This books was a major disappointment. The ideas seem pretty solid, but the book no longer matches the code that is available online. The downloads are a mess. The book says to install slither using the instructions in the download, but there are no instructions in the download. Two users posted requests over a year ago for these instructions and the requests were totally ignored. In fact not much has happened over the past year. It really seems as if the authors have moved on. Slither seems to be dead.

On another note - this book is very academic. For example, there is a couple of pages of discussion about the different theorectical ways to design databases. But my needs are so simple, that I already knew I was going to use MySQL, so I just did not care about this discussion. Unfortunately there are lots of discussions like that in this book. So if you just wanna get something done fast, this might not be the book for you.

This book is surprising in its breadth of coverage (Python basics,
Python advanced topics, MySQL, Apache/CGI and net infrastructure) and
the depth of coverage of each. It is a great single reference for
coming up to speed on each aspect such that you could actually
implement a medium-sized web application based largely on
just what is in the book. For those that are already familiar with
any of these topics, that chapter can easily be skipped. This book
is not for the complete beginner though as it would be impossible
to cover so much ground if it were written with the Dummies mindset.
Overall, it does a very good job explaining subtle points that an
experienced programmer would want to know as they attempted to
implement a first application with these technologies. Good job.

One of the best books around on web programming. A must-read for any programmer trying to build e-commerce applications.

I found the advice impractical in the home setting. I would not recommend this book for parents or teachers. Perhaps those in the clinical setting would find it helpful.

This text finally provides tools and strategies that I can, as a parent, become an expert at using. I just wish the publisher would print more of them at a quicker pace so that my friends could pick up copies. Great book! -ms

For parents and concerned friends and relatives of anxious children, Dr. Dacey and Dr. Fiore have co-authored the definitive guide for dealing with anxious children. As a parent, and now a grandparent, I highly recommend this informative, reassuring and inspiring book.

This book follows Call for the Dead, but is more of a murder mystery than a spy novel. There are surprises as the truth is uncovered, layer by layer, but ultimately, the story is not as compelling as his other works. Very little light is shed on the Smiley character.

So John LeCarre can write as good a murder mystery as the rest of the lot over there in Great Britain. At least he's not as precious and smug as most of them. And he uses the beloved Smiley, instead of trying to come up with some new (yawn) Scotland Yard detective. Still, it's not his best stuff. I mean, it's good, don't get me wrong. Better, as I said, than most, but I like the spy stuff the best, and The Tailor f Panama is brilliant and hysterically funny...more sophisticated. Anyway - you won't be disappointed.

A Murder of Quality is the second of LeCarre's novels that feature George Smiley. Unlike the others in the series this novel is not about the Cold War and espionage, at least not overtly. In this one; a woman with whom Smiley worked during the war contacts him. She publishes a small Christian paper and has a subscriber who fears that she will be murdered. Smiley investigates and eventually finds the murderer. It is a classic murder story but not a spy story or is it? I did find myself wondering why the paper was kept in business by the owners. Is it owned by British intelligence? There might be more to this murder mystery than meets the eye or perhaps not.

Smiley has to solve a murder and also face his wife's past. It's ironic that the basically decent and brilliant Smiley is considered unsuitable for his higher class but serially unfaithful wife. LeCarre includes much social comment about Britain as he leads Smiley to the solution of the crime.

Things are not what they seem and Smiley's investigations lead to truly nasty revelations. The twists, turns and betrayal that are LeCarre constants are present in A Murder of Quality. The reader gets to see the author as he is developing his craft.

A Murder of Quality is a murder mystery and perhaps LeCarre was considering pursuing this genre. Instead he reinvented the spy story incorporating seaminess and betrayal. A Murder of Quality shows us how deep his talents as a writer are.

This book is full of interesting subject matter. Pushkin, the founding father of Russian Literature and its most exemplary poet, is a fascinating figure, embodying the enigmatic Russian soul and character. He was the ultimate Romantic outsider. His African descent was the subject of behind-the-back snickering at the court of Nicholas I. He was, however, held in great esteem as a writer by his contemporaries, yet he did not achieve his heroic status until after his death. It is his death (at the relatively young age of 38) in a duel with the French dandy, George D'Anthes, that is the primary subject of Serena Vitale's investigation.

