The information that is in this book is good but it is way overpriced. I could get the same amount of information in anthor book for 30 dollars cheaper.

I used an earlier edition while in graduate school and found it very helpful. Griffin has boiled down and concisely described about 30 or so communication theories. What's more, he does so in practical terms and concepts that college students can easily grasp and apply. While I believe that this text is more applicable to the undergrad than grad student, it is an excellent reference and text. As a professor of communication, I now use it in my undergrad courses on communication theory.

And by the way, what's all this [stuff] about liberals and communications??? I am a liberal (bleeding heart variety, and proud of it), I teach communication, and I think the book is valuable, candid, and balanced....

This is a wonderful text that looks only at the truthfulness of communication theory. The author rightfully gives all of the information on haywire stances on communication that are praised in liberal society.

Each theory is well-covered and explained. The author takes the hardest and most complex of modern communication theories and makes them understandable, and able to be remembered.

I regestered Four an twenty Black Birds in 1982 with the writers guild. I wrote it My name Is Billy Milligan and was diagnosed with 24 personalities. Hence 4&20 black birds Forgive my spelling but i am livid. Dr. Danial Keyes took 4&20 black birds to write the minds of Billy Milligan

Reading this book consolidated a natural knowledge I'd always had -- it made perfect sense without stretching or pushing or being difficult to understand, and without having a strong background in psychology, psychiatry or personality theory. Dr. Baldwin's book is impressive both in its treatment of the concept of "self" and its readability.

In "Blackbirds" Dr. Baldwin describes a psychoanalytic process of discovering our "selves." (That's right, plural.) His approach encourages us to look at the cast of characters which make up the self, how these characters interact in the "community of the self" and the various roles each character plays in the script we all write for our lives. Dr. Baldwin's personae theory explores the psychological power of literature and theater and how these can move us and enrich us, whether staged in a theater, or in our heads. A facinating look at the psyche that turns inward and outward until there doesn't seem to be a difference between the two; which is, of course, the whole point.

This book is one of the bleakest books I have read. The diarist has developed a notion that his eyes are delicate(among other psychosomatic diseases) so he lies in a darkened room most of the day. He has cut himself off from society, the only people with whom he associates are his paid staff: Doctors, talkers, helpers and wife. The talkers read and talk about themselves to Arthur who eventually beds them, grows emotionally dependent on them and lavishes them with presents to keep them. Even with his wife it's this way. Arthurs ambition is to chronicle every thought and not censor himself, and while he is mentally ill and thus deludes himself on a number of issues, he does succeed in being brutally honest especially on the members who has left his fold. I challenge anyone to find any positive human values in this book, it certainly does show the dark side of human nature.

Arthur called his diary, "... pure crap... out of the rectum of a rotting shadow and of no possible interest to anyone save a psychologist concentrating upon the disintegration of a person." Although he was a somewhat nasty, prejudiced man, I think his diary was fascinating. I especially enjoyed his descriptions of his relationships with his female employees and the narratives of their lives. This is a book for specialized tastes--not for everyone

I hope someone else out there has actually read this book -- its worth it, in many ways. While hidden away in his room during the whole of his lifetime with a medical condition no doctors could ever diagnose, the author kept a painstaking diary of his everyday "experiences". He paid for people to come sit with him and tell stories of their lives -- appealing, tragic, often sordid. He usually entered into intimate relationships with these people, all the while dissecting them within the thousands of pages of his diary. Arthur blackmailed his millionaire parents to subsidize him, viciously tormented his servants and wife and eventually committed suicide. But not before he left for posthumous publication his eerie, hateful, yet fascinating world view.

I would have rated this book 1 star if not for the discovery of August Derleth and his Solar Pons story. Although one can easily solve the riddle at the very beginning because of the telltale "circular room", it fully restores the atmosphere of the canon and sends chill down one's spine. However, the section titled "6 classic Pastiches" seems to be the only valueable part of this collection. Others include some studies of Holmes' life and habits (apparently they forgot Holmes is not a real person, even if he were, I would not care about his private life), and some not so serious stories with a character named Sherlock Holmes who is apparently not the one of Baker Street (how curious some authors think that if they have enough fame they can borrow this name to decorate their nonsense). If one is looking for more tales of the great detective, one'd better not waste time on this book.

