Bought my copy in 1978, using my dad's money, it's still worth every cent of it. Must have at least 20 books about the P-51 by now, but as photobook alone this one still stands out. The 160 pages have not the usual black-and-white pics, but some in color as well. But this books has other strenghts as well. The text is very informative and covers not only the WW2 history of this all-time American great, but also tells the Korean story. Some of the text chapters are written by co-authors who tell their own use and history from actual (combat)experience, even a ferry pilot tells her story.

I have had a copy of this work for several years. Although not large in size, it is in content. One of the few books on the Mustang to cover the entire operational history of the fighter from its design for the RAF to its service in Korea. If you can find used copies, buy two. One to store and one to use. A must for every lover of the P-51.

I just received several new copies of this very special book. The material is excellent. The size of the book, however, is no longer 'paper back'. Even though all the printed material is 'paper back' size, the new copy is now over-sized for no apparent reason. Please, oh please, re-distribute in the previous smaller size. Its just too darn big for practical usage in and out of church. thanks

This book was a gift. I have owned it for over 22 years. It was used when I received it. A review at the time it was published stated " ... A book destined to work wonders with the human soul." It's the most valuable gift I have ever received. It is truly a "great" book. My copy is now falling apart due to use through the years. It's held together by tape. At times it holds my life together. Buy it.

I don't come from an Orthodox background, but found Borinsky's book an excellent introduction and overview to the teaching of the Fathers on the Trinity. This book also explores the Trinity in relation to the Old and New Testament as well as the Liturgy. For me, the book provided an excellent foundation for thought and for exploring the significance of the Trinity in relation to all things. In fact, some of Borinksy's ideas could be applied to a Trinitarian view of interpersonal communication.

This book offers an excellent look at the experience and vision of the Holy Trinity in the life of the Orthodox Church. Rather than attempting to explain that which words cannot explain, the author instead chooses to illustrate how the Triune God has manifested Himself to mankind throughout history. The book is divided into four parts: The first section, "Biblical Theology," deals first with how the Trinity was revealed mysteriously to the Patriarchs and Prophets of the Old Testament. It then moves on to the more clear manifestations of the Trinity in the New Testament, both in the Gospels and in the early Apostolic communities. The second section, "Liturgical and Sacramental Theology," illustrates how the Holy Trinity is manifested and experienced in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Orthodox Church. In the third section, entitled "Trinitarian Theology in the Fathers and in the Councils," the author examines how the Trinitarian Theology of the Church developed in the writings of the Church Fathers and Church Councils which refuted such teachings as Arianism and other heresies. Bobrinskoy does an excellent job of illustrating the continuity as well as the diversity of the theologies of the Church Fathers throughout the ages. The final section, "Doctrinal Synthesis," looks at the continuity of the biblical manifestations of the Trinity, the experience of the Trinity in the liturgical life of the Church, and the Trinitarian theology of the Church Fathers. It then turns to how each of these manifestations of the Trinity come together to form the doctrine of the Orthodox Church. I highly recommend this book. Although difficult to follow at times, Bobrinskoy gives the reader an indepth look at the manifestation of the Trinity to mankind throughout history.

This book contains many ideas propogated by Anthony Smith in many of his other books (i.e., _State and Nation in the Third World_, _The Ethnic Origin of Nations_, _Nations and Nationalism in a Global Era_) but combines them into one short volume.

Smith first focuses on the ethnic past of nations while also pointing out the differences between ethnic groups and modern nations. He moves through a short history of ethnic groups and nations, asking the important question of whether ancient Egypt, Israel and Greece were ethnic nations before examining the medieval cases of England and France. In all cases he puts emphasis on the importance of the homeland, a concept which can hardly be overemphasized in dealing with national identity.

He then moves to a typology of nationalism, claiming that 'nationalism-in-general is merely a lazy historian's escape'. He examines the oft-neglected cultural aspect of nationalism, one that was at its height in nineteenth-century Europe but which has been replaced in the news today by genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Moving on to the impact of colonialism, imperialism and decolonization on the development of national identity, Smith spends a good amount of time on non-European nations like Egypt, Ethiopia and India. He shows again how difficult it is to generalize about nationalism, especially outside Europe.

Finally, Smith looks to the future, asking the inevitable question of whether nations and national identity are doomed. He argues that any attempt to supersede national identity, e.g. the creation of a European identity around the EU, must inevitably draw in so many aspects of national identity that it is merely another form of national identity. Smith claims that, just as national identity has been with us for quite some time, it will remain for a while as well.

