This work is the Gold Standard to which all other Exercise Physiology books are measured. I was introduced to the Second Edition of the book in an entry-level class in Graduate school. To this day I find it a necessary reference from my library.

Personally, the most useful information to me is on Energetics as it pertains to athletics, training adaptations, exercise testing and prescription. I use this information to help me decide how to train athletes from different sports. But, there is so much more than that in this book. Metabolism, Ventilation, Heart and Circulation (including CVD) is all covered thoroughly.

I especially like Brooks' approach to physiology. Brooks, likes to examine physiology by studying the rate-limiting processes. And to a coach, like me, finding weakness and improving that weakness is crucial to winning. Another topic I enjoy is Brooks' take on the misnomer of Anaerobic Threshold and Lactic Acid.

It's an extremely well-organized, well-written text. It's easy to read and a challenge at the same time. Brooks makes you think and delivers difficult information in a way that is easier to understand than other textbooks.

Eric Swannie, MA, ATC, CSCS

I received both my B.S., and M.S. in Exercise Biochemistry from Univ. of Mass, and Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, respectively. My former advisor studied under Brooks at Berkely (He received his Doctorate there). In any event the approach our department undertook towards exercise biochemistry/physiology was at the cell and molecular level. Brooks text was central to the program. What is great about the book, is that it explains complicated biochemical processes in easy to understand language and places it in the context of applied physiology. The book stacks up to classic texts like Molecular Biology of the Cell (Albert, Bray, Lewis), and many of the classic biochemistry texts. In my opinion it is far superior to texts by McArdle & Katch, or Textbook of Work Physiology (author escapes me, for now).

I would have to agree with most experts in this field, that Brooks did a smashing job when writing this text. His chapters on bioenergetics are superlatively done. Outstanding graphs, analogies ,coupled with an eazy to understand vennacular. The chapter on bioenergetics is extremly lucid when explaining the esoteric aspects of coupled energy metabolism and muscle performance. Brad Nindl from (Penn State University) and Dr. Paul Arciero (Skidmore College) still utlize his text, and often refere to his chapters on energy metabolism and exercise. Many of our lively discussions and research ideas were spurred by Brooks text. Not only does this text service as an outstanding learning tool, when learning the basic concepts of exercie physiology, but acts as a catalyst for innovative ideas for new research. The references are all up to date, providing eazy access to "cutting-edge" researchers. His chapters on cardiovascular physiology are well organized and follow the same lucid format of the previous chapters, however, i wish he included information on the newer developments in cardiovascular physiology and exercise, such as the work being currently conducted on signial transduction and on the dysregualtion of the sacroplasmic reticulum during CHF etc.. Overall i would recommand this textbook to any serious student, scholar, physician or allied health professional who is wishing to futher their understanding of this fastinating subject. I am currently using his text as a major ref. for preparing for part I of the USMLE!! Yours In Great Learning

If you are familiar with Grant`s campaigns then youll like this book . It gives us an insiders view of the battles of Vicksburg, Chattanoga,the Wilderness,and Appomattox.Because of his unique situation at Grant`s Headquarters where he was accepted as one of the staff,we get the inside take on Grant`s drunkedness on Warren`s removal from command and any number of things that happened during Grant`s campaigns.

If you are familiar with the campaigns of General Grant then you will find this book worthwile.Cadwallader has a front row seat at Vicksburg, Chattanoga,the Wilderness,and Appomattox. He is a reporter therefore a professional writer which helps. His book is filled with inside information on all the principle figureheads of the time. Also it is the only book I ever read that gives us the reader the inside true story on the rumours of General Grants drinking problem.

This is a controversial book because of one reason: the author maintains he witnessed Grant getting drunk during the Vicksburg campaign in 1863. Why this is particularly contentious with Grant supporters is a trifle mystifying, but Grant fans still vociferously contend the author "embellished" or "lied" about the drinking binge. Never mind that two other people who were also with Grant corroborate the drinking story. Never mind that his chief of staff specifically wrote about the binging in a private letter.

Aside from this drinking anecdote, the book is a warm, rich portrayal of General Grant from a man with a discerning eye. Cadwallader relates many small incidents of Grant's everyday life as a man and as a general that are fascinating and not to be found in other first-person narratives.

