes you to the patient's bedside to see what the patient actually wants. Some of the patients she follows are a young kid who has been hospitalized for 15 years with a terminal condition, beating all odds by staying alive that long, several premature babies, and a man who was paralyzed almost completely after getting shot in the spine. It's a great look at medical ethics - Lisa Belkin's book asks all the right questions.

The book is in a very easy-to-read format - the stories of the patients she follows are all intertwined throughout the book. For example, you'll read about Patrick for 30-or-so pages, and then she'll switch over to update you on Taylor's story. She does this because you are reading the stories in "real time" as they happened; all of this took place in a certain time span in the hospital. It's exciting and fast-paced non-fiction - I read it in two days and didn't put it down.

It will break your heart, because often the ethics committee has to bring money into the discussion, as much as they would like to treat every patient as if money was not an issue. This book is SO worth reading, for anyone who is interested in medicine and healthcare at all.

This book will keep you wanting to turn the page and make it hard to put down the book. This is a great explanation of real life situations that patients and hospitals face everyday. Some of the situations that are hard for some people to understand why hospitals are concerned with matters like money and certain treatments of patients can be explained.

I'm the pastor of a Wesleyan church in the US and I have been learning to pray the Daily Office - morning and evening prayer. This little book is great for a travel prayer book, as it is smaller and much less complicated than the Benedictine Daily Prayer.

As a protestant, I have to adjust some of the wording about Mary and the saints, but that is a small sacrifice for the joy of praying with the larger church throughout history!

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who seeks to deepen his or her experience of God through dedicated times of prayer each day!

This book is a perfect introduction into the liturgy of prayer. It is basically a simplified version of the Liturgy of the Hours (simplified in complexity, not content). Each day of the week has morning and evening prayer. There are also prayers for mid-morning, noon, afternoon and evening. Also included is a very nice selection of traditional prayers (the Creed, Act of Contrition, etc.) as well as prayers for various occasions. At the end of the book there is a selection of quotes from the Rules of St. Benedict.

This prayer book is put out by the Benedictine community of Glenstal Abbey in Ireland. The book is a slim volume and is easily carried around. It is perfect for someone (like myself) who wants to develop the habit of prayer and needs a nice introduction to it. There is only one ribbon to move around and it just goes from one day of the week to another. The prayers and liturgies are fairly short and can be done in five or ten minutes. The prayers for mid-morning, etc., are perfect for doing in your car before or after lunch (in the parking lot, not propped up on your steering wheel).

If you are looking for a great tool to help you develop the habit of prayer and that is easy to incorporate into your home and work life, this is it.

Simple reverant prayers in the Benedictine tradition that brings the holy to the every day. A wonderful book to bring along whenever one is seeking a practice to remember the art of spiritual surrender.

I have been looking for a good benedictine prayer book that is easy to follow, and practical for my Oblate studies, and the Glenstal book fits the bill. The monks of Glenstal really put clever thought in putting together this book of prayer for non-monks. Thank you for an excellent tool for lay-monastics, and anyone interested in a solid book of christian prayer.

The secular prayerful person may find in this prayer book a schema of prayer accessible to and useful for the person who cannot give up their day job for contemplative purposes. I keep a copy on my prayer table at all times, and find it very useful for constant prayer.

Unlike other such Books of Common Prayer or Monastic Diurnals, it is not overwhelming in its requirements. It gently and lightly suggests a system of prayer for every day of the week, and for the holidays, morning and evening, following the traditional monastic format which dates back before Saint Benedict. No wonder as Glenstal is a Benedictine Abbey.

It also includes much of the traditional prayers once so well known but now difficult to locate, in a very useful and handy lay out. Many of those traditional prayers heard at your grandmother-s knee and not heard since but cherished in memory are represented here, as well as suggestions for prayers at every occassion of the day.

Highly recommended for anyone wishing to introduce regular prayer into their lives (or the life which God has so generously lent to us) as a centering worship of recollection and peace in God-s love. An urgently necessary element of any prayerful life.

I am so happy that I purchased this book! I recommend it to all women that want to know what is going on with their bodies as they age and approach changes. Living with discomfort because you are aging does NOT have to be. This book helps you identify problems and ways to solve them with your own physician. It actually helps you improve your quality of life because the information gives you a plan. It gives medical evidence as well as real life examples of women Dr. Redmond has treated. You will not be disappointed.

