This is one of the best books I have ever read. Great history about cops and immigrants.

A friend got this book for my dad two Christmas's ago. He read it cover-to-cover, which he never reads a book like that!! His extreme interest peaked my interest, so I had to read it. Some parts are pretty graphic, may bring a tear to your eye. Particularly of high interest to coal miner's families, esp in Pennsylvania.....much sadness throughout the book. A good read. I'm not usually one to read this kind of stuff, but it is now on my nightstand, I read it a lot, almost done wit the book. Historical.

Great history of the Pa State Police. Easy reading. Also good
Review of unions and strikes. This book is worth every penny!

Frantz Fanon's work is an excellent insight of how people of color throughout the world have been effected by colonization.

A must read for anyone trying to understand the basics about living in the western world as a person of color.

Fanon's amazing book is one of the landmarks in modern thinking, as far as I am concerned. Fanon says he wants to expose the sickness in order for it to be cured. He exposes the sickness inflicted on Africans by the contact with the colonizing white West in a razor sharp accuracy and courage. Fanon is completely honest, sparing no criticism from the Africans nor the Europeans. He gets help from giant figures like Cesaire and Senghor, and creates an emotionally and intellectually charged masterpiece.

I learned from Fanon about the use of language as a colonialist tool, the terrible affect on African self esteem, the psychological turmoil that erupts as a result of the contact with white society.
It is clear the world is not the same today as it was in the 50's, but Fanon's book is just as relevant.
Quoting from Sartre talking about another book by Fanon: "Have the courage to read this book !".

a tome on the black man in europe, mainly martinique...basically what fanon is saying is : brothas try to be like the other, because they hate them selves and they desire to sleep with the other to give themselves worth and that a bad environment and colonialism makes a black man bad ...reading the book is like reading a long prose poem, thoughtful and stunning...take the chance. it's extremely interesting...

Of the dozens of books I have read of the life and works Of Charles Darwin, this, by far, is the best and most comprehensive.
The book covers the later portion of Darwins life, the time of his fame. I particularly enjoyed and was enlighted by the author's coverage of Victorian life and how it affected Darwin, his contemporaries, and influenced their thoughts and beliefs. I appreciated the way the author not only covered Darwin, the scientist, but Darwin the person and how the author examined the role of Darwin's wife and their relationship. This is a very detailed book, not one that can be read in a couple of settings. It gives us much to ponder. The style is excellent, much better than most English academics produce, i.e. it is readable. I highly recommend it as a read and an addition to your library.

Charles Darwin's "place" in history is secure. The concept of evolution by natural selection was "the single best idea anyone has ever had," as Daniel C. Dennett so aptly put it. Although the idea seems simple, Browne establishes that the man who conceived it was anything but that. In taking two substantial volumes to depict Darwin's life, Browne reveals the complexity and control hidden beneath his serene outward demeanor. For many years, Darwin's seclusion at Down House left the impression of the retired, retiring scientific thinker. On the contrary, Browne shows "a remarkable tactician" manipulating friends,
colleagues and, in the final analysis, society at large. This compelling study is the outstanding work on Darwin. Her focus on his motivations, activities and other aspects of what made him such a towering figure makes this a remarkable work. This magnificent study and its companion "Voyaging" will maintain their value as Darwin's pre-eminent account for many years.

The pivotal point, of course, is Darwin's 1859 book, The Origin of Species. Browne recounts the "Wallace letter" which nearly toppled Darwin from the place of priority in developing the idea of natural selection. Darwin's friends and colleagues rallied to sustain him while maintaining fairness to both him and Wallace. The many years of study Darwin had given to the concept resulted in the volume that changed our view of life, but it remains an open question whether he would have published without the "thunderbolt from Ternate." Browne's view isn't narrow, however, as she places Origin within the broader schema of Victorian writing, whether fiction, social commentary, poetry or science.

Browne leads us through the years of turmoil following publication of Origin. Strangely, she notes, the chief objectors were fellow scientists, not the religious establishment. Even the British Association debate, often considered the pivot point for making the public aware of the book's meaning, brought out a churchman who had been prompted by one of Darwin's scientific peers. Although Darwin remained at Down throughout the ensuing years, he maintained constant control of those who spoke for him. He reached Continental readers quickly, although troubled by freely editing translators.