A well-argued and concise book.

I liked. Smith writes not only definitions on traditional concepts (like nationalism) but also introduces an interesting analysis about ethnonationalism. I do not agree in some coments (like his concept of "lateral ethnic communities"), but it is still a good book. Roberto Remes

This is a reader that covers the various theories of nationalism as well as varieties of nationalism itself. This makes it a largely indispensable supplement, handbook and reference work for anyone interested in nationalism. This is particularly true today as the scholarship on this social phenomenon continues to grow unabated, and since it is patently obvious that nationalism hardly seems about to disappear. The reader contains important extracts from the major works on nationalism by some of the most important early theorists such as Renan, Max Weber and Stalin (although the views of Marx and Engels themselves or Lord Acton and Friedrich Meinecke would have been welcome additions) and almost all of the most important contemporary scholars (Gellner, Anderson, Connor, A. Smith, etc.). The texts are well-selected and organized, and it really contributes to making a very complex subject and a daunting field of scholarship seem a little easier to grasp.

Professors John Hutchinson and Anthony D. Smith, both at the London School of Economics, have put together here a great collection of texts from the major writers on nationalism over the last 100 years. Starting with Ernest Renan, Joseph Stalin and Max Weber, the book also includes extracts from Benedict Anderson, Walker Connor, Partha Chatterjee, Karl Deutsch, Ernest Gellner, Liah Greenfeld, EJ Hobsbawm, Donald Horowitz, Elie Kedourie, Hans Kohn, James Mayall, Tom Nairn, and Anthony Smith himself, in addition to many others. As in Smith's _Nationalism and Modernism_, all perspectives of the field are represented here. There are 49 essays organized into seven chapters, complete with an introduction to each plus notes, a bibliography, information about each author and an index.

This book is a definite must for anyone interested in nationalism.

Zaknich's book provided me with the necessary theory and detail to enable me to develop a neural network application as part of my phd. I thoroughly recommend this text for anyone wishing to develop and use neural networks, particularly for engineering applications. I found that while most books focussed on either the theory of neural networks or selected applications, Zaknich's text provided a comprehensive coverage of both theory and application providing a sound basis for understanding and applying neural networks. Topics ranged from the applicability of neural networks through to data collection, data conditioning and the final implementation.

***** Stanley McGibney, Consultant Mechanical Engineer

I found this book to be significantly different in its treatment of neural networks for signal processing and pattern recognition. It deals very ably not only with essential theory but also with basic practical issues, often missing from other books on the subject, that significantly enhance understanding and application. Zaknich has included a nice guide and design approach to successful application of neural networks, which is supplemented by frequent tips and a variety of worked application examples.

The book is much more than a good introduction to neural networks. It also includes a class of neural networks that Zaknich has developed and worked on over a decade that he refers to as common bandwidth spherical basis function neural networks. This is based on a generalization called the Modified Probabilistic Neural Network (MPNN) that encompasses Donald Specht's Probabilistic and General Regression Neural Networks. He has continued to develop the MPNN in a number of very practical directions that allows it to used for a wide range of engineering problems. He seems to favour applications related to underwater acoustic signal processing but the methods and approaches that he offers are suited to many other non-linear problems found in engineering and other disciplines.

The book includes a very interesting discussion on intelligent signal processing. Zaknich talks about what he calls hyperspace signal processing in the context of the MPNN and other classical filtering structures that gives an interesting view of some of the basic issues involved. He suggests at least one possible generic approach to non-linear signal processing based on Vapnik's Support Vector Machine that has a structural similarity to the MPNN.

This book is a gem that shines in its clarity beyond many other books on neural networks that I have struggled with in an attempt to understand the subject well enough to apply it.

The new advantages of Sherlock Holmes is absolutely fabulous this is only one of the sets available for this series. I'm only 26 years old, but the new adventures of Sherlock Holmes has given me a great appreciation for old-time radio. These are true collectors items. If you think you know Sherlock Holmes, I challenge to to listen to the new adventures. I guarantee you'll discover subtle nuances that you didn't know about before. The new adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a fresh approach to this wonderful fictional detective.

