This debate about racism in America draws from a range of disciplines to consider the debates surrounding the sources of racism in America. Essays examine psychology, sociology, and social ideology alike, examining attitudes about government, economics and race alike. The result is an important examination which draws some needed links between attitude and politics.

After reading Reinventing Public Education, I believe that the only really hope for the future of American education lies in the contracting approach to public education that the authors describe. This is one of the only books on education I have ever read that understands that the problems with public education in this country have less to do with a lack of standards, poor teaching methods, or inequitable funding, than a system which fails to understand that schools are organizations that can only be successful through organic growth rather than government regulation. This book will appeal to both voucher supporters and ardent defenders of a public education system that is committed to educating all its students

The authors did an excellent job of taking a topic so broad, such as school finance and education policy, and presenting it in a concise format. Professors using this text book have the freedom to delve deeply into specific chapter topics as needed, while also having the opportunity to cover the broader spectrum of school fincance and education policy as permitted by the course calendar. An update of the book would be greatly appreciated.

I chose Coren & Ward because a GRE study guide recommended it. C&W was the best GRE studying I did.

The writing is clear, the organization is great, the illustrations, diagrams, and inset examples are excellent. You can't do better than this to get an overview of S&P. Good introductory or mid-level book. Starts with all the basics (how the ear works, how we see color) and winds up with complex topics like how we perceive music.

A good reference book, it's even fun for browsing, or for sharing with friends and saying "This is so cool! Check this out!" (regarding some of the perceptual illusions and demonstrations etc.) How many textbooks can you say that about?

For those of you that love the classic series; this set of books are the written word version of each episode. Why read the written versions? Well, James Blish provides lots of insight as to what is going through the minds of Kirk, Spock and McCoy along with the orginal crew. In the episode the Alterative Factor James Blish provides a better ending than the questionable one on TV. The novels provide a lot more facts on the crew and background details never metioned in the series.

Informative and well-written, with many excellent photographs. Includes an interesting review of the history and current practices of maple syrup production, and do-it-yourself instructions for anyone interested in making small batches of syrup as a "backyard" activity. Extensive and accurate listing of equipment manufacturers and suppliers, many of whom offer catalogs and take direct orders

Wonderfuly written. Excellent use of words. Everyone should read it.

Lawrence James, the distinguished independent historian of the British Empire, has written a fascinating account of Britain's wars and their impact on British culture. It is based on huge research in private papers and secondary sources.

It is in six parts: conquests 43-1100, disputed lands 1110-1603, civil wars 1637-1800, overseas wars 1660-1870, total war 1914-1919, and the people's wars 1919-2000. He constantly notes the forces' pay and conditions, and tells us how the fighting and killing must have felt.

Part I depicts the conquests by Romans, Vikings and Danes. Part II tells of the wars against Ireland, Wales and Scotland that determined Britain's shape. The hundred years' war against France (1337-1453) started with the early victory of Crecy, then slowly collapsed into military debacles abroad and spiralling debt and taxes at home. At this time, chivalric tales glamorised war, setting up the lasting themes of crusade and sacrifice, 'Church and King', 'king and country', and 'natural leaders' (public school prefect types) 'rallying the ranks'.

In Part III, James includes under 'civil wars' the American War of Independence and Ireland's 1798 rebellion, which were really national liberation wars against colonial oppression.

In Part IV, he tells us about the vast wars for empire: the second hundred years' war against France (1688-1815), the wars to seize and control India (1757-1858) and its North West frontier (1897-1924), the 64 years war to control China (1840-1904) and the South African (1879-1902) and North African wars (1882-1898). These cast some doubt on the slogan 'Pax Britannica'.

Part V looks at World War One, where James damns Earl Haig's reliance on attrition and 'fighting spirit'. Part VI examines World War Two and the many bloody retreats from Empire.

To finish he asks, 'What next?', answering 'further wars of intervention' and 'the wonders of the electronic battlefield'.

This brilliantly written and deeply researched account proves, possibly against the author's intentions, that capitalism means empire and empire means war. The ruling class alone gains from capitalism, empire and war. Our working class is not a warrior race, a nation of Ghurkhas; we are for industry and peace.

I agree with an earlier reviewer that the book is a good reference and the overwhelming details contained in it make it difficult to get the basic fundamentals. The authors need to trim it down and focus more on fundamental principles. I feel at times the book is somewhat convoluted and hard to follow. This is sometimes the case with books that have multiple authors.

Another reviewer pointed out the over abundance of yeast molecular biology contained in he book. I again agree with this person. I realize yeast is where we learned a lot about eukaryotic molecular biology. But I wish the book focused less on yeast and more mammalian cell biology. People using this book are likely to be looking at careers in biomedical research or medicine. I think more mammalian biology would be more beneficial.

Why do all these textbooks have to have a CD to run the price of the book up ?

An excellent textbook with a very clear writing style. Includes excellent diagrams and photographs to illustrate the text. The best of the lot. Personally, I would put this book well ahead of the similar book by Bruce Alberts et al., for its clarity and bredth of coverage.

This book gives the average biology (or non-biology) student not only an overview of cell-biology, but gives in-depth information on nearly any subject regarding this matter.

It easy to read, starts on the basics before explaining complicated matters and it got the BEST illustrations i have ever seen in such a book!