This account portrays Darwin's "place" by almost every definition of the term. Browne shows Darwin's status among his colleagues, depicts him as a teacher, a father, a member of his community, both locally and in the grander Victorian Era setting. Darwin was a man of his class, most of which endorsed thinking and speculation. Most importantly, she shows his stature as a human, at times fearful, courageous, withdrawing, helpful to his friends and scornful of his enemies. He counseled his children, or used them for help, as the moment demanded. He sought to protect his wife, but Browne makes clear Emma was under few illusions of the meaning of natural selection. Darwin was no hypocrite, but was long in reaching his final dismissal of deities. Whatever the enduring nature of his idea, the man, Browne asserts, still remained a mortal figure.

Beyond Origin, Browne relates Darwin's conflicting feelings leading to later works - Descent of Man, plant domestication, orchids, emotional expression and the obscure world of earthworms. Many of these publications would later prove fundamentally supportive of natural selection. All required immense amounts of study, communication and writing. He tended his own plants, studied earthworms at night and used the new technology of phototgraphy. The variation in topics and methods reflects once again Darwin's genius, but even more his strengths as a naturalist. Little escaped his scrutiny and he was able to impart his findings with flowing prose reaching a wide public. All these accomplishments were achieved in spite of frequent illnesses, none of which were successfully treated.

We owe much to Darwin, and Browne has discharged a significant portion of the debt with this book. The labour of many years, it's an elegant portrayal, worthy of the effort so evident in its making. Whatever your interests, sit down with this book and meet the man Browne has re-introduced to us. It will be a rewarding experience. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Well, this is volume II of a magnificent two-volume biography. In its patient, sympathetic and intelligent rendering it exemplifies those qualities in Darwin himself. Moreover, this is truly the second volume. One could read this without having read "Voyaging" and make sense of it, but Darwin and his world would be less fleshed-out, he and his friends would not be old friends of yours, and the story, which is nothing less than a whole life well-lived (but not, be it noted, perfectly-lived), the less thereby. And what is more, the Darwin-Wedgewood genealogy is not reproduced here - you need volume I for that.

Darwin, for someone of such stature socially and scientifically, was a rooted, private man. He rarely left his spacious, gated home at Down except to visit one of his few good friends or relatives. His public appearances were nearly as noted as the Pope's. In spite of this seeming exclusiveness, he maintained an immense and warm correspondence all over the world. Alfred Russell Wallace, for example, was one of his good friends, but almost entirely by means of letters. Moreover, he received a constant stream of visitors at Down, many of whom were hardly known to him, and some of whom barely spoke English.

However, these visits were rarely extended beyond a courteous lunch. Darwin would often plead weakness or illness (or let one of the womenfolk do it for him) in order to get away to his study and his studies after being dutifully social. Of course, if it was Huxley, or Lyell, or Hooker visiting, then Darwin had considerably more strength for conversation. These old friends formed the core of his scientific network, and, along with Asa Gray in America, were his representatives in the larger scientific world.

The story of Charles Darwin is the story of a homebody: he did most of his experiments with jury-rigged apparatus in his house, garden, or greenhouse, using his children as assistants, and begging and borrowing plant and animal material from his friends and correspondents all around the world, without himself going anywhere. It is the story of a man who loved his wife, and needed her, for he was always "poorly", and he was always busy. It is the story of a man who was warm and affectionate, and constantly a-tingle with some absorbing project in natural history. Yet it is the story of a supremely absorbed man, who was as totally selfish in his dedication to his obsessions as any artist, ruthlessly (but charmingly) using the people around him and around the world to further his investigations, and shield him from those social duties that soak up so much of the lives of most of us.

Janet Browne gently disapproves of Darwin's selfishness, which was consistent and on at least two occasions (when he refused to go to the funerals of old friends who had helped him tremendously) nearly unforgiveable. Yet she clearly liked the man, as did almost everyone who knew him (including some of his ideological opponents). He preserved himself for his work, it is true, but he still understood the obligations of a Victorian gentleman of means. He was active in the village life at Down, using his money and time to promote worthy causes of benefit to the poorer residents. He also had a soft spot for animals, and spent much energy opposing unthinking cruelty to beasts whenever he encountered it. He also was the prime mover behind getting a government pension for Alfred Russel Wallace, who had fallen on hard times, as well as many other quiet gifts to science, and to individuals.

