Bravo!! "The Letter" concludes the love story of David and Maryanne Parkin. You must read "The Christmas Box" and "Timepiece", to capture the entire story. Set in the 1930's, Evans did a wonderful job portraying this era. The events, the characters, the places, all well written. This series is one of the best I have ever read. David Parkin is a incredible man. Maryanne is a wonderful, understanding, loving person. Together through their loss of their daughter, Andrea, their lives go in different directions. David sets off on a journey to find answers. As he was abandoned by his mother at six years old, his feelings always haunted him. When Andrea dies, he virtually relives the same feelings, even worse, only this time shutting out Maryanne from his heart. Maryanne makes a major decision that will break your heart. Their love for each is so strong and real, you can feel it just by reading this love story. I can't leave out the characters of Catherine and Lawrence as well. Their part through-out the series is very touching and two very dedicated friends to the Parkins. The ending was incredible. I won't say how it ends but only that I wasn't expecting it and I had to have a box of tissues. As Evans bids farewell to the lives of David and Maryanne, so do I. It was an incredible love story. Don't pass this series up.

Even if I am just 11 years old I love the Richard Paul Evans books. My mom was so surprised when I showed an interest in his books because they weren't written for children but she didn't stop me. Now I have read three of them and working on a forth. He is a truly talented writer and his books captured my attention completely. I Love This Book!!!!!

The Letter is a great conclusion to a wonderful series of books. If you read "Timepiece" and "The Christmas Box", you must read "The Letter". This book was a little slow in the middle, but keep with it. However, the ending packed a powerful punch. Again, I cried. I fell in love with David and Mary Ann Parkin all over again.

Richard Paul Evans is a gifted writer. I hope he writes more books like this one.

Dick Grier is a proven expert in the field of serial communications and Visual Basic as documented by his peer-support contributions in both the VB Compuserve forum and VB Microsoft Newsgroups over the years. His book, "Visual Basic Programmer's Guide To Serial Communications" is well structured and well written including a serial communications primer, Modem FAQ (and answers), and the ins and outs of implementing data communications using all versions of Visual Basic (2.0 - 5.0) . Coverage includes intricacies (and code examples) of the Visual Basic MSComm control, and discussions relating to the use of the Windows data communications API and Visual Basic. If you are involved in any type of Visual Basic related serial communications development I would highly recommend this book

I am always pleasantly surprised by the number of people in thetechnical world who take the time to summarize their knowledge andshare it with others. Dick Grier has done a fine job of getting together information that ties serial communications and Visual Basic together. If you are a novice to intermediate user of either serial communications or Visual Basic (in my case, I am a novice VB programmer), the book will provide sufficient info to get you "over the top". Modems, terminal emulators, loggers, GPS interfacing and telephony are some of the areas that are covered. You may find a sample app that fits just what you are trying to accomplish. To facilitate moving beyond the information the book provides, Dick has included a list that covers lots of additional resources for data.

This is an excellent, excellent reference for using serial ports with VB. I can't say enough for this book. The author knows his material and communicates his knowledge very well. I am using it to write a communications program to interface with field devices using the modbus protocol. The book doesn't specifically cover modbus, but I still found this book to be very helpful. Again, excellent!

I bought this translation after I bought Wolfgang Sawallisch's excellent live Ring on EMI-- which, obviously, did not include a libretto. I did not realize until I read the introduction that Andrew Porter's translation was for an English version of The Ring staged some years back. I would only want to hear The Ring in the original German, but I must say Porter does a fabulous job in capturing both the sense and the rhythms of Wagner's language. He is forced to give up some of the alliterative quality in order to be more literal, but what makes this book so intriguing is that one can follow along with the music and practically hear the English text in each note, syllable by syllable. That's because Porter did the impossible by pretty much matching the meaning of each word (and each part of a word) with the intended note, setting it apart from those clumsy German translations of Mozart's Da Ponte operas, and so forth. However, I did feel like I was missing out on some of Wagner's meaning, and so I sought out a more literal (and less poetic) translation. I found that in Barry Millington's text-- in hardcover, and therefore more expensive, but with excellent notes and a few essays (as well as photos of older productions). So, unless one wants to know how Wagner might sound in English (and the Chandos cycle on CD does just that), I suggest finding another translation for listening purposes.

