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Book reviews for "Albaugh,_Ralph_M." sorted by average review score:

An Alternative Approach to Allergies: The New Field of Clinical Ecology Unravels the Environmental Causes of Mental and Physical Ills
Published in Paperback by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (January, 1980)
Authors: Theron G. Randolph and Ralph W. Moss
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Essential information for everyone
Dr. Theron Randolph was the foremost pioneer in his day of allergy theory, diagnosis, and treatment. Over the years, much has changed in the world of allergy treatment. Dr. Randolph's theories are still pretty solid, and give the layperson or medical professional a sound foundation for understanding allergy and chemical sensitivity. Everyone should be aware of the facts presented in this book, because everyone in the world is affected by the pollution in our world.

That said, the diagnosis methods Dr. Randolph used, though a vast improvement over what else was available at the time, are nowadays unnecessary. There are very gentle and quick methods for diagnosing allergies, but they are outside the scope of mainstream medicine.

The treatment methods are challenging, to say the least. Avoiding what you are allergic to seems like a no-brainer these days. However, it is far easier said than done, in fact, it borders on the impossible. Strict diets like the rotation diet mentioned in this book are very difficult to maintain, as well as socially isolating and psychologically exhausting.

There are ways for completely transforming allergies without injections or dilutions administered as drops under the tongue. Mainstream medicine, however, will never help you find these methods! Whether or not you are interested in subjecting yourself or your loved ones to the diagnosis and treatment delineated in this book, the understanding of allergies you can find here is invaluable. Highly recommended reading, though the treatment and diagnosis methods are not neccesarily recommended.

An interesting and provocative thesis,but
T. Randolph's book is filled with interesting and provocative ideas about food, allergies and addiction, however, his version of the rotation and is just about impossible to implement, even for the most disciplined. Although I anticipated finding a book about how people are affected by and deal with common environmental allergens (dust, mold, cats, etc.) or the odd food allergen (peanuts, etc.) it is mostly a discussion of how we are affected by eating a limited and repetitive diet.

comprehansive (enviromental and nutritional)anti allergy boo
this book was written by the father of the enviromental and nutritional allergy.it represents the causes of allergy and shows how it began (from enviroment&from wrong nutritional habits as well as from the chemicals in food).there is also a chemical quastionary in this book in order to detect the poisionous chemicals and a rotatory diet plus other explained tips and strategies against allergy.headache/deppresion/arthritis/ are only some of the diseases that are considered symptoms of food and or enviromental allergy. the ways that the author is sujesting in this book are very practical,and eventhough they demmand (at the begining of the plan)a lot of attention,it is very practical for the allergy sufferers=i as a orthomolecular-nutritionist see the resoults with my patients.very highly recommanded!


Represent Yourself in Court: How to Prepare & Try a Winning Case (Represent Yourself in Court, 4th Ed)
Published in Paperback by Nolo Press (February, 2003)
Authors: Paul Bergman, Sara J. Berman-Barrett, Ralph E. Warner, Lisa Guerin, and Mike Twohy
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Save your money!
You are probably thinking of buying this book to save the cost of attorneys fees. Take my advice and don't do it! This book is based on the premise that the court system is a place where actual rules apply and that you will receive some sort of respect (or at least your constitutional rights) from the arrogant swine who inhabit the system. Nothing could be further from the truth! "He who represents himself has a fool for a client" is true not because you are a fool but because the system is a farce and designed to make a fool out of you.All court system paid participants have a vested interest in guaranteeing that you not be allowed to represent yourself in court. The major failing of this book (written by attorneys) is to pretend that you will be accorded some respect and receive a fair hearing. Some of the preposterous suggestions include hiring an attorney at a reduced fee to act as your advisor! (I will give $1000 to anyone able to find an attorney to act in such a capacity) Other absurd suggestions: that you can demand a fair hearing and complain to higher authorities that will insure you receive it.(no, they are all part of the system). This book cost me thousands. I asked for a refund from the authors.......guess what?, they refused.

A Good, but necessarily limited, intro to the legal system
Overall, I'd give this a positive rating, but since it's written for all 50 states, it is so broad in its coverage that it makes it difficult to learn about how to pursue your lawsuit in your particular state.

