Ray Kroc was an itinerant piano player, a paper cup salesman, a multi-mixer super-salesman and, in his most incandescent incarnation, the visionary middle-aged genius behind the McDonald's megalith. This is his gilded story, offered with all the self-serving bombast you might expect from someone who reinvented himself and the world when most of us are beginning to resignedly look down the slow slope towards retirement. Someone once said that reading biographies is worthwhile only so long as the life in question glitters. A strange epitaph, perhaps, to give to someone who made a difference with armies of beef-slinging, coke-sloshing, fry-sizzling, hygiene-obsessed foot-soldiers. But that was Ray Kroc. And "Grinding it Out" is his improbable journey through this dream we call life. We have all been affected by his original reverie, long ago, when he clandestinely watched two brothers named McDonald serving burgers from their oddly shaped fast-food stand. A book to be enjoyed for those who say, "only in America", not with a sneer, but with a wistful smile.

It is truly inspirational to read about a businessman succeeding by being perfectly moral. Ray Kroc continuously focused on delivering positives instead of negatives. He was way ahead of his time, realizing the power of the entrepreneurial spirit and how to harness that in a large corporation.

Ray Kroc's wisdom from his autobiography:

"You have to spend money to make money."
"I have always believed that each man makes his own happiness and is responsible for his own problems."
"A man must take advantage of any opportunity that comes along."
"I was driven by ambition. I hated to be idle for a minute. I was determined to live well and have nice things, too."
"I work from the part to the whole, and I don't move on to the large scale ideas until i have perfected the small details."
"It's lonely on top."
"Train for a career. Learn how to support themselves and how to enjoy work first. Then if they have a thirst for learning, they can go to night school."

Ah, great person in America!

Nothing illustrates the reasons for poetry's marginalization in our culture better than this book. Poetry, luckily, is not to blame (read some--there's plenty out there, just none in this book). The problem is the sanctimony, ethical blindness and blatant intellectual dishonesty of the poets who dashed off these bits of political propaganda. Tired Vietnam-era rhetoric, brainless Bush-bashing (which says more about these poets' arrested adolescence than the liberation of Iraq), and nauseatingly self-congratulatory "statements of conscience" fill this book (as if conscience, to these finger-wagging moralists, can only mean keeping the people of Iraq in the prisons and torture chambers of their beloved Hussein). If anybody's keeping track, there are more purpely described atrocities in these pages than ever took place in Iraq, but the extraordinary and largely successful lengths taken to minimize civilian casualties, or any facts for that matter, could never make a dent in these poets' boiler-plated self-regard. The point of these poems is never to actually weigh moral consequences, but to trumpet oneself as a paragon of virtue and strike weepy poses for like-minded egotists. Newsflash: your freedoms, yes yours Sam Hamill, and yours W.S. Merwin, were paid for in blood. One of those freedoms is to cower behind the front lines, where the real sacrifices are being made, and proclaim your own "bravery" and superiority while churning out inferior books of poetry like this one. There's something Stalinist about the intellectual climate of this book--the set of unquestioned and enforced doctrines, the willful refusal to examine them. Why not include a poem that supports the war? Well, because then there would be a conversation, a debate, instead of a shrill and one-sided rant. And that, ultimately, is the real crime of this book--these poems, as poems, are totally awful. This book is a disgrace.

Oh, no, it's not perfect. There are some poems I certainly can't agree with, some I merely don't like... but only a few.
Most of this, however, is very powerful stuff, in its own quiet way.

The book is no more than it purports to be: many voices that happen to agree on one single note - the wish that this war had not broken out (or not this way, or not yet, or not without trying more alternatives first, or...).
Just many voices, that have chosen a peaceful means of voicing their opinion.

We got this book as a gift, and I was stunned by its power. Some of the poets and writers were long-time favorites: Adrienne Rich, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, WS Merwin, Mary Oliver, Terry Tempest Williams. Most I'd never had heard of. But what struck me was the humanity of the voices--how much they cut through the political abstractions of our time. And the distinctiveness of their voices.

The critical review posted on this site obviously doesn't like the politics of this anthology--he wants a Poets for the War. But contrary to his assertion, this is the farthest collection imaginable from a single monolithic voice--but yes, the participants don't want this war. This is a great book to dip in and out of, browse through for a quick reflection, and use to anchor our humanity in these difficult times.