Andrew Porter's English translation of the 'Ring' was written to be sung. It has been used in performances of the 'Ring' cycle at English National Opera and elsewhere. When reading this translation, and perhaps using it to follow a recording or broadcast of any of these operas in the original German, you should keep in mind that it is not a *literal* translation. Porter has taken some liberties with the meaning of the original text, in order to match the rhythms of his English as closely as possible to those of Wagner's archaic German. The translator has also attempted to capture some of the alliteration that is characteristic of Wagner's *stabreim*.

It is clear that Andrew Porter understands the text of the 'Ring' well enough that he was able to make this "poetic" translation without distorting the meaning of the original text. For a literal, accurate translation, the only one currently available is by Stewart Spencer (Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung: The full German text with a new translation and commentaries, Thames and Hudson, 1993). You might also be able to find in a library or for sale used, the William Mann translation (Centurion Press Ltd, 1964).

If you collect audio "Ring" CDs, throw out all the libretti that may have come with your CDs and buy porter's book! The nice thing about this translation is that it (a) is understandable, and (b) is easy to follow along to an audio performance because it matches the singing syllable to syllable. Care was also taken in the translation so that the english words occur in the appropriate places where the motif occurs in the music. Also, proper names match up one for one with the German. So, for example when someone refers to "Siegmund", on a recording, the English text at that point is "Siegmund"! Awesome synchronization!

I enjoyed reading this book as a layperson, not having gone to medical school. I have a number of minor skin problems and this book allowed me to differentiate the insignificant ones from the ones I need to pay attention to. I think that this book should be in every household, because a person or parent should know what skin affliction(s) they have and how serious they are before they rush off to the doctor. One thing that should have been elaborated on more is the sub-section on The Nails as Clues to Multiorgan Disease. There are only a few pages of examples of this, yet there are dozens of correlations between abnormal fingernails and systemic disease. The book only gives blantant and graphic examples of serious nail problems and then gives the possible associated underlying disease. It should be expanded to include more "soft sign" nail problems to help doctors make educated guesses about what tests to run.

I am a Certified Physician Assistant in family practice. I have used this book both as a student and as a professional and have found this to be an invaluable resource. The pictures are excellent, and more importantly, the discription and synopsis of each clinical situation is precise and reader friendly. I highly recommend this book.

This is the best quick reference dermatology book available. It is concise and well organized. The pictures are excellent. There are great explanations, differential diagnosis, and treatments. This is an absolute necessity in every resident/medical student library.

First a word about the edition that I read. It was the Oxford World's Classics paperback. It claims to have modernized the spelling. I don't know about you, but as far as I am concerned doth, hath, belongeth is not modern. It wouldn't have been very hard for them to change it to does, has and belongs. Many people complain about the way it was written, making it hard to read. I found that if you read the difficult parts aloud, as if you were giving a lecture, they are easier to understand the first time through. Definitely not for speed-readers.
Hobbes was a remarkable man. He published Leviathan when he was in his early 60's. For someone of his age he was very much in tune with the science of his day. One can only speculate that if he were to have been born 400 years later, with modern science at hand, he would have been considered the greatest philosopher of all time.
The first part of his book, "Of Man" goes about providing definitions of what must be virtually all of humankinds various behaviours and emotions. He also goes on to define what is basic human nature. It is here, without the benefit of modern science, where his philosophy, indeed the cornerstone of his philosophy, gets off on the wrong foot. Thanks to modern archaeology we know that humans are not solitary creatures by nature, but social animals.
In the second part of his book "Of Commonwealth" he spells out why we form commonwealths, and how a commonwealth should run. Again he is very thorough in looking at all aspects of a government and what it needs to do. He defines the power of the sovereign, the making of laws, the consequences of breaking these laws, and where the sovereign gets authority to carry out the consequences. I felt that he gave the sovereign far too much power, and he is there, it would seem, for life. The people only make covenants between themselves that this person or peoples are to be sovereign. Once a sovereign is declared, there is no covenant, or constitution, between the people and the sovereign; the sovereign is given Carte Blanche powers. One must remember that this book was written while Hobbes was in "exile" in Paris during the English civil war and the subsequent government of Cromwell. And while he is careful to call the sovereign "a person or assembly of people" it is quite obvious that he prefers the singular.
The third part of the book "Of a Christian Commonwealth" was for a large part just skimmed over by me. Some people suggest that Hobbes, because of some of the things he says in the first half of the book, was really an atheist. They say that he wrote this to fool the church to thinking otherwise of him. After skimming through this part I feel that Hobbes was more likely a reformer, someone who definitely believed in God but didn't agree with the way the church and the Pope were behaving back then. I myself am an atheist and cannot imagine writing so copiously on a subject that I do not believe in, never mind doing all of the Biblical research that Hobbes must have.
The fourth part, and the conclusion really don't have much to say. He is busy blasting the Pope, the Catholic Church and Aristotle.
All in all some good philosophical points. His definitions of free will and spirit I think should be more widely taught. The fact that this edition could have been modernized a bit more, as well as the last half of the book being pretty useless today, leads me to give it three stars.

