Siegfried is the third opera in Wagner's tetrology, the Ring of the Nibeling. It tells the story of Siegfried, the young hero who bursts through a ring of fire to saves Brunnhilde, his aunt and eventual lover, from a fate of eternal sleep. This opera contains remarkable music, such as Brunnhilde and Siegfrieds' love duets, and the prophetic twittering of the forest bird. As with Das Rheingold, Dover republished the B. Schott's Sohne edition, which means that what we see on the page was approved by Wagner himself. Again, Dover editions are reasonably priced, easy to read, and capable of enduring all reasonable, and some unreasonable wear and tear. Dover's Siegfried is large enough to conduct from, which isn't always true with Dover's Wagner scores. In any case, a copy of this score belongs in the home of all self respecting Opera lovers.

THIS STORY IS A BELOVED STORY OF A BRAVE BUT DELIGHTFULY SHY YOUNG MOUSE. IT BRINGS REAL EXCITEMENT TO A TENSE SITUATION AND TEACHES US THAT WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. IT GIVES A SENSE OF HOPE TO THOSE WHO ARE BULLIED OR BELITTLED. THIS BOOK HAS BEEN READ SO MANY TIMES AT MY HOUSE THAT IT HAS BEEN WORN OUT. MY DAUGHTER LOVES IT AS MUCH AS I DID AS A CHILD.

It is rare to see an author tackle such a rich and interesting subject, and write a book so vapid and lacking in content. The material is "explained" in terms of inept metaphors and vague hand-waving assertions. After devoting several hours to studying the book, the reader has the feeling that he's "been had", since he has acquired nothing in return for his effort. In fact, the author appears to have no more than the faintest grasp of the subject he is writing about.

Information is Physical. It is difficult to imagine this at once but Tom Siegfried in his wonderfully written book clearly explains to the reader that information is something fundamentally different than just simple combination of symbols 1 and 0. And information is as fundamental category as matter and energy. Which brings about the conclusion that universe is created not only from the matter and energy but also from information. The global meaning of this conclusion is stunning. Our civilization makes only first steps on its journey of developing the information technologies, but we all can already truly appreciate what information tools can do to our life. So imagine the power we can gain over the universe when the ideas so cleverly explained by the author in this book develop further and become technical devices. This is the front line of the modern physics, and to the advantage of his readers the author skillfully represented the complex theories in easily understandable language.

In this ground-breaking book, acclaimed science journalist Tom Siegfried introduces readers to the frontiers of the radical new physics of information, and to the host of amazing discoveries it is inspiring-from the development of a stunning new breed of quantum computers, to methods for writing supersecure codes, to revealing insights into the elaborate computer-like workings of the cell and resolving long-standing mysteries about the inner workings of black holes and how the universe evolved.

The revolutionary insight central to all of this new science is that the most fundamental constituents of matter are not atoms, or even subatomic particles, but "bits," the fundamental units of information. Scientists are exploring an all-encompassing new path towards understanding life, physics, and existence. The path leads through all of nature, from the interior of cells to inside black holes. The conclusion is always the same: the world is made of information.

Siegfried provides lucid and entertaining explanations of the latest theories in quantum physics and how they are being applied by quantum cryptographers to create secret codes that are absolutely unbreakable. We learn how the mind-boggling physics of "reversible logic" can recapture lost information and are introduced to the controversy over M Theory, which some scientists argue is the long-sought "Theory of Everything."

This books offers the lay reader an engaging, fast-paced introduction to a fundamentally new way of seeing the world and an amazing glimpse into many of the hottest areas of scientific endeavour today.

Tom Siegfried is the science editor of the Dallas Morning News. He is the recipient of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Westinghouse Award for science journalism.

This is not your typical book on Egyptian religion. The author takes concepts of Egyptian religion (such as what came first, Egyptian ritual or myth) and tries to prove the author's point (at times very poorly). Other topics include: How man related to God? Consciousness of sin (yes sin)? How the Egyptians viewed fate? Etc., etc.

There are two reasons why I did not like this book. The first one is due to the author's constant reference to Judaism and Christianity. I would have preferred more information on Egyptian religion than Judaism or Christianity. The second reason why I did not like this book, is constant display of Greek and Hebrew? phrases. The author (or translator) does not explain what these phrases mean or if they are from the original text he is reading from. These phrases are so consistent they become annoying.

This book on ancient Egyptian religion is certainly not for the newcomers. It is dense, full of textual references and words in Hebrew and Greek - which are not translated at all - and Egyptian texts in specialized transliteration, all of which will become a hard burden for the unnoticed reader. A comparison between the original German edition and this English version is annoying: the latter being many times quite free regarding the former, as to even change the spirit of some passages. For the learned in the field, it is, even with all these hamperings, a good-researched and scholarly text which provides many thought-provoking questions never proffered before in a (supposedly) "general interpretation" of the religious creeds of ancient Egypt. An indispensable tool for the researchers in this field, not doubt at all.