Paul Loeb
Author Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in a Cynical Time

At first I was impressed with the book, the reading was quite easy. But then "facts" about the number of Afro-Americans serving in the Civil War were confusing. At least three different numbers were cited. The differences in the numbers had a factor of three or more. That simply cannot be the case. Other inaccuracies appeared in the text which lead me to the impression that the book was researched by different people, maybe students, I really don't know. From an intellectual point of view, the discrepancies are glaring and leaves one the believe Claude Anderson's efforts were disingenuous. If the author cited blacks as victims of the holocaust, then he should have cited references to support this notion.

Although Anderson unapologetically represents a black point of view throughout the book, his stories and mini facts are great gems of information. Critics who argue that the book is poorly researched because they claim Anderson cites has more than one figure for the number of blacks who fought in the Civil War are forgetting that some numbers represent the number of blacks fighting at a given point in the war--over all, his number of 200,000 is the generally accepted number. Although he can be one-sided (I think he diminishes the suffering of Indians in some cases), the book overall is a must read and contains some little known dirtly little tidbits about American history.

I ENJOYED THE INFORMATION THAT WAS PROVIDED BECAUSE I DEFINITELY WAS NOT TAUGHT ANY OF THIS INFORMATION IN SCHOOL. IF YOU'RE AN AFRICAN AMERICAN, YOU SHOULD POSSESS ONE COPY OF THIS BOOK LIKE YOU MAY HAVE A BIBLE IN YOUR HOME. ALSO, MAYBE A LOT US US NEED TO START SEARCHING OUR FAMILY TREE.

This book is very useful in parts: some of the idioms are very easy to incorporate into sentences. However, my main and only gripe about this book is that the translations are not literal. Learners of Italian can read the sample pages provided with this book on Amazon and see that the explanations do not exactly correspond within the context of the sentences. For beginner/intermediate level students of Italian such as myself, this book can be very frustrating when it comes to wanting to know what the non-idiomatic parts of the examples mean.
I recommend this book for more advanced learners of Italian because only higher level students will be able to fully appreciate what it being said in this book. Nevertheless, you could learn it parrot fashion if that is the way you prefer to learn.
A useful book regardless.

This is a fine bargain at the price. With the number of common idioms in Italian translated into English and common idioms in English set alongside their Italian equivalents, it is invaluable in expressing yourself, especially if you come from an English-speaking background that is in its own cultural flavor peppered heavily with colloquial idioms and expressions. Best thing since sliced bread!

As a resident, I frequently prepared journal clubs, where we have to carefully discuss and scrutinize studies. I gained some introduction from "Appleton and Lange's Review of Epidemiology and Biostatistics for the USMLE". But preparing for journal clubs was quite different. There are many of statistical and epidemiological terminology in each article, some I am familiar with, but others are confusing and new. In this very helpful "dictionary" I was able to find more than 95% of the terms with brief definition and good short explanation that successfully allowed me to soundly evaluate the studies and prepare an impressive brief, neat handouts. The great thing about this dictionary was its well organization and ease to find what you are looking for. My friends frequently borrowed when they have to prepare their journal clubs, and found it really helpful.
It is a dictionary; i.e., arranged alphabetically sequencing the terms, and if a term has more than one name, they mention them all, before the explanation.
I highly recommended to every resident, as it will not only will help during residency, but also surely during real life and practice, especially a with hundreds of "trials, studies" appears in medical journal daily.
I gave it four not five stars, because few explanation were rather short, despite informative, and lack of illustration and pictures, which may require you to use a regular textbook in Epidemiology, this happened maybe almost 1 from every 10 terms.

One of the major problems with studying the field of epidemiology is the inconsistency of terminology that is used. This is because the field is relatively young, is actively evolving and has developed from multiple other disciplines including the social sciences as well as the medical sciences and statistics. As a result, it can be both confusing and frustrating for the student. This dictionary is the "bible" of terminology for the fireld, in part because there is no other. This should be an absolute requirement for the shelf of every student in the field of epidemiology. Even experienced epidemiologists are encouraged to have a copy for reference purposes. The only caution is that a new edition is due out soon. It can only be better than the first edition. Get it.

If you like the Requisites series of texts, this book is for you. Let's face it, the average radiology resident can't wade through Stoller or Berquist and expect to remember much. This book takes musculoskeletal MR and breaks it down into a Requisites-format book of manageable length. Boxes indicating "key points" abound, and the pictures are of high quality. The length is appropriate for an introductory MSK MR rotation.

On the minus side, the book is definitely not an exhaustive reference text. The knee chapter is relatively short, especially given the huge volumes of knee MRs radiologists are seeing. Also, the authors are a bit too opinionated about which sequences to use in some chapters - a more evidence-based and less anecdotal approach to tailoring exams would have been more useful.

