If you like Robert Benchley, you won't be disappointed by these 39 short stories which had never been anthologized before. If you don't know Benchley, you're in for a fun read, as Mr. B. shares his wistful memories (candy stores don't seem the same anymore; bicycles are due for a comeback); wishful thinking (why fog makes English racing a mockery, how to improve taxi service in the city); and pet peeves (why people spend so much time waiting in line, why modern children's books are so dull). Many of today's humorists owe a great deal to Robert Benchley's witty, slice-of-life style. The illustrations, typical of the '20s, are by Peter Arno and Adam John Barth, among others.

Like its cousin the comedic film the humorous essay rarely wins critical acclaim. Tragedy gets the Oscar, comedy a pat on the back. In the literary domain too tears of sorrow are more esteemed than tears of laughter.

Heaven save us from a world all somber. Give us more writers like Robert Benchley. BENCHLEY: LOST AND FOUND is an anthology of essays that details the plight of a modern everyday man pitted against social expectations and malicious devices.

"For a nation which has an almost evil reputation for bustle, bustle, bustle, and rush, rush, rush, we spend an enormous amount of time standing around in line in front of windows, just waiting." This is Benchley on people waiting for service. Benchley on gaining weight: "So many simple little actions have been recently discovered to be fattening, there is hardly any move we can make, voluntary or involuntary, which does not put on weight for us." And where political conventions are concerned: " . . . every four years a mysterious list of names appears in the papers, names of people who claim to be 'delegates', seemingly empowered to go to the conventions, eat nuts, and vote for candidates for the Presidency." Although the essays were written in the 1930's, the topics are surprisingly apropos to our time. All writing is contemporary in execution but good writing is timeless in application.

Humorous essays are deceptive in that they look casual. That glib approach doesn't come easy as Benchley has attested. His pieces were revised several times to achieve the flippant tone they are noted for. The reader benefits from his care.

What might be considered a defect in this collection is the lack of a biographical preface. Perhaps the editors believed the essays themselves sufficed in that regard. In truth, Benchley was not quite the hapless persona depicted in his essays. He earned a livelihood as a dramatic critic for several leading magazines as well as stared in short comic films. He raised several boys (his great grandson Peter Benchley wrote JAWS). He hobnobbed with notable literary and cinematic figures of his day.

It is perhaps too much to hope for to expect persons of violent temper would read these droll essays. These days of road rage and random shootings in fast food restaurants need an epidemic of Benchley's attitude toward the flaws of man and machine. Men and women then might be less likely to go berserk because of inconvenience.

Though printed in the 1960s, this book provides information for numerous board and table (meaning, for example, dice) games from around the world. Some history is given, where available, regarding the games and their evolution, but for the most part the focus is on how the games are (or were) played, and their variants.

Most facinating about this work is the attention payed to games which appear to have died out. Naturally the rules for these games, if even known at all, tend to be incomplete and for anyone who wishes to reconstruct how the game was played will need to do so on their own. It should also be noted that not everyone's favorite rules are listed (for example, the rules for Mankala listed are quite a bit different from the rules many may be using in at least the US today). Even so, the large number of games mentioned, as well as the references used by the author to research them, will likely satisfy the curiosity of people looking to understand something about the world-wide phenomenon of gaming.

This is an excellent book if your into playing board games ( the Chess/checkers/Backgammon kind rather than the Monopoly/Careers kind). This book has 15o+ traditional board games from around the world, some ancient and many very fun to play! If your into other cultures or just want something different to play, its a good book. A number of ones not in standard American repertoire, in this book: Go, an unusual oriental game said to be on par with Chess(still unbeaten by computers) Chinese, Japanese, Burmese and Arab versions of Chess, and the ancient ancestor of them all. Hnefa-tafl, a clever Viking game Latrunculi, the Roman's game of intellect Mancala and co., a very weird and very fun group of games, called "the National Game of Africa" OK, I'm outta time here, ya get the idea ;)

This is a very authoritative history of mead, stretching from its earliest know use by the peoples of Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley, through the middle ages, and to its decline in these modern times. Included in this foray is a discusion of the origins of spices, and differences between meads and ales. In the last quarter of the book are some common recipes, and a description of how to go about brewing mead. My only complaint is that I wish there was a more complete description of the process.