For the ancient Egyptian their civilisation and their religion were one and the same. To this end they developed over time a complex cosmological structure of the interactions of man and the gods, with the emphasis being on creation and the afterlife. An additional feature which sets this book apart from the numerous others in its field are the comparative and interactive analyses with the religions of Ethiopia, Greece and Syria. Available both in its English translation and the German original, it is a superb reference which ably demonstrates that religion was the fundamental basis of the Ancient Egyptian civilisation. It is highly recommended for all academics, scholars and laypeople.

I have often referenced this book for due to the nature of my graduate research. It is a good introduction to the finer points of semiconductor device modeling. (The stuff not really emphasized at the undergraduate level) However, this book is lacking with respect to many modern device structures and issues. (e. g. power transistors, HEMT's, III-V compound information) I still recommend it as reference material.

Though 20 years old, or "lacking modern ... issues" as the previous reviewer said, this book presents the fundamental material of semiconductor device modeling in a logical and organized way. Though recent developments are not covered in this book, the fundamentals of how to discretize a PDE (i.e., poisson eqn, continuity eqs, etc) using finite difference methods, etc., don't change, and this book is a good starter for learning that. If you want to understand the concepts behind device simulators like DESSIS, MEDICI, PISCES, etc., this is a good place to start.

I'd give it 5 stars if it was written in the later 90's, and therefore had up to date info on mobility and recombination models, etc, and more on the hydrodynamic formulations.

While the author does a decent job of telling the story around the Siegfried line he fails to cover more analytical aspects of the Siegfried line. The book isn't written in scholarly style and is better for WWII buffs than for researchers.

This book is written in Charles Whiting's usual exciting style and is good for a "one session" read. It describes just what a hard slog the allies faced in the closing months of the war, despite the prevalent (incorrect) view that after D Day it was a simple drive through France and into Germany. Highly recommended

My father served with the 10th Armored Division from Nov 43 until it was inactivated. I recently purchased Prefer's book hoping to learn more about the 10th AD. I only started researching the 10th two months ago, but was able to find several substantial errors in Prefer's book. First, on page 180, he has Lt. Col. James O'Hara being killed in action. However, I recalled O'Hara in a video about the 10th (made circa late 50's) and was prompted to check an old 10th Veteran's Association Directory from 1972. The directory has Col. James O'Hara alive at that time. In addition, he is not listed on the 10th AD KIA list, which should be adequate documentation that the author has committed the cardinal sin for a journalist or historian -- an error in fact.

In an earlier portion of the book, Prefer has the 10th AD Combat Command A at Bastogne to assist the 101st Airborne Division. Actually, Combat Command B (not A) was sent to Bastogne a full day before the 101st arrived at Bastogne. As I recall, Combat Command A was sent to defend north and east of Luxembourg.

These errors may be minor, however, they caused me to question the author's credibility, and left me wondering with each new account if he was making similar errors while deailing events of which I had no knowledge.

While this book is promoted as being mainly about the 94th, perhaps the author should have named it accordingly instead of leading people to believe it's about the XX Corps (which it is clearly not). Other than brief mention of the 10th AD and some attached units, no discussion is provided about XX Corps.

I was further amazed to find that the author in his reference material has not cited the work of Corps Commander Walton Walker, XX Corps Through Hell and High Water. One would think such a source would have added to research for a book about XX Corps.

Overall, I found Ghost Corps (which until this time I had only heard of the 10th AD being referred to the Ghost Division, and no such nickname bestowed on XX Corps) account to be disjointed, inaccurate, and a very poor attempt to document the gallant efforts of XX Corps.

The author's stated reasons for adding to the plethora of existing accounts of World War II battles and battlefield units was twofold. First, Nathan Prefer felt too much had been written about the highly publicized engagements "where the might of the Allied, usually American, forces overwhelmed a stubborn defense or defeated a massive counterattack". He wanted to present an account of a battle "where American soldiers fought on relatively equal terms with their opponents and prevailed". His treatise therefore provides a round by round analysis of one such face to face fight - the Saar-Moselle Triangle campaign (January 13th to March 24th, 1945). (Prefer actually combined two campaigns into one: The Saar-Moselle Triangle [January 13th to February 23rd] and the Saar-Palatine Triangle [February 24th to March 25th]).

Eisenhower in his "Crusade in Europe" devoted just two lines to the Saar-Moselle Triangle: "The XX Corps, under General Walker, eliminated resistance in the Saar-Moselle triangle by February 23, and a bridge-head was established over the Saar. The Siegfried defenses were penetrated and Trier was captured March 2". Although Eisenhower acknowledges the outstanding qualities of the individual American soldier, his book addresses the "big picture" and wasn't about to present the fire-and-movement tactics of platoon, company and battalion size units - a necessary element of face to face combat. Prefer however needed these detailed accounts to make his point about a fight "on equal terms".