On balance, Darwin was a tremendously appealing man, and his life, personal and scientific (which were totally intertwined, both domestically and socially) a model of Victorian striving. Prudent and successful in investing his money, an obsessive list-maker and careful household manager, and a famously hard worker in his science, he came by his success, as he felt, honestly. But to me the appeal of this book lies in its location in Darwin's domestic and social milieu. This also happened to be his scientific milieu, for most of his friends, and some of his relatives, were scientists whose interests overlapped with his own.

This book picks up the story in 1858, when Darwin got a letter from a man known to him only as a collector, Alfred Russel Wallace. He was stunned to see that his pet theory of speciation by natural selection had occurred to Wallace during his sojourn in the jungles of the East. The cat was out of the bag, so Darwin thought he might as well write down what he knew, including his researches during the previous twenty years into the topic. This book just grew and grew, and finally became "The Origin of Species"; the main narrative thread of Darwin's later life is, of course, the fate of this "child". After 1859 he was suddenly a household name, and a fit subject for political cartoons and pulpitical denunciations. Within a few years "Darwinism" was a noun in general use. He himself spent tremendous energy in surreptitious efforts to get his theory accepted, and did not scruple to let his friends, like Huxley, savage his enemies, like Owen.

Janet Browne gives this story its due. As always, her mastery of the material is complete, and she tells a complicated story gracefully. But more than this, she is attuned to the sociology of the situation. She understands how scientific ideas gain acceptance, as well as how the nascent industry of popular publishing contributed to the success of Darwin's ideas among the larger public. One of the recurring pleasures of this book is to enjoy her observations on the social issues that impinge on this life story.

Further, it is a measure of her almost novelistic skill that our attitude toward Darwin's life changes almost insensibly: though we may have come to his story because we were curious about an idea, we are sad to see it end because we have come to care about the man himself.

... This is a great book. I would rank it among my top 20 favourite novels, perhaps even the top 10, along with works by Tolstoy, Dickens, Austen and others of that calibre... I urge you to read this book if you have not yet done so. It succeeds on several levels: It is an adventure yarn, with daring escapes, chases, intrigues and battles. It is a philosophical novel, raising thought-provoking questions about priestly celibacy and religious observance. It is a war novel, presenting a convincing portrayal of men in combat. It is a psychological novel, probing the nature of male companionship. Well written, absorbing and satisfying, read it before it disappears from booklists completely.

It's hard to believe this book is largely forgotten and unavailable. Despite what some of the other reviewers claim, you do not need to be a Medievalist to enjoy it--or even be thrilled by it, as I was. Get a used copy while you still can.

I don't think it fair for the editorial review to give away the ending.

Far from the first book on painting I've bought, "Conversations" is the one I keep reading. It is jammed with ideas, principles, and practical hints, punctuated with tons of visual explanations and demonstrations. Some bits are immediately applicable; some will take years to comprehend through my own practice, but that's ok because they're "chunked" into small pieces that aren't overwhelming. I wish I could find more information on where Mr. Dunn is, so that I might meet him, but alas, he's a mystery man...He's laid all the principles out in the kind of logic I need to build a coherent picture of the art, and it's organized with profoundly comforting statements like, "Painting adheres to universal principles; follow the principles, and you'll get good art..."

This is the book I would write after taking thorough notes from dozens of workshops and distilling the "best of the best" into one book. Lots of gems in one convenient place.

This is a beautiful book on the process of creating art. You don't even have to be an artist to enjoy this book. It can be for anyone interested in learning about the process called creativity. This book will be a treasure in anyone's collection. It will not go unread.

As a journalist covering cold fusion, I turned again and again to this book to check or confirm facts, data, dates, chronologies, and other details and have found it to be the definitive resource in the field. Written by an engineer and vetted by scientists who participated in cold fusion research, the book is an indispensable guide to anyone interested in the history, data, issues, and future of this subject. Recommended without reservation.