I'd suggest reading this book and trying to fill out forms as you go. Pick up the 'local rules' from your own court, and study them for what Bergman doesn't tell you.

One thing I will say, though, is that one bit of advice was invaluable...on visiting the court before your motion or case is heard. I did this, and it took a lot of the mystery out of the whole process.

By doing this, by the way, I was completely surprised that (in the motion hearings) that most of what took place was pretty much on a par with small claims court, with a few legal latin phrases peppering the give-and-take. Most of the motions I heard consisted of two things: Why one or the other party failed to meet deadlines, and trying to get the other guy's case thrown out before everyone went to trial.

One other thing that was also surprising...the opposing lawyers where pretty buddy-buddy with each other. I guess the hostility and animosity that one would associate with a lawsuit pretty much reside only in the parties to the suit themselves.

In my appearance, I took it very cool and did not act emotional at all. Let's face it...the court doesn't want to hear it. They just want to get done so they can go to lunch.

Represent Yourself in Court
This book gives an understandable rendition of the various legal
procedures involved in bringing a major lawsuit into the Court
system. It is most helpful in assisting litigants with case
organization and presentation. The work explains how to document
a case throughout the various phases of a lawsuit with particular
emphasis on presentation of exhibits for trial. The work is
written in a belles lettres style. It could be read by anyone
wanting to understand the litigation process, as well as
law students taking courses in Civil Litigation. The book could
be useful in organizing a case so that a lawyer could pick it
up at a later time. Very often, the details of a claim may not
be fully known until the deposition process has been completed.
I would supplement this book with the purchase of a Civil
Procedure book if the intention is to complete the entire process
right through to trial. This work focuses on the documentation
you will need to develop in order to prove a case at trial.
The work has a good coverage of negotiation strategies.
Ultimately, it is in your interest to deal with a lawyer during
a formal negotiation in order to ascertain that you've secured
a fair deal.It pays to become familiar with a local legal
library as a supplement to this text. In addition, you should
utilize the internet in order to review similar cases
in the various Court jurisdictions relating to your case.
Sometimes it pays to talk to a lawyer who has completed a similar
case in order to gain perspective on the intricacies of the
whole process. This text gives you a good start.
It would be most helpful in organizing the type of case
that only develops after the deposition process is complete.
Early in the litigation, you should do some research in order
to identify cases similar to yours that have been decided.
The past precedent or stare decisis is very critical to
presenting a claim because it encapsules your case into
a similar fact pattern consistent with other cases that have
been decided by the Courts.It is to your benefit to do legal
research in identifying similar cases to your own either by
going into the legal libraries yourself, researching the
internet or paying a small fee for a legal research firm
to identify similar cases as the one you are filing.


The Wto: Five Years of Reasons to Resist Corporate Globalization (Open Media Pamphlet Series)
Published in Paperback by Seven Stories Press (January, 2000)
Authors: Lori Wallach, Michelle Sforza, Ralph Nader, and Michele Sforza
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great for beginers sorta preaching to the choir for others
this is just a begining to the atrocity of the WTO. it will give you great insight to its real workings kept secret by the corporate owned media. sorta old stuff for people who already know about the WTO

Not as strong as the complete book, but a good intro
The complete textbook, "Whose Trade Organization?" is a remarkably potent, relentlessly-documented beast of a book, which I wish more people had the time and inclination to read. This smaller edition lacks the potency and punch of the parent text, but manages to still encompass most of the critical data.

If a book is going to be abridged like this one, chances are that it's intended for mildly curious readers who want to know, "just what are they protesting about the WTO anyway?", rather than for the scholar or intellectual activist. But I'm afraid that this book forgets its likeliest audience. For such an audience, the more effective approach would have been to describe the most extreme and outrageous WTO scenarios, leaving the reader outraged at the moral and political injustices! Instead, this book gives brief desriptions of these, and then mixes in more technical (yet abridged) histories and terms and procedural issues with the WTO. In short, it left in too much of the nuts-and-bolts when it should have displayed more of the outrageous effects on human rights, environment, national sovereinty, labor, toxins, etc.

