I am scheduled for eye laser surgery on January 6, 2000. While I am excited about this prospect I am not very well informed! I felt that I needed more information to feel prepared and to understand the entire procedure. A magazine ran an ad for the book BEYOND GLASSES!THE CONSUMER'S GUIDE TO LASER VISION CORRECTION which I ordered. It was well worht the money! I found the answers to the questions I had in this book. Any consumer interested in laser correction surgery for his/her eyes should purchase this book. It is well worth the money! Plus the author has had the surgery, herself, and understands what someone considering the surgery needs to know. She has researched this subject well!

As an academic researcher I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't do any research at all on laser eye surgery until I had a rather disastrous experience with the Lasik procedure. Then I went looking for answers. This book is the one to be read by anyone who is considering this procedure or trying to recover from it, as I am. The book is extremely well done, balanced and it covers all the options, not just the lasik surgery. Furthermore I was able to locate an experienced consulting opthalmologist through the physician listings in the back of Beyond Glasses, who just might give me clear vision someday, and the author makes free research updates available to readers through her website.

Contrary to the views of someone below, I found the See Like a Hawk Book, which is written by a doctor, to be a repetition of the information I received in my doctor's brochures and consent forms. I can't imagine how that reviewer formed his/her opinion that it is a better book by any measure than Beyond Glasses! As for the other books out--they aren't any better than Hawk and pale by comparision to Beyond Glasses. (disclaimer: I did not buy any of the medical textbooks on the subject)

I hope I can add a personal note of gratitude to Franette Armstrong for writing such a complete resource. Since she isn't a doctor, she has nothing to gain from helping people like me other than from sales of her excellent book. I encourage all of you prospective patients to do yourself a favor and support her work.

Necholai K. Larssen, Ph.D., New York

After reviewing several books, the internet, and tagging along to doctor appointments with a friend who had a LASIK flap complication, I decided to go with the research that seemed the most believable to me. Beyond Glasses gives LOTS of honest information on both PRK and LASIK. Franette Armstrong, the author of the book, is constantly staying on top of the latest in refractive surgery. Her research will help you make an informed decision for your situation. - April 23, 1999

Not to put the previous reviewer down, but which culture hasn't studied the constelations ("fixed stars") & plenets ("wandering stars") for centuries?

This is a great book. The wording is very practical and down to earth. The subject matter in most of these chapters is formidable (given the limited space), and allows dialog between the reader & writer. What I enjoyed the most was not the diversity that was braught to the book, but the depth of knowledge that was braught to it. The chapter written about Chinese "Five-Element" Astroloy was my favorite. For more info about "this stuff"; I recomend anything written by DEREK WALTERS.

Now if you'll me let complane (which is what most of the critiques on Amazon.com do), I'll share with you what I don't like about most practicing astrologers. Most people (including Fagan) try to dispute the validity of using one Zodiac over another (sidereal vs. tropical). But the fact is that some Zodiacs don't even use the ecliptic! Incuding Chinese astrology. Or the Nakshatras, which most western astrologers "throw in"! And this is my point, that these Zodiacs are a cration. Our creation! And that's what makes astrology valid! Remember Arroyo. Don't forget Arroyo. He said, "If astrology is in fact an emination of universal mind or 'Collective Unconscious' or anything like that, then instead of imposing foreign dogma on astrology, I would say, let us open our eyes to what astrology already is! Let's acknowledge its inherent, extremely sophisticated, psychological [soulful] dimentions. It's all there. It's a tremendous tool, a language of consciousness and inner experience... This is one reason why traditional astrology has become quite meaningless to many of us; the astrology has not for the most part evolved to keep pace with our growth [in] consciousness. And it's why every culture has it's own astrology-the consciousness of that culture determines what level of understanding they can have of astrology."

I really need to emphisise this feeling I have about these truths! It seems as though all we need to do is look up and astrology becomes valid, alive because we are!

