Born into a country beset by chaos and wars--both civil and world II--Dr. Ryu overcame it all through sheer courage and determination.Immigrating to America,Dr.Ryu faced a different set of challanges--discrimination and institutional indifference to patient care. Through it all he maintained his integrity and his sense of justice to ultimately win in the end.

An engrossing story of how the interplay of character,integrity,determination and courage can lead to both personal and professional achievement.

Dr. Ryu gives a rare peek into Korean life before, during, and after Communist occupation of North Korea. Beginning with a personal account of the uprooting of his family, the ensuing saga that developed once he decided to immigrate to the U.S. gives us all a new perspective on American culture as well. His idealistic dreams of success and a peaceful life in this "land of opportunity" remained steadfast despite obstacles and unfair practices that threatened to sour his attitude. But "inspiration, aspiration, and perspiration" kept this man of integrity unshaken and optimistic. His unconventional choices included marrying a feisty Italian woman, and together creating a whole new world that surmounted all cultural barriers and embodied the American dream. An emotional, exciting, and thoroughly satisfying reading experience.

The Nigger of the "Narcissus," though not Conrad's best work, is perhaps the best introduction to his work. Many of the themes he would explore in his subsequent works are addressed in this one; for example the psychological struggle with the incomprehsible and the problem of memory vs. reality. This work also has political overtones: the conservative captain and mates vs. the laboring crew as typified by the loathsome Donkin. It is a psychological tale and though it can probably be read in one sitting, it probably would be most enjoyable being read for the second or third time, as would most of Conrad's works.

Joseph Conrad is not the most straightforward author in the world and, for this reason, many find his works more difficult than they really are. Indeed he is not for everyone. However, one should read his texts closely two or three times before denigrating them, for there is much to be cherished within his oeuvre.

In my opinion, NIGGER OF THE NARCISSUS by Joseph Conrad is one of the truly great novels in English. It goes on the list with such works as THE GREAT GATSBY, TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES, PASSAGE TO INDIA,and MOBY DICK. It is fascinating, gripping, deep, and entertaining. It defies description, analysis, or summary. (Nevertheless Doug Anderson in his review has done a pretty good job, so I won't even try.)

I don't like writing reviews of great literary works, but not everyone may be familiar with Conrad's NIGGER OF THE NARCISSUS and what a wonderful novel it is. ... I had no expectations about it and was taken completely by surprise. NIGGER OF THE NARCISSUS is not just another good novel. It is a masterpiece of literature.

Joseph Conrad provides a memory from life of the sea in the waning days of square-rigged ships. How far that age is gone is illustrated by the rebuilt Constitution. When she was gotten out in recent years after her reconstruction she really wasn't put under full sail--you couldn't assemble a crew to do so in the USA.

Conrad suggests he was among the crew but at other times assumes the stance of an omniscient observer (as when he reports that conversation between Donkin and Jim Wait in the closed deck house). Yet he does this in other novels and I can live with it for the reward of his evocation of the sea--at least I think it's a realistic evocation of the sea, I who have voyaged only in air conditioned cruise ships and a small inland sail boat.

More important than Conrad's nautical narration is his penetration into the psyche of nearly everyone on board. The first customer reviewer was wrong to say that "the loathsome Donkin" stands for the crew and to align the novel with political literature. A great humanistic work cannot be demeaned to the status of a political analysis, at least this one can't.

The last pages of the novel are as melancholy a picture of the vanished men of a dead age as I can imagine. They have undergone three fates (except for Donkin, who of course succeeds): death at sea, death by land, and transfer to a steam vessel, the latter equated with a sort of death.

Even the material remnants of that age are fragmentary and unsatisfactory, a few ships in dock as museum specimens and the great East India docks transformed to the trendy "Docklands" development.

