The 5-minute pediatric consult is written in an easy to read outline format. The writers have eliminated unnecesary obscure data and offer a concise outline of all major pediatric diseases. The topics are designed to be read in 5 minutes or less and all the up to date information to diagnose and treat a specific illness is included. The topics are alphabetized, so they are easy to look up. The writers are accomplised experts in their fields and the book has been edited by the distinguished Dr. Schwartz, at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. As a professor of Pediatrics, I highly recommend this book to practicing pediatricians, family practitioners, nurses and students.

when will the CD be available? I travel to several schools providing healthcare to uninsured children and would like to use this valuable reference. (a PNP)

love the format. listed alphabetically, the items are presented in a easy to read format. Just about all I want to know about the problem when working in a busy office. I can read more later but this gets the job done. an excellent 90's type of book. where is the CD?

Normally, after reading a book I have many things to say about it, some of which come easily and others which I struggle to put into words. After completing A Woman of Means by Peter Taylor, I felt a whole rush of half-formed ideas and feelings bubbling just below my consciousness, but which I was unable to articulate. I beleive this is because although the story is told in a straightforward style and is easy to follow, it's presented through the eyes of a intelligent,young narrator who's struggling to find a place for himself, whether it be at his school, in the city, or in his own family.

Much of his uncertainty comes from his inability to establish a firm relationship with a mother-figure, whether it be with the grandmother he describes while recalling his earliest memories in the rural South, or with his wealthy step-mother whose home he lives in with his father in St. Louis.

A mother to him seems to represent a home, which is something he has never really had, due to his constant moving from place to place with a father who is determined to make a name for himself. When his father begins to achieve some professional success, gets married to a wealthy young widow and they move into the woman's house, there finally seems to be a chance to develop roots in a town, at a school, and most importantly within a family.

The story focuses on the boy's gradual sense of belonging and how this belonging is eventually threatened by what he perceives as the disolution of his parents's marriage. It is a very complex examination of not just what the boy needs to be happy, but his father and step-mother as well, and includes the the themes of wealth/poverty, the city/country, moderness/ tradition, and love and reputation--all of which are relevant to our own age. It also contains the same mysterious quality of all great art, in that it encapsulates things that can only be truly assimulated, not through the mind, but through the heart.

I don't know how these reviews can look so recent

"Quite simply, there is not a better writer of fiction now at work in the United States.... In A WOMAN OF MEANS...the reader is transported into a place so faithfully similar to the real world, yet so imbued with a knowledge of it that none of us can hope to possess, that one is left breathless with admiration."

I read this book in grad school, and it was one of the most enjoyable and accessible books I read. It is not a biography of Louis XIV but an extensive study on the image-making of the king. The use of the negative-sounding word "Fabrication" in the title makes the cover look very intriguing as it may imply to some that Burke has uncovered much deceit surrounding Louis' image. Actually, Burke uses this term to mean the process and constant renewal of the representation of Louis XIV (10-11). Burke includes chapters on the following subjects: the types of persuasion used (medals, festivals, allegories, etc.), a brief background on Louis' "sunrise", the organization of Louis' image-making system (academies, etc.), the royal image from the time of "personal rule," image-making through victories, reconstruction through peacetime, Louis' "sunset," differences between the ideal and the real, antagonistic images (loyal subjects making gentle fun or giving hopeful advise and actual enemies of the king), the ways in which Louis' image was perceived including the "targets" of Louis' image-makers, and a comparison with rulers before, during, and after his reign. Strangely enough, the Third Reich is not mentioned in the latter chapter which would be a glaring omission to me had it not left the door open for me to write a term paper making such a comparison.

Burke presents a very thorough study examining such things as the changes in medal inscriptions through the years of Louis' rule to a look at what was meant by "public" during this time (pp. 131 and 152). The many photographs makes for a very interesting and enjoyable book. There is also appendixes on the numbers of medals and portraits created during the different decades of Louis' reign. It is a case study of image-making which, if taken as that, is an excellent, complete study. Do not expect a complicated thesis from this work. Burke, for example, does not pursue very strongly the idea of "charisma" (introduced on page 11)and how much "charisma" is tied to personality and "fabrication." One petty complaint is Burke's tendency to throw in French words and phrases. Most often it does not detract from an understanding of the study but, in certain cases, it can be very frustrating. Two of the worst examples are when Burke is describing how the king was surrounded by the gentlemen of his chamber "even when he was..." [the rest being in French] (91) and when Burke mentions a man who found himself in court for remarking "in brutal simplicity, that..." [the rest being in French] (167). But I won't knock off a star because I do not know Francaise.

The theory that ritual, pomp and circumstance can serve to enhance political power is not a new one. This book, however, makes the case that Louis XIV, in everything he did, worked to style himself as an absolute leader, a god-like ruler. From his artistic and architectural programs, to sumptuary laws, and official celebrations, Louis XIV's goal was always to assert and enhance his power. This is an enthralling book that gives insight to the era of Louis XIV as well as perspective on the use of symbol and ritual to create and maintain power.