...mostly interesting, occasionally excellent or pedestrian. I found the editor's own essay tedious. Overall good fun.

I enjoyed this anthology immensly. Some of the pastiches Mr. Kaye included were among the best Neo-Sherlocking I've ever read (I particularly enjoyed "The Unmasking Of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Chapman.) and I agree with most of his opinions on The Canon. But who does he think he is calling the brilliant performance of Jeremy Brett as Holmes an "outrage and an abomination"?! He also says he will not mention the Brett series in his Holmesian catalogue. You just did Marv!

The Rider-Waite tarot deck has Christian junk symbolism added to ancient Tarot symbols and hence it misleads in some ways. Also, this Giant deck of too big to shuffle thoroughly and easily.

If you are serious about Tarot, don't get this.

If you find the artwork of the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck simple yet artistic, then buy this deck. Size does matters when it comes to artwork.

But for those who are thinking of using it to read fortunes for customers, you will find this deck rather "clumsy"; get the normal size deck instead.

Rider-Waite is the Tarot standard. Combine it with the sheer size of these jumbo cards and you get a higher impact reading. Holding and placing these cards becomes an act that is larger than life. I've found that clients touching these larger cards are more likely to say they feel a special sensation. If the table isn't big enough use the floor. In fact, for nervous first-time clients it's a great ice-breaker.

A good book if you want resumes of biotech industry pioneers, but written from a strongly US-centric and scientific rather than commercial point of view. I had hoped to gather insights into what it's like being part of a new start-up venture, but instead found little more than generous (if uncritical) praise of the scientific workers involved in the story.

Arthur Kornberg starts by describing how, as an academic, he was opposed to the commercialization of biotechnology. He describeshis role on the advisorial board at DNAX and identifies the key elements for success in any biotech company. Kornberg details the risks in biotechnology and discusses the pros and cons of commercial biotechnology, and his take on patents - "Secrecy is corrosive; it makes even less sense in industry than in academia." In the end, he concludes that industry, not academia, is where the most productive science takes place.

an autobiographical journey through the minds and hearts of the scientist/ buisnessman. A must for scientists trying to understand how people can do science AND make money!

The Fragility of Goodness: Why Bulgaria's Jews Survived the Holocaust by Tzvetan Todorov (Editor) fails in the essential task created by the title - explainig how fragile was the set of circumstances that led to the Jews of Bulgaria being saved. The first 40 or so pages of the book is a concise history of Bulgaria and the Second World War with the remainer of the book restricted to primary historical documents and memories of the major participants.

The stated premise of the book is that goodness is fragile and that the saving of Bulgarian's Jews was not a forgone conclusion. The author ignores that fact that few historical events were forgone conclusions. Even the rise of Hitler was not preordianed and but for the acts of Hindengurg and a few Weimar leaders who thought that they could control Hitler there might not have been a Holocaust. Todorov does not explain why the events in Bulgaria are any different from every other historical event.

If one want to read a comprehensive history of Bulgaria during World War II, I would suggest Beyond Hitler's Grasp: The Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria's Jews by Michael Bar-Zohar. The Fragility of Goodness is wothwhile for the presence of the primary sources, but not much else.

It is no big surprise that Todorov published a book on the Bulgarian Jews' salvation issue. First, it goes within the major topic of his later research: the value of ethics in extreme circumstances. Second, his Bulgarian origin should made him, even for simply methodological reasons, pay more attention to the country where he comes from (and which one would expect him to know well). The book follows a scheme that Todorov already employed ten years ago in compiling the witnesses' tales of three Bulgarian citizens severely (and unreasonably) persecuted by the Communist secret police in the early 60's: no place for comments, the floor is given to the "historical figures" themselves. Yet, while in the previous "Bulgarian" book the historical figures spoke with their own words, here Todorov is constricted to the existing documentation (no one of the participants in the '43 events is still alive). And this is why he, everything taken into acount, fails. The texts are insufficient to build a complete picture of WWII Bulgaria because of their "official" character: they do not present in detail the motivation even of those main figures that were most deeply involved in the salvation (or effective dispatch to the camps of death), yet they are not adjoined by any commentary by the author wich to elucidate them better. The author's position is limited (and this is quite a particular case!) to the title itself which, however, is misleading, too. Shall we interpret it literally in the sense that Bulgarians should not really boast about saving the Jews; or shall we understand it within the broader context of Todorov's work, as just one more argument in favor of Todorov's general concept of the relativity of morality? The truth is even now I cannot choose the correct answer.