Cadwallader truly loved Grant and his book shows his regard and his profound attachment to him. It's a pity that so many people denigrate such a fine book simply because they feel the author's memory was fallible or because they refuse to see Grant as a multi-facted man. A man with his share of human frailties and weaknesses, but still a towering individual: a great general and a man of uncommon moral fiber and decency. If you know little about Grant, this is a good place to begin a journey in seeking to know him as a man and as a great soldier who saved the union.

Brooks' masterpiece on Assurance is a must-read for the Christian who is honestly "examining himself to know that he is a believer" (2 Cor.13v5). The book teaches that although assurance is not essential to salvation, it makes the Christian's walk here on earth much more comfortable - "Assurance is glory in the bud; it is the suburbs of paradise". The Christian who has the assurance of his salvation has "heaven on earth".

Brooks calls on the reader to examine himself seriously to discern first that he has true saving faith in the Savior, then calls on him to ask probing questions about the evidence of salvation in his life; love to Christ, hatred of indwelling sin, etc.

Brooks is an "easier" Puritan to read. Sample this inexpensive gem today!

Thomas Brooks' works are among the best of Christian literature. While most of his books are out of print, we can be thankful that his great treatise, "Heaven on Earth" still remains. Rich in vivid language, Brooks spells out the wonders of the blessing of assurance (or acceptance with God). He blesses the reader by unfolding the glorious truths of Scripture- showing how one can obtain assurance, and how to enjoy it. In general, Brooks provides a handbook for a victorious Christian walk. His teachings are deep and practical. There is not a dull page in this book. Today, one searches through the chapters of modern Christian books for a gem to take with them. But this work, like many of the past, hold precious nuggets in every sentence. The devoted Christian will find this book an absolute treat. I did not want it to end.

I love giving children's books as gifts but I hate shopping for them. After hours of picking through all the fluff and inanities, I always settle on something mediocre because I just can't bear to continue looking. Finding the SNU books by Brook was such a relief (like the time I found Stellaluna by Janell Cannon). "How to Catch a SNU" captured me and all the kids I know (Gift-giving has been easy since discovering the SNUS). I hope Brook is busy writing more SNU adventures. The only thing wrong with the series is there aren't enough of them.

I had never heard of a SNU, but thanks to Brook's inventive imagination, it is now a household word in my family. The SNUS are a lovable band of wide-eyed creatures--unlike anything I've seen before.

"How to Catch a SNU" is a compassionate tale of two children who devise a clever plan to capture a SNU and keep it as a pet. The story is whimsical, while imparting a valuable message, as the SNUS, in time, teach the children an unexpected lesson in friendship.

I really enjoyed this book. The illustrations are lively and full of expression; the SNUS are absolutely adorable; and with its smooth-flowing verse, this quick-paced story is ideal for a broad age range.

In considering this work I am reminded of the song, "Killing Me Softly with His Song" in which the singer states that the singer has sung about her justas if he'd read her letters. He KNEW her, yet had never met her. This book could bring this to your mind too. The reader will find statements of Satan's "devices" - the strategies he used, lies he tells, etc. and one can recognize how these things have been a part of one's life at different times. The rememdies are unabashedly from God's written Word and are effective "treatment" for the issue at hand. Similar to C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters" in exposing some schemes which tend to work against God's people, this is book can be used as a devotional, a discipleship reading, and a tool for counseling.

Next to most people's Bibles is a copy of John Bunyan's classic THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. However, Brooks' amazingly convicting PRECIOUS REMEDIES should be on the other side. This is possibly the most valuable of all the puritan writings, and a must read for every Christian, especially those struggling and/or tampering with sin. Satan hates this work as it exposes his devices....and offers biblical methods to avoid and overcome them. Seek this one out at all costs. Banner of Truth ministries still carries this title.

