I used this dictionary in college, because it was the best english/czech czech/english one available at the time. It is adequate, but not excellent. Any number of slang words as well as high-style literary words are not to be found in the dictionary, which is ok as long as you have other resources. What I found most irritating, and ultimately why I no longer use this volume at all, was the dictionary's 'shorthand' system for grammatical information: for example, verbal aspect (important information!) was indicated by way of < and > signs. (Maddening!) I personally much prefer the one recently published by Leda (English/Czech AND Czech/English) compiled by Josef Fronek. It is a far more user-friendly resource, with extensive grammatical tables (not available in Poldauf's volume), and a very easy-to-read format. As a quirky bonus, the slang translations are decidedly Scottish . . . a real thrill for American users.

A lavish, pictorial ode to the fallen 3-time World Champion, Ivan Rendall's book is the most stylish of all those devoted to the magnificent Brazilian. Like most, this one starts with the "Black Weekend" of Imola 1994, but spends as much time exploring Senna the man as Senna the F1 driver. It also features a foreword by Sterling Moss in which the great Briton declares, emphatically, "The word 'genius' is used rather carelessly these days; but a genius is what he was." A hard-to-find book, but well worth the effort!

This books tells a relatively unknown story, the story about how American Lend-Lease aircraft were transfered to Russia. From the 14.500-odd planes that went to the Russians during WW2, almost 8.000 went by the ALSIB route (Alaska-Siberia). 2.618 of these were Airacobras, 2.397 of them Kingcobras. This book describes how it was done and by whom, both in English and in Russian. The focus is not on the planes, but on the people from those two great countries who helped each other against their common enemies: the cold and the Germans. Apart from the text, there are also many photo's describing the harsh conditions which both Americans and Russians had to face, most of the depicting the people, but there are some good shots of Airacobra's and Kingcobra's as well, though not as much as I hoped there would be. There is also room enough for other types, you'll find B-25's, A-20's, C-47's, P-40's as well. Good background material for the serious WW2 aircraft historian, giving a look behind the scenes and insight that not many other books about WW2 aviation can hope to match.

This is definitely not a stellar dictionary. The grammatical information is sparse and difficult to decipher (on the Czech to English side, at least), and at times secondary or tertiary definitions are not included when they should be. A number of times I encountered entries that were outdated or just plain wrong. Leda publishing puts out a much better dictionary for students of Czech.

Considering that the film EVOLUTION has the smell of a blockbuster about it (I write this prior to its release), it seems odd that the novel tie-in rights would be exclusively the province of a Young Adult imprint (Puffin Books). That said, Eleanor Fremont has done an average, perfunctory YA tie-in job, no particular style or grace ... but nothing much to carp at either. She pretty much stays out of the script's way, not doing much more than rendering it in past-tense prose ... but it seems a pretty good and lively script. As the book is a fairly artless adaptation, I'm not sure it's worth the "spoilers" of reading it in advance. But some may find it a nice after-the-fact souvenir of the film...

This is one of my most favorite computer science books. If some chapters in this book (especially chapter 13 & 14) could be replaced with newer stuffs in this field, I will give 4 stars to this wonderful book. The author is the person who totally understand teaching arts and can express the very complicated materials in a simple and clear way. So I like it. If you need one introductory book to the interface of both hardware & software, I recommend this book to you along with David A. Patterson's Computer Organization and Design. As to my point, they're two of the best choices for your interest.

This book clearly deals with its topic like a case study of three people involved in the active pursuit of a science. As might be expected from someone aware of the intellectual climate in which they worked, a great deal of attention is devoted to the sorry state of their relationships with each other, ambition being an obstacle to agreement in this field. The scholarly view offered by the college professor who put this collection of observations together is most daring when it offers a challenge to the individual attempt to make sense of a truly ominous situation, as when Walter Kaufmann tackles Jung's "Answer to Job."

Listen, football fans: when the ball gets loose like this, people start to think about the last opportunity that they had to drop back and punt. According to my Concordance to the King James Version of the Bible, in Job 31:33, Job admitted, in his attempts to justify himself, that he would have sinned if he hid his transgressions like Adam. This is followed by a speech by Elihu in which his anger burst out. The key to his anger is contained in Job 34:17, "Could an enemy of justice ever govern?"

In the strange world that we actually live in, people would be well advised to get used to this kind of thing when they are young, so that, later in life, if they ever encounter anyone who has a more outrageous theory about what is really going on, their contact with the intellectual upper crust will remind them of how goofy this kind of thing usually turns out to be. For some people, this book might make more sense than starting their day with a breakfast cereal that tells them, "Check bottom of box to see if you are a winner."

I found this book to have a wealth of valuable information about the lives of many black leaders. I for one have come to associate scholarly integrity with Ivan Van Sertima's name, which contributed heavily to buying this book. However I found that impression tarnished by the obvious ommission of Elijah Muhammad from this book. I am continually seeing authors make a concerted attempt at writing him out of history, when the Nation of Islam under his charge, is on the history books having impacted Black people around the world very significantly. I could see if Malcolm X, who was included, was responsible for a significant portion of the Nation of Islam's affect on Blacks in America as has been incorrectly perpetuated for the last 15 years or so, but that is not accurate. If Van Sertima is going to group "Black Leaders" together who have impacted blacks, I am baffled as to why he would put leaders such as Hannibal, Shaka Zulu and Kwame Nkrumah and then put a student of a true leader, who, according to the same criteria the above men were chosen, is actually greater in stature. It is equal to omitting Martin Luther King in an effort to over-exaggerate the accomplishments of Jesse Jackson (MLK's student). Many other "so-called scholars" have made their efforts suspect with the same overt attempts. Perhaps if they would leave their emotions and political correctness out of their scholarship, the rest of us would take them seriously.

This collection is a little rough around the edges, but gripping nonetheless. If you're into Shakespeare, Kipling, or Mother Goose, give this one a try.

Although sometimes listed as 228 pages, this oversized quarto (@ 9"x12") is really 225 pages plus title page and endpapers. There are 98 full color plates and 80 black and white plates, plus black and white photo illustrations illustrating the life and work of Ivan Bilibin, Russia's most famous turn-of-the- century artist and illustrator (1876-1942.)

The book includes 28 color illustrations from his best-known early period, including watercolor illustrations for "Vasilissa the Beautiful", 29 illustrations from his later work, including "The Golden Cockerel", 28 color examples of his theater design work and approximately 11 color examples of his landscape paintings (I'm missing 2 pages of my copy) in addition to black and white illustrations which include paintings by and of Bilibin.

A biography of the artist is, of course included. It provides a general overview of his life from his student days, his first commission to illustrate Russian folktales, his exile to Egypt following the Russian revolution, his work as a theater designer, his return to Russia in 1936 and his premature death during the siege of Leningrad during World War II.

The art is wonderful, but the book could be better organized.