Leviathan brings up several questions to the minds of those who read it. Hobbes arguements about human thought, euthanasia, true freedom, God, the Devil, government, etc. are strong and thought provoking. The reader will discover that Hobbes book influenced the writers of the constitution. Anyone seriously interested in politics and theology should read this book.

Hobbes Leviathan is an essential read. Firstly I admire Thomas Hobbes for his bravery during the 17th century when this book was written and secondly for his grim view of humanity. Atheism during the height of the Catholic Church was strictly taboo and he had to write this piece very cleverly. Leviathan is a must for those whom are interested in the philosophical ideology of who we are and what makes us strive for things that we do and generally what makes us as men tick.

This book is complex. The common "run-on" sentences used in philosophy and the Old English style makes the book difficult to understand at times. It almost seems to be pure thought with no organization which has been jotted down in 728 pages.

In all, I like to call Hobbes Leviathan the "Atheists Bible" (though perhaps Hobbes would not like this type of name for one of his works) and I truly believe that this work is just as essential and important to philosophy as Plato.

I've had this book since the week it came out and I've never used anything from it. I offered my players a chance to vote on using the critical hit system in here, and they were overwhelmingly against it. Their main complaint was that if they were using it against monsters, then monsters would be using it against them, and it was too easy to die on dumb luck.

Perhaps it does make combat more realistic, but when a single swing of a sword involves 6 dice rolls and takes about 10 minutes to consult all the right tables and figure out all the modifiers and effects, I think you're doing something wrong. But, hey, maybe some people like that.

The monster tactics section is more useful, and if a DM uses it properly, he allows his monsters to become more than a ball of hit points that the characters have to reduce.

This book and all the player's option books should be renamed to "Dungeon Master's option" While the book allows better unarmed combat rules, this book and the others allow the players creation of the "Super Character" and in the wrong hands and experienced player could walk all over an unexperienced Dungeon Master and make his job more difficult..However the fine points to this book are the Critical Hit tables make combat more effective to the players in thinking that their character is seriously injured as opposed to losing a few hit points, and for the descriptive DM monster Deaths can be quite gruesome and epic. Plus for the PC's that are tired of the standard sword and bow, there is a veritable plethora of odd weapons to choose from, that are arranged by "Age Periods"(i.e. Golden Age, Bronze Age, etc,etc..) This also includes firearms. All weapons listed come with speed and damage stats. This book can definately add some spice to the average joe adventure..

This book has everything that I already have implemented in my campaigns. The critical hit system is a bit extensive but the unarmed combat rules are fantastic. They could expand a little on the martial arts but they left that to DMs to do. I thought the book was one of the best new AD&D books I have read.

This book has got to be one of the most confusing scientific texts I have ever read (in the realm of biology).

If you want to read a good book, try Janeway!

Kuby's book is probably one of the better text books to have if you are an immunology student. Kuby goes into detail that you will not find in other books. It is written for a higher level of understanding than most other text books. It is certainly not a beginners book. I definitely recommend this book to every graduate student studying immunology.

