It's too bad that Cruisers of the U.S. Navy, 1922-1962 is out of print, as this is one of most indispesible modeler's references available. The author is a renowned German naval historian whose speciality is the US Navy(!) and all of his books are meticulously researched.

All the cruisers from the Omaha class to the Long Beach, the first nuclear powered cruiser built (and depending on your viewpoint, the last purpose built cruiser of the US Navy, as the Aegis cruisers were originally designated as destroyers-see Friedman's excellent study) are included. All details, including armament fit, camo schemes worn, electronics, ships careers and final disposition are included.

The photographs included are good for the most part and include enough photos not seen elsewhere. Stefan Terzibaschitsch has one of the largest collections of US Navy photos in Europe and this shows in the book. One useful photo is a camouflaged USS Vincennes (sp?) shortly before her sinking in 1942. All drawings are 1/1250 scale (standard scale for miniature warship models in Europe)but are clear enough for most modelers. One interesting drawing is that of the USS Phoenix in her later guise as the Argentine General Belgrano, which was sunk by the Royal Navy during the Falklands War.

CRYSTAL AND EPITAXIAL GROWTH (Volumes 1 and 2, ISBN: 1889545384,and ISBN: 1889545392,respectively.)
V.Stefan and E.V.Zharikov, editors
The Stefan University Press Series on Frontiers in Science and Technology.ISSN:1543-4028.
La Jolla, CA, USA, 2002.

Two volumes of Crystal and Epitaxial Growth (edited by V.Stefan and E.V.Zharikov) published by The Stefan University Press, La Jolla, CA, USA collects together latest research achievements both in theory and experimental developments in crystal growth and epitaxy. The papers and brief reports included in these two volumes were presented at three mentioned below scientific conferences organized recently by La Jolla International School in Science jointly with the Institute for Advanced Physics Studies. These conferences (Science and Technology of Laser Crystals, Crystal Growth and Epitaxy, Crystal and Epitaxial Growth) were attended by prominent scientists from around the world and they covered the major aspects of crystal growth including thermodynamics and growth kinetics, transport phenomena, growth morphology, structural phase transitions, numerical simulations and experimental techniques of both bulk crystal growth and thin film epitaxy. A few major classes of materials grown as bulk crystals and thin films are represented: semiconductors and superconductors, oxides, salts, organic and biological crystals, carbon nanotubes. Special attention is paid to growth and material science of crystals used in lasers and photonics, both semiconductors and oxides.

The papers constituting "Crystal and Epitaxial Growth" volumes are of a high scientific and technological standard, so that it is hoped that these two books will be very helpful for all chemists and physicists both young researchers and experienced specialists working in crystal and epitaxial film growth.

Academician Professor V.V.Osiko,
Director of Laser Materials and Technologies Research Center.
General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences.
Moscow,Russia.

CRYSTAL AND EPITAXIAL GROWTH (Volumes 1 and 2, ISBN: 1889545384,and ISBN: 1889545392,respectively.)
V.Stefan and E.V.Zharikov, editors
The Stefan University Press Series on Frontiers in Science and Technology.ISSN:1543-4028.
La Jolla, CA, USA, 2002.

Two volumes of Crystal and Epitaxial Growth (edited by V.Stefan and E.V.Zharikov) published by The Stefan University Press, La Jolla, CA, USA collects together latest research achievements both in theory and experimental developments in crystal growth and epitaxy. The papers and brief reports included in these two volumes were presented at three mentioned below scientific conferences organized recently by La Jolla International School in Science jointly with the Institute for Advanced Physics Studies. These conferences (Science and Technology of Laser Crystals, Crystal Growth and Epitaxy, Crystal and Epitaxial Growth) were attended by prominent scientists from around the world and they covered the major aspects of crystal growth including thermodynamics and growth kinetics, transport phenomena, growth morphology, structural phase transitions, numerical simulations and experimental techniques of both bulk crystal growth and thin film epitaxy. A few major classes of materials grown as bulk crystals and thin films are represented: semiconductors and superconductors, oxides, salts, organic and biological crystals, carbon nanotubes. Special attention is paid to growth and material science of crystals used in lasers and photonics, both semiconductors and oxides.

The papers constituting "Crystal and Epitaxial Growth" volumes are of a high scientific and technological standard, so that it is hoped that these two books will be very helpful for all chemists and physicists both young researchers and experienced specialists working in crystal and epitaxial film growth.

Academician Professor V.V.Osiko,
Director of Laser Materials and Technologies Research Center.
General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences.
Moscow,Russia.