I have read this book, "Excess Heat". I simply could not lay it down until I had finished it entirely. During the process of reading it, I kept repeating to myself (and my captive wife) how excellent a job "this man" did on setting down in philosophically logical terms the convincing facts and logic of the science of cold fusion. At one point I remarked to my wife that "this man" must have taken Apologetics in college and received an "A" mark, but then I remembered that such courses might not have been offered at our Alma Mater (MIT). I was impressed with the way the heretical errors developed, flourished and were brought out in clear plain logic in the book. I want to humbly congratulate the author on such a masterful account of what has happened in this important field. I predict this book will be required reading in some of the "truly best", finest universities in the future. Historically, it will be recorded that Beaudette wrote the truth at a time when science was a bit confused and not quite willing to accept it right away. Slowly it will gain momentum, understanding and finally acceptance. Congratulations on a book that is very well written with class, authority, and no doubt, with hard work, the old fashion way: a book for all seasons.
Dr. Michael R. Staker, P.E.

This book is a magnum opus on this fascinating field. Together with Fire from Ice : Searching for the Truth Behind the Cold Fusion Furor by Eugene J. Mallove, this is one book you really need to read. Not only because it is highly interesting, and a great work and example of what really good scholarship means, but also because it is very readable, detailed, honest and accurate. It provides a excellent insight about the early days of cold fusion, the confusion, and the later shortsighted, stupid rejection of the entire field by scientific establishment and mainstream media. The latter can be forgiven, they have no knowledge nor interest in the truth, but the scientists are really to blame. As you can see from previous reviews posted here by exceptional great minds like Arthur C. Clarke, prof. Bockris, and others, this is no joke at all. This is pure, honest, cutting edge science. This is the frontier thinking and research that made our age of technology possible. This is the science the world is needing so badly. Mr. Baudette has done a excellent job of presenting the fact and history of this exciting field of science. For people like him, and like Mallove, Clarke, Bockris, Pons & Fleischmann, and many, many others, I personally have the deepest respect. The truth will come out, one day. Let the critics state one desperate non-argument after the other - this is stuff is for real, and it's here to stay, boys and girls! And it's going to change our world for the better - sooner than you think. I wish I could rate this book 6 stars.

Burning Down the House: Essays on Fiction by Charles Baxter is a refreshingly broad take on a number of issues facing writers and readers of serious fiction today. The title reminds me of a story Harry Crews once told concerning his early days learning the craft of fiction. He had given an early story to his teacher, Alan Tate, and when he asked what Tate thought of it he got the reply that "Fire is a great purifier" - so went home, burned his story and started over. Baxter seems to want to burn away a lot of what has come to dominate the literary scene. He bemoans the lack of real antagonists and villians in what he refers to as "dysfunctional" fiction. He decries the passive voice and ambiguos tone that writing in which no one is really accountable (which he blames largely on the polictical rhetoric of Nixon, Reagan,and Busch which he says has robbed the public of the proper 'story' of the last few decades).

This book of essays is enjoyable on a number of levels. One of my favorite chapters is the one in which he contrasts fiction writers with poets. This chapter is full of broad and exaggerated generalizations (which he has foretold and apologized for in advance) which are both thought provoking and often very funny. The chapter on melodrama is also very insightful and harking back to an earlier essay about dysfunctional fiction in which the characters are all victims and no one is a clear protagonist or antagonist, he shows how pure evil (a clear cut villian) is the essential ingrediant in melodrama and that is why melodrama continues to interest readers while lots of serious fiction doesn't register. He further shows how melodrama underpins some of the great fiction - using Chekov, that most unmelodramatic writer, as an example.

I really enjoyed this book and read it at one sitting - which is probably not good. There is so much that is thought provoking in these essays that they deserve more time and a lot of rumination. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in serious fiction today. It will give you a lot to think about.

Any writer, anywhere, needs to read this book. I assign it to undergraduate and graduate students alike. Charles Baxter explores essential elements of fiction here, and has some surprising, convincing new ideas. He writes in a witty, reflective, fascinating voice that makes these essays a pleasure to read.

Reading this book transforms people's writing, deepening their approach and understanding. Take a look at his ideas about counterpointed characters, or about what replaces the idea of "conflict" in fiction.

An amazing, brilliant book.