If a more general book is needed, try Abbas' "Cellular and Molecular Immunology". Janeway's "Immunobiology" is geared more for medical students than immunologists.

The "kuby Immunology" textbook is valuable for a number of reasons, but the two most prominent ones are: its broad content, and its simplistic outlook. Of course, the authors of this book had beginners in mind when they planned for it, yet, it has got what it takes to arouse the curiosities of experienced learners. I like the moderate details that most of the chapters parade, and the illustrative figures were colourfully done. Each topic consists of an array of smooth-flowing information, which are buttressed by supportive charts and diagrams. Even the otherwise complex immunochemistry topics were dissected in details, and without pain. This textbook will encourage any immuno-phobic beginner, while at the same time provide lifelines for those in need of revision. The only thing that I will say against it is that its price is much higher than that of other comparable texts, (like the "Roitt's Essential Immunology").

It is great book when it comes to pushing the reader from a medium to a more advanced level. VBA is clerverly left aside, as it would be pointless explore it in a book intended to teach true worksheet skills. Still, missing topics like array formulas, together with more elaborate applications of Excel techiniques, would make this a 5-star book.

This book is so comprehensive. It`s structure is step by step with two colour pages. I chosed this book because I looked all Excel books on the shelf in a huge book store, this was the best one believe me. Buy this book. Highly recommended.

I've read the 2-book Microsoft "Step-by-Step" Excel set, the "Excel for Dummies" and the Active Education study guide. None of them come close to this text. I wish I would have started with this book...I wouldn't have needed to waste my money on the others. I highly recommend this resource.

I'm an I-Banker and enjoy reading biographies of exceptional businessmen. Sandy Weill's recent biography comes to mind as a personal favorite. Since Tom Weisel is an exceptional athlete with many interests similar to mine, I thought I would enjoy this read. Frankly, it's very painful.

First of all, the two-page summary at the end of each chapter written by Weisel would have been a great framework around which to write a biography. But the actual chapters read like a paid self-promotion or someone in the throes of hero-worship. The author consistently talks of what a great athlete Weisel is while making sure he mentions that Weisel never brags about his athletic prowess. No need to given that the writer will glorify the results. Even concerning business the writer manages to find a positive in every event. For example, the original partners split up and start a competing firm but there is no attempt to mention if Weisel's faults could have had any impact. Of course, per this book, he has no faults.

Weisel eventually merges the successful but controversial Montgomery Securities into Nationsbank but after trumpeting this as a great deal, it merges poorly so blame is completely placed on Nationsbank. Now, of course anyone living this large competitive life must trade-in for a 24-year-old trophy wife when he is 49. Unfortunately there is never a significant mention of the break-up of his first marriage other than what a great father he is and how involved he is with all his kids.

This book is so filled with braggadocio that if Weisel were really interested in keeping the profile of a respected businessman, he would have done his best to limit his exposure to this book. Tom Weisel may very well be a great man but great men do not need to have this much said about them in this forum. I'm shocked he agreed to allow his name to be included in this work, as it is not becoming.

Amid the expanding shelves of business biographies and dot com tell-alls, this portrait of Silicon Valley investment banker Thomas Weisel stands almost mythically taller than the others. It's not just that Weisel survived and thrived despite first the disastrous sale of his company to NationsBank and then the tech downturn. Nor is it just that Weisel is a bold and canny business thinker and a charismatic leader who inspires loyalty and near-reverence among employees and clients alike. More than anything, what fascinates is the feedback loop between Weisel's workaholic style and his consuming passion for skiing and cycling--a passion that led him first to successfully reconfigure the U.S. Olympic ski team organization, and then to put together the winning U.S. Postal Service cycling team led by Lance Armstrong. One only wonders how such an obviously brilliant man could have such simpleminded and even incoherent libertarian politics.

Author Richard Brandt, a veteran technology journalist from Business Week and the now-defunct Upside Magazine, makes use of his long intimacy with the tech sector business world to situate Weisel's career within the historical context of Silicon Valley's rise, hysterical boom and return to reality.

