Dr Rotblat details forms of Radiological Warfare, including salted nukes, the neutron bomb, fall out, and induced radiation. Supplimenting this is a detailed account of the biological effects of radiation from different aspects, along with a good amount of risk data.

Dr Rotblat is an expert in nuclear radiation, and this book is worth reading for his views on the subject. However, he is not an expert on military affairs, and fails to address the many military problems with nuclear radiation that are worth exploring, and support his views against nuclear and radiological warfare; while entertaining ludicrous forms of radiation protection in an effort to attack neutron weapons.

The health effects from radiation that are detailed will provide the reader with an understanding of the rate-of-action and duration-of-action of radiological dosing. Also of value is the degree of incapacitation, lethality, and amount of medical support necessary for casualty management.

This book is worth reading for its detailed account of radiolgical effects on people from nuclear and radiological weapons. The health opinions contained within it are credible, and a must know for those concerned with radiological operations or planning.

John O'Hara is the master of 20th Century American Fiction. Matthew Bruccoli's work was so fascinating, it inspired my wife and I to make a pilgrimmage to Pottsville, Pa., O'Hara's hometown (and the "Gibbsville" of his short stories). I highly recommend this work to anyone seriously interested in O'Hara's life, and "The Gibbsville Stories," now out of print, to anyone interested in exploring "The Master."

First hand relation of Missouri history during the Civil War from a rare view by a Catholic Missionary. Rev. John Hogan recounts his life and recounts vivid civil war stories of death and destruction and of his accomplishments as a missionary to Missouri. Most accounts are of Northern Missouri, but my interest was of his Irish Catholic pioneering in Southern Missouri and the settlements devistation by the Civil War. Today this area is known as the Irish Wilderness and is little more than hiking trails and forests. My family is from this area and this book gives insight to the areas history that is not afforded from any other sources to my knowledge. Schoolcraft might come close. Exciting accounts written with dry style with some poetic glimpses of what he sensed: "Nowhere could the human soul so profoundly worship as in the depths of that leafy forest, beneath the swaying branches of the lofty oaks and pines, where solitude and the heart of man united in praise and wonder of the Great Creator," and "O beautiful prairies of Missouri, so often and for so many years the joy of my heart, well I have said in my younger days, when first I heard of your transcendent loveliness, and when friends would tempt my youthful feet to other climes; O no, leave me my joy; Missouri is my home; I love her for her woods and praries; amid these let my grave be made; under the bending boughs of her forests I long to die."

Max Knight and Peter Fabry, while law students in Vienna before WWII, wrote a local humorous column under a joint pen name, Peter Fabrizius. (Their real last names were Kuenel and Epstein, which they changed in England and USA, respectively.)

Both were quick and clever with words, loved to play with them, and were good friends in this joint pursuit while young together in the 1920's and 1930's. When they were thrown out of the university by the Nazi Anschluss, which barred Jews from professional schools and practices, both resolved to leave the country however they could. They got out in 1938, and struggled mightily to get their fellow family members out later. Their subsequent life strivings revolved around their identity as Jews, unwelcome refugees in most countries.

With luck, incredible perseverance and determination, they managed to travel incognito throughout Europe, each on his own path to a safe country where Jews were tolerated. Few places existed by the time the war had broken out, and only Shanghai remained as an open port where one could arrive without a valid passport or citizenship papers. So a large European Jewish emigre community there is the place where Max survived the war.

Both continued their journey, which they write about in alternating chapters in chronological sync, until, by heck and high water, both wind up in Berkeley, California. There they work in writing and publishing, as freelancers, as translators, ultimately giving lessons in writing English at UC Berkeley! They write for the U.C. Press, publish articles and even books.

They marry, have children, buy houses, and establish a new life in a new country, and stick together throughout. When this book was written, both were approaching 80, and both have died, one in 1993 and one in 1999.

For those who know European history, who love Austria, who love a sense of adventure, of great risk-taking and cleverness, this book is a delight. I read it straight through and take my hat off to them for composing such an engaging and sincere life story. They also become involved in questions of religion and community in their later years, for those of you interested in logotherapy and Viktor Frankel.

And remember, English isn't their native tongue!

If you're looking for an introduction to optics or atomic physics, this book may be a little terse and advanced. But if you have some exposure to optics and lasers, and a good foundation in electromagnetism and basic quantum mechanics, this is a great book to have. The authors discuss the semiclassical two-level model to a level of detail which is hard to find in other standard texts. And although there is a good amount of detail, the book does not get lost in the mathematics, making it easily accessible to the experimentalist as well as to the theorist. I particularly like the treatment of the Bloch equations and pulse propagation. On the down-side, the book does tend to be terse in some areas, giving minimal discussion of the physics (although at least it does discuss the physics!), and some of the derivations are little difficult to follow. Also, the brevity of the table of contents makes it a little difficult to figure out what the book actually covers. And the notation used in some parts was somewhat unfamiliar.

But overall, if you're looking for a book in atomic and optical physics where you get the most value for your money, this book is to be highly recommended.

A mechanistic approach to learning organic chemistry seems to make a whole lot more sense than memorizing/regurgitating the slew of reactivities available for each functional group along the way. Why then do we not have a text which allows us to do this? A few authors in the past have attempted to construct a text which views organic chemistry from a mechanistic (rather than funtional-group)standpoint, but none have been able to offer something an UNDERGRADUATE could embrace. Hornback has clearly and logically presented this often intimidating subject here, and should be praised for hurdling the barrier to offer the first readable mechanism-oriented text.

I am familiar with the 1985 hardcover edition. Schonfield's aim is to show the historical development of the New Testament. The books are arranged in historical order, with Mark coming first, then Matthew, then Luke then Acts... John's Gospel is towards the end with his three leters and Revelation, because Schonfield thinks it was wriiten later than the other books. Chapter and verse numbers are in the margiuns. Schonfield gives us what the documents looked like when they first appeared. His translation is wordy at times, especially in Luke's gospel. Mark is the clearest. John's prologue is set to verse. Is NT History is of interest to you, then this is a good book to look at. What current theories are applied? That Luke wrote both the third Gospel, and the Acts; That Matthew is composed of five books; That I & II Corinthians are really four letters. This book will help you look at the New Testament in a new way.

Joseph Williams's Origins of the English Language: A Social & Linguistic History accurately highlights the history of the English language from the evolution of man clear through to Modern English that we speak today, providing enough knowledge for anyone to completely understand the origin of English. Intended for use as a textbook in college-level English history classes, Williams style is one that is conservative yet informative when he touches on many of the major aspects of the evolution of English, backing each up with references that make for a quite impressive bibliography with over 200 references. By reinforcing the facts that he mentions, Williams's style is one that is hard to misinterpret yet very informational and easy to follow. Some of this may be due, in part, to the assistance that Williams received from various university professors while writing this piece. Although at times Williams repeats his theories and arguments, he warns of this in his preface so that the reader is aware that this repetition is only to emphasize major points. Overall, I feel that this book is one of the most indepth yet comprehensible books on the history of the English language.

Provides easy to read information on all key areas of orthopaedic surgery in a digestable length (900 pages). While it lacks in depth, it is a nice book to plow through during your intern year to get you ready for more advanced learning in specific topic areas.