I am 37 and am loosing my hair, The information in this book has made me aware of all the reasons women can loose their hair. Many of the reason have the same symptoms. Which at first is frustrating until you realize more reasons means more possibilities to get it back even if only part of the hair. If you are considering hair transplants read this first, please.
I read other parts of the book that would be relevant to some friends this book is a great one, I have 3 more books about hair loss one is pretty good but abit out dated, the other is OK , and the other I will use to start a fire.

I went to Dr. Redmond over three years ago with a whole host of female problems that were preventing me from feeling good and enjoying my life. All that has completely changed due to his expert medical care. When I read his book, I knew that I had to buy copies for all my female friends! If you often feel that something is just "not right" with your health...then you owe it to yourself to read this book.

This book is a must-have for every woman and teenage girl. Provides a wealth of info about female hormones & physiology in an easy-to-read format. Dr. Redmond is a leader in his field, and his depth of knowledge and compassion emerge effortlessly from the text.

If you are a woman suffering with unexplained hair loss on your head, hair growth where you don't want it, irritability, constant fatigue, dry skin or other skin problems and you are starting to feel generally more like a man than the beautiful woman you used to be, this book is for you. There ARE medications that can help you although most doctors will ignore and dismiss you. I went to see Dr. Redmond and he was able to help me, it was worth the trip into NYC and every penny. I feel like myself again and that is a miracle.

From internships and resumes to application essays, interviews, promotions and salary ranges, HOW TO LAND A TOP-PAYING FEDERAL JOB explores common myths about government salaries and connections, using interviews with over a hundred hiring managers to provide the basics of how the federal government hires and promotes within its ranks. From lesser-known ways of finding openings to negotiating salary and getting quickly promoted, this is an outstanding guide recommended for any library strong in job opportunities and career guidance.

I found this book to be of great value even though I used it in the hunt for a good position in the civilian world and not within the government.
A friend in the "G" gave me a copy of this book and told me that it was "hilarious." Granted, Ms. Whiteman has some funny cartoons in it and her style is an easy read. But more importantly, gave me the get-up-and-go attitude to put on my game face and apply for jobs with more than a modicum of confidence.
The book comes with a CD of resume templates and other useful cheat sheets, if you will. It helped me get my career organized in a tidy, presentable fashion. It also inspired me to produce some attention-grabbing cover letters that conveyed my skills persuasively and attractively in my application packets. After studying it, too, I felt that I was prepared for interviews, or I was after I conducted the practice sessions that she suggests where someone sits and asks you potential questions. It makes you think on your feet!
"How to Land a Top-Paying Federal Job" made a world of difference in helping me stay away from vague and long-winded answers and I was finally able to connect with prospective employers, including the one that actually hired me just last week. Whew.
I would really recommend this book to any harried jobseeker, whether they want to work for the government or a company. And I plan on using it again in my efforts to move up in the world for an even better position down the road.

I had been thinking about making a mid-life career move from the private sector to a Federal postion and was cluelessly submitting applications. I am now embarrassed by my early naivety and all the mistakes I was making. Lily's book completely explained the ins-and-outs of the Federal job hunting process. Its better than any online information or verbal advice I could find. Her book is a fun to read, step-by-step guide. Every chapter is packed with useful information and tactics.

As U.S. unemployment numbers rise, the timing could not be better for a book that helps navigate how to get hired by the nation's largest employer - the federal government.

Lily Whiteman's impressive "How To Land A Top-Paying Federal Job" -- available on Amazon.com -- explains exactly what you need to do to get hired by the federal government. A federal employee for more than 16 years, Whiteman is also a federal career coach who writes a career column for Federal Times and a contributes to the "Jobs" section of the The Washington Post.

A CD that accompanies the book provides an invaluable list of paid federal internships for recent graduates and fellowships for professionals. In addition, the CD features outlines on how to write the job application's essay, three pages of potential interview questions, worksheets, resume templates and much more.