Overall, highly recommended for radiology residents who are encountering MSK MR for the first time.

This is a very good text especially for the cost.

True to the authors intentions, the text presents practical aspects of interpreting musculoskeletal magnetic resonance studies. The text is perfectly suited to radiology residents, fellows and radiologists interpreting routine mri's. Essential technical information including suggestions for protocols are provided as well as an organized approach to interpretation.

I liked the sequence of normal descriptions immediately followed by associated pathology. There were sufficient images of excellent quality. Illustrations and diagrams are well thought out and "boxes" with core information are also present for those of us who just want the essential list! Definitely an easily read text. One should realize that this, however, is not a reference text! A musculoskeletal radiologist or individual with special interest in this area will likely find this too superficial. But the authors intentions are not to replace Resnick or Stoller's excellent reference texts.

Bottom line is I definitely recommend it for the price because it fills the gap between an intro book and the heavy duty texts just as it intends to...it is the missing link.

This book about a quest to climb the 7 summits (highest mountain on each of 7 contingents) solo is a mixed bag. The photography is stunning, and rates this book right up there with any coffee table travelogue. This book is in large format and is indeed a coffee table type. The photography expands well beyond the typical mountaineering subjects and focuses as much on the travel and locales as it does on the mountain climbing.

The mountain climbing and the text is the weak link. Perhaps it should be excused by the format, which isn't conducive to extended text. But the brevity of the text leads to problems including lack of exposition and in some cases, apparent truncation of the story.

All in all, this is a book worth having, but it isn't a mountaineering read.

Peak of a climber's career

7 Summits Solo, (Summit, USA) by Robert Mads Anderson To Everest via Antarctica, Robert Mads Anderson Reviewed by Neil Nelson, The Evening Standard, Wellington, New Zealand Saturday, February 24, 1996

Having spent the past 20 years scaling some of the world's most difficult peaks, American-born Aucklander Robert Anderson set himself a new challenge: to climb the highest peak on each of the world's seven continents.

As an added challenge, he elected to climb them solo.

Ultimately, he failed in his bid, with Everest getting the better of him on two separate occasions. But failure to stand on the top of the world's highest peak doesn't diminish Anderson's achievement or the highly readable accounts he has written of his adventures.

As the price tags would suggest, the two books which have resulted from his seven summits project are totally different.

7 Summits Solo is a large-format, lavishly produced, 160-page volume which includes dozens of superb colour photographs taken by Joe Blackburn during the expedition (Note, nearly all photos in the book are Anderson's).

Anderson's account of the expedition is essentially a précis of the story he tells in To Everest via Antarctica. The 220 page Penguin book (Stackpole Books, USA) contains just a handful of photographs, but includes a far more detailed account of Anderson's adventures.

During the past decade or so, I've read numerous accounts of climbing expeditions: this one rates as one of the best.

Unlike some mountaineers, who feel compelled to describe in minute detail everything they did during the expedition, Anderson concentrates more on the adventures he had actually getting to the mountain.

He admits it is more of a travel book than a book about climbing and that he wrote it for a broader market.

Some chapters have little to do with climbing at all. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in Anderson's descriptions of his travels in Russia, late in 1992, after conquering Mt Elbrus, Europe's highest peak. With Elbrus out of the way, and three weeks left on his Russian visa, Anderson decided the opportunity to see some of Russia was too good an opportunity to miss.

With the Russia of old rapidly being split into a series of new countries, and new border crossings appearing at random, it was decided a large bus would be the easiest way of moving around. One was soon found and with several companions Anderson set off for a fascinating tour of parts of Russia which had seldom seen Western tourists. The tales he relates of his journey make for absorbing and humorous reading.

With a degree in writing and a career spent mainly in the advertising industry - the business he set up in New Zealand and subsequently sold helped fund his seven summits project - Anderson wastes few words. He has an economical, easy-to-read style and knows how to tell a good story.

While the price of 7 Summits Solo means it's unlikely to appear on best-seller lists, To Everest via Antarctica deserves to be. One of the most enjoyable books I read in 1995, I look forward to reading of Anderson's further adventures.

In following with Sir Anderson other works, when reading this book it becomes quite clear why this is the same man from Scottland Yard who caught Jack the Ripper. Clearly his heart for knowledge is shown in his indepth look into the Bible and God's wisdom for our lives. The truths explained are quite applicable for our society so filled with malfescience.

I didn't expect much for the small price, But this is actually a price nice little guide. It only has 12 color photos, but MANY drawings. If you don't have this book in your Reef collection, You can't go wrong with a book and the price.