A second shortcoming is that the book assumes its reader is sympathetic to such concerns (environment, labor, culture, etc.). What we need is a book directed at Conservatives, explaining to them why the WTO is an insult to conservative values by supplanting the laws created by a sovereign nation, overwhelming our Constitution in favor of corporate-managed meddling, and actually defying the concept of "free trade" with shockingly-entrenched meddling from an organization that does not have the U.S.'s sovereign interests in mind.

People's Primer on Main Obstacle to Self-Governance


Lori Wallach has got to be on her way to a Nobel Prize. She has hit an exposed nerve of the corporate system, and illuminated it in a manner that moves tens of thousands. This book, a very short version of a much longer study, is very cogent and well-documented. The bottom line is clear: the WTO operates in secrecy, for the convenience of corporations, and is systematically undermining and overturning higher standards of protections and sanctions related to the protection of children, public safety, and the environment.

It merits comment that Wallach (and her lesser known co-author, Michelle Sforza) would never have reached as many people with their thinking in the absence of the Open Media Pamphlet Series. This series is addictive, brilliant, and consistently cuts to the heart of major issues.


Digital Image Processing
Published in Hardcover by Addison-Wesley Pub Co (April, 1992)
Authors: Rafael C. Gonzalez, Richard E. Woods, and Ralph C. Gonzalez
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Serious Image Processing for Students and Practitioners
This volume covers the waterfront of image processing from a reasonable introductory level. Refreshingly, it is much more than a cookbook. The authors pay attention to the physical principles that imaging and image manipulation are based on. With many quality images and examples, there is much for the less mathematically inclined to cut their teeth on while brushing up on their advanced math skills. The inclusion of many well chosen problems makes the book a valuable volume in a student's library. The book's associated web-site is a major bonus for the reader. I did find that some of the figure captions were challenging to interpret but the problem does not seem pervasive. Overall, I liked the book. It is a valuable addition to the image processing literature and to the image processing textbook selection.

A non-commonly found textbook on Digital Image Processing
I've been a senior researcher in Image Processing for more than 20 years, and my opinion of the book Digital Image Processing of Gonzalez and Woods, is that it is significantly superior to current books on image processing. The contents of the books are in the mainstream of work in this field, and the level of coverage is complete and written at a level that makes it an ideal textbook for seniors and first-year graduate students. The experience of the authors shows through in the way the material is presented and illustrated. The complementary web site is an outstanding teaching aid.

A very good textbook
As a computer engineering senior with a strong interest in image processing and vision, I found this book very helpful.

The exemples are varied and interesting, the maths are easy to understand and the design is very clear. Obviously, it supposes the reader has some mathematical background, but nothing impossible for an undergraduate student.

It is also very complete: it goes from very basic image processing concepts (defining pixels, the RGB format) to more complex topics like pattern recognition and wavelet compression.


Growing Up King: An Intimate Memoir
Published in Digital by Warner Books ()
Authors: Ralph Wiley and Dexter Scott King
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Routine autobiography, nothing new to add to the King aura
This is NOT a story about Martin Luther King, Jr...But then again, it is! With such an imposing aura and legendary persona that Martin possesses even in death, it would be extremely hard for anyone trying to extract meaningful context without him playing a prominent role to analyze anything for or against it. GROWING UP KING is Dexter Scott King's story. He being the youngest of Martin's four children, sets out to give revelations for the first time what it was like growing up within the huge monolithic shadow of greatness, and how his fathers' maxims continue to inspire and inform his own ideas on race matters. I would imagine amid the aura of being a member of such a prominent family it would behoove one to set a sustained agenda to carve a preferred path. With this book, you'd think that definitions would be finally told in the first person. I wanted to be rational as I read this book and try not to compare the Martin of yesteryear to what his offspring needed to bring forth. But to do this, I knew I had to do so with an open mind. Thus, I read it with mixed emotion, and tried to be objective in attaining a reasonable view to support the author's intent, and more importantly, to see if certain truths would come forth to quell rumor, and set the record straight on a multitude of issues. Most notably the controversy surrounding The King Center for Non-Violent Social Change.

I came away with a feeling of loss, as if something truly was missing that wasn't said that should have been. I kept looking for reasons to give standing ovations to a member of this family who had the courage to give insight to all questions the public wanted answered. For those looking for insight that hasn't been before public domain, there may be something that Dexter espouses that may warrant merit. File this one on the shelf with the rest of the books written about the King family legacy. I rate this book above average, but still worthy of a read if nothing more than to give chance to this scion who endeavor to be his own man.