For another "good read" try The Origin of The Zodiac by Rupert Gleadow.

This is a book about astrology from China, India and Tibet. I do not know of any other book in which there are so many different astrological techniques from the East. Everything is clearly explained. In this book, you will find the wisdom of the sages of the East who have spotted the stars and planets for centuries. Now you can learn about their insights.

Lt. Col Jim Armstrong and I have been friends since first grade. He and I were both pilots in the Army Air Corps during World War II, and while he saw much action,I remained in the States as a flight instructor. He recorded his adventures after much urging from many people, including my wife and myself. The impact must have been enormous. A strange country, a strange language, the constant danger of discovery by the Germans....and finding the underground, getting their help, and actually being secretly returned to duty in England...what an adventure. The book is well written, the bailout and survival are presented in detail, with illustrations carefully saved by the author. A valuable record, truthful, and very interesting to both the old timers and the current generation.

This excellent, well written ,thoroughly researched book is an interesting and compelling read. My husband bought it for me following one of his regular sojourns to Hay-on-Wye where he searches for fishing books and the likes. I had started to collect books on the Blues to compliment my small collection of Albums,C.Ds even a few 78s. and so considered this biography an aside to the mainstream of my type of music. How wrong some of your assumptions can be! Collier dissects the man his music and the age in which he lived -dispelling many of the myths and giving factual credence to certain claims made by Armstrong and others alike. So,having picked up the book,out of politeness and consideration to my dear husband (!) I starting to flick through reading an odd passage here and there and then found that I had gone back to the very begining and was hooked 'line and sinker 'on the narrative. I am in awe of the depth of research /detective work the author has made on a man whom he obviously enjoyed researching with out any hint of hero worship or sycophancy, but! when it came to the technical abilities of his subject on his cornet playing well- there the author did leave me in ignorance (and boredom)- as not being in the least musically talented I found the discriptive passages on such matters way over my head and, I imgine, that of other readers with similar omissions in their musical education!! The author surmises that some Jazz enthusiasts may denigrate Armstrongs' later performances to that of genial buffoon, all round entertainer and despise this career change for what they take to be a sell out to white entertainment. But Collier can ,having made a thorough study of the man, make assumptions based on fact and not on personal fancy or nebulous notions as some do,that Armstrong fullfilled his ambition of becoming an entertainer which he set out to become but on route became one of the most innovative and influential and skilled exponents of Jazz that the world has ever seen. As Armstrongs' popularity and adulation grew among the general public so it waned on the Jazz circuit as purists disliked the way Armstrong courted popularity. Elitists often think the artist should suffer for his art form and saw Armstrong as a traitor to this. But, when, as you do here, see the history of the man his music, his suffering , etc., all put into the context of the social backdrop that Collier does so expertly you are leftin no doubt of the sincerity of both biographer and subject matter. A great piece of literature!

This ranks among the most shallow, factually incorrect jazz biographies I have read. As someone who knew Lil Armsrong well, I was struck by how far off the mark this alleged portrait of her is. The author hasn't a clue when it comes to Lil's personality, the fabric of her life, and her place in jazz. Lil deserves better than this hack job, which I gave one star because none is not an option.

As a lifelong jazz researcher, I was indeed thrilled when I discovered the first attempt at a Lil Hardin-Armstrong bio, but I must say that this one was a disappointment. Resources for jazz research are richer than they have ever been and jazz history books are finally starting to rise to the level of quality scholarship. but that is not evident here. The author seems to have assembled much of the previously published information on Lil, drawn some odd conclusions (exposing a lack of knowledge of early jazz music) and left it at that. Lil was a significant presence in the 1920's Chicago scene and in the life of her second husband, Louis; she was a fine composer and an above-average instrumentalist. She most certainly did not, as the author suggests, write out Louis' magnificent introduction to West End Blues!
There is also a strange, and somewhat unfair characterization of Louis Armstrong in this book. While much is made of Louis' infidelities, little or nothing is mentioned of Lil's (which have been documented elsewhere). Such inconsistencies damage the credibility of the book.
I love Lil Armstrong's music, and I wish that there was a better biography of her out there. She certainly deserves better!

