this book is nothing like i thought it would be, it was hard to understand, and i wouldn't reccommend it

This dictionary is an excellent choice for the price. Of course you can get better ones, but certainly you will need lot of additional money and an additional backpack exclusively for carrying it around! This Williams dictionary is by far better than Oxford's Compact English/Spanish dictionary and other "pocket" dictionaries one comes up with. Overall, a good dictionary.

As a Spanish student of 5 years, the Bantam New College Dictionary is the best dictionary I have seen yet. It never fails to have the word or phrases that I am looking for. It is necessary for truly understanding the Spanish language.

After reading a negative review of Williams' previous book, METROPOLITAN, I commented on it as I thoroughly enjoyed its sequel. I wonder if CITY ON FIRE is #2 in the series, as this is the work of a new writer to me. I think he tells a good tale. S

METROPOLITAN and CITY ON FIRE have a unique angle on magic which may be refreshing to those who, like me, have "outgrown" traditional fantasy stories. It's a bit on the literal side, more like electricity than like dreams, but the exploration of it is thorough and honest, and the story is compelling. I'm certainly looking forward to the third volume.

Although I enjoyed Walter Jon Williams's previous Novel, Aristoi, for it's exotic atmosphere and larger-than-life characters, I was somewhat disappointed in Metropolitan. It seemed somewhat contrived and depressing. At the time I did not realize that it was part of a series as it definitely stands on its own as a complete novel. City on Fire is the sequel to Metropolitan and it delivers all the promise that Williams has shown in previous novels. City on Fire is a fascinating novel both for its characters, who evolve and devolve in fascinating ways, but for William's exploration of the interactions of religious, military, commercial, and political factions as they deal with consolidating power in a conquered territory, a situation which is usually the conclusion of most books rather than the starting position. Throughout the novel the action is fast, but never slights the accelerated education of Aiah, the strong and engaging protagonist. Although the setting is science fictional, the actions and reactions are completely and realistically human. This book is a marvel and I intend to nominate it for a Hugo in 1997. Thank you, Walter Jon Williams, for a thoroughly engaging world and characters. I simply can't wait for your next amazing performance.

Destiny's Way is a decent NJO book, but there are elements to be criticized. First the good: Williams writes a good story. All the classic Star Wars characters are back and there are many great leaps made in war against the Vong. He is able to write a very compact and fast moving story. He is able to continue many of the characterizations begun in Stover's Traitor and Allston's Enemy Lines books. The down sides of this book are few but very crucial 1. because of the length of the book, Williams is unable to create any sense of time passage. The entire story takes place over a period of about 3-6 months, but it reads like something taking place over a couple days. This has happened with several of the NJO books with the exception of the longest book Star by Star. The NJO Ylesia ebook actually takes place between chapters 20 and 21 in Destiny's Way. It is a crucial chapter and should have been included in this book. Because of the shortness, Williams is unable to create emotion at key moments, everything seems just a bit rushed even on the climax, which should have more of an emotional impact than it does. Destiny's Way is no Star by Star, but it is still a competantly written, fast paced story and a decent addition to the NJO series.

I have found the New Jedi Order series to be an exciting deviation from the nosediving extended universe literature that came after Zahn and Stackpole. Destiny's Way is no exception to the rest of the NJI series. Although I did read this book in less than six hours one afternoon, yet I never put it down. The plot of this series was clearly plotted out in detail by a myriad of authors who divided up the writing tasks and an excellent job they did. The only thing that bothers me is the mentioning of the Yuuzhon Vong in prequal books that take place before the 6 episodes. These seem to eclipse the real Star Wars story and kinda bummed me out as pathetic as that sounds. Anyway, I enjoy a good, well-written read but despice garbage printed for the money they bring. With my basis in mind, I recommend this book to any who dont want to wait till paperback.

One of the better novels of the series. Destiny's Way, like the other hardbacks, seems to pull together all of the disparate parts of the storyline from the NJO plot. The practical application of Jacen talents was welcome; Luke's turnabout on the Force a forseen but well done event; Vergere's continually enigmatic character was intriguing as always; the Knighting of the next generation of Jedi Knights was a nice symbolic touch on many levels; everyone being IN CHARACTER; all made this book a wonderful read. My two favorite components: 1)Mara being a (behind the scenes, action-oreinted) spy again. It has been too long since my favorite character was in her element. Let's hope the future authors continue this trend. 2)Jaina as the Sword of the Jedi. *I cannot wait for the results of this.* Her reaction to this idea is wonderful, both in action and in thought. Jacen's reactionary concern for her is also apt. It is time for Jaina to take that kind of role permanently, not in the back and forth way that she's had for the previous novels.
This novel will make you want to read the next one immediately. The manner in which Destiny's Way pulls together the Jedi so definitively leaves the resounding question of 'what's next?' preeminent in your mind.