The second reason Prefer wrote "Patton's Ghost Corps" was to honor the men of the XX Corps, especially the 94th Infantry Division and the many other units which took part in the engagement.* Lieutenant Colonel Keith E. Bonn, in his foreword to the book, makes this point for the author.

Military tomes and monographs have a common problem, providing foldout maps. These allow readers to follow the thrusts and parries that are the substance of every battle. It is a distinct distraction to constantly refer back to page 40 (the location of the map) as the reader moves from page 41 to page 78. Even more important, would be the inclusion of a general situation map that allows a reader to see the "details" as part of a "bigger picture". Prefer failed to furnish such a map forcing me to locate one of my own.

All in all, Prefer did accomplish his two goals. After reading the book, one is likely to accept his thesis (at least for this battle) that American troops did prevail when the odds were even. And he certainly did succeed in honoring the men of the XX Corps.

*In addition to Eisenhower, Omar Bradley in "A Soldier's Story" and Martin Blumenson (Patton's Biographer) in "Patton" also gave short shrift to the XX Corp and its accomplishments. These slights, plus the total absence of any mention of units or personnel of the 94th Division in Stephen Ambrose's 1997 best seller "Citizen Soldiers" would have been more than enough to motivate Nathan Prefer to write "Patton's Ghost Corps".

When the German Army launched its counteroffensive against the Allies in the Battle of the Bulge, Lieutenant General George S. Patton turned two of his three corps north to pierce the attack, leaving one corps, the XX, to hold an area previously held by three. But the XX Corps didn't defend, it attacked. Despite harsh weather, depleted strength and stiff German resistance, the XX Corps achieved remarkable success in the lesser known battles of the Saar-Mosell Triangle and the Saar Campaign. The story of the XX Corps in these campaigns is really the story of the 94th Infantry Division which attacked and fought off counterattacks by veteran German units until, assisted by the 10th Armored Division, they captured Trier, a key city to Germany's defenses. Nathan N. Prefer's Patton's Ghost Corps does an excellent job of following the action of these forgotten battles. Using archive records, interviews and other unpublished sources, Prefer fleshes out the less glamorous work of the Third Army and the German forces. In the process, he gives a clear picture of what the fight into Germany was like for the American infantryman. The XX Corps, commanded by Major General Walton Walker, earned the name 'Ghost Corps' because it moved so fast and so often, the Germans couldn't keep track of it. The 94th Division under Major General Harry J. Maloy, did Walker's bidding as it kept pressure on the German's opposing them. The book is at its best describing platoon-level action. Prefer paints well the scenes of wounded soldiers lying in an inch of freezing water on the floors of captured bunkers; men who actually feel lucky they are not in the trenches where the chances of death are greater. American infantrymen battle tanks with bazookas and set up machine gun posts on the only dominating feature on the landscape: giant piles of horse manure. The action see-saws back and fourth as each side generates temporary momentum before being forced back to their starting positions. After three months of frustrating battle the 10th Armored Division joins the XX Corps and exploits the hard work of the 94th Division. Here is where the book takes off. As the 10th rolls forward, the Germans, already weak from their bloody slugfest with the 94th, simply crumble. From February 21 to March 24, the two divisions smashed the German lines, crossed the Saar, took the strategically important town of Trier and established the XX Corps firmly on the Rhine River. The capture of Trier became famous in Patton folklore. On March 2, General Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered Patton to bypass Trier, believing only four divisions could capture the city. Patton sent a message to Eisenhower stating "Have taken Trier with two divisions. What do you want me to do? Give it back?" Patton's Ghost Corps is an excellent story of a forgotten front in the ground war of Europe. It can be enjoyed by both the serious researcher or anyone interested in the U.S. Army's ability to overcome adversity. Kevin M. Hymel

Unlike Breyer's Classic Battleships and Battlecruisers 1905-1970, this book will never make the top 50 list of books about its subject. Breyer put this volume together because readers had complained that his great previous work had no pictures; they are cretins. He dutifully responded with this effort. The only real value here is that the pictures themselves are unusual and interesting; even some very familiar ships seem unrecognizable because of the angle of the shot.I originally rejected this book when it was first published and then came across it years later in a second hand shop and added it to my collection only for the sake of completeness. That should be your only objective too; don't get your expectations up with this one. Just Thank God Breyer didn't ruin his first book trying to please everyone.

I ENJOY REFERING TO THIS BOOK EVERY NOW AND THEN. EACH TIME I READ THE BOOK, I FIND SOME NEW POINTS TO LOOK INTO. VERY GOOD SCATCHES.

A comprehensive books covering the most important issues of fuzzy sets theory, including applications, mainly in the fields of linguistic variables and data analysis. A good source for people with sufficient mathematical background (measure, integration). An extensive bibliography provides possibilities to continue the study in various directions.

A well-written chronical depicting the Very esscence of anime. Includes several pictorials and a wide range of varoius titles of anime to choose from.