This 9-page article from the Harvard Business Review is a very useful document that can be used within a company to stimulate strategic thinking - specifically, how a company can best address its customers needs. Not by creating a new product, but by creating a toolkit that allows the customers to design the product themselves. One example in the article was a flavoring manufacturer who had developed a toolkit that allowed the customer to create flavors, endlessly tweaking until the exact objective was reached, and the toolkit then transmits the order to the company. By allowing the customer to iterate improvements rapidly, the costs and resources involved are optimized for the manufacturer.

The article includes guidelines on when customer innovation makes sense, such as high iteration when developing new product or solution, or when software prototyping tools already exist. A five-step list of involving customers as innovators is also included, as is a list of other publications and sources for additional reading. There are several different examples of companies who use this type of solution, as well as a short description of what mass customization is and isn't, and uses Dell's "build to order" business model as an example.

The article is helpful on a strategic level, and might be very useful for business planning meetings, or to stimulate thinking about your company's method of improving the product. In some cases, it could actually affect the definition of the product itself.

An excellent novel about the powerful love between a Polish boy and a German soldier during WWII. It really hits on the readers ideas about homosexuals and what rights they should have. Very well written. Appropriate for age 15 and up.

Many years ago I was introduced briefly to WoD Vampire lore by a friend who actually participated in the roleplaying game. As a layman I only retained a fraction of the information I was exposed to .... however a one of the things I remembered was that the Assamites were a clan of Vampire assassins. Period. End of lesson. Well, in this installment of the Vampire Dark Ages Clan series - you will learn that they are much more than simple killers for hire. You will learn that Assamite sorcerors exist and they are given a grudging level of respect as well as suspicion by their own clanmates. There are viziers, who appear to be the scholars of Alamut. Then there are the commonly known warriors, of which there are further classifications within this caste that denote status and level of skill in the deadly arts. Another interesting element of this book, is a Ventrue knight who struggles to reconcile his devout faith and chivalry with his vampiric nature. Gifted with the charisma and presence of his bloodline, this Cainite Crusader builds an army destined to reclaim the Holy Land. A group of Assamites are dispatched to ensure this does not happen. Paths cross and the unexpected results. It is a well-written story that could be used as a template for any genre, but uses the threads of human history, the struggle to find meaning and faith, and compelling characters to weave a story that is engaging and illuminating. In my opinion, these novels far surpass the previous series in quality and content. Do not let your experience with those books prevent you from reading these. If you are interested in Medieval history, this book and the other in the series will definitely prove worthwhile.

For everyone interested in fantasy in its purest state this is a gemm. This anthology mixes the many themes that cross the polish author's short stories. The pure horror, the ghost story, the surrealist (before its time), really erotic images, all of this with just enough hints of a certain modernism or post-modern that rends the stories an extra quality.

It's a must and will certainly fill a gap on fantasy literature.

The train stories are just amazing - This guy wrote one collection of stories just around trains he worked with the modern concept of speed as a moto for the future society which would be obliterated by it... I wonder if he didn't just get it right...

This book is not outstanding just because it gives valuable information about the historical events or characters but also for describing events like a story-teller. The book has 12 topics for different historical characters or events. All of them are marvelous. But especially, the part that describe the death of Tolstoy as a drama just made me write this review. This is the best historical book that I have ever read.

Covers 1920s (Omaha-class), up to WWII cruisers and anything built from cruiser hulls. General remarks on the designation "cruiser" in the USN (DLG,...) after WWII. Overview on Pre-Omahas, very detailled on camouflages, radar, aircraft, helicopters, shows also the Terrier-/Talos rebuilts. Very good drawings (1:1250) but only above waterline.

Leading worldwide evolutionary chemists, geologists, paleontologists and biologists were invited to Alfred Nobel's manor in Karlskoga, Sweden on May 16-21, 1992 for the 84th Nobel Symposium entitled 'Early Life on Earth'. Herrick and Margareta Baltscheffsky of Stockholm University, point out quite reasonably that prebiological energy-conversion reactions were a necessary prerequisite to the origin of life. It is proposed that pyrophosphate PPi (two phosphate groups) was a common energy molecule used by the chemical reactions of life prior to ATP (adenosine plus three phosphate groups). Membrane-bound PPase in bacteria is much simpler than ATPase. As well, PPi<->Acetylphosphate<->Acetyl-S-R, ie, a link with thioester energy reactions. It is proposed that the PPi/thioester world was a necessary prerequisite for the emergence of the RNA and ATP world.