I bought this book 7 years ago, and just recently took it back off the shelf to read/reread sections related to my current work. Book is packed with explanations that facilitate understanding of these complex instruments. And it's nice to see how the binomial model is developed by its inventors. I highly recommend this book to all seeking to understand how to price and analyse options. The reason I gave it 4 stars was that book has an equities focus.

Always an up-to-date work. The excellent analysis of every aspect of options ranks it a must for the researcher (speculator or agent trader) in order to comprehend thoroughly the real nature and forces of the derivative instruments of the markets and obtain a strong infrastucture for consequent reading on strategies and technical analysis. Mathematics of the book are plain and worth reading to the last equation, for they prove to be the key to the understanding and valuation of any novelty work on the subject.The authors' state-of-the-art multiple remarks and explanations on options prices,their factors and sensitivity factors makes it an everyday's book, besides its academic value. A stand alone book for traders that once you get it is to be read over and over in sequence with any new techniques to be tested.

This book delves into the history of orchids and their rise in popularity. Some of the topics covered include the culinary uses of orchids, orchids in literature and orchid lore involving religion.

There are several chapters covering historical aspects of several of the most popular orchid families. The final chapter gives a brief rundown of orchid culture today.

My favorites in this book are any of the marvelous line drawings of orchid plants and flowers. There are also several color plates included.

I'd highly recommend this to anyone interested in orchid lore and legends.

Luigi Berliocchi Timber Press 1996 ISBN 0-88192-491-1 184 pages

I read this booknot because I was interested in orchids but because I'm fascinated by the lore and legends of plants. It was so beautifully written and so informative that I became interested in orchids.

I had always felt that orchids were somehow a bit "over the top". I had no idea just how "over the top" they were. By the tie I read the chapter on myths and legends I was hooked, and when I finished "Patrons and Hunters" I couldn't put the book down. Just as well because I would have missed the story about vanilla being part of the Aztecs chocolate drink, and, of course, thought to be an aphrodisiac. Montezuma was said to drink it fifty times a day, especially before visiting one of his many wives.

The book also covers the literature and art of the orchid and the magic, medicine and religion related to it. There are also chapters on the plant, the genera and on growing orchids and a list of information and illustration sources. There are some colour photographs and, throughout the text, delicate engravings from a wide range of historical sources.

This is a very literate book. Not a long book - the writer does not belabour any of his points, but an interesting and thought-provoking read. If you are interested in orchids or fascinated by the history and legends of plants, this is a must read.

The author takes readers on a step-by-step tour of the often tortuous twists in non-profit fund-raising. Organizing Friends Groups not only spells out the difficulties, but concluding chapters provide readers with a blueprint for success.

The lively, personal style of Dr. Herring makes this manual enjoyable as well as essential. Friends groups are important to both public and academic libraries, and Herring knows both how to organize them and keep them operating to the enjoyment and benefit of all.

It often takes 5-10 years or longer for new scholarship to filter down into undergraduate survey textbooks, and this is especially true of the rapidly developing field of world history. Robert Marks' short book is an attempt to bridge this gap. It is a terse synthesis of recent historical revisionism surrounding 'the rise of the west'.

Those familiar with the recent scholarship in world history will note that Marks has shamelessly stolen concepts and arguments outlined by historians such as Fernand Braudel, William McNeill, Andre Gunder Frank, Ken Pomeranz, Charles Tilly, Bin Wong, Jim Blaut, Philip Curtin, Janet Abu-Lughod, Immanuel Wallerstein, Dennis Flynn and Arturo Giraldez - and a host of other historians whose works form the foundation of 'the new world history'. This is no doubt the strength of this short 160 page book since there is virtually no other book that summarizes and integrates this scholarship so succinctly at the moment. Indeed, Marks' book works better as an historiographical survey than as a historical narrative, as the subtitle would suggest.

While the book is ostensibly written for both students and the educated public, it seems clear that it will be most useful as a text for college courses and perhaps even graduate seminars in world history. It should also find its way onto the bookshelves of teachers of world history survey courses and high school AP World History.