Destiny's Way is a decent NJO book, but there are elements to be criticized. First the good: Williams writes a good story. All the classic Star Wars characters are back and there are many great leaps made in war against the Vong. He is able to write a very compact and fast moving story. He is able to continue many of the characterizations begun in Stover's Traitor and Allston's Enemy Lines books. The down sides of this book are few but very crucial 1. because of the length of the book, Williams is unable to create any sense of time passage. The entire story takes place over a period of about 3-6 months, but it reads like something taking place over a couple days. This has happened with several of the NJO books with the exception of the longest book Star by Star. The NJO Ylesia ebook actually takes place between chapters 20 and 21 in Destiny's Way. It is a crucial chapter and should have been included in this book. Because of the shortness, Williams is unable to create emotion at key moments, everything seems just a bit rushed even on the climax, which should have more of an emotional impact than it does. Destiny's Way is no Star by Star, but it is still a competantly written, fast paced story and a decent addition to the NJO series.

I have found the New Jedi Order series to be an exciting deviation from the nosediving extended universe literature that came after Zahn and Stackpole. Destiny's Way is no exception to the rest of the NJI series. Although I did read this book in less than six hours one afternoon, yet I never put it down. The plot of this series was clearly plotted out in detail by a myriad of authors who divided up the writing tasks and an excellent job they did. The only thing that bothers me is the mentioning of the Yuuzhon Vong in prequal books that take place before the 6 episodes. These seem to eclipse the real Star Wars story and kinda bummed me out as pathetic as that sounds. Anyway, I enjoy a good, well-written read but despice garbage printed for the money they bring. With my basis in mind, I recommend this book to any who dont want to wait till paperback.

One of the better novels of the series. Destiny's Way, like the other hardbacks, seems to pull together all of the disparate parts of the storyline from the NJO plot. The practical application of Jacen talents was welcome; Luke's turnabout on the Force a forseen but well done event; Vergere's continually enigmatic character was intriguing as always; the Knighting of the next generation of Jedi Knights was a nice symbolic touch on many levels; everyone being IN CHARACTER; all made this book a wonderful read. My two favorite components: 1)Mara being a (behind the scenes, action-oreinted) spy again. It has been too long since my favorite character was in her element. Let's hope the future authors continue this trend. 2)Jaina as the Sword of the Jedi. *I cannot wait for the results of this.* Her reaction to this idea is wonderful, both in action and in thought. Jacen's reactionary concern for her is also apt. It is time for Jaina to take that kind of role permanently, not in the back and forth way that she's had for the previous novels.
This novel will make you want to read the next one immediately. The manner in which Destiny's Way pulls together the Jedi so definitively leaves the resounding question of 'what's next?' preeminent in your mind.

i liked the book and found the information in it very interesting but i felt as if the author was trying to "sell" melatonin as opposed to "selling" his research. this made me feel uncomfortable and suspicious much the same way an info-mercial does when over excited people try and convince you about "revolutionary" discoveries

I read this work, the original medical research on which it was based (much of it available on links through the National Library of Medicine and Medline), and other works on this topic. The authors are clearly informed advocates who believe passionately in their work--work supported by research significant in its depth and scope. Please do not let "tone" issues deter you from reading a substantive and highly accessible medical work.

"The Melatonin Miracle" is such a fantastic book that I read it in one night only. Despite my fatigue I just couldn't stop reading until I reached the last page. The discovery of our aging clock and how melatonine can influence it, is undoubtedly a breakthrough, which will lead to many more. An uncle of mine, who is 65, started to take Melatonin and his skin became smoother and softer that I was flabbergasted, his sleep was more profound and relaxed and he stopped going to the toilet during the night. I can only say that this book was worth its money !

I bought this book to learn MRI, but the work is more of an encylopedia than a readable textbook. It contains too much useless information, while the important material is not particularly well written, presented, or organized; for example, the first 300 pages of physics is too often impenetrable and consistently overly theoretical, esp. the parts written by PhD's as opposed to MD's. The chapters are inconsistent in quality, varying from poor to very good. Although the book was supposedly printed in 1999, most of the references are 7-8 years old, the most recent being around 1995; this book is hardly state-of-the-art in its field. It is hard to believe that a book this expensive and in its 3rd edition could have so many typographical errors; did anyone proofread this book? The print is very small, the smallest I've ever seen in a top-of-the-line radiology reference work. On the plus side, it is well illustrated and an outline precedes each chapter.

I ONLY WANT TO BUY VOL NO.3. I WANT TO GIVE IT TO SOMEONE FOR A PRESENT. IF IT'S POSSIBLE HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

The documents are documents and they speak for themselves. However, the editors are revisionists and their explanation of the documents is very suspect. The editors put this collection together and based their commentary on the idea that United States foreign policy has always been evil, all the "dead white guys" who made these policies are evil, and everything we did during the cold war and Vietnam reflect that evil. I am not saying I agree with the Vietnam War. However, what I am saying is that if you are presenting documents present them fairly and in the proper context. The editors fail to do this. Their commentary reflects what they are trying to push: bad revisionist junk history. For an even handed look at the Vietnam War look at Karnow's Vietnam book. This book is dangerous in that if you don't have a background in the cold war or Vietnam, you might buy into this revisionist junk.