This is one of those extraordinary books that comes of a lifetime pursuit. Gayre goes way back in history to tell of the evolution of mead and its appreciation, even to when mead was the drink of "gods and men alike." It's not a recipe book, though a few recipes have been attached at the end. Rather it's the book to read for someone who wants to gain a thorough appreciation of mead, while they're going about making it. Though only about 140 pages, this book has about 130 footnotes. "Wassail!" he writes ("Wishing you health!") This book is both informative and, for me, inspiring.

The important point here is the subtitle, which specifies "a photographic journey." This is a picture book and no more, but the pictures are fine and they are welcome. Most wine books, after all, skimp on photos (which are expensive to produce), and those they use are often pedestrian. Thus we seldom get a chance to see how beautiful is the world of wine-making. Here the photographer Charles O'Rear has traveled to many of the regions where the Cabernet grape is grown--Bordeaux, California, Chile, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Spain--to record and glorify the making of Cabernet from vine to bottle. There are plenty of panoramas here; vast views over endless vineyards are the bedrock of wine photography. But there are also lots of rewarding detail shots of pickers and their tools, winery interiors, grafting, and even the tally tokens used to record how much each picker has harvested. At one vineyard they are colored baskets; at another, plastic discs; at still another, ordinary clothes pins. All different, but all with the same meaning: They determine how much each picker is paid. These homely details, when added to the faces of the workers, invite you into the world shown in the vineyard panoramas. They're far more appealing that the inevitable "art" shots of wine glasses and barrel halls and ranks of bottles in a cobwebbed cellar.

The photos are generally so expressive it's not necessary to read the captions, which is a good thing. It seems to be a rule in picture books that captions must be made confusing and inconvenient wherever possible for the reader. Also, anyone who wants to actually read about wine is advised to go elsewhere. In picture books, the text is usually scanty and used as mere filler, and that is the case here.

--Bill Marsano

A great way to travel from vine to wine for all wine lovers

Accessible and highly useful, the format of "Cecil Essentials of Medicine" is unique. This is one of the few broad-scope medical texts, which used simple language to present advanced information. The book is dynamic; and very easy to understand. Its strengths lie in the methodological manner with which it tackled clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and therapeutics. It gives detailed information in each case, without dabbling into anything that is unnecessary.
Anybody who reads this book will appreciate the depth of its coverage. It is a quality designed: a valuable compilation with both doctors and students in mind.

I am a 4th year medical student and have referred to this book contantly on my rotations. i find that the chapters were lucid and covered just the right amount of depth for each topic. Best of all, the authors focused on all the clinically relevant points of each disease which is a must for the busy clinician. Get it now!

Ridley selected some of Darwin's most important passages from his various works- from "Voyage of the Beagle" to his well-known "Origin of Species". Although some of Darwin's original passages are a bit hard to read, Ridley does a great job in summarizing beforehand the aspects of each selection in the introductions to the passages. Ridley also points out some of the truths and misinterpretations made by Darwin without bias.

If you want a compilation of Darwin's important passages in one book, or just a solid introduction to Darwin, his theories and works, this book will be sufficient for everyone.

The Darwin Reader, Second Edition, is well worth the read. I have yet to find a more helpful and interesting compilation of Darwin's works. With the second edition, Ridley expands the book with more information about Darwin's life and gives helpful hints on where to continue research in this field. In my opinion, this book is targeted for the college student with the new preface. A top ten in my library!

As a resident, I frequently prepared journal clubs, where we have to carefully discuss and scrutinize studies. I gained some introduction from "Appleton and Lange's Review of Epidemiology and Biostatistics for the USMLE". But preparing for journal clubs was quite different. There are many of statistical and epidemiological terminology in each article, some I am familiar with, but others are confusing and new. In this very helpful "dictionary" I was able to find more than 95% of the terms with brief definition and good short explanation that successfully allowed me to soundly evaluate the studies and prepare an impressive brief, neat handouts. The great thing about this dictionary was its well organization and ease to find what you are looking for. My friends frequently borrowed when they have to prepare their journal clubs, and found it really helpful.
It is a dictionary; i.e., arranged alphabetically sequencing the terms, and if a term has more than one name, they mention them all, before the explanation.
I highly recommended to every resident, as it will not only will help during residency, but also surely during real life and practice, especially a with hundreds of "trials, studies" appears in medical journal daily.
I gave it four not five stars, because few explanation were rather short, despite informative, and lack of illustration and pictures, which may require you to use a regular textbook in Epidemiology, this happened maybe almost 1 from every 10 terms.

