Their are a wide variety of translations here; in both quality and fidelity to the original spanish. The fact that the poems are presented with both the original and the translation makes this book worth it. The Miller Williams and William Carlos Williams translations are wonderful, but some translations, like those by Ginsberg suffer from perhaps too much beat aesethetic co-oped into the work. Still, Parra is wonderful, full of grit and strange images; yet the Spanish, aside from a few words that are only found in Chilean Spanish, is clear and easy to read. I have even translated some of these poems myself. This is amazing work.

Theodor Adorno claimed that to write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric. If so, then Parra is the one man who can justifiably escape the charge of barbarity. What Parra writes is nothing less than a full-scale assault on poetry, or as he calls it, "anti-poetry". Parra's work stands in violation of everything that poetry has ever been. If you are used to lyricism and poetic embellishment and will accept nothing less, you will hate this book. Either that, or it will revolutionize how you see the poetic art. Parra is for poetry what the WWF is for entertainment: it is raw, crass and, as people say, "in your face". It is also brilliant. It is not poetry, but it is, in its own unique way, poetic. And like much of the best poetry always has been, it is immersed in life. Its themes are those we all recognize: crooked police, pestering grandchildren, the morning alarm. It expresses for us what we would all like to express but do not or will not. I suppose one could call it catharsis through anti-art. And perhaps in our post-holocaust world, the most genuine art IS anti-art.

This book is truly magnificent. Parra has one of the most clever minds in poetry today. His antipoems are very attractive as they move away from the old traditional poetic style. I understand Parra will be proposed for the Literature Nobel Prize next year (2001). I couldn't agree more.

Then Amazon is offering you the best bargain you can get. I just finished reading both of Scoblete's books, BOLD CARD PLAY and THE ARMADA STRATEGIES and they were incredible. They give the best strategies for these often casino-friendly games. Scoblete shows you how to reduce the house edge and to take advantage of the casino comping system. This is a great tandem of books for gamblers interested in reading about the "other" casino games.

This book contains the basic strategy for this new game and a method for counting cards. It is a very good book and I recommend it to anyone who wants to play this new casino game. The writer is very good.

Spanish 21 is a lot more fun than regular 21 once you learn the Armada Strategies. I have been getting a monetary edge (Scoblete's term) ever since I read this book! It's wonderful to win and get no heat from the pits bosses. Thank you kindly Mr. Scoblete for writing this book.

Barron's Police Officer Exam book is another example of the kind of quality Barron's is known for. I also used Barron's "How to Prepare for the GMAT" before I took - and passed - the FBI Phase I exam. Two books by Thomas H. Ackerman are also very helpful if you are seeking federal law enforcement employment, including "FBI Careers" and "Guide to Careers in Federal Law Enforcement." All of these books can give you an edge on other applicants, which is what you need to be competitive and get hired.

I scored 98% with just one week of reading this book. Recommended for anyone who is serious about becoming a Police Officer. This is the best study guide for the Police exam.

Great prep for a police job. Tons of info vital for the test and vital for the job. In fact, working cops should get it to fill in the gaps and to have a solid foundation to build on for a promotional exam.

Loren W. Cristensen, author of Deadly Force Encounters : What C0PS Need to Know to Mentally and Physically Prepare for and Survive a Gunfight

This is an amazing book that will teach your children to have confidence in themselves... and make them laugh at the same time. It also has an underlying message stressing the importance of our environment. I truly believe that every child should have this book.

This book has been a personal favorite ever since I can remember. I make sure to read it to any child that visits my house. My affinity to the material and the subtile presentation of the importance of being an individual was a clear indication of my political orientation from a very early age. I'm so glad that I can now get copies for the next generation to take home and cherish.

I have seen the cartoon,but I haven't seen the book yet

I truly enjoyed my time reading Book of the Hopi. It is low on cutesy Native "folk tales" and packed with actual information about Hopi clans, ritual, and migratory history. It walks you step-by-step through a series of ceremonies in striking detail.

I admit that I found Frank Waters writing style to be clinical at times, but the information he is presenting was interesting enough to overlook this.

By the time you are done with this book, I imagine there is very little you won't know about the Hopi.

Frank Waters' excellent BOOK OF THE HOPI is probably the most complete collection of Hopi stories, language, rituals, and photographs in one place. Waters wrote this book with assistance from thirty-two Hopi elders back in 1963. Much time has passed since then, and while the way of the Hopi remains mostly unchanged, access to their sacred ceremonies and rituals has been greatly reduced in the last several decades.

While BOOK OF THE HOPI was written through the eyes and ears of an outsider, it contains much of the spirit of the Hopi, and countless fascinating insights. One such example is the explanation of how one sacred ceremony (the Ya Ya) was profaned and is no longer performed, since much of its powers were taken for evil. "When you receive a wonderful power and use it for evil you lose the power. You have to use it for good to keep it."