Look Homeward Angel has for decades been a standard coming of age book read devotedly by people in their late teens and early twenties. Over the years, stories developed concerning the amount of cutting that editor Maxwell Perkins (who also edited Hemingway and Fitzgerald) did on the book. The accepted wisdom was that Perkins pulled a masterpiece out of a huge, unpublishable manuscript. This edition, which is based on Wolfe's orginial manuscript and uses his chosen title, shows that while Perkins did help to shape the book, the text that he began with was not the monstrosity it was later believed to be. Some of the cuts Perkins made, such as W.O. Gant's memories of Gettysburg, would appear in Of Time and the River, and Perkins later admitted that he was wrong to cut it. Other material that one reads for the first time seems less important. Overall, I did not find the book to be that different from Look Homeward Angel. It shows both Wolfe's strengts and weaknesses, his abiliy to create Whitmanesque passages, and to engage in self-indulgent prose. I agree with the other reviewers that it is unfortunate that this book so quickly was allowed to go out of print. Whichever version you read, this is a book best read before you are 30.

I first re read Look Homeward Angel,( which I had not read for almost 50 years) then O Lost. I think that the original manuscript is far superior to the edited version, that was originally published. Certainly the introduction is excellant and sets the stage for W.O.Gant's odessey. Admittedly, some editing would be helpful, to make a smoother transition from one chapter to another, but only minor ones, not the radical surgery that was actually done.

I think that Wolfe realized this, and that was why he changed publishers. I look forward to the unedited manuscripts of the Web and the Rock, and You can't go home again.

My only problem is that during the period when I first read these novels, I have had medical and particularly psychiatric training. It is obvious that W.O. suffered from severe bipolar or manic depressive psychosis. With modern treatment, he would have been a happier man, or at least those around him would have had better lives. But then perhaps Thomas Wolfe would not have been the writer that he was to become.

What a wonderful book. It's too bad so many readers today know only Tom Wolfe, not Thomas Wolfe. Even though it has been at least 10 years since reading Look Homewood Angel, I knew almost immediately when I came to the new sections. They add a depth to the novel, bringing in the whole town and relatives, rather being only about Eugene Gant. My favorite Wolfe readings involve trains; the experience about time stopping for a moment when you look into the eyes of someone looking directly at you into the train, is exactly as I remember my earlier train rides.What are they doing now, that the train has passed? Other 800 page books might be dull, but not this one. Having been given it as a present recently, I am very surprised and disappointed that it is already 'out of print." More people should know about O Lost!

Once I started The Skin Game, I could not put it down. It was a great and funny read, I laughed out loud many times. I look forward to Mr. Wilkins providing some more laughs in his next book.

The type of book you don't want to put down untiil it is finished. Keeps one laughing throughout. A must read for anyone who ever visits Atlantic City. Even more entertaining for those of us who knew the city before the casinos came.

Treat yourself to the comic escapades of a variety of eccentric characters playing their own game within a dubious justice system. I laughed out loud reading this book. You will too!

'Tis true my form is something odd
but blaming me is blaming God,
Could I create myself anew
I would not fail in pleasing you.

If I could reach from pole to pole
or grasp the ocean with a span,
I would be measured by the soul -
the mind's the standard of the man.

I bought this book many years ago, unfortunately I made the mistake of lending it to someone and I never got it back. This is a remarkable book. I was touched by Joseph Merrick years ago. For the past nine years, I have been running the Joseph Carey Merrick Tribute Website. It is a site dedicated to Joseph, the person - not Joseph, the disability. I'm presently heading a London and Leicester (UK) campaign to have a commemorative plaque erected in his honour. He deserves to have a permanent tribute. He has done a great deal to advance medical science, through his skeleton, and thanks to him, there will one day be a cure for Proteus Syndrome. It's time the world said 'thank you'. Please give your moral support by visiting the site. I'm not sure if web addresses can be mentioned here, so simply type the following in your web browser: Joseph Carey Merrick Tribute Website

I inherited this book from a deceased family member. I had heard about David Lynch's movie about The Elephant Man, but I never saw it. Reading this book made me cry and empathize with Joseph Carey Merrick for his condition and the ostractize he received from the world based on his looks and not his soul.

