An amazing and inspiring story of a small, driven R&D engineering company that struggles to convert theory into working hardware, make the bridge from doing "research" to "building products", that eventually pulls itself out of operating on the brink of bankruptcy, while offering the world a clean, renewable source of energy, the Solar Heated Free Piston Stirling Engine. Shelton does a great job in conveying the personalities, the financial and technical challenges overcome, and the dramatic events that allowed Sunpower to survive through some very trying times.

If you've ever wondered about just what makes soldiers that wear a small yellow and black flash on their shoulder special, this novel attempts to explain it. A group of subversives plots against the U.S. goverment. Unfortunately for them, they've set up shop in the same area as the base that houses the U.S. Army Ranger school. Two young Ranger trainees set out to stop them. The storyline does a great job of shifting between the criminals and the trials that make up the training, and also discusses the "Ranger creed" and what it means to someone who has undergone that rigorous training, and in this case right away gets to put it into practice.

I actually managed to pick up a copy of this a few years back. I have since picked up the 25th Anniversary Guide that Dawdiziak mentions. The 20th Guide is pretty good, although the coverage of the first two TV movies is a lot more extensive than of the series itself! (This is corrected to some degree in the 25th Guide.) There are a few errors in the cast lists, but generally the book is a good summing up and review of the original '74 series The Night Stalker and the two TV movies that spawned it. The 25th Guide I would give 5 stars for.

As always reading Mark Taylor is difficult and rewarding. While this book is not so philosophically involved as some of his others, it presents new problems. Focusing on art, architecture, science, and pop culture, Taylor develops his ideas of a religion of negativity. If read too fast his thoughts here may seem superficial and redundant. Read closely and slowly, however, they reward. Taylor is the most interesting theologian writing today, and his books continue to affirm the relevance of a postmodernism that is no longer so popular. This is an important book, for sholars in all fields.

This is a very good read and is handy as a reference for problems that may arise. It is more appropriate for less experienced eventing riders, perhaps those just getting started. More seasoned competitors will find Mark Todds Cross Country Handbook more useful. It is well illustrated and has a very good, helpful section on choosing a horse.

This books is for administrators looking to secure an NT Server. It covers a broad base of topics with step by step explaining how to implement the topic. The book details what each setting does and explains it better than the NT resource kit. It is not as detailed as Windows NT 4.0 Security, Audit, and Control by Jumes, Cooper, et al; however, it does cover more topics.

This book starts off as any other detective novel, but soon we learn more about the detective, who has to cope not only with murder, but also with his own personal past and threats to members of his family. The case turns out to be linked with Germany's - especially Nuremberg's - past, but in a non-reproachful way that only a Non-German can think of. The descriptions of the city and the area are vivid, lively and apt. Sometimes the detective seems to know too many people and do too many things at one time; however, anybody who would like to get familiar with the country, its people and its food through a murder mystery full of tension and unexpected turns can look forward to pleasant hours of reading.

This book is one of very few that list the nutrients found in common western and Chinese herbs, allowing one to find which herbs are good sources of, say selenium or beta carotene. As such it is an important addition to any herbalist's library.

However like most food science analyses, the book lists nutrients found in the plant, not nutrients which can or will be absorbed by the human body. For example, aluminium intake is closely regulated by the gut flora and excess aluminum is normally excreted unless that flora has been decimated by antibiotics or unhealthy diets. Its presence in an herb does not automatically mean that an herb like echinacea, which rates moderately high in aluminum, should be avoided.

The actions of herbs often go far beyond their constituents. Yellow dock, for example is not especially high in iron, yet yellow dock tincture (which contains very little iron at all) can in low doses allow the body to overcome anemia far faster than iron supplements.

However with those caveats, the book is highly recommended. It also lists actions of herbs, the body systems affected, folk history and use of the plants, medicinal properties, chemical constituents, nutrients of note and typical dialy doses in various forms. Of particular note are traditional combination formulas which are analyzed like the single herbs for their nutritional profiles.

A worthwhile reference for those seriously interested in herbal medicine and nutrition.

A well-written, concise reference covering a diverse range of topics that will be of interest to all who know the frustration of cramming complex OO systems into relational tables.

From a complete design pattern for Object and Object Relational database systems, to design patterns for declarative language symantics; from C++ and Java to SmallTalk bindings; from BNF grammars to compiler models; the book proved invaluable at overcoming the myriad problems presented to the developer implementing an object-relational DMBS.

As a direct result of this reference work I have implemented ORDBMS systems in Java and (can you believe it) JavaScript. The JavaScript implementation provides a complete persistence layer for JavaScript objects running in an ASP environment.

As a result, systems with complex data relationships that would curl the hair on a relational database programmer's head have been implemented simply and with the minimum development time.

I await with anticipation emergence of the JDO from the work of the ODMG.

At a medical student level, "Obstetrics and Gynaecology: A Problem-Solving Approach" is a winner. It's concise, it's well set-out and it contains information in easily-understood diagrams, tables and charts. After a general introduction to obstetrics and gynaecology furnishes the reader with requisite information, the book devotes a chapter to one important clinical problem. Both obstetrics and gynaecology are covered to a depth that does not swamp the medical student but does not leave large knowledge deficits. For ease of reference, differential diagnoses and their probabilities are highlighted in red boxes at the beginning of each chapter. Critical information throughout the chapter is likewise summarised with a list of "golden points" at the end of each problem.

This is a book aimed squarely at medical students and it succeeds in providing information in the problem-solving sequential fashion sought by clinical teachers. It's packed with good statistics to trot out, if you remember them, for the "gold standard" answer. An appendix contains tips for passing final examinations (unlike human appendices, which are full of...). I'd recommend the book. It's readable enough to do a couple of chapters a night, and it's portable enough to carry to school with you. It's clear and simplifies what can be an unnecessarily difficult subject. 4 out of 5.