Parker's artistic details are marvelous. He shows the early drawings of Elsley, describes associations with other artists, and gives background information. As stated in the foreword, his book is not comprehensive. He left out works that he could not identify. Readers can be sure that his information is valid because of his association with Elsley's daughter. Many thanks to Parker for his work about an artist who has given many much visual pleasure.

This book was wonderful since the photographs and titles of the paintings helped me discover a painting that is now in the possession of Christies for auction in May, 2001. The painting was sitting in a dusty basement in South Dakota and since then has been loaded onto a refridgerated truck and deposited in New York.

I've found Mr. Iger's book to be wonderfully useful and enjoyable as a reference companion. I've read a number of biographies of musicians recently and have been glad to be able to refer to this book to check on the musicians named in those works. Iger's book also yields a great deal of pleasure in helping resolve questions that come up in conversation with friends: Who was it who wrote "On the Sunny Side of the Street?" Oh yeah, Dorothy Fields. And look at all the other hits she wrote! After looking at my copy of the book (to look up someone she'd heard about on NPR), a friend of mine has decided she has to have her own copy. A good idea, since I'm reluctant to let my copy out of the house.

more than 2500 songs by more than 1000 songwriters included. tells you year of song and where it was first heard - film, show,etc. brief narrative bios of composers and lyricists. divided into sections: Pioneers (pre WWI); main chapter (from Berlin, Gershwins, Hammerstein, Hart Porter, Rodgers, Styne, etc.,etc.--easy to read,easy to find) Chapter on contemporaries such as Beatles, Bergmans, Jobim, more; celebrities and women of song; composers and lyricists who may not have had the "hype" of the majors. Clear, brief narrative, perfect for music students as well as "seniors" who want to remember those golden days of the Big Bands, the Broadway musicals and the Hollywood films.

I have used this guide for 25 years. It is excellent for casual North American birders. It is compact, inexpensive and covers all birds normally found in North America. It has good illustrations of all birds one would normally encounter and good descriptions of the birds. It has some outstanding features found in no other birding guide such as heads of all sparrows on two facing pages so that they are all right there together where they can be easily compared. It has the same layout for winter peeps and fall warblers. This feature in itself makes the book worth having.

How they can sell this book at such a low price is beyond me. Lots of quality here.

Look at the cover with the buntings: it's not just some recycled art from the interior, but a specially painted picture just for the cover. This is part of the value that the authors offer you.

More importantly, the illustrations really capture what the birds look like in real life -- to my mind better than other paintings in guides and a thousand times better than photos -- and the text is clear and to the point.

Sections that showcase winter plumage of gulls or peeps or that illustrate the heads of warblers or sparrows have the page numbers right next to each picture so you can just whip over to bird in question if you need more information.

I especially like the fact that the range maps are right next to the bird's picture so you don't have to thumb to some inconvenient map index the back of the book only to find that the bird is never present in your area. Everything is right there to help you make a quick identification.

"Birds of North America" is a truly excellent guide. It may not be the most comprehensive, but it certainly is the most useful. It's probably the all-around greatest birding field guide out there. The illustrations are very well done, and the size of the book is easily manageable. This book is detailed enough to accomodate all but the most demanding and professional birders, but user-friendly enough to not overwhelm the amateur.

MEMORIAS DE UNA GEISHA ES UN LIBRO EXCELENTE! LA NARRATIVA TE TRANSPORTA AL JAPON DE ESA EPOCA. ESTE ESCRITO TE HACE CONOCER LA VIDA DE MUCHAS MUJERES QUE SU UNICA OPCION FUE EL SER GEISHAS. NOS DEJA CONOCER A TRAVES DE ELLAS, UNA PARTE IMPORTANTE Y TAL VEZ TRISTE DE SUS VIDAS. ME ENCANTO Y ME HUBIERA GUSTADO CONOCER LA PROTAGONISTA Y SU VISION EN ESTOS TIEMPOS DE LA MUJER EN JAPON. LE RECOMIENDO ESTO LIBRO A AQUELLAS PERSONAS QUE GUSTAN DE LA HISTORIA.

Es la historia de una niña en un pueblito de pescadores, cuya madre esta muy enferma, y su padre antes de morir la vende. Su vida dara un cambio drastico desde la libertad en su pueblito a una especie de esclavitud en una casa de Geishas. Al ser bonita tiene la oportunidad de estudiar para geisha, pero su especial temperamento, y los celos de la Geisha principal, quien la hace fracasar y vivir un infierno en vida. Sin embargo, el amor a un personaje inalcanzable le da esperanza y mantiene vivo su espiritu. Luego de unos años, es tomada bajo la proteccion de una Geisha independiente y de mucho prestigio, con lo que su vida cambia, y empieza a disfrutar del glamour de la vida de las geishas, aunque se ve obligada a cumplir las costumbres, pero la esperanza de el amor a este personaje inalcanzable le permite seguir adelante. Sin embargo, no todo son rosas, el amor parece no tener cabida en una vida de quien debe hacer felices a otros. Mientras tanto, Japon entra en la segunda guerra mundial, y luego, al perder tiene que sufrir una occidentalizacion de sus costumbres. El barrio de las Geishas trata de sobrevivir y mantenerse. El amor se acerca y se aleja de ella, tal vez en forma definitiva, pero entonces se revela a su destino y toma una drastica y arriesgada desicion para tener oportunidad a alcanzar el amor; pero la traicion de una querida amiga de la infancia desencadena su verdadero destino.

MEMORIAS DE UNA GEISHA ES UN LIBRO MAGNIFICO! EL AUTOR TIENE TAL NARRATIVA QUE TE SUMERGE EN LA LECTURA Y TE TRANSPORTA A AQUELLAS EPOCAS EN JAPON. ESPECIFICAMENTE EN GION; ESTA OBRA DA A CONOCER ASPECTOS IMPORTANTES QUE MUCHOS IGNORAMOS SOBRE LAS GEISHAS; NOS INVITA A CONVIVIR CON ELLAS UNA PARTE IMPORTANTE DE SUS VIDAS. ME GUSTO MUCHISIMO, ME DIO PENA EL QUE SE TERMINARA. UN LIBRO, A MI PARECER, DE CULTURA GENERAL.

A good book if you want resumes of biotech industry pioneers, but written from a strongly US-centric and scientific rather than commercial point of view. I had hoped to gather insights into what it's like being part of a new start-up venture, but instead found little more than generous (if uncritical) praise of the scientific workers involved in the story.

Arthur Kornberg starts by describing how, as an academic, he was opposed to the commercialization of biotechnology. He describeshis role on the advisorial board at DNAX and identifies the key elements for success in any biotech company. Kornberg details the risks in biotechnology and discusses the pros and cons of commercial biotechnology, and his take on patents - "Secrecy is corrosive; it makes even less sense in industry than in academia." In the end, he concludes that industry, not academia, is where the most productive science takes place.

an autobiographical journey through the minds and hearts of the scientist/ buisnessman. A must for scientists trying to understand how people can do science AND make money!