Joseph Carey Merrick was the real Elephant Man not a fictional character. Joseph had a loving mother that died when he was a child and his father moved and remarried. His step-mother didn't like him and scorned him for his looks and his inability to find work due to his lameness, telling him that what she fed him was more than he earned. Eventually he refused to return home for meals because he didn't want to listen to step-mother barate him anymore. His father stopped looking for him, but did get him a hawker's license to hawk wares on the street. But people were afraid of him and would not buy his wares, and he acquired a gathering of curious people around him. His uncle gave him shelter for a while, but Joseph left there too. He worked in the workhouse a place of refuge and work for the poor and destitute for 3 years, but hated it and left. He ended up being exhibited as a sideshow freak under the name of "The Elephant Man" because his congenital deformity made it so that he resemble that of an elephant (or so the posters showed him to resemble). When he was at Whitechapel Road, across the street from the London Hospital Dr. Treves saw him for the first time and brought him to the hospital to examine him. Over the next few years Joseph was exhibited, his managers robbed him of his life savings and left. Joseph went back to Whitechapel Road and to the care of the only friend he knew . . . Dr. Treves. He spent his remaining years under the friendship and care of the staff at the London Hospital.

I loved this story. Michael Howell and Peter Ford told a true and compassionate account of Joseph Merrick's life. A man who was like any other human being with hopes and dreams with one setback.. His congenital deformity that prohibited his ability to be like, and experience and sleep lying down on his back like other people. Through all of years and hardships, Joseph was scared, but kind and kept a calm serenity inside himself about his condition. He had so much gratitude for the staff and his new friends who helped him, he made cardboard models and sent these things to those people who saw to his care in his appreciation for their help. The book also includes pictures how Merrick looked when he was admitted to the London Hospital, and a display of his skeleton after death.

I first read the original article on the elephant man Joseph Merrick by Dr Treves in a magazine in the mid 1970s. I then saw the movie in 1980. The movie peaked my interest for further info so I bought the book. The book not only goes into extensive detail of the disease but goes also extensively into Joseph Merrick's life as well as life in the Victorian era as it effected the common man. The imagery of the period was brought out by the writers: the London Hospital, the surrounding area, the showmen and their lives, etc. The research was very detailed, although later after the book's publication we learned of the possibility that Merrick suffered from Proteus and not pneumofibromatosis. This book should be read by anybody interested in these diseases as well as anybody interested in this time period.

Heinrich Zimmer: Very knowledgable indologist. The book: Presenting hinduism, buddhism and tantrism in a colloquial way. Main weight is on hinduism which is presented according to the kama, artha, dharma, moksha pattern. The tendency is to eulogize hinduism, which is not typical for an indologist. The author has a good writing style and shows a lot of his knowledge in this book. He could not finish the book during his lifetime, so the part about tantrism had to be completed according to his notes by others. If someone does not like vedanta, the book may seem to be onesided to him. For me, this was just the right side.

After reading both JN Mohanty's Classical Indian Philosophy and Zimmer's Philosophies of India, I definitely favor the later. He exposes the philosophy of India mainly through religion and history, which makes this massive book much more readable than one would expect... that he takes the questionable liberty of associating sankya/yoga, jainism, and buddhism as having a common pre-aryan origin, but it is not made without support, and ultimately has little effect on the quality of the work. Ample quotations from a range of origional documents are provided (vedas, upanisads, bhagavad-gita, buddhist and jain sutras, etc.) Definitely recommended.

The book, of course, is a classic.

Heinrich Zimmer intended this book, and fortunately Joseph Campbell proved the midwife for what would otherwise have been an intellectual stillborn child, due to the former's untimely passing.

My copy was a first edition hardcover: a lovely book to hold and touch.

To my thinking, this book is THE first, (and perhaps final), reference for those interested in the depths and subtleties of the Hindu tradition. I have never found a more accessible and enjoyable read on the broad topic of Indian Spirituality.

The history of Hindu religious development, and the import of its symbols, are nicely embellished throughout with the relevant Sanskrit terminology, which adds a considerable pleasure in the course of the read, especially when Zimmer describes the rich philosophical texture of these terms. One is immediately reminded of the difficult translational passage on leaving the psychologically rich Greek language for our practical, utilitarian English. Zimmer nicely bridges this gap.

Further, the reader is never at a loss to follow the scholarly exposition of ideas.

The presentation nicely dovetails with Campbell's own work in comparative religion and mythology, and for anyone that appreciates his clarity and articulate manner of presentation, or has unhappily fallen back from unsuccessful attempts to appreciate the broad outlines and import of the philosophies of India, this book is simply a gem.

