After reading the first volume, it was hard tobelieve that there were so many more great people stories about the historical Sierra mountains: miners, badmen (and women), and people of great achievements. A well-written, fun set of stories all true.

Quote books are a dime a dozen. The cartoon drawings illustrating a number of the quotes make this book unique and a pleasure to read. It's insightful, humorous, and thought provoking.

My interest in the history and culture of the Plains Indians began several years ago when I found three detailed drawings by artist Bob Dale. One possibly that of Sitting Bull. Since then I have read a number of books by authors Robert Utley, Mari Sandoz and Dee Brown among others. I found Mark Diedrich's book, Sitting Bull The Collected Speeches, to be very interesting and insightful reading. His introduction, which is very well written and researched, details the charm and character that make up the "man" Sitting Bull. While reading the speeches, interviews, songs and prayers you see these characteristics come to life through Bull's words. I applaud Sitting Bull for being the proud leader that he was and for doing everthing in his power to speak against the injustices to his people. Unfortunately, Sitting Bull's words, now matter how powerfully or eloquently spoken, were no match for the greed and guns of the white man. I was glad to add this book to my "collection" and would recommend it to others

I really found this book interesting from start to finish. There are the usual behind the scenes explanations and in particular the debacle between Michael Grade and the programme is explored in detail.

Personally I found the Colin Baker years some of the most interesting times on Doctor Who. Probably because of when I was growing up I suppose! The stories are described in detail and reviewed by the authors. Revelation of the Daleks (my favourite all time story along with Trial of a Timelord) is chosen for an in-depth analysis.

An interview with Nicola Bryant (Peri) is also included relating to her career and how she saw the character.

It's a good read if you're into the background of the programme.

Laura Marks' analysis of the connection between film/video and the senses, particularly our non-audiovisual senses, is fantastic. The focus of The Skin of the Film is work by filmmakers and video artists who live apart from their native culture and make work about this separation. The artists discussed in this book draw upon sensory experience to relate personal accounts of loss, longing, and remembering. Marks' in depth discussion and analysis gets at the heart of sensory memory that we all experience. Additionally, she relates this to strategies used by filmmakers throughout the history of cinema to push the cinematic experience beyond its audiovisual roots. I recommend this book for artists and film enthusiasts alike.

Huband's investigative book on the travails of post-Cold War Africa is a good demonstration of the evolution, especially within the journalistic environment, that has occurred over the past decade; the discussions on touchy issues such as "ethnic" conflict (especially in Rwanda) and corruption are more refined, and the accusations of "great powers'" meddling more scathing.

The chapters are arranged in a way which cannot fail but to reveal to the reader how Africa, as an idea, is really more a series of loosely connected "sub-regions" - North Africa, the Great Lakes, Southern Africa.

I found that reading Mahmood Mamdani's enlightening, though slightly repetitive When Victims Become Killers (Princeton UP) before tackling Huband's book was quite helpful, as it, too, addresses the concepts of "race," "ethnicity," and lack of democracy (with the attendant corruption within state institutions). Reading both around the same time is sure to provide the reader a nuanced and in my opinion honest perspective on Africa.

What I find utterly annoying in Huband's book, however, are the numerous quotes in French, most of which are plagued with misspelled words, over capitalization, and bad syntax. These quotes are superficial (the translations, which always follow within parentheses, would have sufficed) and give the reader the impression that the author is attempting to impress us with his (amputated) command of the French language. A consequence of this is that the errors they contain are downright distracting to those who, like myself, know French.

There are better, more complete, books in which to learn the histories of the various conflicts that have plagued the African continent since the Cold War. But as an analysis of the political ramifications of the great power chess game upon the African people, Huband's book is worthy of our undivided attention. Moreover, his emphasis on corrupt, undemocratic governments in Africa is a powerful corrective (though he doesn't address this issue directly) to those in favor of debt forgiveness for highly indebted poor countries (HIPC).

Sleepy and Busy Animals is one of four books in the Animal Opposites book series for young readers. The book highlights ten mammals and describes them as either sleepy or busy. For each animal there is a drawing and a description of how it behaves (e.g. koalas sleep eighteen hours a day and are active at night). The information is perfectly appropriate for pre-schoolers. It introduces young children to the idea that different animals have different needs and behaviors. It also serves as a good introduction to opposites.

This is not the best book for a beginner as it assumes you know how things generally work. It is not the best book if you are a seasoned professional looking to expand your knowledge. BUT it is the best I've seen to date on taking the tech with a little knowledge and experience (me) and making me a much more able and valuable technician. More valuable in the sense that I can now trouble shoot with a lot more confidence... go to this book - look up the procedure and then make the repair with a great deal of understanding. Not just guessing and hoping that I can reassemble the thing properly. To me it is a must have. It is clear - to the point - and covers a lot of little details that will make you look good time after time.

This book offers a good selection of questions and answers focused on financial issues that people face. I like the format, it is easy to read and to find questions that I am interested in understanding. In addition to questions for financial advisors, it includes questions to ask when purchasing a house, selling a house, and purchasing insurance. It covers a lot of different financial topics, more that I thought it would based on the title. I would recommend this book as a good general reference book to have on your home bookshelf.

The reason this book is the best of all anxiety books is because it's scientifically referenced. That means it's readable for students, patients, professors, and medical doctors. And there is some very interesting information in here. For example, blue-eyed people have more anxiety than green- or brown-eyed people, and this may be from a difference in neurotransmitters that help determine eye color! Hard to believe, isn't it. The reason why I didn't give this book 5 stars is because of their recommendations on pharmacology treatment of anxiety, or should I say, lack of recommendations. Throughout the whole book they have tried to be objective, stating that many different psychologists fight over the "proper" treatments for different anxious conditions, and that the authors want to give all sides equal time in the book. What they were not objective about is the fact that up to 50% of all anxious people will not be cured by psychotherapy alone, and do need (either temporarily or permanently) anxiolytic medication. And when they finally do mention anti-anxiety drugs, they mention some of the worst ones, including MAO inhibitors (NEVER TAKE THEM), and beta-blockers (can cause respiratory depression and severe low blood pressure). And when they mention benzodiazepines (valium-type sedatives), they say that the only side effects from them are sedation. Benzodiazepines are very important in the treatment of many different anxiety conditions, but the readers need to be warned that they can cause physical dependence---a truly important side effect. Finally, even though the book was published in 1995, they don't even mention SSRI's like Prozac and Zoloft at all. I can't believe they would recommend an MAO inhibitor and not an SSRI. SSRI's are just as effective for anxiety as MAOI's, but do not have any potentially lethal side effects. How does someone know if they need a benzodiazepine, and antidepressant, or both for their anxiety? The book The Failures of American Medicine details what anxiolytic drugs are appropriate for the various anxiety conditions, and is available here at Amazon.com.