The McGraw-Hill cover misrepresents this book. It may preach to the choir but makes no converts. Concepts are long, obscure or ignored. The print is tight and some tables are not legible in places. The reader will learn little. Pedagogy is not the authors' strength. Having learned the basics of electricity in school I hoped for some of what the publisher promises, but was very dissappointed and 60 bucks poorer. Avoid my mistake.

I work for a major electrical contractor, and the project I am working on is in the 500 million dollar catagory. This project is re-modeling a major government facility with multi-tennant and varied design projects within the whole project. This project is design build and fast track. This Handbook is extremely valuable especially when used in conjunction with the McGraw hill electrical code handbook. Anyone working on such a project should have this book,believe me it is excelent!

book review _Heavenly clockwork_
HEAVENLY CLOCKWORK the great astronomical clocks of medieval china
by Joseph needham

I read the book because of a statement made in a online discussion group: "the chinese emperor suppressed the knowledge of clockmaking."
This did not fit into my understanding, as i have seen very old water clock diagrams on the walls of bell and drum towers in China, in particular, the drum and bell towers in Beijing had a very complete set of sketches of massive water clocks. Although i could not read the legends i understood that the purpose of the drum and bell towers throughout China was to keep time in a very public way.

Now choosing this particular book was not an accident, i have wanted to get into the massive corpus of Needham's work on China, and this was an opportunity to have a minor need driven learning curve. I was not at all disappointed in the book. It is literally an excellent example of how to do science, how to investigate a historical question, how to marshall facts and prove a difficult point.

But the book is not for the faint of heart, or the mildly interested in horology, it is complete, tedious and not a Sunday afternoon light reading. Nor should it be, it is just as the author intended it, a scientific research book on the origin of clock building in China.

From the introduction: " It is generally allowed that the invention of the mechanical clock was one of the most important turning-points in the history of science and technology. Not only was it the earliest complex device, heralding a whole age of machine-making, but also its regular imitation of the natural motion of the sun and heavens fascinated men and exerted no small influence on their philosophy and theology." The key text which is studied throughout is _New Design for a Mechanised Armillary Sphere and Celestial Globe_ written in 1090AD by Su Sung. The clock was built, a high astronomical clock-tower more than thirty feet high, with sky observation points, moving globes and rings that would be analogous to the same object in the movie "Dark Crystal" with the planets in their various orbits whizzing around the sun.

"To sum up the matter, it is quite clear that one of the reasons why the early Jesuit missionaries were so much welcomed by the Chinese was for their interest in clocks and clock-making, hardly less indeed than for their skill as mathematicians and astronomers. ... In Ricci's time the Jesuit order was capable of attracting for its overseas mssions some of the best minds of Europe. It was a mobilisation of oecumenical idealism something like that which the League or the United Nations have now and then commanded in our own time." pg. 145

It is the 9th chapter: "General History and Transmission of Astronomical Clocks" that i personally found the most fasinating, where Needham takes the details and builds the connections to general thinking and social structures. "Such devices of scientific technology have exercised not a little influnce on the idea that the universe was a great mathematical machine whose workings could be comprehended by exact reasoning. Since astronomy and graphic representation are two of the most ancient of man's arts, it is no wonder that he should want to hold the cosmos in his hand by making a model of it--" pg 179 "This is no accidental feature of mechanical design, but an inherent part of the format of Chinese astronomical theory."pg 180 "The question is also linked closely with the different modes of astronomy in the Hellenistic and Chinese cultures. In the West, a series of happy accidents occurred soon after the arithmetically minded Babylonians had communicated their astronomy to the geometrically strongly-developed Hellenic scientists. These accidents of physical fact and mathematical structure had the effect of directing the best period of genius towards the mathematical analysis of planetary motions rather than to any other part of astronomy." pg 181

I understand that the big question for Needham was why did science develop in the West and not China, given the Chinese invention of all the pieces of what we consider the enabling technology. This book is my first study into the Needham body of writing and i look forward to working through the 12 volume set on Chinese science.

thanks for reading the review, and i hope it inspires you to at least skim the first chapter and chapter 9.