One of the major problems with studying the field of epidemiology is the inconsistency of terminology that is used. This is because the field is relatively young, is actively evolving and has developed from multiple other disciplines including the social sciences as well as the medical sciences and statistics. As a result, it can be both confusing and frustrating for the student. This dictionary is the "bible" of terminology for the fireld, in part because there is no other. This should be an absolute requirement for the shelf of every student in the field of epidemiology. Even experienced epidemiologists are encouraged to have a copy for reference purposes. The only caution is that a new edition is due out soon. It can only be better than the first edition. Get it.

Very few surgical fields demand a complete and comprehensive knowledge of the entire human body. Plastics and reconstructive surgery is right up there when it comes to that. A successful Plastic surgeon incorporates knowledge of Gross anatomy, microscopic anatomy, tissue physiology, physiology of the patient itself and the innate aesthetic sense to recreate from tissue and prosthesis alike.

Grabb and Smith's text offers a comprehensive and engaging review of the essential aspects of Plastic surgery. Each Chapter starts with a review of clinical anatomy and leads on to Clinical aspects of diease. Historically important surgical approaches as well as current techniques are discussed. Disease classification is also described in excellent details through the use of tables.

I do firmly believe that this book is a worthwhile investment of time and money.

When I received the Book with Cd I thought that Cd will contain some interactive materials or MCQ self test kind. To find the CD as exact version of the book makes me wonder whats the idea behind.

Much of the Kirkus review was accurate, although, the point that New Agers will find little that resonates is probably the most compelling reason to buy this book. It isn't New Age mystical garbage---I wasn't levitating when I read this book.

Cayce is a fascinating character. Because of his deep faith, he wrestled with the concept of reincarnation and tries to reconcile a biblical explanation for what he experienced in the "life" readings. I found the final chapters of the book more interesting than much of the rest of the book. But it deserves better treatment overall than was given by Kirkus.

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to see inside the mind of a great psychic? To be able to access information about people and places that reaches far beyond the physical dimension? Edgar Cayce's biography, expertly compiled by a professional journalist and editor from Cayce's never-before-published autobiographical notes, a personal diary, and lecture records, allows us just such a rare glimpse. Cayce (1877-1945) is the world's best-documented psychic, with over 14,000 verbatim transcripts of 'readings' on topics ranging from health concerns, reincarnation, astrology, spiritual development, earth change predictions, and other metaphysical topics catalogued in the Library of the Association for Research Enlightenment in Virginia Beach, VA.

Edgar Cayce is also known as the "Father of Holistic Medicine," whose unorthodox naturopathic cures, while helping many regain their health who had been given up as hopeless by the medical establishment, once led to his arrest on grounds of practising medicine without a licence.

In "My Life As a Seer," we get to know the Edgar Cayce who struggled with self-doubts regarding his psychic gift, and with concerns about the impact which the information from his readings might have on those who sought his counsel. We meet Cayce the family man, a photographer by profession, whose deep faith sees him through a series of defeats, including the destruction by fire of his studio; the closure, for lack of funds, of the hospital he had spent years trying to build; an eviction from his home; and physical injuries suffered while being the target of a humiliating attempt to expose him as a fraud. Through it all, Cayce remained a sincere and humble man,who was motivated not by fame nor by riches (which eluded him all his life), but by an overwhelming desire to serve God and help his fellow human beings.

"My Life As a Seer," as grandson Charles Thomas Cayce says in the foreword, represents "the first account of Edgar Cayce's life told completely in his own words. He does not dwell on all of the personal aspects of his life, but focuses primarily on those experiences that marked him since childhood as decidedly different from anyone else in his world."

Reading this fascinating book is the closest most of us will come to talking with Edgar Cayce in this lifetime.

The book is easy to follow and explains the life of Bill Clinton to kids who are not ready for dictionary-size biographies. Superb work.