I loved "Capitol Instincts" and you will, too. It is a quick, enjoyable and often very funny read. For those of us who know far too little about the world of investment banking (and for that matter, art investing and high level sports) it is an easy way to gain insight and important knowledge.
I enjoyed the way Brandt took you from the history up to hot off the press issues changing the face of banking today, as well as very intriguing backroom dealmaking. He reveals a master dealmaker at work.
Weisel's sections keep the info coming, with his pointed valuable advice to entrepreneurs and investors.
The sections on sports and art were fascinating. Again, Brandt delivers depth with fascinating details and insight on his subjects. And it is fast and fun all the way.
Buy it, read it, send copies to all your friends. This book is hot, fast, easy and fun to read!
I can't wait to see what this hot author will tackle next!

After receiving a few mean-spirited e-mails about my review of this book, I feel I must clarify a few issues.

Again, I've gone through nearly 30 books about 9/11. After you get past the austere black cover, this paperback falls with a thud.

Simply put, this book tries too HARD to be profound. You see images you've seen before, such as the sequence of shots of one of the jets slamming into the south tower of the WTC. Nothing new.

Two things bug me: Layout and content.

In the layout, you get the feeling the editors are trying to SLEGEHAMMER the reader with the obvious. I hate this. For example, in some essays, certain words and phrases are laid out into single lines, as if they are poetry. Then there is the awful decision to use fonts of varying sizes to EMPHASIZE certain passages. This is a pretentious device that, I'm sorry, calls TOO MUCH ATTENTION to itself. It is completely unnecessary and smacks of a patronizing tone intended to magnify the depth and gravity of what occurred on 9/11. We all know about that dark day. We DON'T need it pushed into our faces under the umbrella of "literary art."

Meanwhile, about the Chomsky essay: It's short but it's awful. It's laid out, again, in a way that feels like "padding." His message reads like an "I told you so" lesson. Here's what he does: He points to America's "sins" of the past and then turns them around in a way that makes you want to believe that it's NOW THE UNITED STATES' TURN TO SUFFER. This is horrible. His opinions are the stuff of fiery pamphlets handed out on street corners. (BECAUSE WHO WOULD PAY FOR THIS?)

OK, what's good about this book? Well, some of the transcripts of phone calls and a handful essays from victims and witnesses are well done. Why? Because they ARE NOT pretentious. But when others try to be "inspirational," they end up stating the obvious. I can't help but feel most writers were given an outlet to "vent" their own emotions, which have more relevance to the writer than to the reader.

If you want more for less, pick up the December 2001 issue of American Heritage Magazine. There you get five-star opinions about 9/11 from individuals of world repute. It has a "permanence" this book lacks and it doesn't feel rushed together.

In sum, it's fine to read what people like Joan Rivers, Deepak Chopra, Richard Dreyfuss and others "feel" about 9/11. But is it worth PAYING for? You can't judge quality by "good intentions." This is a rush-to-market volume featuring opinions from most who have (or who will have) little if any impact on our lives. Why not opinions from Giuliani, Bush, Blair, Sharon and Arafat, even those recorded by the news media in the AFTERMATH of 9/11? Why not more views from individuals who can effect CHANGE? This book could have been GREAT.

Trust me, this is NOT the definitive book of "think pieces" about 9/11/01.

If you disagree, fine. It's your money. But my advice is to borrow before you buy. There are other books worth buying. This one isn't.

Features a collection of moving photos and thoughtful essays, which capture much of what the world saw and felt September 11, 2001. Notable contributors include Deepak Chopra, author; Gary Fabiano, photojournalist who was trapped under the rubble; Robert Kennedy, Jr., politician; Liam Neeson, actor; Shashi Tharoor, Senior UN Official and author; and more. . All proceeds from this book will go to support the International Red Cross Federation.

This book is not easy to find. I finally ordered it from Amazon.com and I was amazed by it. I read all the critiques to this book. I usually like or do not like a book. I love this book, it is very factual, accurate and explores the feeling of about 30 people that had somenting to say about 9-11. It does not matter to me who they are and what they do, what matters is that the essays touch on fears that I had and still have. I do not pretend this book to change the world but to give me feeling and images to hang on to. On each essay I can find someting I can relate to and this makes the book special, it makes it personal. Highly recommended.