This book is a great history of the Army Officers Candidate School. Even better it gives a large amount of readable information on what the U.S. Army went through in it's efforts to mobilize for both WWI and WWII. It does a fine job of distinguishing the challenges that faced the Army in these two very different situations. Even though I'm an alumni of the OCS program I wasn't aware that in WWI less then one percent of the company commanders in France had more then one year of service! Most of us are still pretty wet between the ears at one year. The author writes in a style that is understandable and enjoyable.

If you want to read great articles, look at some great photos and illustrations and learn about the current state of our understanding of the civilizations that became what we call the Olmec, then this book is for you. It is simply fascinating stuff for anyone seriously interested in understanding these people.

Milton Hershey was a very unique man! This book is his total life story and then some. This particular book is hard to find. He truly cared for people. Those who worked for him he considered "family." He was a relentless worker and tinkerer when it came to candy. Cleanliness was his middle name. His products were and are wholesome. Only the best went into Hershey Chocolate! He really loved his fellow man! What better thing can you say about a man? Get this book and learn that while money is a great thing it's not the only thing!

This book is a great practical guide to veterinary ophtalmology. Everything you need to know is in it, without digressing on impractical, boring and useless information. The pictures are relevant and of good quality. The subjects are well structured and in a logical order what makes it easy to look things up. It emphasizes on small animals, but there is information about large animals as well. A book that every practicioner should have!

I have been in a graduate counseling program for three years and I am amazed that the topic of families w/exceptional children receives no consideration.

This book fills a huge void in our field. The presence of a special needs child in a family has a huge impact on the (a)overall functioning of the system, and (b)the individuals, and the subsystems.

These authors utilize a robust body of empirical research along w/good ole' fashioned wisdom and common sense from families, as well as their own to offer the practioner a guide for dealing with this population. In reading this book you'll have a sense of what a family, and its individual members go through when there is a child w/exceptional needs.

A vastly under-explored, discussed topic brought alive by two very wise and caring professionals.

I came across this book by accident. (Looking for something else) I perused the book briefly and became immediately engaged. I could not put it down. I bought a copy and began reading. The sermons selected were tremendous. They are life changing and uplifting to say the least. The book reveals hope, joy, restoration and peace through the sermons it houses. It is the epitome of classic, historical and jubilant black preaching and a must for the clergy of this era and Christians everywhere.

If you're interested in finding out about the Ozarks for the first time or if (like me) you've been to the Ozarks many times this is an excellent book. It starts with a thumbnail history and description of the Ozarks but the bulk of this book is devoted to supplying information on the entire region. This information includes geographic features - rivers and streams, caves, lakes, and topographic properties. Also included are descriptions ranging from a paragraph to several pages on just about every stream, lake, town, and park in the Ozarks. I learned new and interesting facts about areas I've visited many times before. If you love the Ozarks this is a great find!

This is one of my favorite philosophy books for reviewing and just boning up on the different systems of thought. Hunnex provides excellent brief discussions at the bottom of each chart page that are some of the best capsule summaries of the different philosophical positions I've ever read. The charts are also a wonderful and fascinating way of tracing the history of the different philosophical systems, and they're worth buying the book just by themselves. Although out of print for some years, definitely worth your time and money trying to find used.

In his Foreword, Milton Meltzer states the obvious: "Many books have been published about pirates. So many that you may wonder why write still another?" The simple answer to this question, is to finally set the record straight. Pirates have been so romanticized over the years in movies, plays, and books, that we all think of them as swashbuckling Erol Flynns, silly and ineffective Captain Hooks, or basically good-hearted Long John Silvers, when in reality they were brutal and vicious, violent and greedy murderers and thieves. Mr Meltzer's well researched, intriguing, and realistic book details the rich history of this dirty business from the ancient Greeks and Vikings to the present. His vivid and engaging text is riveting, and not for the faint of heart, and is complemented by Bruce Waldman's dark and ominous artwork. Perfect for youngsters 12 and older, Piracy & Plunder is enlightening non-fiction at its very best, and an absorbing and fascinating book that definitely shouldn't be missed.

Heuman's book is fun & informative. Informative because it gives a rich and realistic account of the institutional roles and norms relevant to the world of plea bargaining. We hear what lawyers and judges really think about the plea bargaining process - plea bargaining is described in terms of economic efficiency, strategic game-playing, gambling (ie calling the other guy's bluff), social work, and even insurance adjusting. Anyone who thinks that for our criminal justice system Gideon's trumpet is the rule rather than the exception will surely realize her naivete after considering Heumann's research. The book is fun because of the candid - often profane - responses (I happen to like the image of lawyers one-upping each other in court using made up cases...). We even hear about the "lighter side" of the study as the young, awkward, and bespectacled researcher barges through the judge's entrance and into a courtroom before a standing audience, much to his embarassment.

I am concerned that the research may be dated. The study may have been valuable in 1973 to contest the "Perry Mason" caricature of the criminal justice system. I would guess that law school graduates and public law students would not be so surprised by the "real world" of plea bargaining in 1998. Not only are we 25 years less naïve than the generation raised on Perry Mason, I think we tend to approach the criminal justice system with the same cynical outlook described in the research. Shows like Perry Mason, and more recently, Matlock and L.A. Law, have since been replaced by NYPD Blue, Law and Order, and Homicide Life On The Street (not to mention the nightly news). Adaptation to plea bargaining roles is surely still necessary, but I would expect that today's newcomers are not taken totally off guard as are Heumann's interviewees. As cynicism, bureaucratization, and even plea bargaining have become more commonplace in our legal, educational, and popular cultures, I would not be surprised if the same research conducted today would have different and less-revelatory results.

I am more concerned about the relevance of the research in the context of contemporary public law literature. As is often the case with political science research (in sub-fields other than political theory, that is) the research itself is top-notch but the theory section (a scant six pages) is somewhat lacking. The book appears to be a welcome addition to literature on plea bargaining and an excellent case for adjusting law school curricula to the real world of criminal justice. I am less clear on the relevance of the research to political science. The book's strength is also its greatest weakness: in presenting a focused and detailed account of the goings-on behind closed doors, the research risks taking the "public" out of public law. The only justification Heumann offers for contesting the "case pressure" thesis is to make a case against the abolition of plea bargaining (p. 2). Yet midway through, the researcher admits that he has only put himself up against a Straw-Man: (p. 117) "prosecutors tend to view the very notion of eliminating plea bargaining as a fake issue, a straw-man proposition." I am even less convinced that the abolition of plea bargaining is a relevant argument in today's context, let alone in 1973.

Fortunately, the research is good enough that it is interesting in its own right despite its dated-ness and questionable relevance to political science. This is good reading, but for today's public law students it is like a pile of even the best home-fried potatoes: to be taken with a grain of salt.