This is a very encyclopedia-type of book. It has a lot of information about different eye problems and is a great book describing the functions of the different parts of the eye and what goes on at visits to the eye doctor. But it doesn't give alot of information on saving your sight, taking care of your eyes, remedies for problems or anything like that. The book claims to be "The Owner's Manual for your Eyes" but I don't think this to be very accurate. Its from 1998, but doesn't even include alot about laser surgery.

The book is a good layman's guide to understanding the eye and the most common types of eye problems. However, the subtitle, A complete guide to eye disorders, is somewhat misleading. Many eye disorders are not covered. Only major disorders such as cataracts, glaucoma, ARMD, and diabetic retinopathy are discussed in detail. Otherwise, some other disorders are described at a high level in a few paragraphs.

The Eye Book by Gary Cassel is extremely well-organized and easy to read. Anyone wanting to know how their amazing eyes work should read this book. It also conveys basic information about many eye diseases.

This is a very encyclopedia-type of book. It has a lot of information about different eye problems and is a great book describing the functions of the different parts of the eye and what goes on at visits to the eye doctor. But it doesn't give alot of information on saving your sight, taking care of your eyes, remedies for problems or anything like that. The book claims to be "The Owner's Manual for your Eyes" but I don't think this to be very accurate. Its from 1998, but doesn't even include alot about laser surgery.

The book is a good layman's guide to understanding the eye and the most common types of eye problems. However, the subtitle, A complete guide to eye disorders, is somewhat misleading. Many eye disorders are not covered. Only major disorders such as cataracts, glaucoma, ARMD, and diabetic retinopathy are discussed in detail. Otherwise, some other disorders are described at a high level in a few paragraphs.

The Eye Book by Gary Cassel is extremely well-organized and easy to read. Anyone wanting to know how their amazing eyes work should read this book. It also conveys basic information about many eye diseases.

This book is an invaluable reference for anyone working in matrix computations or linear algebra. I have been using it for years and found it to be clear and comprehensive

When I need to solve a large system of linear equations or better understand an algorithm I am using, this book has proven to be the best place to go. It is broad in scope and the writing is clear.

This book should be placed alongside "Principles of Mathematical Analysis" by Walter Rudin and "Finite Dimensional Vector Spaces" by Paul Halmos as a classic text, one which students/professionals of mathematics will use for years to come. A solid book covering computational matrix theory. I myself used it as a tool to bridge the gap between my formal training in Mathematics and my serious interest in computers. Reader should have some knowledge of basic linear algebra(ie understanding of vector spaces, L2 norms, etc..) before attempting this book. Excercises could be better. A good purchase for those with a more than passing interest.

Note: I bought this book to try to learn as much as possible about depression, and about the ECT's that my friend was about to receive.
I found the several points that the doctor had to make about depression, as well as the anecdotes he used to illustrate them, mystifying, to say the least. At one point he tells of a woman who is brought in to an emergency room in a psychotic state and he promptly prescribes a course of ECT's for her. It turns out the reason she was psychotic was because of side effect of the cancer medication she was on. Not only didn't Dr. Mondimore say "Whoops, I guess I blew that diagnosis", when he learned later that she was taking medication which caused the depression /psychosis she was suffering from (aren't doctors supposed to ask what medications your taking?), but actually patted himself on the back for making her feel more like her old self, for the last few months of her life. Way to go Doc!
Unfortunately, my friend's experience with her psychiatrists has been similar. Medication after medications, which haven't helped, only made her worse, and ECT's which were of no help either. But I digress.
Please check out the books by Peter Breggin, and Elliot S. Valenstein for valuable information you probably won't get from most doctors, and leave this book on Amazon's shelves.

This is a great resource book. It is very useful for someone that is has just been diagnose with depression. It tells about every thing you need to about depression. Such as the treatments,causes,and a overview of depression. Mondimore wrote this book splendidly for people that dont understand the jargon of depression. I would highly recommend it for someone just diagnose with this terrible disease.

I have had several episodes of severe depression. Although I am a nurse and have the advantage of being around psychiatric healthcare providers, I had a hard time accepting that it was happening to me. This book really gave me insight and helped me to understand the disease. It is written so the non healthcare worker can understand it. The case scenarios brought the theoretical to life. I recommend this book to anyone who has depression or who is trying to decide if you do or if you have a significant other who has depression. The book also explains the medications which are used and why different ones are used at different times. It describes how important the psychiatric community is to helping you deal with this disease. Having someone who really understands depression and the medications will save you time in feeling better.

I'm told that Steve Barthelme is actually a brother to the much better known Fred and Don. I briefly read this book about 10 years ago (when I was in college and reading A LOT), so I don't remember it particularly well. But I think that's the point. It struck me as being competent but ultimately quite mundane. If you're a hard-core Barthelme completionist, I might get it. Otherwise I wouldn't bother.

Steve is one of my instructors, so naturally I decided to read his book. :-)

The book is great. Go get it!

*Wonders why a person who read a book ten years ago and can't even remember what the book was about would bother to leave bad feedback on a book.* Oh well. Hope you don't listen to him, 'cause you'll miss out on a good book if you do.

A brilliant collection by a gifted writer. Bathelme's characters are fully developed; they are people you can imagine meeting off the page. A good read, highly recommended.