MOVING BEYOND THE SHADOW
The progeny of great men and women are usually compared to their venerable parent. Such is the case in the Martin Luther King, Jr. family. Since his death a microscope has been placed over his children comparing them to him. Dexter, the second son and third child of King attempts to break out of the shadow of his father and reveals to us his hopes, dreams and aspirations for himself and his family. Dexter's text is a good try but fails in its efforts.

Growing Up Kings gives the reader the perspective of a child raised in the Martin Luther King, Jr. family. Dexter reveals the challenges that he faced in living under the shadow of a famous father. We as readers are shown the stresses and pressures put upon the family as they faced tragedy after tragedy but continued on with the dream as articulated by King. Dexter does a fair job in sharing with us some of his family's personal matters but is very restrained in critiquing the actions of his mother and other civil rights icons.

As you walk through the narrative, you will find Dexter repeating himself and giving the reader a history of the civil rights movement. He shares his foibles but was again there is a restraint in his revelations. Just how much is Dexter telling us that is true? Our author seems to never be able to stand on his own two feet without invoking the shadow of the King family over his life.

The best part of the book is his explanation regarding the safeguarding of M.L.K Jr.'s speeches and intellectual property that is not in the public domain. You will learn that there is another side to the story and Dexter tells it well. You also receive a bit of insight regarding the functionairies of the King Center and how Dexter chose to resign his position as president rather than become a puppet.

Like many people I was attracted to this book due to the nature of its contents. Who wouldn't want to know what it is like growing up under Martin Luther King, Jr.? Dexter's story was interesting but lacked a greater depth in terms of his own vision for the future beyond his family. He appeared to be trapped in the King mystique although he tried to become his own man. The book neglected any full scale treatment of his relationships with his mother and siblings. Yes, he throws tidbits concerning his failed love relationships but those appear to be mere diversions to keep up your interest. In general we are given a decent perspective of the King family.Hopefully a more definitive portrait of the family will come from the rest of his siblings.

Finally their side of the story
I read this book by Dexter King, but I have also read Growing Up X. There were some similarities between both books, but there were some differences also. I had heard some of the rumors and speculation about the King family trying to milk Dr. King's legacy in the monetary sense. However, Dexter does a good job of clearing things up about how much time and money is spent protecting his father's legacy due to the fact that some individuals and corporations believe and/or assume that Dr. Kings' speeches and papers are public property and can use them for monetary profit. I agree whole heartly with the King family in protecting their father's legacy including all of his speeches and writings. The thing that stood out the most to me pertaining to this issue was that we as blacks in America discount great black thinkers, intellectuals and people who take a stance in the black community. We have a belief that our black intellects work such Dr King, Malcolm X and Medgar Evers is not as valuable as compared to that of their white counter parts such as Nixon, Kennedy or Bush.

Dexter King also gives us some insight into how he grew up near housing projects in Vine City, attended a exclusive private school then public high school, and life at Morehouse. I had no ideal that Dexter's mother currently lives in Vine City, because gossips have always said she was living in a huge mansion in Buckhead. Next Dexter talks about his love life, but never gives any names but calls one serious girlfriend "Mon Ami." I would recommend this book to anyone trying to find out more about the King family.


Biology : The Unity and Diversity of Life
Published in Paperback by International Thomson Publishing (1995)
Authors: Cecie Starr, Jackson, and Ralph Taggart
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Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life
This book is far too wordy and repetitive and could have been half as thick. It weights over 4 pounds and is very heavy to carry around.

Very often the point of a sentence is lost in the verbiage. Some basic explanations are repeated several times, whilst many more important things are left unexplained.

Many of the pictures appear to have been chosen because they are 'cool' rather than relevant to the text and just sidetrack the reader.

Some of the examples are incredibly stupid. One, at p. 18, under the heading, "Critical Thinking", 2., gives the story of a turkey that learned to equate footsteps with the provision of food. One one day the footsteps led to the turkey having its head chopped off. The text explains that the turkey learned the hard way. In fact the turkey learned nothing, as by then it was dead.