Published annually since 1973, the "Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year" features the best work of some of the nation's most talented pen and ink commentators. This 1985 edition, recounting the events of 1984, contains over 300 examples of this sublime political art form by 131 editorial cartoonists. The cover cartoon of Ronald Reagan riding the United States like a horse reminds us that this was the President was reelected in a landslide (there is another cartoon inside that transforms the map into Reagan's face). Consequently, the opening salvos of this volume are devoted to President Reagan, Mondale and the Democrats, and the Presidential Debates. It is interesting to see that it was not the incumbent President but the challenger and his party that offered the better fodder for cartoons. After all, you have a former Vice-President whose administration had failed to be reelected heading the ticket along with Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to be nominated for the second spot on the ticket. Then throw into the mix the scandal of the Gary Hart campaign and Jesse Jackson's association with various undesirables around the world. Editorial cartoonists must have been pinching themselves to make sure all this wonderful nonsense was really going on.

In addition to the devastating defeat of the Democrats in the presidential election there were also the topics of the nation's ballooning budget deficit, the parade of geriatric leaders in the Soviet Union, and the grim spectacle of faminine and starvation in Ethiopia. There are also the old standards of defense spending, the Middle East, religion in the schools, education in the schools, and crime. But usually it is those unique moments in American history, such as Miss America Vanessa Williams, the first black woman to win the crown, being forced to resign because of the publication of nude photographs (Historical footnote: Williams is doing much better today than Ferraro). It always happens that while flipping through these pages that the year under review comes back in all its details. A standard history of the year 1984 could not serve as well.

This particular volume is graced by a foreword by Rep. Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, Jr., then Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and himself a frequent subject of editorial cartoons (a half dozen choice examples of which accompany his words). O'Neil posits that the dictum that a picture is worth a thousand words applies doubly to editorial cartoons and celebrates both their power and their potency. Looking through these pages from almost two decades past proves the point: looking at an editorial cartoon on the Soviet boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympic games in Los Angeles can bring back the issue quite vividly. Then there is the poignancy of a couple of editorial cartoons that addressed President Reagan's announcement that a schoolteacher would be selected as the first "citizen passenger" to fly in space; the flight would probably take place in late 1985 or 1986.

Published at the time of the Kienholz Retrospective Show at the Whitney Museum in 1996, this book not only documents that show with over 400 illustrations (many in color), it is also a tribute to Ed Kienholz, who died in 1994. Contributions by art historians, artists, friends and most importantly, Nancy Reddin Kienholz, make up a history that spans 4 decades. It begins with Ed's solo work in the Beat Era of the 1950s and continues with the collaborative work done by Ed and wife Nancy from 1972 to 1994. Even those who are not artists cannot help but be moved by this book. The stories are interesting, often funny and always personal. From collages to life-size environments, the work is not afraid to confront issues of cruelty or to embrace the forgotten in society. Unique vision, artistry and the materials of everyday life (collected at flea markets and junk shops) combine to make art that can be quiet with despair, cry out in anguish, or even make us laugh. Considered by some as ugly, this work is never dull or without compassion. As art historian and curator Walter Hopps says on the book jacket, "The work of Edward and Nancy Reddin Kienholz has had an enormous impact on the development of contemporary sculpture." I recommend this book to anyone interested in contemporary art or social science -- or who just appreciates a beautiful book and fascinating story.

Mithril is an excellent first sourebook from Sword and Sorcery. It gives a good overview of the city itself (although the city map is of at best average quality), provides details of the church of Corean (with new rules for paladins and monks as well as one new prestige class), and includes excellent regional material for the northeast portion of Ghelspad.

Specifically, the book gives us a map and description of Mullis Town (as well as a few adventure hooks), and shows a map detailing the human, titanspawn, and orcish areas of influence in Lede. The adventure hooks are well done, as they incorporate sufficient detail to make "filling in the blanks" easy, but remain concise. The descriptions of the various orcish tribes and their political/social environment is a great jumping point for a campaign that could treat orcs as more than faceless cannon fodder.

Equally important, Mithril itself, despite its lawful good character. has a wide variety of options and tensions within that can lead to all manner of adventures - ranging from exploring the ancient catacombs beneath the city to ethnic human/half-orc conflict to political and religious intrigue.

Overall, a good book and a great buy. Although, like most S&S products, the art is all monochrome (and frequently not up to the standards of Wizards of the Coast products), this is a minor complaint because the content is great.