Needham investigates a 11th C Chinese clock

I have this book and it is weak as hell. It doesn't give you anything common sense can't figure out for you. It doesn't explain anything in great detail enough to help you out at all. Don't waste your money. Try trial & error. - Shabam the moderately sober fat mack

How to Pick Pockets for Fun and Profit : A Magicians Guide to Pickpocket Magic taught me everything i needed to know about the skills of pickpockets.

I know people who worked for this man. One of his quotes, "any idiot can make soap, it takes a genius to sell it," sums up his whole philosophy. Is this true for books as well? If this book, is any example, then it would seem so. If CACI is an example of what his philosophy teaches, then it would be best to avoid buying this book.

With the incredible proliferation of new products and services, making your product stand out is critically important. With the increasing use of "do it yourself" marketing as a result of the internet, many companies lack the fundamentals. Mr Annino provides an articulate and well layed out plan for promotion and advertising that provides a foundation for online and print marketing. A great book.

Some of the applets the author describes require expensive licensing fees in order to register the software on your server.

Java web magic is a fun book with full color illustrations and CD of applets to employ on your own sites. Most of the applets can be manipulated via parameters in the html. Thanks, Mom!

Lewis almost defines the idea of a cult director, since his work was exclusively in the b picture category and he never worked with big stars or big budgets. Except for the justly famous Gun Crazy, a wild film noir take on the Bonnie and Clyde story, and the talked about but more minor noir The Big Combo, most of Lewis' films are not well known and a lot of them are not good, though the director often tries to do something stylish or unexpected with some of the scenes. It's not surprising I guess that the only book on the man is this slim, expensive and not very detailed book. It's okay if you love Joseph H. Lewis movies and you want to spend 30-something dollars for a moderately extended interview and a filmography. The interviewer doesn't go very deep and you don't come away with a very good idea of what inspired Lewis or even many good anecdotes.

Joseph H. Lewis was a superb film director, and Francis Nevins did an absolutely wonderful job of covering his career.

Most readers of this book who are familiar with Joseph Leidy and his work will be disappointed. The biography offers an ear full about the scientific climate during the late 1800's of America, but relatively little about, Joseph Leidy, himself. Throughout the book the author laments the fact that Leidy was not an experimental biologist or theorist, and overlooks Leidy's talents as a descriptive biologist, geologist, and (what he is most known for) paleontologist. This book, even, lacks a bibliography of Joseph Leidy's writings. I would suggest anyone to read Joseph Leidy's original words. Hopefully we don't have to wait another 150 years for the next biography to be published.

This book is required reading for anyone interested in natural history or the academic and scientific climate of 19th century Philadelphia. Leidy, a man of immense distinction in his time, was virtually forgotten in this century. Warren has given us an absorbing account of the life and times of this eminent Victorian, and in doing so has restored him to the stature he deserves as "The Last Man Who Knew Everything."

Joseph's book is interesting, but only as a piece of fantasy. His jumps in logic are enormous and difficult to believe as a serious work of science. Certainly, there are more intelligent and reasonable explanations for pyramids in Rock Lake, that could be answered by scientific investigation. Linking civilizations of the New World with the Canary Islands and Egypt are yet another attempt to trivialize the important and complex communities that have existed in North America for centuries. This book definately has entertainment value, but that is all it has to offer and should not be taken for more.

Ancient Civilizations are a mystery almost as deep as the mystery of what tomorrow will bring, and almost as deep as Rock Lake. In this narrative the Author takes you scuba diving in search of ruins in the heart of America. From pyramid builders to Ancient Mariners hoarding copper, this book answers many questions but leaves the reader dangling by the thin thread that ties us to an unknown past.

This is one of the most boring books I have ever read. Please do not ever subject yourself to this kind of pain.

The major task in learning research methods involves developing the necessary skills to analyze and assess research data. This superb book takes you into the mindset of seasoned mass media research professionals sharing the essential truth about mass media research. The authors' years of expertise are apparent. Their goal, to introduce the reader to mass media research using a minimum of technical terms and a maximum of practical guidelines, is achieved with an entertaining mix of humorous insights and sage advice. The text is a valuable resource for both beginners and advanced researchers alike. The scope is truly comprehensive, the writing style clear and accessible. Mass Media Research is an absolute must for every mass media research student and professional.

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this book is worth what you pay for with this fully ilistrated full of helpful hints and cheats easy to follow the stratigy.