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What I found most interesting, contrary to my previous opinion, is that the Ambassador and at least several American officials in San Salvador believed something terrible had happened in El Mozote. Without access to the site - it had been recaptured by the FMLN rebels - they could prove nothing. Nevertheless, they attempted to communicate their fears to Washington. Washington decided not to believe. Instead, the New York Times recalled one of the reporters who had been to the site at FMLN invitation and had seen the bodies. The story seemed unbelievable.
The story was, of course, Communist propaganda and therefore not to be believed. Well, yes, the FMLN did broadcast the story with the intent of influencing Salvadorans and Americans. It was propaganda. It was also true.
There is a parallel in U.S. history. (There may be more than one.) During the 1920's and 30's and even later, the American and European press was rife with reports of mass murders in the Soviet Union. The press reporting these attrocities had for years been reporting and editorializing against the Soviet threat and Communist revolution, many times exaggerating or being more than a little creative. They had also supported the American-British-French invasion of the Soviet Union after WWI. Liberals regarded these sources as unreliable and untrustworthy, and continued to defend Stalin. The liberals were right, of course, just as the Reagan Administration was right: the reports were propaganda. The reports were also true.
Sometimes the enemy is right. We should take care to listen.
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It is very well organized, even the problems in each section are set in a way that each one helps with the previous one in case a more creative solution doesn't show up...
I love this book, and I really recommend it for any student studying for any math contest around the world. It really helped me, and I'm sure it will do the exact same thing to anyone with the desire to spend countless hours solving beautiful math problems. Good luck, God bless you all :)
Pura vida.
It should be noted that being an exceptional problem solver does not necessarily make one a good mathematician, but it helps. This is certainly true of the second author who is also a renowned mathematician in the field of knot theory and three dimensional topology.
As mentioned the two authors have a sterling record in the arena of problem solving and in coaching would be problem solvers. I am more familiar with Razvan Gelca who led the University of Michigan team to a top five finish in the highly competitive and extremely challenging Putnam exam. This exam is administered yearly and is open to all college students in North America; usually around 430 universities and colleges send teams to compete in the Putnam. The exam has been offered since the thirties and finishing at the top carries a great deal of prestige. Razvan's superior abilities led to the spectacular success of the Michigan team which was no mean feat.
My own experience with the book has been one of revelation with each passing page. I used the book to teach the problem solving course at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and it helped me immensely. The book possesses a variety of topics in elementary mathematics, ranging from algebra to geometry to trigonometry to number theory. Each chapter is divided into sections and each section has a theme. In keeping with the theme, the authors mention some useful formulae and/or facts that may be used in that section. This is followed by a demonstration of some dazzling problem solving techniques applied to a couple of problems. This is then followed by a list of challenging problems of varying levels of difficulty, all related to the theme of the section. There are roughly 18 such sections and many, many problems to think about. The rest of the book, which is the bulk of it, is dedicated to providing elegant solutions to every problem posed in the first part. Occasionally a problem merits more than one solution and sometimes the way is pointed to some interesting mathematics. The authors also acknowledge the source of many of the problems in the book which is a good indicator of the pedigree of the problem. Almost every solution is a gem and each problem demands its own style of solution. As noted earlier, problem solving is a skill and the authors try and succeed in conveying that idea in the problems and solutions they present.
Here is a sample problem from the book; if you can't do it and want to know how, check out the book:
"Show that any cube can be divided into 'n' cubes for any integer 'n' bigger than 54."
In summary if you are interested in figuring out puzzles, if you are a problem solver of elementary mathematical problems, or if you are just plain curious how a large fraction of mathematicians got hooked on mathematics, I would highly recommend you give this book a try. You may learn something and may even enjoy yourself in the process.
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Since then, I'been studying the book and have copied some quotes that I take with me and share with friends. By e-mail, I have translated the most useful quotes for a given situation, and send it to my friends in Spain, Cuba and Brasil.
I cannot wait to see what else Lynn have in store for us.
As a current classroom teacher myself, I especially related to the troubles and joys of Mr. Lowe. Even though I teach high school, and Mr. Lowe is a new 4th grade teacher, I found that we have much in common. Mark Pett has done an amazing job of capturing the universal issues of teaching and working with children, and has done so with a keen sense of humor. His cartoons provide much-needed levity in my over-stressed life. After reading a bit of Mr. Lowe, I find that I always feel better.
I think any teacher or school worker would find this book to be a real treasure. I also think anyone who has children will greatly appreciate it. Even if your only relation to school is as a student, Mr. Lowe is sure to make you laugh. Mr. Lowe the teacher and Mr. Lowe the book are both winners!
"Mr. Lowe" captures the spirit of teaching, with all its hilarious hijinks, depressing doldrums, and touching moments. Anyone who has spent time in elementary school -- as a teacher or a student -- should pick up a copy.
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These tabs are not transcribed by the actual musicians, but by people trying to figure out the easiest way to play these songs.
With that in mind - upon viewing the S&M video, I discovered that "The Thing that Should Not Be" is not in drop-D tuning as the book says, but rather in standard tuning tuned down a whole step (much like "Sad but True" or "Whiskey in the Jar" or "Sabbra Cadabra")- as far as I can tell, the only Drop-D tuning song that the mighty metallica does is "-human" from the afore-mentioned S&M.
these books are great to help you through trouble spots when you are trying to figure out certain difficult passages, but nothing beats figuring it out for yourself.
Still... could not have figured out some of the parts from this momentous album without the help of this book (especially considering what a novice I was when I first bought this - remember kids - downstrokes only... otherwise you won't be as cool as your Uncle James)
As mentioned elsewhere, take all tabs with a grain of salt, however, the solos are a near-enough note-by-note transcription and each riff is intricately tabbed to include even the most subtle of variations.
Includes a very well-written introduction, outlining some very important and helpful tips to assist you in your mastery of one of Metllica's finest albums.
In a one-line verdict: A definite must-have, even as a collector's item!
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Although written in 1970, this book could have been written yesterday...I suppose you would have to say that it is timeless. This book is quite touching, and should be required reading for all followers of Christ. I highly recommend this book!