The author thoroughly explores the chain of events and actions that led to the rescue of Bulgarian Jews from Holocaust. In addition to his own remarks, the author provides a set of documents relevant to the period of persecution and possible deportation of Bulgarian Jews. The memoirs and diaries of political (and moral) adversaries describing the same events are put together. The clash of individual / group actions and opinions reveals the struggle between good and evil, courage and cowardliness in the Bulgarian society and government of 1940s. The author puts special emphasis on the brave attempt of Dimitar Peshev, the Vice-Chairman of National Assembly, to prevent Jewish deportation. His actions cost him the political post, but his goal was eventually achieved. I believe the author underestimated the role of Bulgarian king Boris in the eventual cancellation of deportation plans. Without his decision, the protests of Peshev, the opposition, and Bulgarian society would be in vain. I think his decision was more than just a calculated move done in Bulgarian national interests. His efforts to defend Jewish lives in the personal meetings with Nazi officials (including Hitler) are evident and should be recognized.

I love travel guide books and depend on them heavily when arriving at a new destination. This is the first time I purchased a Frommer's and I hated it! A major site to see in Victoria is the Buchart Gardens (it's on the cover of the book) but try finding any information about it in the book! No directions on how to get there or anything. The book focused too much on shopping and not enough on sites to see (parks, etc.). Any good shopper can find a worthy store! Buy a lonely planet book on Victoria, if there is one.

I recomend this book, everything was curent, prices quoted in the book were acurate. They even convert the currency for you.

This is a clever travel book that take you through some great back door destinations. Great for people on a buget, or for those of us that want to go in luxury! This book is packed with Maps and pictures, and helped me and my family plan our trip to Vancouver.

I went to Melbourne and Sydney and the book turned out to be pretty skimpy. I flipped through the Fodor's book when I got home and wished I had bought that one instead. I found the Frommer's book to be very light on things to do and good places to eat for the 2 cities I visited. There isn't even a mention of Olympic Park in Sydney and only a handful of restaurants are mentioned. If you are only buying one book I would recommend checking out the Fodor's instead. It contains more thorough information and has good maps throughout for each city.

The trip was fantastic and I really enjoyed it, but this book didn't make it out of my bag when I was there. While a lot of the info was good, I used the Lonely Planet guide the whole time as it was more up to date and more accurate than Frommers.

We will be going to Australia this November, and bought this book now in October. Having read a good portion of it (facinated by the "virtual tour" before the real one), I can say this is probably the only book one will need before and during the trip. Complete, straight, fun to read. The other book by same authors (Australia for under $50) is basically the same book without listing the expensive resorts and restraunts. G'Day!

The first part of the book has some basic facts about the Cathars with a fanciful interpretation, inspired by the second half which deals with revelations from discarnate entities about reincarnation on other planets and similar topics.

I read this book hoping to learn more about Cathar beliefs. I had a smattering of knowledge and wanted more, but I was looking for real information, not comdemnation and half truths. I got what I was looking for. I got an indepth description of the facets of everday Catharism and descriptions of the more educated/trained Cathars. It was entertaining and informative reading. The second part of the book was quite eye-opening for me. It was interesting to see/read the thoughts of the returned CAthars. I found the thoughts presented there to be quite thought provoking. All in all a good read and worth the cost.

Arthur Guirdham's historic research (dates, characters, events) of the condemnation of the Cathars is consistent with research by Picknett and Prince in "The Templar Revelation..." and Starbird's "The Woman with an Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalene...". However, where it differs significantly is that Arthur Guirdham displayed the ability to embrace the esoteric and higher consciousness. What he writes of the philosphy and beliefs of the Cathars can be compared in part to the writings of Alice A. Bailey (e.g. The Seven Rays) and Key Carey (e.g. The Third Millenium). As the souls on Earth who reach this higher level of consciousness are outnumbered by those who do not, it is not surprising to see how condemnation occurs, not only in the 13th century Crusades and Inquisition, but in the 20th century by unenlightened readers (e.g. the reviewer from Berkeley).