James L. Dickerson focuses upon Lillian 'Lil' Hardin as a
highly educated, multi-talented, and prestigious individual from
stardom in the early part of the Twentieth Century--when it was
not "cool" to be both a black female and a vocalist/instrumental-
ist--to her last recording. The biographer depicts Lil as one who
was willing to neglect opportunities that would foster her own
additional success in order to promote her husband, Louis Arm-
strong in his musical endeavors as a soloist and instrumentalist.

The conflicts in management, the shifts from city to city, and
the rocky marriage, which eventually involved "the other woman,"
took a toll on the relationship between Lil and Louis. However,
as Dickerson vividly emphasizes, Lil never lost her love for her
musical soulmate, with whom she nurtured their only child--jazz.

This book is for every body, I mean for nobody. Some stuff is so simple even for a beginner as me. Some, on the other hand, are so specialized that I skipped all together. Unless you are already very versed in Unix, you won't get too much out of it. ( Why do you need it if you are already versed anyway?)

This is the first book I bought for learning UNIX. I must say that I don't have any previous on UNIX before. I believe this is an introductory book rahter than the "intermediate to advanced" as claimed by the auothor. It really talks about UNIX, but it evens talks about many thing else (internet, screen editors, etc) which can be related to other OS (Mac, Windows NT, etc). I believe this book is for those reader who don't know anything about UNIX (like me), but definitely not for "intermediate to advanced user". It is worth to mention that this book talks the shell script at very beginning. This will make the beginners feeling lost (me again =).

This book should take you from being a Unix user to a learned Unix user. It is realy your second lesson( and perhaps the most important one ) about Unix and is a must for those who wish to stop wondering about how's and what's of Unix.

read its not about the bike it may have been "ghost written" but it has the proper prespective and an editor that passed high school english.

A book on the most dominant american cyclist of his generation by the only mainstream american sports journalist that actually understands the sport. the problem is that this book is nothing more than a compilation of old articles, and obviously done in a rush as well. typos litter the book, the images are far from impressive (the majority are from the '99 tour, and have as much quality as a fans pics taken with a disposable camera). altogether a waste of my money. if you want to learn about armstrong, then buy 'it's not about the bike', and don't waste your time or money on this.

Of the various books about Lance Armstrong, this is easily the most readable and the most atractively presented. It tells the story of Armstrong's early career as well as his painful recovery and amazing comeback and victory in the 1999 Tour de France. Author Samuel Abt and photographer James Startt have put together a personally involved work that makes the reader feel intimately familiar with Armstrong.

I bought this book with the hope of reading how top contemporary Protestant scholars address the issue of ecclesiology espoused by Rome and the Orthodox. It left me sadly disappointed. The chapter that addresses the four marks of the church defined in the nicene creed did not attempt to reconcile Protestant perceptions of those terms with the historical understanding of the council fathers. None dealt substantially with Eph 5:32. I was further saddened that one author criticized the piety of Catholics on the basis of his understanding rather than taking the time to just ask some of them why they were doing it. All guns trained against Catholicism while the Eastern Orthodox hold nearly identical views on ecclesiology. Perhaps someday a book with less rhetoric and polemic will attempt to address issues that build understanding rather than polarizing divisiveness.

This was the required text, for a very limited time of course, for my vhdl course. The book is horrible. It is poorly organized, with very few examples, and contains paragraph after paragraph of verbage. Everyone I knew at that class relied primary on other texts. This book seems to be intended for "advanced" vhdl users, since they're the only ones who could possibly understand the writing and the hardware devices that are modeled in the examples. then again, if you're a real pro, would you have the time and patience to read this book given its inferior quality.