My only proviso is that the book does become mildly tedious toward the middle, as historical minutiae begin to proliferate. Nevertheless, if this topic interests you, be sure to consult Philosophies of India first; it is most certainly an excellent primer.

Lets face it, string theory is a difficult subject. But the only reason this book is the best string theory text is because they are all lousy. What it comes down to is string theory is too new for a good textbook writer to have tackled the task. What has happened, is string theory is currently populated by a small group of elite geniuses. So some of these elite geniuses take to writing a book, which turns out to be clear to other geniuses, but maybe not so clear to others, who are nonetheless capable of learning the theory. This happens in all fields, you will find that modern quantum mechanics books are much more readable than volumes written by the founders of the theory. Polchinski has clear writing, but can you solve the problems? If it seems clear but solving the problems is a mystery, it isn't a good book. Why can't people put in lots of examples? Why can't they include solutions to at least odd numbered problems? If they went to all the trouble to write the book they could at least do that. After all the goal is to teach, not to be mysterious. What needs to happen is some physicist with a talent for writing needs to A)Write an undergraduate level text on field theory, and B)write a more accessible book about string theory aimed at people who aren't at the level of Weinberg intelligence wise.

This book succeeds in what seems to be the impossible. It actually presents a clear, up to date, and entertaining version of a field that is still very much in a state of active research and is still, after all these years, on quite uncertain ground. By studying this, the reader who thinks intelligently about the material presented will be able to form his/her own opinions on this still somewhat controversial topic and will be able to converse intelligently with others who have opinions on the topic. I know that for me personally, this text opened up beautiful ideas which, to a large extent, are still unexplored. Before I read this book, my gut feelings about the topic were that it was rather dubious at best, but now that I understand (I think) the basic ideas of the field, I feel quite comfortable in it, indeed almost as if it is completely natural. What I think is one of the best things about this book is that it does not assume the pretense that string theory is on firm ground, that everything is quite certain and that string theory HAS to be the final theory of nature in all its glory. I find this attitude EXTREMELY pretensious and annoying. Instead, it simply covers what we know about string theory, and explains in detail just why it is consistent, and why it offers an explanation for what we see in nature. In short, it leaves just enough room for the imagination of an intelligent reader to philosophize as to the meaning of the theory and as to its ultimate place in nature
As for practical details, it seems to me that the reader should at the very least have a firm understanding of Quantum Field Theory (at least at the level of Weinberg's first volume, see my review on that modern masterpiece), and to a lesser extent of General Relativity, before even attempting to tackle this. I know that I myself, despite the fact that I have read several texts on QFT, had to reread several sizeable chunks of the book to fully digest it.

Polochinski presents upto date developments (mostly in 2nd volume) in string theory such as D-branes and dualities that are not discussed in Green, Witten, Schwarz's Superstring theory text. However, I found GWS's arguments easier to follow because they were intuitively and physically motivated. Although Polchinski's books lack physical insights, he more than makes up for them by completeness of the material, mathematical rigor and helpful exercises. However, I highly recommend that you first get Di Francesco's conformal field theory and read chapters 3-7 , 10 and 12 to get a better feel for stuff like state-operator mappings, Virasoro algebra, OPE's, etc. Although Polchinski claims the books are pretty much self-contained, I would say QFT (probably around lvl of 1st vol. of Weinberg) and GR are min prereq and some knowledge of SUSY, rep. theory of Lie alg, alg. toplogy wouldn't hurt. Lastly, the first edition had many many typos but corrections are frequently updated and you can download them through a website whose address is given in the book (the address in the book has a typo and should read "ucsb").

After capturing relationships in a truly beautiful way, O'Connor had to go and spoil everything by going all Tarantino. What could have been a truly great book sacrificied to fashion.

Tautly written, with the kind of wry, dark humor that brings you just to edge of acceptance and never lets you go. This is a smashing work, and one of the best "Irish novels" I've read in awhile. Highly recommended. (By the way, does everyone know that the author, Joseph O'Connor, is none other than the brother of the famous Sinead O'Connor Herself! )

This author is new for me. I found it to be a marvelous tale, keeping the people interesting, the places fascinating and the intrigue excellent.