The main drawbacks to Pushkin's Button are stylistic. Instead of marshaling her facts and presenting them in a forthright manner, Vitale instead resorts to a kind of breathy, gossip-laden, Dominick Dunne for "Vanity Fair," type exercise. She also scatters tidbits of information that she claims will have some significant import later in the story, yet in most instances, this turns out not to be the case. If she is trying to write a mystery, there are way too many red herrings. She claims that a series of letters found in a trunk in Paris in 1989 and viewed for the first time by her, reveal some startling information concerning the events leading up to the duel. Written by D'Anthes to his patron Barron Heeckeren (the Dutch Ambassador to Russia, who later adopted D'Anthes and may have had a more-than-fatherly love for his charge), they convey nothing particularly startling. To those familiar with the background behind the main characters, the fact that the letters reveal that D'Anthes and Heeckeren were shallow, supercilious hedonists is hardly news. Though she constantly hints that "all will be revealed," concerning the identity of the perpetrator of the "cuckold letters" that were disseminated amongst the Petersburg aristocracy, and that directly led Pushkin to challenge D'Anthes to the fatal duel, the identity behind the letters is never established. This is but one example of myriad unsubstantial queries the author leaves hanging.

For those looking for a more carefully reasoned, and infinitely better written book that covers much of the same material, I would recommend Henri Troyat's biography of Pushkin. Troyat, unlike Vitale, doesn't engage in empty conjecture and he has a thorough understanding of Russian history and literature, as he has authored several great biographies, ranging from Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Tolstoy, Elizabeth II, Alexander I, etc.

In her work on the events surrounding the duel that killed famed Russian writer Pushkin, Vitale weaves a literary web of both his contemporaries' accounts of the events leading up to the duel and its repercussions, and the often tangled motives of the players and those who reported their actions. Similar in its reconstruction techniques to Charles Nichols' "The Reckoning" (dealing with the murder of Christopher Marlowe), "Pushkin's Button" reads like a great mystery, and a window onto upper class Russian society of the day

A stunning tour de force of scholarship and literary style. Truly a suspenseful page-turner, somehow not slowed down by the author's use of liberal quotations from primary sources. Some of the credit must go to the translator, Anna Goldstein.

Although this is an excellent textbook for medical students and hematology fellows who need to learn more about certain topics and diseases, it offers limited assistance to the clinician who has to work backwards from lab results and symptoms in search of diseases. It covers the molecular biology of hematology in great detail and also discusses some of the treatment options. It is a great book if you are doing a paper on a hematologic topic. There are also chapters on the new techniques used in labs and the differences in these techniques. On the other hand, if you are looking at abnormal results on a CBC, this book may not offer much help.

A comprehensive text of practical clinical hematology. Clearly and concisely written for use as a reference or 'at the bench.' One of the most useful materials in the Hematology laboratory.

This book is written primarily for the laboratory, and the haematologist. In that area it is excellent, for clinical treatment, williams or other books are better. But for the laboratoru I would reccomend this book, as I have this and several of the previous editions.

In the Preface Beasley-Murray (B-M) asks why yet another commentary on John's Gospel and answers, "It seemed that there was room for an attempt to pass on some of the treasures of modern study of this Gospel and with them to combine one's own findings and convictions." To this end he remains faithful throughout the Introduction and commentary proper. We are treated to some of the best insights into John's Gospel, both B-M's and many an eminent scholar's. His enthusiasm for the project shows up again when in the Introduction he describes some of the commentaries on the Gospel in the past fifty years as "among the greatest expositions of the Word of God that have ever appeared" (liii).

The 61-page Introduction is important. It covers the literary sources, development of the traditions, religious relations, authorship, date and place, selected aspects of theology, purpose, and structure of the Gospel. It is rich in theological ideas. It was "as if scales falling from the eyes" as B-M listened to his mentor, C. H. Dodd, explain the structure of the episodes of the Book of Signs (chapters 2-12), each episode consisting of sign plus discourse, and each encapsulating the whole Gospel. He realized that that was probably due to the Evangelist's preaching, as the Evangelist expounded the significance of the traditions in the light of Christ's death and resurrection. Now a familiar observation in Johannine studies, the concept that much of the Fourth Gospel was the product of preaching must have been a creative thought then. New insights have continued to flow unabated as scholars delved into the depths of this Gospel. Nowhere is it more apparent than in the discussion of the Gospel's dual nature, simultaneously depicting the historical ministry of Jesus and the situation and faith of the Johannine community some 50(?) years later. "The Evangelist sets the historical ministry of Jesus in Palestine in indissoluble relation to the ministry of the risen Lord in the world" (xlvii). If Luke traces the origins of the Church in two volumes, one [his Gospel] of Jesus and the other [Acts] of the risen Christ acting through his disciples, John presents the historical Jesus and Jesus the risen Lord together in one book and a single perspective. B-M masterfully sketches in succession how each of several scholars has treated this theme, in the process displaying a fascinating interplay of ideas.