I am a big fan of Mel Brooks and more recently a fan of his newest hit musical formerlly starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. Since then I have been reading The Producers forum at the official website, and almost every week someone asks "Where can I get a copy of the sheet music" or some variation there of. Well here it is! This collection of 19 catchy tunes and hillarious lyrics is great for singing along with a piano accompament. The songs include ...'Til Him, Along Came Bialy Betrayed, Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop, Goodbye!, Haben Sie Gehort Das Deutsche Band? (Have You Ever Heard The German Band?), Heil Myself, I Wanna Be A Producer, In Old Bavaria, Keep It Gay, Opening Night, Prisoners Of Love (Leo & Max), Springtime For Hitler, That Face, The King Of Broadway, We Can Do It, When You Got It, Flaunt It, Where Did We Go Right?, and You Never Say Good Luck On Opening Night! This is almost every song on the CD (with the exception of the Oventure and the reprise of Opening Night). With this book you'll have an opportunity to sing, hum, clap and hail Mel the way you may have done when you saw this great Broadway hit!

Unless a person has been isolated in Siberia I think everyone has heard of the Mel Brooks hit musical "The Producers". Written by Brooks and Thomas Meehan it is probably the biggest hit on Broadway in the past 50 years. Tickets are unavailable until July 2002 and "prime" seats are fetching $480. Is the show worth it? You bet and so is the book. And it is only ...
The book is a wonderful coffee table volume full of wonderful photographs from the production, rehearsal, casting and out of town tryout. There are stories from the stellar cast such as Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Roger Bart, Gary Beach, Brad Oscar and Cady Huffman. Madeleine Doherty relates her hilarious audition as a little "old lady" and Brad Oscar's rise from a swing/understudy to the permanent part of Franz Liebking when another actor was injured.
All of the lyrics and most of the book are included Act by Act. The lyrics for some of the songs that were deleted are hilarious. With Mel Brooks heavily involved in the book, we get to know how this valentine to Broadway was created and how the original 1968 film came to be.
Miramax Books is to be given a standing ovation for the gorgeous design on this publication.
If you have seen "The Producers" in New York as I did one month ago, this book is a wonderful souvenir and a necessary addition to your bookshelf. If you haven't seen it yet, it is still a wonderfully enjoyable volume. Anyone interested in Broadway or musical theatre will pore over the pages for hours.
I highly recommend it and it would make a great gift.

Caution: This book contains vulgar three and four letter words in the libretto and lyrics of The Producers. The intent behind the use of these words is humor, rather than prurience.

The Producers is by far the best book I have ever read about the development and staging of a Broadway show. Anyone who likes Broadway, comedy, or Mr. Mel Books will find this book to be irresistible! For those who cannot get tickets to The Producers (or have tickets for 2003), this book is your best bet to enjoy this marvelous musical in the near future. I strongly recommend this book as a gift item for those who don't mind some salty language and references.

This book contains reminiscences of the show's development from the first contact by Mr. David Geffen to Mr. Mel Brooks to encourage Mr. Brooks to create a Broadway musical version of the 1968 motion picture of The Producers by Mr. Brooks. Each personal statement is accompanied by beautiful, lighthearted candid photographs of the people involved. One of the most touching sections involves how Ms. Susan Stroman was chosen to direct and choreograph the show after her talented husband and artistic partner, Mike Ockrent died, and Ms. Stroman was still in mourning. The stories about the first reading for producers will leave you with a tingle of excitement. After the first act was read, Mr. Rocco Landesman offered the St. James Theatre. Fourteen producers present eventually invested in the show, after Mr. Geffen had to bail out due to other commitments. The accounts are full of one-liners to keep you laughing as you learn. For example, turning a movie with two songs into a musical with 16 more is described as being "not unlike trying to translate it from English into Serbo-Croatian."

Although the feedback was good all along, everyone kept waiting for something to go wrong. But it never did. The most negative thing anyone said about the show was Mr. Brooks. "It's not funnier than Blazing Saddles." When the New York Times Review came in, it was an amazing rave that began with "How do you single out highlights in a bonfire?" You then get some background on sets, costumes, and winning 12 Tony awards.