One of the few Irish tellings not wallowing in self-pity, the "salesman" regales us with his life, his loves, and his hates (which turn out to not be so far from his loves). I enjoyed the meter of past memories and current events as they unfold, twisting in and around the central desire on the part of the "salesman" for retribution against one of the perpetrators who hospitalize his yougest daughter. Even that turns out differently than he plans.

Truly a great story!

Dr. Joe Rubino's book "...BEEN THERE DONE THAT" really shows that he HAS been there, done that! He is believable, and you can quickly see that his success comes from a "hands on experience". INTEGRITY, TESTED AND PROVEN KNOWLEDGE, SOLID and above all HONEST business practices and methods spill from every page. This simple, easy reading book is a favorite of mine and is presented to members of my organization who are serious about building a financial empire. It teaches leaders in the industry how to partner in the success of others. A true leader isn't a "Monday morning Quarterback"...Dr. Rubino teaches you how to get IN the game and WIN! Devouring this book taught me how to create my business goals and visions and then to PLAY FULL OUT with successful momentum!

If you are seeking a book of simple, duplicatable methods to build a solid organization and income that will outlast your grandchildren, this is the one! It contiues to be used as a resource material for success! It is a favorite gift that I give to others.
Dr. Rubino's integrity and true contribution to this industry pours from every page!
This book really opened my eyes at what I was currently doing in my single daily actions. If read with the intention of applying these business building principles, you too will see where the "missings" in your business may lie, work to change them, and can experience the same thing I did...GREAT SUCCESS!

"Been There Done That" is responsible for my network marketing success. It showed me how to correct all the things I was doing wrong and assisted me in creating a personal development plan combined with a specific effective action plan. The listening chapters alone are worth many times the cost of the book. I particularly benefitted from the clear advice on how to "listen through objections" as opposed to answering them. I also purchased Dr. Rubino's tape set "10-Weeks to Network Marketing Success" which is equally awesome and goes way beyond the book. It's like taking a 10 week course with Dr. Rubino. If you want a solid foundation toward success in MLM, buy this book and the tape set as well.

This book has good breadth, but fundamentally fails to help the reader understand Java.

I am a Java trainer, and have used many books and training material. I recently chose this book for a class because of its breadth. Unfortunately, I had to write a lot of supplemental information to make up for the book's lack of clarity and structure.

A book should simplify key concepts by highlighting key points, using diagrams, etc. This book doesn't do that. It's like a brain dump, where the authors talk and talk about a given topic, but in a way that lacks structure. There is no flow or progression of concepts.

The book also has poor layout. Books should be designed with an eye toward ease of reading. Are key points highlighted? Are diagrams effective? If you're in a bookstore open the book to a random page. Are the highlighted sections important? Is the conceptual outline of the page apparent? For me, the answer is no.

Here's one of the highlighted paragraphs I've chosen at random:
"The ability to specify indexes when working with a List places an additional burden on you as a programmer. You must always ensure that any index you pass to a List method is greater than or equal to zero, and less than or equal to the size of the collection minus one. Each List method that accpets an indx throws an IndexOutOfBoundsException at runtime when this is not the case."

Rather than highlighting this key point with this dense paragraph, the author could have provided a simple diagram and an example. The reader would have understood the point immediately, rather than having to read and re-read a prose explaination.

Diagrams are similarly poor. There are a few diagrams, but they are not effective at communicating concepts. It's as if an editor said "we need a diagram" so someone whipped one out, whether or not it was effective.

In summary, this book has good breadth but is poor at helping the reader understand Java.

This is very good book. As I take this book when I wann to Start Java again from Starting point. So can say that I've some knowledege of java and I wann to recall it with some good examples. And also I wann to touch which I never touch like Java Beans, Thearding, networking etc. and I found that this book really helpful for me.
One more thing I wann to say that this book would be more useful if authore cover some more tpoics like security, little bit introduction of servlet, jsp etc.
Anyway, I've full marks to this book.
Pranav

I had the great happiness of receiving this book as a gift of a dear friend. I am a beginner in the Java programming. For me, this it is an excellent book, their authors wrote it with a lot of grace and with a lot of ability so that the reader understood it. Don't doubt to buy this book. If I could give to this 6 stars, then I would give him 10.