Several other important themes that recur in the commentary proper make their first appearance in the Introduction. While the Kingdom of God is scarcely mentioned [only in vv. 3:3,5], "every line of the Fourth Gospel is informed by it" (xxxiv). The Paraclete actualizes the words and deeds of Jesus in the life of the Church -- the Fourth Gospel itself "is a supreme example of the truth and application of the Paraclete doctrine which it contains" (liii). The concept of Son of God (closely associated with Son of Man) is the prevailing characteristic of Johannine Christology. The glorification of Jesus coincides with his crucifixion (unlike Isaiah's Servant who is exalted because and after he had suffered). The realized eschatology of John is not to be divested of its future aspect (contrary to Bultmann). All these, and more, are elements that B-M uses in the commentary discussions of John's theology, which turns out to be largely Christology. In the end you have to agree with him, "The theme of the Fourth Gospel is Christ" (lxxxi).

In common with other scholars, B-M accepts a four-part structure of the Gospel: (A) The Prologue; (B) The Public Ministry of Jesus, otherwise referred to as the Book of Signs (Dodd, Brown); (C) The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus, also known as as the Book of the Passion (Dodd) or the Book of Glory (Brown); and (D) Epilogue. He expresses a reservation, though, concerning the nomenclatures "Book of Signs" and "Book of Passion/Glory", since he considers that the WHOLE Gospel may be viewed as a book of signs and as a book of the passion and glory of Jesus. As he interacts with the established figures of Johannine scholarship, B-M does not hesitate to disagree as well as to cite approvingly, for he is a Johannine expert in his own right. He argues his case very well indeed, but to get the benefit of it you have to read thoughtfully. B-M is never shallow and merits careful study. Knowledge of some Greek will help, but you can still gain a great deal without. Running to about 600 pages, as compared for example with Brown's two-volume, 1200-page work (Anchor 29, 29A), this commentary is necessarily less detailed. But as a presentation of modern Johannine study coupled with the author's independent understanding, it is certainly a noteworthy effort.

The second edition (1999) is identical with the first (1987), with the addition of supplementary bibliographies and reviews of a number of significant books on John that had appeared since the first edition (for example, John Ashton's important "Understanding the Fourth Gospel"). The commentary follows WBC's usual format. Some find the format "unfriendly", but it is not so. The usual gripe that references are given in line with the text (not in footnotes) hardly deserves notice. If you are ready to go beyond introductory expositions of the Fourth Gospel, give this book serious consideration.

I have both the original 1987 edition and the "revised" 1999 edition. To the publishers credit, the 1999 edition does state flat out that the only thing new is 50 pages of updated bibliography and reviews of major book on the Gospel since the original publication. This is all located in one new section in the introductory material. Otherwise, the two editions are identical page for page (even the numbering). If you have the 1987 edition, don't get the 1999 edition unless you need/want an updated bibliography.

If you are looking for a secondary commentary on John's gospel, then Beasley-Murray's is the one for you. Not as detailed as the others like Morris, Schnackenburg and Brown; but detailed enough for Bible study and message preparation. The Do not purchase it as your main commentary for you will soon need to go out and buy one of the others mentioned above. I have not seen the second edition as yet.

It is a wonderful idea to make available recordings of great speeches. I hope we have more of this in the future.
In the case of older speeches, the selection is very good, considering the restraints of time, and the readers are uniformly excellent.
As for the modern speeches, it is a marvel of technology that we can hear these speeches as delivered. It is incredible that we can hear the voice of William Jennings Bryan. I can listen to Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" a thousand times and never tire of it! How I wish I could listen to the voice of Patrick Henry! But this selection is too heavily weighted to the modern, and many of those do not deserve billing as the GREATEST speeches of ALL TIME. Also, some of the modern speeches which are included are abridged, e.g. Reagan is cut off in the middle of a sentence, while lengthy and undeserving speeches are played out in their entirety.
Also, with only a few exceptions, the selection is almost entirely American. It is hard to understand why Jimmy Carter's lengthy speech on energy policy is included, while Pericles' funeral oration is not; or why only a small portion of a single Winston Churchill speech is included; why while Bill Clinton's complete 1993 pulpit address, in excess of 20 minutes, is included.
It would be helpful if the complete list of speeches were available to online buyers, as it would be to shoppers in a brick and mortar store.