From there, the book presents the libretto of the show and the lyrics of the songs. The only thing that's missing is the musical score. But you can sing to yourself, and enjoy the many wonderful photographs of the 22 person cast (featuring Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock and Matthew Broderick as Leo Bloom -- with full allusions to Ulysses intended). This is an annotated version, so it includes notes about what the draft versions had called for and the reasons why certain changes were made. Having seen the changes, I must agree that the decisions were unerringly improvements. Some of the false starts are pretty funny, too, such as the planned beginning with a "Hey, Nebraska" spoof of a well-known Broadway musical.

If you are one of the few people who doesn't know the story line, let me give you a brief summary without spoiling it for you. Max has just had a flop ("Funny Boy" based on Hamlet). Accountant Leo notices that Max made a small profit and speculates that a lot of money could be made by over raising money for a flop on which little was spent. Max falls in love with the idea, and draws Leo into a plot to do this. They find a story called "Springtime for Hitler" which they feel will offend practically everybody, and hire a director to make an outrageous version. Max raises the money by romancing elderly female investors. The rest of the story takes a number of unexpected twists that will delight and entertain you. One of my favorite lines from the show comes in Act 1, Scene 1 when Max comments that "the reviews come out a lot faster when the critics leave at intermission."

The appeal of the story is that it ultimately upholds positive values while poking good-natured fun at everyone involved in the Broadway community. Since no one is spared by the satirical spear, no one can be terribly offended. There's a lot of cross-dressing to spread out the small cast that gives the show some of the sophomoric appeal of a Hasty Pudding theatrical, which is well captured in the photographs.

Creativity experts say that you can find improved solutions by trying to do the opposite of what you've been trying to do. So the notion of trying to make something bad . . . to find something good . . . is a well established one. Turning something from one form into another one is also advised. So you can learn new ways to solve old problems, even from Broadway musicals!

As I've written elsewhere, if you can't get a ticket to this, the greatest Broadway show of all time, here's what you should do, courtesy of Amazon.com.

1. BUY THIS BOOK. It contains all of the lyrics, super pictures, and more important, not only the entire script, but the entire chronology, from its inception as a movie to creating the stage story to slapping together the first few songs to nervously hosting the first previews in Chicago to its blockbuster grand opening at the St. James Theater in New York! It doesn't get more comprehensive than this!

2. BUY THE ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM ON CD. This contains every song, from start to finish, sung by the award winning cast. The lyrics are here too.

3. BUY THE DVD/VIDEO, "Recording The 'Producers' - A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks." This is the closest you can get to seeing the musical, albeit not on stage. And don't be fooled by the liner notes. This isn't ONLY the 85 minute version that aired on PBS, it has extra footage that clocks the package at around 1 hour and 40 minutes!

I saw the show in October and I'm going back to New York to see it again in March. I've NEVER been this INSANE about any entertainment product (books, films, music, staged theater) in my LIFE.

With all three items -- the book, the CD and the DVD/video -- you get a pretty good idea of what makes "The Producers," with its spectacular mix of merriment and mirth, mayhem and satire, so great! It deserves all of its hype. You can't oversell it!

Every song is a show-stopper, a throwback to the riffs that feel like a "best hits" package from the greatest musicals ever made. A little bit of Cole Porter, Gershwin, vaudeville and classic dance melodies reminiscent of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly (e.g., "Gotta Sing-Sing!" -- as in prison!), with lyrics that are so happily vulgar and irreverent that you're lucky you're not more doubled-over in pain from laughing so hard if you could only see the girls wearing pretzels on their heads and others doing the swastika "circle" march (visible via a tilted mirror toward the audience), done in Busby Berkeley style! Heck, there's even a bit of an homage to the Andrew Sisters (e.g., "He's a Hot-sie-tot-sie Nazi! Woo-woo, he's a hot-sie-tot-sie Nazi! Woo-woo! The Fuhrer...is in a FUROR!")...

Sadly, this original cast won't be together much longer, but the traveling show officially begins next year (it'll be in San Diego from December 2002 to January 2003)! So the wait won't be as long as we thought!

To recap -- get the CD, the DVD/Video and THIS BOOK! Then you'll save some big-time $$$ until the show arrives in your backyard! Whatta deal!