Which is more than I can say for Mr. Callan's unremarkable review. Commenting on a book ten years after seems a bit precious, not to mention disingenuous. Ray Carver tells the story of Donald Barthelme (Steve's oldest brother), whom Ray spotted at a party, not long after Carver had written a not-glowing review of Don's story collections. Feeling bad, trying to remain well hidden in the room, Carver nevertheless managed to hear Barthelme remark to a friend, "When I don't like a book, I try to surround it with a generous silence."

It's hard enough to write a decent sentence without the Callan's of the world lining up to criticize your work without a moment's pause, ten years after the fact, from some college memory bank....

I know Steve Barthelme. Steve Barthelme is a friend of mine. Mr. Callan, you're no Steve Barthelme.

Readers who want to see what Steve Barthelme is up to lately will want to read a book co-written with his other brother Frederick, called Double Down--the remarkable true story of two grief stricken brothers, Frederick and Steve, dealing with the loss of their parents, and in the process managing to lose a quarter million dollars gambling in Biloxi. A terrifying, yet in the end, redemptive sory, from two of the finest writers we have.

Buy the book.

I can not believe that One can make so many mistakes for such a 400 pages book. On page 12, there are 2 major mistakes which will lead anyone who is not an expert in this area to hell.

This is THE book on the subject. The bible of the field by a master.

I am a consumer health librarian, and I keep a pretty close eye on my book collection to see what is being used. Although this book has never checked out in the 10 months we've had it, several times a week it moves around: it gets misshelved, set on top of the bookcase, taken into our waiting or reading area, left on a chair, etc. What this says to me is that there is a real demand for this information, but people are not inclined to check the book out and take it home (who wants to be spotted on the bus carrying a book on STDs?). So, people are sneaking a peek at the information when they can.

Besides being heavily used, this is a fine book that covers the full gamut of STDs, including many that I had not heard of (and I'm pretty savvy about medical terms and disease names), and helpful sections on genital anatomy, "What is 'safe sex'?", a symptom key, what to expect in an examination, and a section on how open communication can help save your life and health in a sexual situation. I wouldn't call the writing style fascinating, but it gets the information across in spades, and does not talk down or confuse. The book also has the full complement of appendices: resource list, glossary, bibliography (largely clinical medical articles), and an excellent index. This is a seriously good consumer health book, and I wish they were all like this, regardless of topic.

p.s.--When I went to get the book in the library stacks just now, it was misshelved again. ;)

I read the book for a research paper for one of my biology classes and was very impressed with it. The writer successfully explained in layman's terms the harsh truth about STDs. I recommend it to all. Everyone needs to be aware of the world we live in and we need to know the price we can pay for the decisions we make. I live in Miami, where the sex scene is everywhere: music, the club scene, movies, the media. You need to know before the bombardment of sexhits you, so that when you make your decisions, or mistakes, you are prepared.

Educational, and yet interesting.

Several British authors have written books similar to this one, and I've always wondered why no American books had been written, especially in view of Americans' legendary love of plumbing. Ms Ogle extensively explores the socoiological aspects of the development of domestic plumbing pretty thoroughly, and also explodes the myth that indoor plumbing was developed only after large municipal water supply systems were developed. I would have liked a slightly more details on the techincal angles of things, but overall, her work is good. It's a definite "must read" for people who are interested in such things.

If you need basic information on all types of allergies, I recommend this book. It provides a broad range of specific allergies and is user-friendly. Topics include: hay fever, food allergies, asthma and treatment options for all allergies. Johns Hopkins is a leading research hospital in this field. There are good graphics and bullet points to zoom in on specific areas. If you want detailed info on asthma or food allergies, this book is not for you. It only covers the basics. It also includes pointers on finding a good allergist and support groups.

I have had the AMA Encylclopedia of Medicine for about 10 years now, and love how it combines detailed explanations with pictures. However, that book is getting old and I can't find evidence that they have revised/updated it. So I was looking for a replacement for that AMA book, when I tried the John Hopkins book here. As one of the other reviewers stated, I was disappointed with the lists of possible syndromes accounted for by various symptoms. Some very common maladies were missing! My husband and I have some of the more ordinary, run of the mill maladies, and only about half were listed! I am returning the book and looking more closely at the reviews and descriptions before I choose another book. I want a book that covers more syndromes, has better pictures (this one has very few), and is written for the educated reader (like the AMA encyclopedia was). This was a case where I bought the book by name brand (John Hopkins) without looking more carefully into what I was getting. I was disappointed.

This book is a good reference for looking up symtoms but one shouldn't use it as their only source for information regarding the remedies. I must disagree that using a wrist-support while typing should be used to prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). All that will do is simply prolong and worsen the condition. In summary, by restricting the movement of the wrist while typing you are allowing muscles in a small area to be overused one way while allowing other muscles to relax.

The book is divided into two sections: symtoms and disorders. The first half of the book on symtoms is a three column table of Associated Symtoms, Possible Diagnosis and Distinguishing Features. The second and last half of the book on disorders gives overviews on each disorder. The information is far from replete but does a good job at summarizing the disorders into relatively simple terms.

The reviewers who posted negative reviews seemed to have missed the point of this book, that it is SPECIALLY WRITTEN and DESIGNED FOR people OVER 50. So common ailments are not going to be in this book; I would recommend The Complete Home Wellness Handbook for the reader under 50. For people over the age of 50, or people who are acting as caregivers for people over 50, this is a terrific book everyone should have in the house.