I'm stunned by Charles Baxter's erudition and originality. It surprises me that out of academia and the midwest this global thinker emerges, seeing through the traps of contemporary writing, the slippery slopes of me-themes and victimization that we so indulge in this country. And yet he's positive and instructive and kind. And readable, every sentence bursts with intelligence and wit. If I could study writing with anyone in the world, it would be Charles Baxter. He is the most intelligent and insightful tour-guide I have yet met. Highly recommended!!

A new 8th edition has been published. But this is definately the Bible of Respiratory Care.

This is the "Bible of Respiratory Therapy" as once said by my professor. It's a great learning tool that should be used at all colleges offering the respiratory program. I'll always keep this book around no matter what.

The Egan's manual for respiratory therapy is the most benificial learning tool and reference manual that I have come across in all of my career. The information in this book is not only easy to understand but layed out in a manner that makes finding what you need an easy task. It gives a thorough review of all the important clinical data and physical characteristics needed to become a competent practitioner. The information in this book is explained in a very simple form which makes it easy to understand and retain the material that is covered. I would recommend this book as a refence tool to any student pursuing a career as a nurse, respiratory therapist, or physician. While this book may apply specific emphasis to the respiratory related field, it will reinforce your nursing or medicinal background by examining disease processes from a cardiopulmonary standpoint. This book has been a valuable learning tool and greatly aided me in both respiratory and nursing related classes and God willing as medical student. Best wishes to all and I hope you enjoy your read.

This book is definitely a book that I shall keep for reference. The tutorials are written in a manner to keep you thinking. Information on Fireworks is in an easy to read format. For the hands on individual, you will find tutorials that will challenge all levels of expertise. Will revisit the tutorials in this book the next time I plan a web page using Fireworks. Happy Computing...

It is a book beyond the imagination.
I successfully created a web site:

[website] after reading the book
of Joyce Evans.
I buy all her books without even opening any of her book at the book store because I know of the style she writes anybody can understand including dumb person like me !
A Brilliant Author and a great web designer.
I look forward for her new arrivals.

Bob Singh

I purchased this book.
It is a very good book written by Joyce J Evans.
I am willing to buy any book written by her without opening the book at the bookstore.
Great Author.

With the Friendly Dickens, Norrie Epstein succeeds in what must surely have been one of her goals: she makes you want to read every Dickens novel you haven't yet read and reread every one you have. Along the way she gives you an overview of Dickens' life and of his times, in an enjoyable, idiosyncratic style that makes highly engaging reading. Want to know how Dickens wrote or why Victorians got off on deathbed scenes? It's in there, along with sections on food, drink, sex, freaks, Dickens' illustrators, a filmography, and more. Of particular interest are the explanation of just why Pickwick was so popular and the musings on Victorian mores versus contemporary ones. About the only thing that could have made this book more complete was a recipe for rum punch.

ANYONE interested in Dickens should own this book. It is vast in scope and full of accessible detail. Each novel is put into unique perspective(from cannibalism and dying children to physical oddities and real-life locales that inspired his tales), the author's life is made personable, the time period is explained (its mores and mannerisms), and modern film/stage performances are analyzed.

The mood is much the same as a Dickens novel. Witty, sentimental, serious, fanciful, morose. Epstein touches upon every facet. There are pictures galore and chapters are concise so you aren't stuck in one place too long. The nitty gritty nutty facts drew me in ~

the 'Pickwick Papers' contains 35 breakfasts, 32 dinners, 10 lunches, 10 teas, 8 suppers, more than 249 references to drinking, and mention of 59 Inns, 33 by name (someone had time on their hands)

There are 13,143 characters created by Dickens

Before he could begin a novel Dickens would take to the city streets of London and walk as fast as he could for hours

The 20 guineas Pip gets in 'Great Expectations' translates to about $4000 TODAY - puts it into perspective.wow!

Miss Epstein has a gift for communicating, in a lively and acessible manner, her knowledge about and enthusiasm for her subject. Her scope ranges from the broad social and economic factors affecting daily life down to such tiny details as the amount of horse manure tons left every year on the streets in Dickens' London. She is just as good about the books themselves, providing fresh and sensible interpretations of novels as familiar as "Great Expectations" and "David Copperfield" or as obscure as "Barnaby Rudge" and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." Her Dickens filmography is the best we've ever had. This is a useful and delightful book.