A final caveat - be prepared for sticker shock. It is obscenely expensive; even counting the index and preface... an exorbitant price for a paperback book of this length.

I took two classes with Dr. Marks. All I have to say is that I think he is absolutely brilliant. I really learned a lot from this book and his classes. He enjoys his profession and clearly knows what he is talking about. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in history.

This short 30 page account of the D-Day invasion with first hand
narrative is unique in that it contains reproductions of various items associated with the invasion. There are personal items such as notebooks and Bibles and operational items such as orders
and after-action reports. All in all this is an interesting look into the history of D-Day made more so by the inclusion of historical artifacts. I recommend it to you, inspite of its brevity and price.

Despite its brevity, this book is both informative and revealing. Bowden gives a good overview of what preceded and led up to D-Day. He describes Operation Overlord and the German defenses on the French coast, as well as the air and land assault plans.

Especially interesting are the authentic photos and artifacts from the collection of the D-Day Museum in New Orleans, founded by the late Stephen Ambrose. These artifacts include a soldiers' diary, the front page of the New York Times, a letter from Roosevelt, and an inspirational message from Eisenhower. All are able to be pulled out and looked at by the reader.

One of the artifacts, "A Pocket Guide to France" was given to the military and is included in this book as a pull out. It was simple and patriotic as it explained the military mission in France, the history of the conflict, and told the soldiers how to behave while in France.

Bowden also writes of the possible pitfalls in the plan, including dropping soldiers at night and the unpredictability of the weather. He concisely relates the events of D-Day, the airborne efforts, the invasion of Utah Beach, and the action of the armada, all interspersed with the words of those who were there.

Following this is a section about the Allied advance through France and into Germany...and less than a year later, the Reich was in ruins and Hitler was dead.

I liked this book most of all for its simplicity and authenticity.

If you like history, wouldn't it be great to hear from someone who was there? Mark Sullivan was there during the period of 1900-1925 and has written a detailed account of what things were like and what was the mood of the country. It is facinating to hear him speak of Teddy Roosevelt taking him aside and telling him of his concerns about his successor, Taft. It is also interesting to hear him speak of the concerns of the day, which seem much like concerns many share today. This is a well-done historical work. For most of us readers, we should thank Dan Rather for cutting it down to an abridged form.

Thanks to Dan Rather for boiling-down Mark Sullivan's Our Times series. A great job--but go out and look for the originals (they're not too hard to find, at least in NY). Sullivan got a bit carried away with his pet politicians, but his sidelong views of everyday life (music, clothing, humor, race relations, etc.) between 1900-25 are a stunning time machine. He was THERE, so you'll read things in his book a modern-day historian might discard.

"Withdraw to your cell," the Desert Fathers used to say, "and your cell will teach you everything" - at least all you need to know for the fullness of life. So said Thomas Merton in his "Notes for a Philosophy of Solitude."

"Get out and about," say the editors of Outside magazine - away from the mind- and soul-destroying homogenization of urban living.

In these 40 stories - 2 by women - we have diversity in unity, enhancing the value of the anthology. The integrating principle is not so much a style of writing - a certain outdoors "Outside" style - as an attitude of gifted adventurers who report not only from interesting places and events "out there" but especially from the deeper depths of their own reflective beings.

"Get out of the noosphere," said author David Quammen. His comment provided the title for the collection. But he misinterpreted what Jesuit evolutionist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin had in mind when he invented the "Noosphere" as a word and a concept in 1922.

For Teilhard was undoubtedly an outdoors "Outside" person and rejoiced in the creative convergence of human beings in all their diversity. "Union differentiates" was his constant theme, so well exemplified in these reports from writers likewise familiar with "the wild country of the soul" (p.12).

With its foundations anchored to the genetic core of each participating member,Teilhard's noosphere enables us to communicate around the world and beyond at the speed of light - mind-to-mind, heart-to-heart and even soul-to-soul - providing a lifeline of care, concern and mutual respect to all who live not by bread alone, but dare to explore the farthest reaches of reality.

