It is hard to imagine the determination and skill Harry Cordellos brings to life. Harry demonstrates his faith and willingness to try new things and how to never give up. This book is a true inspiration to anyone who has ever tried to overcome a problem. It is well written and covers a lot of material, keeping you interested in learning more about this motivational winner! When you belive it, you will see it.

A blind guy excelling at water-ski jumping, diving off the 10-meter board, driving an ATV in the mountains, snow skiing, running marathons! This is the perfect gift for anybody prone to whining about their problems.

Inorganic Polymer

For the most part I love novelizations, and "V" by A.C. Crispin, is one of the best that I have read. The writer does a great job keeping the reader the book form of a great mini-series. A MUST for any fan of the "V" series.

love the plot.. very interesting story.. the writing isn't so great but the plot is enough to keep me reading

The "V" pilot book has the same contents as the famous TV series. It follows the TV series pretty exactly, with just minor changes.

As a fan of the cult series, I can advise the lecture of this book to all other fans heartily. If you haven't seen the TV series - why, it's a good book anyway, check it out.

I bought this book for my father, who is a huge magic-buff, and recalls hearing about Houdini while growing up.

Of course, I knew then that my father never reads books, and my hopes that he would break that pattern and read this one were lost. So, I took it home and read it. Er, read most of it.

I enjoyed the historical aspects of the story, but I couldn't get past the fact that the manner in which the book is written was less than enthralling. I just couldn't stay interested! I wanted to, I wanted to!!

If you're interested in learning about Houdini, I'd find something smaller to being your foray - like a three-fold brochure or something.

Houdini ROCKED! This book doesn't.

From the time I could count my age on my fingers, Houdini fascinated me; I read everything regarding him that I could get my hands on. So I already knew a lot of what Silverman mentions in Houdini!!!

However, this book actually managed to surprise me. First of all, most of what I read from the ages of seven to fifteen were biographies written in the "Boy's Life" mode, heroic tales which read more like dime novels than actual biography. Not only does Silverman present an accurate, well-researched account of Houdini's life, he also accounts for many of the myths surrouding Houdini, even in some cases explaining how Houdini himself contributed to some of the confusion. Because the book is so even-handed, I walked away from the book still admiring my childhood hero.

Second, Silverman brings a magician's perspective to this biography. He describes at length the presentation and details of the effects that Houdini accomplished, such as the Metamorphoses, the Milk Can Escape, the Chinese Water Torture, and numerous jail and handcuff escapes. However, he does not "give away the store" by spilling the secrets to the man's life. Sure, some of Houdini's secrets are now known, others not, but Silverman refrains from writing a kiss-and-tell book, and I had to admire that.

Lastly, Silverman went a lot further than I've ever seen in describing both the man and his times. While I've known for years that Houdini lived in a very exciting time, Silverman portrays him as truly a man for his age. From Houdini's interactions with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Theodore Roosevelt, H.P. Lovecraft, Sarah Bernhardt, and Hollwood's silent film stars, to his involvement with aviation, spiritualism, movie making, and more, Silverman makes a case that Houdini brought together much of what first made the modern age modern.

Houdini!!! did not perpetuate the same tall tales that all the movies and Houdini himself put forwrd. Instead, this biography exposed Houdini for what he was--a physically accomplished, master showman, sometimes ego-driven, yet principled man who always struggled to accomplish more.

Given the wide array of misinformation that exists about Harry Houdini, this book outshines the rest. Quite enjoyable.

Informational source containing very detailed events in Houdini's career from birth to death. Is very accurate and well written. This award-winning biography was written with the help of the experts at the Houdini Museum at Scranton, PA. A very reliable source with many unique photos and illustrations. To learn more about Houdini, go to ... .

This book contains excellent choices from the writings of Jonathan Edwards, the first great philosopher in the American colonies, including some of his earliest writings, mostly just philosophical or biological musings. It reflects some interesting developments in the maturation of his thinking. It also has letters to friends, colleagues, and family members. Some of his most well-known sermons are alongside some representative samples of his sermons. Unfortunately, there is room for only excerpts from his longer works, such as The Religious Affections, but that can't be helped in an affordable popular anthology. If you want all of his works, but the complete works from the same publisher. If you just want a representative sample of some of the best works of this great theologian and philosopher, get this.

This looks like an excellent guide to seed collection and propagation. However it is highly specific to the southeast and I am looking for the high desert in Oregon. I could glean some information on mallows and yarrow, but although penstamons were mentioned they weren't discussed. I think a general recommendation for this type of book is to highlight the region that it covers.