Using real-life examples, success stories and tips, Whiteman dispels several myths, including that government salaries are low, the federal hiring system is difficult to understand and that it takes a long time to get hired for federal employment. In fact, after reading and highlighting this book, you will not only build up your confidence, but learn countless ways to get that federal job you have always wanted.

The book is divided into four parts, each focusing on the steps involved in obtaining a federal job. In the first part, the author provides concrete ways to find a federal employment, how to find success at a job fair and pages of online resources. The second and third parts discuss in detail how to take charge of the federal employment application process, including the KSAs and cover letter, and what to do before, during and after an interview.

The last part provides a collection of strategies, tips and real-life examples on how to excel at your job and earn the promotion you deserve. Examples include taking advantage of professional organizations (a list is included on the CD), agency-paid training opportunities (Web sites included) and how to improve your annual evaluation.

Particularly helpful are charts and tables scattered throughout the book. In one table, Whiteman provides a guide for those interested in Capitol Hill jobs, and in another, the author offers tips how to write and market professional achievements. Additionally, complete with examples, Whiteman offers constructive advice on how to prepare a resume and cover letter that sets you apart from others and dramatically improves your chances for an interview.

I highly recommend this book. Lily Whiteman's book is to Federal employment what John Lucht's classic "Rites of Passage at $100K to $1M+" is to private sector employment. Her book explodes the many myths about Federal government employment, and explains in a straightforward manner (1) how to research great Federal work opportunities, (2) how to land great Federal jobs, (3) how to negotiate Federal job offers once received, and (4) how to thrive in the Federal government when working there.

The book is well-written, easy to understand, and full of great examples and practical, easy to implement advice. The section on negotiating Federal job offers is especially useful. Lily Whiteman is a Federal employee, and her examples are based on her experience and those of the other Federal employees. The book is very valuable, and has been very helpful to me and many others. Whether you're looking to enter the Federal workforce or improve a current Federal employment role, this book is indispensable.

Janet Dekker is a tremendously insightful hypnotherapist. She recognises that the impediment to effective self control and self-esteem is often the impact of negative messages and self-messages and begins the journey to healing by first targeting these (as seen in her Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem CD). In this hypno-routine she instills the stress-countering suggestions by first getting you calm, deeply relaxed & at ease, includes an effective deep-breathing cue and teaches you how to engage in relaxing self-hypnosis by allowing YOURSELF to relax. The impact, I can personally testify, is remarkably effective. The only problematic suggestion input to my mind is the idea that staying calm and under rational control is ALWAYS the best way through any situation. Like all massive generalisations this one is open to question. There are surely situations where strong expression becomes necessary and people with whom only powerfully conveyed messages work; and of course one needs to feel one's feelings fully and intensely, without being overwhelmed by them or at their mercy. I guess if one is aware of this idea, the suggestions will not work to produce emotional flattening or repression. That said, this is an outstanding product: humane, compassionate and actively helpful.

This is a great CD. I was concerned that hypnosis would not work on me, but the last couple of times I've used the CD I've awakened from my "trance" and noticed I'd been drooling! And I was sitting up to listen!

At the beginning of the recording Ms Decker says that in case of emergency you will be awake and alert. For some reason she restates this a couple of times in the course of the program. I found this very distracting and unnecessary. Generally the content is good, but sometimes it sounded too much like reading from a text.

Of all 20 of the CDs I have bought for meditation and hypnosis this is the one that stood out. It's very easy to follow, with no difficult visualizations, but a deep and wonderful hypnotic state is acquired. I put this on my MP3 player and now anytime I have an emotional pain in my mind I go right to this CD and it is erased, and replaced with a calming peace and emotional control. Janet is amazing and I hope she makes many more CDs. Thank You!

I listen to audiobooks daily and these are among the very best in terms of quality, relistening value, help and self growth. The total package is superb. Sit down relax and indulge.

I have been telling coworkers and friends about the change in my life and health. The power of suggestion is powerful. I no longer look like I stayed out all night. I look forward to my time relaxing with them. I own 5 cds by Janet Decker.

This book was required reading at the Brian Utting School of Massage when I attended in 1994. The ENTIRE book, and we were tested on it.

I still refer back to the chapter on muscle physiology frequently, especially when I am writing articles and teaching procedures.