Overall, this is an excellent anthology of recent work in the philosophy and history of science. Several distinguished figures including Arthur Fine, Peter Galison, Ian Hacking, and Donna Haraway have all contributed essays. The essay by Galison on Monte Carlo simulation is particularly good.

This is one of the best guidebooks for a city's architecture I've seen. The entries cover not only St. Louis proper but also the entire metro area, reaching far into the suburbs in both Missouri and Illinios. Every entry has at least one photograph, a rarity for such books. The maps are clear and concise; a regional map shows where each local map is located. Also includes a number of color photographs in the introduction pages. About the only thing I would fault the book for is skipping a few of downtown's historic towers; however, the book does an excellent job of directing city explorers to St. Louis's most interesting areas.

Peter Galison presents an in-depth look at Experimental Physics in the 20th century, both to reveal its history and present an alternative view of scientific change in recent history. Starting with Wilson's first cloud chamber and progressing through WWII R&D up to and including the Superconducting SuperCollider Galison reveals major changes and redefinitions of what it means to be a practitioner of Experimental Physics. His approach applies a sociological perspective where theorists, experimentalists and instrumentalists share a dialog referred to by Galison as a "trading zone" where the previously assumed communication structures within and between Scientific disciplines are viewed as non-rigid, flexible and mutable. Along the way Galison provides fascinating examples of events and discoveries that illuminate the little known world of research and experiment in recent history. Among these examples are the fire at the Cambridge Electron Accelerator which brought about much greater regulatory involvement of the AEC. Also, the necessary use of MonteCarlo methods in the development of the H-Bomb where as Galison states "A hundred million degrees kelvin put the laboratory out of the picture..." ultimately leading to present day computer technology. For anyone within or outside of physics proper this book is truly an eye-opener to that almost invisible world of 20th century Experimental Physics.

The second edition of this important title on locating information, people and software on the net provides a host of tools for accessing and locating online communities, from building web tools for using the Internet for research to locating virtual libraries of information. An excellent handbook reflects the latest in Internet strategies.

Klaus-Peter Gast's book provides a geometric analysis of Louis Kahn's buildings, as well as an in-depth analysis of Lou's personal way of building with deep respect for the great architectural periods of the past.The author's geometric drawings/diagrams & text - coupled with brilliant photographs and Lou's drawings - take Louis Kahn's buildings/structures beyond simple tracing and observation:this important book takes us on a fascinating journey through Louis I. Kahn's intelligible and organic geometrical equilibrium, to the structurally ordered whole and the powerful & enigmatic monumentality of Lou's masterpieces.A serious and carefully crafted publication that requires commitment and visual attention.A truly monumental book!

Peter Simple is the tale of a young British midshipman seeking his fame and fortune on the high seas. Set during the Napoleonic wars, it offers comedy and adventure in an old-school style.

Originally released in serialized form, Peter Simple is a fun, straight-forward adventure novel. It was a best-seller in it's time (1833) and holds up beautifully. I think this will appeal to anyone who ever thrilled to the works of Rafael Sabatini, Bernard Cornwell, or Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel. It's an easy read and great fun !

Frederick Marryat was a sea captain who served under the famous Lord Cochrane. This book was an inspiration to such later writers as Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forster. It is a little like Tom Jones in that it episodic, even picaresque. It is very funny in parts, in a way that O'Brian is not--you get the sense that Marryatt is weaving in incidents and characters from his own naval career. It certainly helps to have read O'Brian for a deep understanding of the culture, but with Marryat you feel at times that you are in touch with the real thing.

Another good book in the Heart of Oak series. This novel was quite the opposite of the last one in the series I read, "The Black Ship". I think both novels give good pictures of how life was on the British sailing ships but in "Peter Simple" the crew seems to have a lot of fun and good times as well as taking their work very seriously. They are able to joke around a good bit and enjoy life. This seems much more realistic to me based on my own experiences at sea. "Peter Simple" is written by an actual man of war captain from the Napoleanic era and so probably portrays a much more accurate picture of life on a British man of war than any of the other similar novels. I really liked the novel. Although some of the coincidences and the ending especially are a little too much like a "ladies romance novel" I still think O'Brian fans would enjoy this novel too. The sea battles and ship maneuvers are every bit as good as O'Brian.

Over the past year I have read extensively about the 17th century. "The Age of Louis XIV" is the best book which I have found on the period. Volume VII of Will and Ariel Durant's multi-volume "Story of Civilization", this book documents more detail of the era than any others which I have read.

The book begins with sections on France and England. The next section is "The Periphery" dealing with Russia, Poland, Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, and Iberia. After the geographically oriented sections, the reader is treated to sections organized along intellectual topics, such as science, philosophy, and faith and reason, which contain chapters dealing with specific philosophers or scientists. The conclusion wraps it all up with the denouement of Louis XIV.

This book makes the 17th century understandable. The premier character of the era was Louis XIV, the Sun King of France. During his reign, the policies of he and his ministers established France's day in the sun. Absolute ruler of the most populous and powerful kingdom in Western Europe, Louis made France the center of Western Civilization. On these pages we learn about the Fronde, the revolt by the nobility at the rising of his Sun, from which Louis acquired his life long aversion to Paris, Louis' aggressive support of Catholicism, while at the same time maintaining illicit personal relationships, and his generous support for the arts. This era, rich in French literature and theatre, as represented in Moliere, is revealed.