I have listened to this collection twice now, both times with pleasure. Hearing the acutal voices of Amelia Earhart, Rev. Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill and Neil Armstrong made a deeper connection than simply reading their words. The collection showcases different subjects and many times contrasts opposing viewpoints of the ideas. This volume is a fantastic introduction to the moving ideals and sometimes sad truths that have influenced Western Civilization.

This is a new and welcome addition to the Netter family of publications. IMHO, the real utility of Netter publications lies in the rendition of the plates. As an embryological atlas, this volume leaves somethings to be desired. Aside from this caveat, the images are a wonderful addition to the littany of "standard" figures that are ususally the same figure repeated with minor variations.

The use of color is of particular value in understanding the development of structures where boundaries between transient elements is indistinct. These make a nice adjunct to the more conventional texts.

This is a teaching book that will be of greatest use to those who have already grasped the basic elements of human embryology. They illustrate conceptually complex topics and are thus of real utility. I don't see this as a primary text, since it contains a great deal of anatomical, pathological and teratological images as well.

It's about time. There has never been a more lucid account of the normal and abnormal processes of human development. Netter's illustrations combined with Cochard's succinct text and learning aids go far beyond any other books published to help further the understanding of embryology.

First of all this is not a manual of anatomy, physiology or pathology. It's not a book to use as a home medical guide. It is a compendium of articles that relate to medicine, but there seems to be no overall focus to the book. There are many historical entries covering such topics as Greek Medicine, Nursing in Britain, medicine in Italy, the Plague, the Flying Doctors and the Sisters of Charity. Most medical specialties such as dermatology, neurology, gynecological oncology and obstetrics are given coverage.

There are a variety of articles on medical research, but none on the topic of research methodology in general. Although not a guide to medical diseases there are articles that do pertain to such specific ailments as diabetes, and sexually transmitted diseases. You will find philosophy represented here in an article on epistemology (the study of knowledge). There is also a section on religion, and the medical views of various sects and denominations. I found that the authors refrained from being critical of religious beliefs as they pertain to medicine. The article on Christian Science is a benign one. The article on Chiropractic is also quite gentle. Indeed the book states that Chiropractors tend to get to know their patients to a far greater extent than medical practitioners.

Again, this is a strange compendium of many different topics: hysteria; hypnotism; near-death experiences; mummies; and the pharmaceutical industries. Will this book fill any of your special needs? It is of value to me by simply being an interesting volume of medical articles that I often just read at random..

This book is dedicated to sir Ronald Bodley Scott (1906-1982), a family physician and specialist in internal medicine, who was affiliated with St Bartholomew's Hospital and appointed physician to King George VI and Queen Elisabeth II. Together with a collegue he conceived the idea of this companion, which was in its planning stage at the time of his death. The present companion is the 3rd edition. The three editors are wellknown physicians, Stephen Lock, a hematologist who edited the British Medical Journal from 1975-91, John M Last professor emeritus in epidemiology from the Univesrity of Ottawa and George Dunea, the chairman of nephrology at Cook County Hospital in Chicago.
This companion is not a standard encyclopedia, but rather a selection of more than 500 short papers by more than 200 authors on subjects from abortion to zombification. Each entry is connected to the historical perspective of medicine, relationship with culture or art and information on the persons behind.
It can be learned that autopsies are not without side effects. A certain Josef Kolletschka died of sepsis following an infection acquired after sustaining a wound during autopsy. It was the similarity of his illness and in patients with puerperal fever that led Ignaz Philip Semmelweiss (1818-65) to understand that puerperal fever was caused by infection. This Hungarian obstetrician, working at the Allgemeines Krankenhaus in Vienna observed that the maternal mortality was higher in the ward attended by students (that came directly from the dissection room to the ward)than in the ward attended by nurses. When he enforced hygiene the mortality fell from 9.95% to 1.3%. The administration did not like his ideas and he was forced to leave for Budapest, where he became professor of obstetrics in 1855. His ideas on hygiene (Die Aetiologie der Begriff und die Prophylaxis des Kindbettfiebers, 1861) was not received well and in 1865 he suffered from an mental breakdown and died from septicemia from a wound infection.
On the lighter side you will also find some nice quotations on the medical profession, like the one of Thomas Fuller (1609-61) on "physicians, who like beer, are best when they are old".
All in all, a book with a wealth of information on medicine and its history.