Here is where you will find what you need to know about how actin and myosin overlap, how muscle cells respond only to the signals provided from the brain and spinal reflexes (which means your only hope of relaxing muscle is by appealing to the brain or reflexes, using indirect techniques!)

Here you will learn which spinal reflexes cause the "let go" reflex (golgi tendon organs) and which proprioceptors (annulospiral) communicate two-way with the brain for profound accuracy of movement and options for subtle therapy.

Here you learn what organ (cerebellum) controls whether the muscles will rest or guard.

I have not yet seen a book to replace this one as a required text, but I am reviewing one soon... I think a massage therapist could get away with reading only the muscle chapter though the skin, connective tissue, parasympathetic response vs sympathetic reaction, nerve chapters are interesting if you are interested (like I was). Remember, this information is about twenty years old now.

In addition, I recommend all massage students and practitioners read Laura Bruno's If I Only Had a Brain Injury that came out earlier this year, 2008. It is far easier to read than Job's Body. It is not intended to be a "med school" approach to healing. Instead, you'll learn a symbolic/intuitive approach to healing. In the 80s, intuition was woo-woo but now with human telepathy predicted to begin in less than a decade, you see that Laura's symbolic/intuitive approach to the brain is even more subtle and effective than the connective tissue, indirect nerve/reflex techniques that Deane Juhan was doing back then.

This is a terrific book for anyone interested in exploring the human body. It's good on the details and good on the big picture. It's a fascinating and revealing reference work on the workings of the human body.

For anyone interested in anatomy and physiology or alternatives to medicines alone this is a wonderful book to read and reference. It gives some excellent insights into healing by touch and bodywork a must for al types of therapists.

this work is an essential addition to any practitioner's library who wishes to markedly enhance their understanding and communication of care to their patients. Juhan uses brilliant, in-depth scientific notation in an easy-to-read format. brilliant.

If you are a doctor, physical therapist, massage or bodywork therapist of any kind with an appetite for in depth analysis and understanding of the human response to touch, this book is a MUST HAVE for you. It's technical and detailed, and it is also ground breaking, eye-opening and very exciting.

Juhan covers the topic of the human response to touch from the micro-cellular level through to system responses all the way to the origins of the body/mind split in western philosphy and the consequences of pharmaceutical dominance in health care on touch therapies. He introduces many new perspectives that bring a rich vitality to anatomy. He shows the interactivity - the interconnectedness - the interdependence of all aspects of the human body, mind and being. He presents some of the latest theories about how the body mind are integrated and communicate - Candace Pert's molecules of emotion.

Not only is Juhan's research fascinating and valuable to body workers, but also his method of inquiry, the questions he asks, and how he asks and seeks to answer them, are also very educational - modeling ways we can pursue the investigation ourselves.

Here are a few examples of the kind of insight that Juhan offers in the Third Edition:

Page 17

"This personal, sensory engagement with the self does not spring from a rebellion against scientific authority, but rather from a realization of the present inadequacy of that authority's conception of reality, a realization that is not contrived for the purpose of debate, but which is forced upon [us] by [our] own painful circumstances."

"When the conceptions of reality that we maintain do not square with the things we are experiencing, it is not because we are flawed or because our experiences are wrong, but because our conceptions cannot contain all of the facts as we perceive them. And there is no constructive way out of this crisis but to enlarge our sense of reality to include our actual experiences."

Page 142

"The goal of bodywork should not be to impose universalized standards of posture and movement upon an individual, but rather to help the individual to cultivate the mental awareness and the physical flexibility to continually adapt to the changing needs of the moment."

Page 184

"Muscles that have fallen into disuse and flaccidity just don't provide enough pumping action for these intercellular fluids to adequately feed and bathe the nerve cells, and so the general strength of their functions is diminished."

Page 412

"Subjective and objective are not two distinct ways I have of viewing reality; they are two sides of a continuous feedback loop which together make up that reality. How completely I sense my body and how I feel about it has everything to do with the particular course of events going on within it."

Gothics are the first romances I ever read. I didn't realize at the time, of course, that they were romances--I considered them more a peculiar form of mystery. (Yes, my feet were wet, and I could see the pyramids.) I also considered them a guilty pleasure. Now, it's more nostalgia.