The forces threatening to rend the Catholic Church further asunder, as well as the relationship between King and Pope, are dealt with in detail. I was surprised to learn that Louis exercised a power over the Church in France similar to that which Henry VIII had previously established over the Church in England.

England, meanwhile, endured Cromwell, The Stuart Restoration, and the Glorious Revolution, while spawning Milton, Dryden, Swift and other literary giants.

Interesting contrasts are illustrated. Whereas in France the monarchy was strengthened into absolutism, England was making hesitating steps toward democracy. Whereas Louis excluded much of the nobility from government and military service, essentially forcing them into the role of idle rich, the English nobility gradually gained power and responsibility for the governance of their country. We can see how these trends may have encouraged the resentment of the aristocrats on the part of the French peasantry, which may have contributed to the intensity of feeling during The Terror of the French Revolution. By contrast, the empowerment of the English nobility may have helped solidify the tradition of peaceful political maturation.

On the Periphery, Charles XII brought Sweden to the zenith of its international power, while Peter the great modernized Russia. Germany survived the onslaught of the Turks, while Italy and Iberia, the "Old Europe" of the day, slid through an era of decline.

Intellectually the era was one of giants. Many of the names with which we are familiar come alive as we read of Isaac Newton, Thomas Hobbes, John Lock, Spinoza, Leibniz and others.

The conclusion of the era was the sunset of the Sun King. Having exhausted his country with dynastic war, bled it with unequal taxation and incurred the enmity of the world, Louis negotiated a peace which left his kingdom a shattered hulk of its former greatness.

For anyone desiring an introduction to the history of the 17th century, this is a great place to start. It has me ready for other books in the Durants' "Story of Civilization".

Though the central figure of this book is Louix XIV, this book is not about French history, but about European history as a whole.

The focus of this book is not on political and military history but on the history of religion, art, literature, science and philosophy. Or I can say politics is deeply involved in religion, art, literature and philosophy. I have never studied European philosophy before, and I thought it would be exttremely difficult to understand philosophy. But while I was reading this book, I found that phlosophy could be much easier when it was explained in a political context of the times.

And in this book English history was emphasized as much as French history. It is quite natural because Louis himself was deeply involved in and greatly responsible for the 17th century English history, and Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were Englishmen.

I believe that this book is the best book I've ever read. I'd like to read all 12 volumes of Will & Ariel Durant's "The History of Civilization" series.

By the way, I found 2 trivial mistakes in this book.
According to p 505, Halley identified another comet, seen in 1680, with one observed in the year of Christ's death; he traced its recurrence every 575 years, and from the periodicity he computed its orbit and speed around the sun. According to my own calculation, however, 575 x 2 + 33 = 1183, while 575 x 3 + 33 = 1758.
According to p 513, Mariotte amused his friends by showing that "cold" could burn: with a concave slab of ice he focused sunlight upon gunpowder, causing it to explode. To focus sunlight, however, we need a convex lens, not a concave lens.

The Durants succeed again in encapsulating the 17th century in Europe. They label it as the landmark century intellectually and scientifically and there is much truth to their assessment: the 18th Century, the "Enlightenment" and "Aufklarung" usually takes pride of place given the American and French Revolutions that dominated them and the general retreat of superstition and obscurantism that marred both Catholicism and Protestantism in the previous centuries. The Durants clearly show that all the 18th century did was develop themes initially sounded and expounded by 17th century thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, Newton, Leibniz, Spinoza and the English Deists. These writers, and others, laid the bedrock for the various revolutions that shook Europe in the 1700 and 1800s and which have culminated in our own day: The Industrial, Political and Scientific.

Thematically, the book is erected upon the scaffolding of the Le Roi Soleil's life. They present his wars, mistresses, patronage of art, political autocracy as well as murderous bigotry. In my opinion, in their conclusion they let Louis off far too lightly. He was a man who countenanced, nay, actually encouraged and gloried not only in wars to dominate Europe--a common enough failing amongst the crowned--but in the Persecution of the Huguenots he left a blot on his record that, in light of the deadly century we just left and the religious fanaticism of 11 September, should sink his record in the humanitarian sense.

His vanity and thirst for "la glorie" (which he admitted himself to have been his worst failing) bankrupted France and left the Peasants in a savage and degrading poverty they hadn't experienced since the calamities of the 14th century. His refusal to use his power to actually reform government and tax the nobility mark his reign as regressive and disastrous in many ways. Still his impeccable taste in the visual and plastic arts-as opposed to his love of second-rate playwrights and third-rate opera--make him the supreme art patron in history. And the prestige and admiration that accumulated acted as a sort of bank that his incompetent, worthless successor cruised upon. Only under sixteenth Louis did the credit of the Sun King's name finally run out...

Still, the Durants must credited for making this error sparkle and shimmer with life and the lovely prose still entrances and pleases regardless of how dull or recondite the subject might be. Again, they are two of the greatest of all American writers. Someday, I hope, they will be acknowledged as such.