Professor Joav Merrick, MD
Medical director, Division for Mental Retardation, Box 1260, IL-91012 Jerusalem, Israel,

Mohammed Morad, MD
Family physician, Division for Community Health,

(I am reposting this review, because the email address was wrong and it did not show up on my review page.)

The puritan physician John Locke (1632-1704) is one of the greatest philosophers, and certainly the one who was the most influential on the American civilization. Locke's life and the context in which he wrote this book are presented in Ewing's introduction, however without serious philosophical considerations. Ewing still mentions Locke's willingness to defend Christianity against the intellectual attacks lead by the deists, and how much opposition Locke's The Reasonableness of Christianity received, in particular from the revivalist clergyman Jonathan Edwards, who accused him of atheism. Since Locke's book did not have any divisions nor chapters, Ewing has numbered the paragraphes and compiled an outline.

Locke first deals with the need for salvation and the content of the gospel preached by the apostles and Jesus. He then proceeds to a very lengthy analysis of the gospels (as someone said: "Locke has no mercy on the patience of his readers.") Locke defends the Christian truth with the miracles and the resurrection of Jesus, His indirect declarations of Messiahship and His fulfilment of the messianic prophecies. I was surprised to learn much from Locke's sharp analysis of the gospels, for example why Jesus did not reveal His identity directly during most of His ministry. Locke then answers some general objections (about the salvation of the unevangelized, etc.) In the last part of the book Locke points at some insufficiencies in the general divine revelation in nature (although Locke believed in the truth of such a revelation) and argues for the necessity of special revelation.

Locke's arguments may have been convincing in his time. But Locke wrote before the attacks of Hume against miracles or before the attacks of the liberal theologians based on the historical-critical method. Locke's argumentation would be incomplete for modern readers. These would be more helped by modern apologetics books. However, those interested in an analysis of Jesus' ministry may benefit from Locke's book, provided they are motivated enough to endure his lengthy style. Those interested in Locke's philosophy may benefit more from the edition by I. T. Ramsey (John Locke. The Reasonableness of Christianity. With a Discourse on Miracles and Part of A Third Letter Concerning Toleration. Introduced and edited by I. T. Ramsey. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1958.) Ramsey has brilliantly introduced and outlined the book, has abridged the text, and also introduced and edited some of Locke's arguments about miracles.

The puritan physician John Locke (1632-1704) is one of the greatest philosophers, and certainly the one who was the most influential on the American civilization. Locke's life and the context in which he wrote this book are presented in Ewing's introduction, however without serious philosophical considerations. Ewing still mentions Locke's willingness to defend Christianity against the intellectual attacks lead by the deists, and how much opposition Locke's The Reasonableness of Christianity received, in particular from the revivalist clergyman Jonathan Edwards, who accused him of atheism. Since Locke's book did not have any divisions nor chapters, Ewing has numbered the paragraphes and compiled an outline.

Locke first deals with the need for salvation and the content of the gospel preached by the apostles and Jesus. He then proceeds to a very lengthy analysis of the gospels (as someone said: "Locke has no mercy on the patience of his readers.") Locke defends the Christian truth with the miracles and the resurrection of Jesus, His indirect declarations of Messiahship and His fulfilment of the messianic prophecies. I was surprised to learn much from Locke's sharp analysis of the gospels, for example why Jesus did not reveal His identity directly during most of His ministry. Locke then answers some general objections (about the salvation of the unevangelized, etc.) In the last part of the book Locke points at some insufficiencies in the general divine revelation in nature (although Locke believed in the truth of such a revelation) and argues for the necessity of special revelation.

Locke's arguments may have been convincing in his time. But Locke wrote before the attacks of Hume against miracles or before the attacks of the liberal theologians based on the historical-critical method. Locke's argumentation would be incomplete for modern readers. These would be more helped by modern apologetics books. However, those interested in an analysis of Jesus' ministry may benefit from Locke's book, provided they are motivated enough to endure his lengthy style. Those interested in Locke's philosophy may benefit more from the edition by I. T. Ramsey (John Locke. The Reasonableness of Christianity. With a Discourse on Miracles and Part of A Third Letter Concerning Toleration. Introduced and edited by I. T. Ramsey. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1958.) Ramsey has brilliantly introduced and outlined the book, has abridged the text, and also introduced and edited some of Locke's arguments about miracles.