The Judas Kiss is about Pippa Ewell. She and her older sister Francine are orphaned and sent with to live with their cruel, controlling grandfather. He intends to marry Francine to their Cousin Arthur. Rescue comes in the form of foreigners at Granter's Grange, the neighboring estate. Francine runs off with Rudolph, heir to the ruler of a small Bavarian kingdom. Pippa gets a few letters from Francine, telling about her marriage and child, then the letters stop. Some time later, she learns that Francine had been killed when Rudolph was assassinated, and that nobody in Bruxenstein believes there was a wedding or a child.

Making things worse for Pippa, her grandfather has now transferred his plans to her, and intends for her to wed Cousin Arthur on her 17th birthday.

When foreigners return to Granter's Grange, Pippa meets and falls in love with Conrad, who she takes to be an upper-level servant of some sort. He asks her to come with him as his mistress, but she declines.

Hmmm. I'm going to be outlining the entire plot of the book if I keep this up. Not what I intended to do. Suffice it to say that Pippa ends up in Bruxenstein, looking for her nephew and evidence of her sister's marriage. She and Conrad are torn between love and duty, amid dangerous political machinations.

As with a lot of older gothic romances, I had a hard time believing either of the couples had truly fallen in love. It's almost as if the falling in love part is just too private to be mentioned--either that, or it's considered something along the lines of magic--something that "just happens" and has no rhyme or reason to it.

And I knew who Conrad was from the start, which made me think Pippa was... if not TSTL, at least pretty darn dumb.

Also, the murder whodunit was never really completely solved.

However, particularly once Pippa gets to Bruxenstein, the emotional angst is quite well done. If you accept that Pippa and Conrad are in love (and you pretty much have to accept it as a given, otherwise the rest of the story is pointless), they truly are caught between a rock and a hard place, both of them for different reasons.

I also appreciated the mystery of Francine's child. There were a couple of red herrings and wrong turns, and I was sure I knew who he was, but I was wrong.

Other than who killed Francine and Rudolph being assumed but never proven, the rest of the threads in the story were neatly tied up, including those I'd assumed had been forgotten.

On my top 2 list of favorite Holt books. This was great! I couldn't put it down! The entire plot was fascinating, and I loved it from beginning to end. A must-read!!

I may get bashed for this but , I think this book is really pathetic . I really books when girls get seduced and the guy just runs off. And how he is next in line to be king really makes me made.It really was good book and probably a really good fairy tale story but just not for me.

Of course, Victoria Holt never disappoints, and this book is no exception. While it is not my favorite novel of hers (On The Night of the Seventh Moon and Bride of Pendorric are) this is a wonderful book with an interesting, intelligent heroine. Worth reading for the elaborate descriptions of the Bavarian forests, the mysterious secondary characters, as well as the romantic hero Conrad. This will sweep you off your feet -- like a fairy tale for older readers...enjoy!

Victoria Holt truly lived up to her reputation as the queen of romantic suspense. This story combines nicely a romance with political intrigues and murders. What i like about a VH book is that the setting is always done so well i can even feel the real world in the book.
Some complaints about the story, though.(1) Conrad professes to love Philippa, yet never shows any hint of trust in her in the matter of her sister's marriage. (2)Only after seducing her does he let her know he can only keep her as his mistress and never even ask how she feels about it. That looks like cheating to me.(3)The story gets very redundant and repetitive halfway through. Whenever they meet, Conrad is forever whining that he loves Philippa, that he can't live without her; and Philippa is always busy thinking of how she is affected by him and whether she should stay with him or not.
Despite those problems, overall this book is still very enjoyable.

The book was sent quickly from the sender in very good condition like the sender had stated. I am very satisfied with the transaction.

I love the way this book is writen and presented. It makes it easier to learn and understand.

This book had many details that will help establish one's foundation of kinesiology. It is more advanced but is necessary for a graduate level course.

Useful book for PTs, not for LMTs. Book full of information if you like to know more about Kinesiology beyond massage school material

This text has great illustrations, but some of the writing is more simple than could be expected for doctoral students.

A well-written and coherent overview of the web design process and the specific requirements of web application design.