I feel this book is an excellent resource for an persons desiring to learn about wildflower biology and, also those wishing to incorporate wildflowers into the perennial garden. While directed toward plants of the eastern, southern, and midwestern regions, most anyone would find this book useful. Useful suggestions are also provide regarding establishment of wildflower gardens.

This is a practical guide to propagating native plants. It is specific to the U.S. southeast to mid-atlantic regions. I have had pretty good results & the directions are very specific. I recommend it for beginners or seasoned gardeners.

As I've written elsewhere (in Rain Taxi, a review of books, to be exact), Smith's biography hardly does justice to the memory of poet Kenneth Patchen. Besides claiming Baudelaire is a Spanish poet(!), Smith practically ignores Patchen's energetic, highly individual work in favor of detailing the poet's politics and undeniably painful medical history, which is not how any poet of Pathcen's talents would want to be remembered. What's more unfortunate than Patchen's record of ill health is that his poetry and novels and art continue to be overlooked after his death - just as they were during his difficult life. If ever an American poet deserved critical reconsideration, it's Mr. Kenneth Patchen. Before you spend your good money on this self-published socio-political diatribe, please purchase every Patchen book that remains in print. Then buy second copies to give as gifts. Fans of e.e. cummings, one of Patchen's many writerly pals, should really enjoy Patchen's work.

Despite what Brian Beatty says,and his review is full of factual inaccuracies and personal bias, this is a strong book, and an essential work of scholarship on an important American writer. Smith has done his homework and delivered a memorable biography. Read it and see.

This is a work of much labor that obviously went straight to the sources for information and really investigated the history that prompted such powerful poetry and fiction. Patchen is a heroic example of a person who maintained his pacifist stance when the world around him was exploding and brought his beautiful vision to Earth. This biography is written with a kind of tenderness and honesty that Patchen valued above all else. Thanks Larry Smith for this labor of love.

As a critic once said of Henry James, Jacobs and Levy have chewed more than they bit off. There is (as another reviewer points out) no follow-up on how their factors have behaved in the decade or more since they did some of the pioneering work on factor models. Overall, the book has about 10% as much information useful to a practitioner as appears in Grinold & Kahn's authoritative text.

This book is great for people who want an overview of the opportunities available in numerical evaluation of stocks. However to say that this is a book on quantitative techniques is probably not the mest description. There is extensive use of regression analysis but more hard-core 'quant' people will probabliy be disappointed. It is clear that the book is written by investment professionals focusing a lot on traditional evaluations parameters such as P/E, P/B etc. Interesting points include purification of return signals, and an extensive discussion of long-short techniques.

The most important thing that I (an individual mutual fund investor) came away with was an understanding of the reasons why actively managed mutual funds cannot consistently beat their underlying benchmarks if they take a "stock picking" approach. Since this is the approach taken by most mutual fund managers, it is not surprising that more than 50% (often much more than 50%) do not beat their benchmarks. I also found it interesting how with sufficient breath and depth, engineered portfolios offer higher return and lower risk than the S&P 500.

It is easy to see how "alpha transport", when properly used, can also help maximize returns while minimizing risk. However, I imagine there have been, more often than not, improper use of alpha transport which did just the opposite (minimize return and maximize risk). Obviously not included in the text is the "proper usage" or algorithms for "disentangling equity return regularities". I imagine the authors keep such information close to their chest and constantly update them as old algorithms become part of the efficient market.

The work provides a guide to modern methods of equity management, and for those interested in the state-of-the-art, I highly recommend this book.

The book had enough facts, figures and information to be a valid source of knowledge for the topic, however it was at times hard to follow. The statistics were thrown out at the reader without any preparation or easing into the introduced subject. It went from one topic to another without a smooth transition. Their transitions were choppy, leaving the reader feeling unsettled and at times, confused.

As a person interested in learning more about archaeology field methods, I found this book had good explanations of some very puzzling processes. It also makes a great textbook and was used to prepare students for a field school by professors at UT Dallas. Good book - but you may have to read it over a couple of times in order to fully grasp all the knowledge presented.

The three recent comments on FIELD METHODS, 7th ed. need some clarification. Yes, the book is long, very long. I didn't know we had any statistics in it (reviewer #1)! It is not comparable to Joukowsky, as her book, like our 6th ed., Hester, et al. l975, is now badly out of date. The 7th ed., l997, is designed as (l) a text, especially for field schools (2) a reference on contemporary approaches to field archaeology. It is not a trade book, especially since Mayfield does not discount to bookstores. The long-winded aspect comes from an effort to review contemporary archaeology, which is changing rapidly and covers a broad area of inquiry. The academic review cards received by Mayfield after publication were overwhelmingly positive. Thus, the book appeals largely to professionals and active avocational archaeologists. It is not a "light read" on the glorious discoveries of archaeology.