William Appleman Williams was a prolific and influential writer of a dozen revisionist books that challenged prevailing views of American history, deploring the United States as an imperialist power pressing its economic and ideological will around the globe. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin from 1960 to 1968 and at Oregon State University from 1968 to 1986, when he retired with the title emeritus. The genially combative professor, who termed himself a radical and was often called the founder of the New Left school of American history, was particularly critical of America's role in the Cold War and in Vietnam. With passionate argument and complex analysis, he championed self-determination for all people and argued that a refusal by Americans to acknowledge a national desire for expansion and global hegemony has led to major errors and confusion over the nation's future.

This collection of documents is especially useful for documents not in the Pentagon Papers, including some amazing ones from the 1950s. It's concise and annotated, emphasizing the origins of the war; half of the documents are dated prior to 1960.

This book shows absolutely no understanding of South Africa's history and economic institutions. In particular, Williams conveniently ignores the role capitalists played in constructing the racist institutions in South Africa in his attempt to portray apartheid as anti-capitalist. One of the most biased interpretations of South African history in existence (rivaled only by the work of W. H. Hutt). Recommended only for conservatives who don't want their view of reality cluttered with actual facts.

The publisher's representative is correct is asserting that William's main objective is to defend capitalism against the charge that "apartheid is a result of capitalism". Unfortunately, the remainder of the commentary on William's book is both dishonest and scurrilous. The commentator employs many of the classic intellectual defenses used by members of left when confronted with the sad and sorry result of over 100 years of collectivist thought and action. The "perfectly competitive market" straw man, the "state capitalism" chimera, the ever useful "fascist" label for right-wing Socialists, and the spurious claim that government is the only avenue for political and economic advancement for oppressed groups are disingenuous weapons in the arsenal of a Collectivist movement forced to confront the real-world results of their theorizing i.e. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Stalin's Russia, Mao's China, Pol Pot's Cambodia, and Mengitsu's Ethiopia.

Williams does not take liberties in defining capitalism and socialism. He uses standards defined in most economic textbooks i.e. the greater the amount of governmental interference in an economy, the more socialist the economy. His ideas are not preconceived, nor does he attempt to downplay the impact of a vicious and immoral racist society on the perpetrators and victims. He does argue persuasively that apartheid without extensive government controls in the economic and political life of South Africa is untenable. Apartheid existed because a Socialist economy allowed the instigators to diffuse the costs of racism among the general population, white, black, and colored. In an open market without government subsidies and supports, racist employers are forced to absorb the risks and costs associated with their preferences (higher wages paid to eligible workers, fewer potential clients, and a loss of information from market distortions). In South Africa a large majority of the Boer population was able to enjoy exercising their racist proclivities as a result of extensive subsidies from a Socialist state. The commentator bemoans the institutional controls erected by the apartheid regime, including closed national and international markets, disenfranchisement, and the failure to adequately develop human capital. The publisher's representative will find absolutely nothing in the writings of Williams, Freidman, Sowell, Becker, Hayek, or Von Mises supporting the type of regime created by the Boers in South Africa.

There is no such animal as State Capitalism. It is an invention of socialists who are unable to explain why their ideas, wherever applied, result in totalitarianism. Perfectly competitive markets have never existed. Most young economic students learn this fact early in their careers. Fascism, when used by leftists to describe odious governments, is an empty epithet. All so-called fascist states have economic systems that are indistinguishable from their left-wing variants.

This book was a pretty slow read for me. McClintock writes detail oriented documentary style, which makes for a somewhat dry read. However, he provides in interesting detail and perspective on the blackfoot indians, including details on private ceremonies.

McClintock spent a number of years with the blackfoot and was even adopted as a son which gave him a access to numerous ceremonies. He goes through each step of the various ceremonies in great detail. He also travels through the region, providing vivid detail of the landscapes and the animals.

What I found most interesting was the stories behind how each Indian attained their status to obtain their bundles, and consequently their obligations to give ceremonies. There seems to be an endless number of waves to attain a given status from catching an eagle, to surviving a bear attack, to catching an elusive beaver.

Also intriguing was their view of death and ghosts. And by McClintock's account they actually seem to have been visited by a ghost one evening.

Whether it be a plus or minus I'm not sure, but McClintock makes no attempt, to indicate what the blackfoot think about anything. Nor does McClintock tell us what he feels or thinks, except that he liked living with the Indians, as oppossed to modern civilizations.

This book is essentially a workbook for speed reading and improved understanding. It makes use of mini-excercises that will remind you of the reading comprehension section of the good ol' SAT's. The whole point is to show you how to read books while minimizing time spent and maximizing your comprehension of the material. By the time I finished this book, I must admit that I was finding college textbooks to not be nearly as intimidating. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially students. The only downside to this book (and the reason I only gave it 3 stars) was that the book is a little rough around the edges. The style is dated and rather mundane, making it rough going for anyone who has anything less than a superb attention span. Overall this book was great considering it was published in 1988. It would be a winner if they updated it and published a sequel of sorts.