My opinion is, that anyone only remotely scientifically interested in the subject of cell-biology should get this book!

When NPR's audio adaptation of the first Star Wars film hit the airwaves two decades ago, it was as big a landmark in the history of the Star Wars "universe" as any of the subsequent movies. By stripping the story down to the essentials of character, it proved that the appeal of Star Wars is not merely visual flash, but something more enduring, characters you care about, villains you love to hate and (that oldest of rivalries) good against evil. The writing was excellent and the cast equally good, including as it did Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels as Luke and C3P0 respectively. When NPR produced a radio version of The Empire Strikes Back a few years later, Billy Dee Williams came on board to recreate the role of Lando Calrissian and the producers' winning streak continued.

It would be over a decade before the production team got the chance to complete the trilogy with Return of the Jedi. Sadly, just as Return of the Jedi was the weakest of the original movie trilogy, it is also the weakest of the three radio versions. That is not to say it isn't enjoyable, because it is. Rather it can't quite match the exceptional standards set by the previous two series.

Part of the problem is the casting. Although Anthony Daniels returned to play C3PO, Mark Hamill does not reprise the role of Luke Skywalker. Unfortunately the actor who took the role, Joshua Fardon, does not convey the increased maturity of the character in this part of the story. Fardon's performance has a quality of over-eagerness that seems more suited to the naive farmboy that Luke was when we first encountered him rather than the fully trained Jedi-to-be he is here. Good as the other performances are, especially Brock Peters as Darth Vader and Ann Sachs as Leia, this misguided interpretation of Luke leaves a large hole in the story.

Part of that hole can also be attributed to the writing. Like the previous adapatations, Return of the Jedi was scripted by the late Brian Daley. Daley did a good job of translating what was perhaps the most visual of the three original Star Wars films into the audio medium, but he doesn't open up the story the way the previous two series did. Whereas the radio versions of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back took the time to show us more about the characters, Return of the Jedi is, for the most part, just what we saw on the movie screen with a handful of extra scenes thrown into the mix.

Those criticisms aside, anyone who is a fan of radio drama in general or Star Wars specifically will enjoy these programs. In the final analysis the producers understood the ways in which sound alone can fire the imagination. Using that knowledge, they have crafted yet another fine way to enjoy the magical world that George Lucas has given us.

Thanks to the many requests of Star Wars fans and radio enthusiasts alike, the team that brought us the radio adaptations of A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, reunited to conclude the original saga. Made exclusively by Highbridge, Return Of The Jedi, once again uses the film's score by John Williams and sound effects by Ben Burtt, to make for a top notch production. By using the actual soundtrack from the film, it gives the audio production crediability, as opposed to being made without it.

Once again, directed by John Madden, Jedi reunites most of the actors from the previous adaptions, with a couple of notable exceptions. Mark Hamill, who reprised his role as Luke Skywalker, for the first 2 productions, is replaced by Joshua Fardon. While, Billy Dee Williams, as rogue Lando Calrissian, is replaced by Arye Gross. As hard as these gentlemen try, because of the original actors previous involvment with the other two radio dramas, its difficult to imagine anyone else in those parts. Fardon's portrayal lacks the maturity of Hamill's character in the film version, Gross comes off, not quite as smooth, in playing Lando. The rest of the main radio cast, from the other two adaptations is thankfully intact. Actors Anthony Daniels, once again as C-3PO, (who has appeard in all 3 radio dramas as well as all of the films in the series) Brock Peters as Vader, Perry King, as Han Solo, Anne Sachs as Princess Leia, all complete their character arcs in the seies with style. Actor Edward Asner as the gangster Jabba The Hutt and John Lithgow as Master Yoda, (as he did in the Empire radio drama) use vocal talent, like no others, to bring these 2 unique characters to life.

Sci-fi author, Brian Daley, once again. wrote the radioplay for Jedi. As before, there are a few additional "scenes" presented, not in the film version. The end result is very good, but thanks to its shorter length, and the casting changes, I mentioned, Jedi doesn't seem quite as epic, as the other radio dramas in the series. Sadly, Daley passed away soon after the dialogue was recorded, and the production is dedicated to his memory. His script is very faithful to the film and the added scenes remain true to the characters and story.

If you own the other two radio dramas in the series, Jedi is a must have, minor problems and all. The story has six episodes, presented on three compact discs with a total running time of nearly 3 hours. Recommended

Return of the Jedi has always been my favorite Star Wars movie, both because I like how all the characters matured, (especially Luke) and because it finally delt face to face with the dark side, possibly the best force of evil ever thought of in the realms of fiction. This book exheeded not only my expectations for the book itself (which were very high) but even surpassed the movie in some ways. The author has a deep, highly emotional writing syle which apealed to me greatly, and was so profound that all through the book I truly felt as if was there, a part of the story. Every Star Wars fan should read this at some point, especially those who didn't like Return of the Jedi because they thought it was weaker than the others. I could almost garantee this book would change their minds. Also, the author did a tremendous job on the characters. Just they way they were presented made me truly feel for them, even characters who were previously not my favorites. At times this book had me sitting on the edge of my seat actually wondering if maybe this time it would turn out differently, and the part where Anakin Skywalker dies almost had me in tears. Anyway, I don't think think this book belongs in any particular age range, though probably some of it (in fact a lot of it) would most likely go over the heads of people younger then twelve or so.