This is a great pocketbook on pulmonary function tests. Does not replace Rupel's PFT book, but it is written in "normal daily" language and covers only most important info that you need to know which makes it very appealing and easy to read/comprehend PFT subject. This is one of the best textbook style pocketbooks that I have encountered yet. I recommend this book to all MDs who need to order/interpret PFTs, interns, and respiratory therapists (who usually perform and interpret these tests).

I was assigned this text in a college music theory course. Programmed lessons are the best way to learn a difficult subject like music theory. This book is wonderful, and it has made all the difference in my musical career.

In fact there is not much to say. Robert Frank is probably the greatest photographer alive, his bool The AMericans being the true bible of the second half of the 20th century. here we have a collection of well-known and less-known pictures displayed in a fascinating scheme bringing about unheard of parallels and feedbacks. It is a deeply moving book showing that photography can be a lot more than just pictures here we talk of passion, emotion, life and death. Frank is at his best suggesting rather than displaying. Some of those pictures will bring tears to your eyes

Mr. Smith is one author who knows how to do his homework. He captures the wit, charisma, and sheer magnetisim, of a great man to little know in our day. In a time where the Religious Right attempts to make the United States a "Christian Nation". And uses threats of hell on those who does not bend to their whims. He tells us of the man who freed millions of minds, and to make God into a honest man. He makes one appreciate the glories of the past and the promises of the future. This book is a must read for anyone with questions about the world and man's place in it

Incredible, exciting, poignant biography of an underrated writer and wonderful man. Although McLynn is obviously a fan, it never becomes hagiography. This will have you reading Treasue Island again and wanting to travel to Scotland and Samoa.

Shakespeare In Hollywood 1929-1956 is an informative historical study of five major productions and several offshoots of Shakespeare's plays by the Hollywood film studio system. The thesis is that studios like MGM and Warner Bros. make Shakespeare-based films in order to enhance their images as creators of artistic (as opposed to populist) entertainments. The films during this time span also reflect such Hollywood phenomena as contract players, overproduction, adaptations based on popular genres, that came to characterize Hollywood as an industry. Robert Wilson, professor of English at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, writes with an impressive blend of insight, scholarship, and skill to fully engage the attention of the reader. Shakespeare In Hollywood 1929-1956 is highly recommended reading for students of Hollywood film making history, Shakespearean studies, and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in how the greatest literary writer in the history of the English language fared at the hands of Hollywood movie moguls during the "Golden Age" of film and the studio system.

Frank Lloyd Wright was mostly a home designer. One of his most important public commissions was for Unity Temple in his then home town of Oak Park, Illinois. The Unitarian-Universalist congregation there had just had its church burn down. As a result, the budget was right. Yet the site was right in the middle of several other large, impressive churchs Mr. Wright had also observed this faith. What could be done?

Mr. Wright first thought that the steeple could be eliminated. Those of the Unitarian-Universalist faith believe that works on earth are important, so this could fit doctrinally. Also, it would save a lot of money. Instead, the church has a large skylight covering art glass that gives a feeling of looking up into the vault of heaven.

Second, he realized that concrete was a really cheap material. So he made the church from concrete, and chose a design that would make good use of the material.

Third, he made the design so that the church would appear as massive as possible while keeping it small. Today, the church is complemented by a similar design of the U.S. Post Office on the adjacent southwest corner done by one of Mr. Wright's students.

Fourth, he made the inside of the church very intimate, with all pews quite close to the dais, with great sight lines. This also permits a secondary use of the sanctuary for theatrical and musical performances.

Extensive art glass also gives the inside a soft glow from external light while keeping attention focused internally. You have a quiet, meditative sense inside the church, which I visited yesterday.

Although the book claims that Unity Temple is in terrific shape, and the photographs reveal that, my experience was different. It is undergoing major rehabilitation to fix chunks of concrete having fallen off, leaks, and areas that need repainting. If you like Mr. Wright's work, I hope you will consider contributing to the congregation's efforts.

Many of the plans of Unity Temple disappeared when Mr. Wright moved to Taliesin. He did have a chapter in his autobiography about designing the church, so we have much material from that source. The book has many nice photographs (mostly in black and white) of the overall design, the lighting elements, and the window treatments. The appendix has extensive architectural drawings which allow you to see the scale and interplay of elements.

Although you can take photographs in Unity Temple, I think the ones in this book will be more rewarding than those that most people could take for themselves.

After you finish enjoying this fine example of Mr. Wright's Prairie style, I suggest that you think about the elements you prefer in a place of worship. What's essential and what's not? What examples of houses of worship do you find most spiritual? Why?

Find God wherever you are!

I must admit my bias right up front. The authors previous book entitled Border Fury, which combined a photo study of the Revolution with a history of the postcard industry, drew heavily on my collection of period postcards. That one was excellently done by the UNM Press and so is this one. This covers the phases of the Mexican Revolution in the northeast around Matamoros, right across the Rio Grande del Norte from Brownsville. Located as it is downstream from the Big Bend country and seperated by mountains from the central valley between the two main chains which run north and south, this area was little settled on either side until the Anglos built a railway to the border around 1900. With the opening of access to markets for tropical agricultural crops in the North this semi tropical area began to fill up with Anglo towns on the north side of the river. This area became known as the Lower Valley to distinguish it from the El Paso, Juarez area of the upper valley. The sparsely settled country had always been a hotbed of banditry, dominated by the enormous King Ranch, which was almost as large as Delaware. Race relations were typical of the times, in a word, bad. The area was politically dominated by the cacique or patron (godfather) system. If you have seen the film Lone Star with Kris Kristofferson, you will see that things had not changed much by the fifties. Social unrest, and border raids were exacerbated by the unsettled conditions south of the River; although the campaigning in the area was not decisive in the fighting between Villistas and Carranzistas in 1914 and 1915. The notorious Plan of San Diego, which called for reconquest of the old area of New Spain taken in the Mexican War and a general massacre of all Anglo males over the age of puberty, became a highly charged issue between Anglos and Chicanos. This fantastic plot was taken seriously by the Anglos and the Texas Rangers became highly feared as they carried out a race war to keep down the Chicano population. Right in the midst of these doings was Robert Runyon, a professional photographer located in Brownsville. Probably the most famous image of his atelier was one taken after the Norias raid (a group of bandits laid siege to a remote ranchhouse) in which a mounted Ranger is shown dragging away the corpse of one of the raiders at the end of a rope. This made a sensation in the press as it was not apparent from the photo that this episode was not a typical lynching. This book can be read with interest both by the general reader, the photo historian, and the local historian. It is a well made book typical of those sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association.

Rich, powerful material by some of the best, Hemfelt, Minirth & Meier! Worth listening to!

This book is great! I have read it 4 times!