The glossary is inadequate and misses out too many new and important terms.

The answers given to the quizzes do not always agree with the text, for example, Chapter 2 Self Quiz Question 1 asks what charge is carried by an electron. The correct answer, as given at page 24, is "Negative," but the answer list in Appendix III gives it incorrectly as "Positive." Many instructors lift questions and answers from the book for on-line exams. Does the student then give the incorrect answer as per Appendix III to get the point or the correct answer, knowing that it will very likely be graded as "wrong"? Another example is in the quiz to Chapter 5, question 2.

Looking at the list of credits, it lookas if too many people have had a hand in the book and as a result it has been spoilt.

I would not recommend this book.

Basic
Extremely basic with inconsistant layout. Entire sections will be printed with a blue background, for example, that look more like a special topics box then text. In several cases the text reuses its stock photos in several unrelated sections. The text illustrates points that clearly do not need illustration (Do you know what water looks like? There is a photo of it if you need it. ) and ignores others (the beta and alpha linkages of glucose) after dicussing them. Good for high school student concepts but unacceptably uncomprehensive for college.

Homeschoolers Take Note!
This is a fantastic text for homeschooling. Each concept is introduced, discussed, and wrapped up in a 2-page spread. This is *not* the dry bio text you remember from high school. It is fascinating enough that I find myself stealing it from my daughter's room. Perfect for a science-loving homeschooler who is hungry for advanced texts at an earlier age because the setup is conducive to parental participation and discussion. However, be advised it is written from an evolutionary point of view if you are inclined to avoid this emphais. And of course there's that really cool picture of the monkey fighting the cheetah ;)


Storage Area Networks: Designing and Implementing a Mass Storage System
Published in Paperback by Prentice Hall PTR (September, 2000)
Authors: Ralph H. Thornburgh and Barry J. Schoenborn
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Good for a HP Shop
The book is good for learning about SAN if you know nothing about it right now. But it has a lot of HP product marketing in it. It is also quite theoretical for example, does not tell me anything about cost of implementing a SAN.

Nice introduction for beginners
This book has a nice overview and is certainly interesting if you never had to do with SANs before. Like its predecessor, FibrChannel for Mass Storage, the book is VERY HP oriented and most useful if you live in an HP farm. Otherwise, I'd recommend the Clarks Book as well.

Good entry level book, look elsewhere if your experienced
If you have never spent much time with SANS this is a good place to start. Gives good explainations on why SANs are used and the various alternatives. The HP slant is a little bothersome without information on competitive comparisons. Illustrations are so-so, but suffice. Gives some history of storage, explainations on Fibre Channel, and insite into SANs. Again, if you have exposure to this stuff it will be mostly review. The book by Clark is probably just as good and half the price.


Chance and Chaos
Published in Audio Cassette by Audio Scholar (May, 1996)
Authors: David Reulle, David Ruelle, and Ralph Cosham
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Outdated/inaccurate and self-indulgent; little of value
Who knows why Ruelle felt compelled to write this book? He makes a lot of sweeping statements about fields he doesn't have a mastery over. Only tangentially does he bring in chaos, and he doesn't bother staying on any point long enough to add any insight on any of the issues presented. It's such a weak book that it doesn't even have "brainstorming value" -- the collection of ideas is limited in breadth and depth. Perhaps in 1991 it was fashionable to come up with books like this; having read it in 1999, I found little of value.

Good introduction to chaos theory
It's nice to be hearing how a physicist places chaos theory in its place amongst possible explanations for natural phenomena. He doesn't oversell chaos, and doesn't undersell it. Not too big a tome -- a good read.

Ruelle's Chance and Chaos
This is the best popular book on chaos, dynamic systems, and entropy that I have ever read, by one of the pioneers of this field. I have remarked in my reviews of Gribbin, Kaku, and others that Creative Geniuses in science (unlike Ingenious Followers who are so abundant) inspire others and themselves often by popularizing science in ordinary English. It is a good sign if they do this often, but sometimes they only do it seldom or never. Ruelle, as far as I know, only did it once, in this book, and the reader who loses the opportunity to obtain this book has lost a classic. Ruelle inspired me at an important place in my career (my fields are related to the probability-logic-entropy-physics interface). I am especially fond of recalling his description of how extremely new creations or inventions are typically received in science: journal reviewers will usually contradict each other in their haste to oust the newcomer. There are still journals which do not touch chaos, entropy, dynamic systems, fractals, not to mention my own field of logic-based probability.