Some of the useful features of this book are
- well-selected examples
- a description of the product development process
- an excellent description (with examples) of how to develop and use "personas"
- guidelines for when and how to use specific models of interaction in a product
- simple, bullet-pointed summary guidelines for solving interaction and display design problems
- case studies at the end which are evaluated using criteria the author has developed throughout the book

I am a designer working in this field and this is the guide I would recommend for exploring and understanding the practice of web-application design.

Mr. Baxley has an insightful perspective illustrated in his "Universal Model of a User Interface." He simplifies the process of moving from conceptual to concrete interface design by deconstructing applications into two separate layers. The top layer contains the structure, behavior & presentation & the bottom layer contains more granular aspects of the top three. By explaining the key factors in designing each of these layers he makes it easier to understand & integrate all the aspects critical to interface design. If you don't have time to read Rosenfeld & Morville's Information Architecture, be sure to read this book as he covers a lot of key IA issues too, though he prefers to call it the "organizational model" behind an application.

This book is tattered from referencing it and has many passages underlined. Unlike some usability books it is organized in a manner that moves you through the design problem space. It begins with setting definitions and examining the possible forces behind these projects. Then Baxley dives into the meat of the design process through a 3 layered approach. He covers all the bases - from the user point of view to navigation, Help systems, forms, layout and shows how it alI fits into the models within the layers. It is well written, making points clear without repetitive passages. I would recommend this book for beginners and old hands. It is a great book, written following the usability rules he is propounding.

The back cover of the book states: "Most people involved in the design and specifications of Web applications, whether they're visual designers, engineers, or product marketers do not have a method for understanding or prioritizing design issues." I agree - however, I would add that those of us who are involved in usability testing / user research should also be added to the list. As a consultant working in the field of user research, I give my clients this book - the main reason being that it gives us a common vocabulary and way to think about how to conduct usability testing or user research at any stage of the Web development process. While not written to do so, the book actually provides a "template" for what needs to be tested / researched at each stage. This type of organized thinking can only help those of us in the trenches provide meaningful feedback. One request of the author - a sequel entitled "Applying the Principals of Making the Web Work to User Research" - (while not necessarily the best title - you get the idea!)

An impeccably-organized encyclopedia of web design.

If I had to base an entire web design class on a single book this would be the one. Bob Baxley's "Making the Web Work" is easily the most comprehensive manual for applying good design to create a great user experience on the web. This book has both breadth and depth-just look at the table of contents. Regardless of your level of web design proficiency you will find more than your money's worth of useful insight here (even if you have already read just about every other web design book!).

One thing I especially like about this book is that Bob doesn't provide a single solution for a design challenge, but takes time to present and evaluate (pro/con and why) several alternatives. He doesn't just feed you the "right" answers the way Jakob Nielsen does in his "Designing Web Usability." Bob's approach will help you gain a thorough understanding of the options and make informed design decisions.

The two case studies of Amazon and Ofoto included at the end of the book are the most comprehensive I have seen: they're about 30 pages each!

About the only gripe I have is that Bob takes the liberty of using lesser known versions of some terms without providing their more known synonyms. For example, while Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville have all but established the terms "ambiguous" and "exact" for the two types of classification schemes, Bob prefers to call them "subjective" and "objective," respectively, without providing the alternative terms. Similarly, "organization scheme" is replaced by "classification scheme", and "organization structure" with "model of association." My IA students have enough difficulty keeping one set of terms straight!

Overall, however, this one serious web design book. Highly recommended. Other books I liked: "Interface Design for Ecommerce Applications" by Paul Gokin (search for this one on the web), "Designing Web Site Interface Elements" by Eric Eaton, and "Submit Now: Designing Persuasive Websites" by Andrew Chak.