Although Edith Meiser was the most prolific author of Holmes radio pastiches, the team of Dennis Green and Anthony Boucher was the best. This collection contains one original Conan Doyle story ("The Speckled Band"), one story from Holmes' retirement days as a beekeeper ("The Living Doll"), and one from the time while he was in hiding after the fight at Reichenbach Falls ("Murder Beyond the Mountains"). Nigel Bruce and Basil Rathbone star as Holmes and Watson, but the final tale in the collection ("The Stuttering Ghost") is the first broadcast starring Tom Conway as Holmes. When Rathbone left the series at the end of the 1945 season, Tom Conway stepped into the breach, and the Green-Boucher team wrote the series for one more season. Conway does a creditable job as Holmes, but after Rathbone's departure, they gave Nigel Bruce top billing.

Finding this book with cassetts is an opportunity not to be miss no matter what the cost. Some things in life are fun but this is one that no one should miss and enjoy it with pleasure and a sip of wine-of course!

I have used a lot of different sources in my attempt to teach myself French. Because the lessons flow so effortlessly I keep returning to "New French With Ease". The lessons are entertaining, and by using the CD's I am really learning to hear spoken French. I recommend it above all others.

It could be an exaggeration when I call the Kobbes Opera Guide a Bible for opera lovers. But it's a very resourceful book on operatic composers, performers and the rich history of opera from its early days in Baroque Italy. Everything you want to know is here...the opera comique style, Baroque masters such as Gluck and Handel, the Rossini operas, bel canto beauties such as the Donizetti operas, German operas and French operas. It is a very monumental source of information on singers as well, sopranos from the very talked about Maria Callas (1923-1977), Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills, and recent singers as Renee Fleming and Sumi Jo, tenors Placido Domingo, Nicolai Gedda, Luciano Pavoratti, Jon Vickers, and their careers. A must have for any true opera buff. Immerse yourself into the stories of operas and its fascinating background in music.

The new format of this magnificent reference book is the most outstanding feature of this revised, updated work. The prior Kobbe's clumsily, but not wholly improperly , catlogued composers like a taxonomical excercise. The genus being the chronological era and the species is the nationality of the composer. Thus German composers in the nineteenth century with singular emphasis on Wagner are grouped; then Italian opera for that century, and so on through Europe. Then we come to the twentieth century and all over again with this format but encompassing the world by nation. The revised volume has nothing more outstanding than an alphabetical arrangement for the subjects, but how outstanding and important this seemingly simple change is cannot be overestimated. This is a required reference book for opera afficianados whatever level of knowledge of the subject one possesses.

This book represents the best of jazz journalism. Radano writes extensivly about Braxton, but also captures the essence of the Chicago Jazz scene in the late 60's and the complexities of being a black avant-garde artist in an era where such things are just not accepted.

Part biography, part explication, part cultural critique, Radano manages to talk knowledgably and extensively about Braxton's music without resorting to technical jargon or waxing romantic like a fan...both serious mistakes of most jazz critics. And he also charts a sympethetic course through the philosophical divides of black artists in the 60's without taking sides or launching into unfounded polemics. Instead, Radaon's central premise, that Braxton's unique musical vision has never found a place in American musical society due to it's difficulty of classification (is it jazz? is it European oriented experimental music? What do we call this stuff?) and due to the less than orthodox education and views of it's creator, rings true in light of the facts of Braxto's life and the critical coverage and destruction that he recieved in the 70s and 80s.

Radano also does a marvelous job explaining Braxton's notoriously difficult philosophic/musical theories. The Triaxium writings are very difficult for the uninitiated (as are most free musician's theories - try making sense out of Ornette Coleman's descriptions of harmelodics...it's pretty tough going, though the results are stunning.) Radano strips away some of the deliberately obscure language that Braxton uses and gives us "Triaxium lite" as it were. Though this may seem on some level sacriligious, for many of us who truly admire Braxton and want to understand his thought, this helps enormously. It's made it possible for me to understand more of the liner notes on Braxton albums.

This book is recommended highly, both for fans of the composer/improvisor, and for anyone interested in the sad state of American culture at the end of the millenium. One hopes that Radano will decide to revise this book in light of the developments of the last 10 years (the book came out in 1993). Braxton's tenure as professor at Wesleyan University and his creation of an entirely new genre of music (Ghost Trance Music), along with a greater, belated appreciation of his notated music, may change some of Radano's conclusions, or at least inform them a bit.

This book is an excellent work of scholarship that examines Braxton's musical education in Chicago (AACM) in the 60s, his music as it progressed throughout the 70s, and, most importantly, how the media treated Braxton during these periods. It is essential reading for those who want a better understanding of not only Braxton's music but also the definitions imposed on creative music by the media establishment.