The Yellow Jersey
Published in Paperback by Breakaway Books (June, 1996)
Author: Ralph Hurne
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Good read if you can get through the first half
I have to say in the end, I really did enjoy this book. I also have to say I'm a road cyclist. I came close to putting this book down several times during the first half. It is tough to take all of Hume's ridiculous, dated (70's), English sexist colloquial jargon. At times it is impossible for an American to understand. This book would really benefit from a bit of current editing.

That being said, the book really picks up when the Tour starts, and Hume's descriptions of the stages is riveting, original, and unpredictable.

It would be a far better book if he would have dropped all the romantic/sexual nonsense and concentrate on the cycling, which he so masterfully portrays.

Slow to get to the point but....
I am a recreational road cycling enthusiast and to be honest I picked up this book because one of the reviews on the cover said "the greatest cycling novel written"...I was curious. Although I did go through reading the entire book on a Sunday I must agree with some of the other online reviews here...The first half of the book is kind of slow and of little interest (if one has picked up this book to read about cycling!). My advice is to 'speed-read' the first half and the second half is sure to keep you riveted and not want to put the book down. I got some great insights into competitive cycling and the "Tour".

A Cult Classic with Quirks
Saying this is "the greatest cycling novel ever written" is like saying "This is the finest book of haiku about bowling". What's the competition?

That gripe aside, this is a book that is at its best when describing cycling, yet the author gamely tries to put cycling into the context of a life. Terry Davenport is (in his own words) "a bit of a lad" (American translation: Ladies' Man). He has Austin Powers' sensibilities about the sexual revolution (sometimes when describing women he refers to them as "it"). He spends a good deal of his non-racing life trying to juggle simultaneous affairs with 3 women.

Davenport's arrested Peter Pan existence is given one more chance at the Tour De France, and this is where the author really shines. You are taken inside the mind of a rider, the exhaustion, and the courage needed to keep pedaling. I found myself riveted by the end of the book.

Not a great novel, but a decent one. It would be 3 stars on character developement, but 4 stars for the riveting cycling descriptions.


Merde: Excursions in Scientific, Cultural, and Socio-Historical Coprology
Published in Paperback by Random House Trade Paperbacks (May, 1999)
Author: Ralph A. Lewin
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It's OK, but not worth the price.
Overall, this book was a mildly interesting, quick read, probably suitable for a weekend around the house. I found myself, however, mildly fatigued due to the awkwardly strung together facts, as if they were simply plucked from their sources and placed on paper with a minimum of effort. Unfortunately, except for a few points, any information in this book isn't "new" and could probably be found, with some effort, in encyclopedia's, National Geographic, etc. In my opinion, I would be willing to pay as much as seven dollars for this book, however, not the publisher's price, demanded by such obvious esoteric subject matter.

Good bathroom reading, but that's about it...
Lewin's research has an amazing breadth, and his organization is amazingly bad. You'll be exposed to more random bits of information about feces than you ever expected.

The sorting of information into chapters is not bad, but the structure of those chapters is stunningly awful. Facts and two sentence anecdotes are thrown together willy-nilly with no thought as to how to connect them. Lewin jumps from Hippos to Amtrack trains between sentences. I have no idea how he decided where to begin new paragraphs.

Other than that, this is a fascinating book. It is ideal for when you are on the toilet, doing your business, and have a few minutes to read -- open it anywhere and read for while: you don't have to worry about not finishing a section, or forgetting where you were because there is no logical structure.

This book is in the bathroom where I work, and the entire office loves it, often discussing it at lunch. Put it in your bathroom, and amaze your guests.

Perhaps Lewin wanted to write a book about bowel movements for when you are having one... if so, this was genius.

Most informative book I've seen on the subject
For those who have no fear of the subject, Merde is a wondrous look deep into the world of faeces. Often humorous and always infromative, Lewin surveys the human and animal world of excretions. Great book to read aloud to your friends, should you find you have too many.


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