Due to ever degrading literary taste of our post-war generation, Stefan Zweig has been forgotten for few decades,in spite of the fact that the first half of the 20th century , Zweig was perhaps one of the most famous and popular authors in the world. He and compatriot Hugo von Hofmannsthal had almost pararell lives.They were both some sort of literary prodigies(Hofmannsthal and Zweig earned their fame in their teens).They began their literary careers as poets and ended up writing various kind of literary genres,including libretto for Strauss. Also both ended up committing suicide. Zweig wrote many memorable fictions ,but only one novel.And, this is "Beware of Pity".
The novel is a kaleidoscope of the Habsburg dual monarchy.Zweig's talent lays on his superb description of human psyche of each character and the representation of comtemporary time. this work well represents decaying , both morally and physically , Habsburg dual monarchy. It shows how anarchoronistic system of mores( of K.u.K) that led otherwise good natured and a bit simple minded Leutenant Hoffmiler conered to the desperate situation. Does Hoffmiler deserve his fate? read book and decide that by yourself. what amazed me was how well Zweig synchronized and symbolized tragic denoument of kekeskalva family with the outbreak of" the war to end all wars". This is both pcychological and historical drama par excellence.One of forgotten masterpiece that recently rediscovered. Thank you NYRB to bring Zweig back.

This is an intense, psychological drama, and a page-turner to boot! What's so great is the wonderful language, the "lofty" writing. I just loved every page, and our poor, tortured hero.

It's a fabulously written book about love instigated by pitty, which can be very dangerous. Worth reading as this kind of thing still happens every day.

...no, not the book by Dave Eggers, but this masterpiece by Stefan Zweig. I came upon this by accident, and bought it, intrigued by the story outline and the reviews below. Only very, very rarely does a book have the power to draw me into the lives of the characters, probably because they're usually just that - characters. Not so here. Here we have flesh and blood and all that entails. I'm still amazed at Zweig's story telling. He's the kind of writer who could make a shopping list fascinating. I lived and breathed every single word in this incredibly beautiful book, and, as has been said elsewhere, the tension becomes almost unendurable. I can hardly do justice to it in a few words. Weirdly, I often found myself smiling, not because it's a funny book, far from it, but just through an appreciation of Zweig's supreme mastery of his art. This is one of those books appearing only a few times in your life that wring emotion out of you whether you like it or not. A heart-breaking, unforgettable and life-enriching experience.

I'd also like to praise the translation, by Trevor and Phyllis Blewitt. At no time is there even a hint that you're reading a translation - something that occurred to me only after finishing the book. On the contrary, it seems to me that the elegance of the language and all the magnificent virtues that contribute to Zweig's humanity and genius have been faithfully rendered. The proof is in my twin disappointments; coming to the end, and learning that there are no further full-length novels by Zweig. I'll definitely be reading all his other works, though.

In the introduction to this book Joan Acocella tells Zweig's story as a writer. One of her claims is that despite his enormous popularity as biographer, essayist, writer of great novellas and stories, this novel is his masterpience. The novel is in essence the story of a feeling, of 'pity' of how it becoming the obsession and duty of the main character turns self- serving and destructive. Briefly , the book revolves around the relationship between a poor Austrian officer Hoffstein and a crippled seventeen year old daughter of a wealthy family Edith Kekesfalvas. After he has inadvertently insulted her by having asked her to dance he becomes bound into a relationship with her, in which she falls deeply in love with him without his truly reciprocating. This is how Acocella reads the protagonist's reasoning and its result after her doctor informs him that it would be disastrous for him to abandon her.

"So he descends ever deeper into hypocrisy. In the process, Zweig gives us a piercing analysis of the motives underlying pity. Gradually Hofmiller realizes how much he enjoys the courtesies paid to him for his emotional services, how it pleases him that when he arrives at the Schloss his favorite cigarettes--and also the novel (its pages already cut) that he had said in passing that he wanted to read--are laid out on the tea table. Nor is it lost on him that his own sense of strength is magnified by Edith's weakness and, above all, by his growing power over the Kekesfalvas, the fact that if he, a poor soldier, does not present himself at teatime, this great, rich household is thrown into a panic, and the chauffeur is dispatched to town to spy him out and see what he is doing in preference to waiting on Edith. Beyond the matter of power, however, Hofmiller finds that the emotion of pity is a pleasure just in itself. It exalts him, takes him to a new place. Before, as an officer, he was required only to obey orders and be a good fellow. Now he is a moral being, a soul."

This end in destruction is somehow a foreshadowing of what would happen to Zweig.Having been betrayed with the rise of the Nazis by the Europe he loves, tried to make a new home and life with his second wife in Brazil. But it does not work out and the both of them are found after having taken fatal overdoes of drugs hands intertwined.