I am a long time admirer of Tim Cahill's work and picked up "Out of the Noosphere" on that basis. I was delighted to find so many other authors equally as adventurous and thoughtful. Anyone who loves travelling for the pure joy of meeting different people, seeing new vistas, and having his/her world view challenged will love this book. The writing is superb, each story/article is a good length for commuter readers. I particularly like the way each author brings you personally into the action...you have to think about what you would do in a similar situation. And the situations are mind expanding -- from killer bee research, to losing friends in mountain climbing accidents. I couldn't recommend it more highly!

Mr. Guscin brings two things to this subject which remains relatively unknown outside Spain. First, he presents a reasonably believable discussion on what the Pañolon is and why such an article should be in Spain at all, and second he offers a thoroughly believable explanation of the fluid stains and what they mean.

At that point, he disgresses off into yet another argument about the Shroud of Turin. There is little middle ground about the Shroud: either you believe it's authentic or you don't. Hauling all that baggage into this discussion serves little purpose. For that reason, I give this book four instead of five stars. People who are interested in the Shroud, the Pañolon itself, or Spanish history will find it very interesting.

For the record, there are three times a year that you can actually see the Pañolon in Oviedo's Cathedral: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and for reasons that are obscure to me, December 13th. Other times you can see the box that holds it, and a big photo of the article.

Guscin's book is clearly written and understandable. It is arranged in good sequence. The information is credible. I accept that no matter how many facts are found out about the sudarium and or the shroud, there will always be persons who cannot and will not accept anything that indicates a supernatural act/ intervention. Yet, in this case, science is being used by many persons and groups to support the belief that both cloths are a testament to a historical fact - the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. Guscin's book is a valuable addition to the large amount of work being done to further demonstrate the truth, the historical facts, and yes-the divine intervention of our natural laws of physics. Science is supporting these claims. I highly recommend this book to those who trust the carbon dating process as being an infallible scientific test - which has been proven - scientifically - that it is not. I thank Mr. Guscion for his labors in bringing this information to us= Louis VElasquez

Faith Shearin's debut book of poems tells a compelling story. The speaker in these poems begins as a child, becomes a childless wife and ,in a final transformation, finds herself a mother. The book is full of humor and wise observation. She describes her yearning for a child this way: "I hold nothing in my arms. The nothing feels light and heavy at the same time.." The stories these poems weave together are both particular and individual (a mother's untidy kitchen, a father's eccentric love for his dog) and wonderfully universal.

Winner of the May Swenson poetry award, The Owl Question by Faith Shearin is a unique collection of brief yet evocative verse, featuring a foreword by Mark Doty (an international poet and the appointed judge for the 2002 May Swenson Award). Examining adolescence, nature, femininity, parenthood, daily life, and more, these inspirational and deftly written verses often carry a down-to-earth, narrative-event tone. My father, in middle age, falls in love with a dog./He who kicked dogs in anger when I was a child,/who liked his comb always on the same shelf,/who drank martinis to make his mind quiet./He who worked and worked/- his shirts/wrapped in plastic, his heart ironed/like a collar./He who - like many men -/ loved his children but thought the money/he made for them was more important/than the rough tweed of his presence.

I would like to say it was a very interesting novel based on the mentality of young men. I am just very upset to have purchased this book again. This novel was once called Urban Massacre which I read in 1998. Why was this novel published twice?

I truly enjoyed reading Paper Chasers by Mark Anthony. The book which is set in Queens, New York during the summer of 1991 deals with the crack cocaine epidemic of that time. The characters were so real, the situations in the book were real and not just stereotypical, and the dictionary, I loved that!!!

I think Mark Anthony separates himself from many authors in the sense that his book isn't littered with profanity and he shows his talent in that he was able to express the thoughts of his characters by using creative dialogue that draws you in as a reader. He also separates himself from other authors in that he kept this book real on a spiritual tip. It was that spiritual message which was not overly preachey or anything like that that made me say, "Finally there is a book out there, or any form of entertainment for that matter that gives a solution to all of the drama that goes on in everyday life."

If you like authors such as Sister Souljah, and Shannon Holmes you will definitely enjoy Paper Chasers by Mark Anthony.

Mark Anthony I will definitely be checking for your next book.