I love the richness of information contained in this little book: symbols, the tablets of the clans, a glossary of Hopi words, thrilling tales about the creation of the worlds, and detailed descriptions of sacred objects such as the Paho (prayer-feather). This attention to detail is marvelous, but it's the heart of BOOK OF THE HOPI that makes me feel at home with the Hopi and at one with their spirit.

I give this book my highest recommendation.

This book is my first exposure to the historical, spiritual and cultural history of the Hopi, both prehistoric and modern. A must read for anyone interested in the honorable traditions of the first American inhabitants whose history predates that of European biblical history, and how the introduction of the European has completely altered their ritualistic practices. This book has opened my eyes to a people whose lives are rich in dedication to the preservation of peace for all living entities on this planet and throughout the cosmos.

Who this book is not for is the UFOlogist, Hollow-Earth and Alien-Conspiracy theorists who believe the Hopi people have come from the purported middle-earth where an evil alien civilization still exist to this day. However, who this book is for are those who respect life as the Hopi respect life and who want to these peoples through the early migrations. From this book you will see that the Hopi have traveled throughout all of the Northern and Southern Americas, as well as Canada and the Artic polar regions long before the European traveled to these parts of the globe, and whose religious practices are older than that of any religion in the world. Where the Christian religion (through the teachings and historical records of the Bible) only know of two worlds the Hopi civilization have memories of four worlds, but both have records of the exact same destruction of the last world, i.e., its destruction by water. Also the Hopi are privy to the knowledge that we will face three more worlds.

I rate this book wonderful, enlightening, educational and spiritually edifying.

I've bought this book as my first reference book of accounting. I've checked out other books about accounting in the local book store but none suits me as this one. The accouting terms are concisely defined and the examples are precisely worked out while other books, which content is obscure and structured in a slovenly way, is an eyesore that confused me.

This book is recommended for any purpose because it gives detail and sufficient information to every topic, covers and accord with the criteria and requirements established by various prominent examinations, so when I finish this book and take one of these exams, I certainly won't botch up it and have confidence in achievement.

I have taken my IGCSE Accounting exam in May 2001, and have thankfully passed it with an A* grade due to my possesion of this vaulable book. It is an amazing book that everyone who studies accounting, at any stage, MUST have! I've lived with it for two years, and I'm grateful for what it has given me. I walk proudly around with this book! For every subject, I had to keep buying other books for reference, but as for accounting, I found this book more than sufficient and have refused to buy any 'reference books'! Thank you Frank and Alan!

who taking accountancy as their course. Ahmad Bohari Ahmad Azahri (KPKI college)

Okay, I wrote this, so of course I like it--and since I have to give it "stars" in order to post, I give it five.

But the point of this "review" is to say that the book will be back in print this Fall (2003), from Transaction Publishers/Rutgers, with a new intro and a new title--"Health and Suffering in America: The Context and Content of Mental Health Care."

The hype about mental health care in the last five years or so has grown more and more outrageously false. I'm glad Transaction wants to keep this book in print, as a corrective to the nonsense that those who profit from mental health care would have you believe.

This is the best book on comparative clinical psychology/psychiatry I've ever read.

If psychotherapists/psychiatrists were considered faith healers (which this book makes clear they are), this book would qualify as a book on comparative religion, and it would make one question their faith.

Psychoanalysis, Behaviorism, Cognitive Therapy, and Biological Psychiatry are all analyzed, with their core beliefs and assumptions described in detail. Each school's standing with the scientific facts is mentioned.

Cultural reasons why Americans accept certain therapies, or come to accept them in spite of their unscientific bases, are also given.

The most noticable omission is the lack of any discussion of Albert Ellis' Rational Emotive Therapy, although many of the comments about Beck's therapy apply to RET too.

The chapter on biological psychiatry could have provided more background on its history, as well as mention more specific psychiatrists' and pharmaceutical companies' influences. For biological psychiatry, "Blaming the Brain" by Elliot Valenstein (mentioned in this text's acknowledgements) is also recommended.

Without coming out too strongly (which could create a backlash), the book does an excellent job of pointing out how biological psychiatry's illness model is used to justify prescribing psychoactive drugs with no proven specificity in treating "illnesses", in a culture which otherwise wages war on psychoactive drugs.

The only noticable editorial error was a major misspelling of "renaissance".

I was amazed at the clarity this book sheds on psychological schools of thought. It does an excellent job of explicating the values of each school of thought, giving the reader information by which to evaluate them.

I would highly recommend Cultures of Healing to anyone interested in therapy to help them understand what types of therapists do what, and what they believe in. I would also recommend Cultures of Healing to any psychology student who wishes to make some sense out of the morass of contradictory beliefs.

Definitely buy this book.

This is one of the frequently-quoted "classics" in the field of firearms literature (first edition was in 1971). But even a classic deserves a critical review, such as to determine its (remaining) usefulness, and its strengthes and weaknesses.

This book is not a true encyclopedia of rifles; for such a purpose, a work like John Walter's "Rifles of the World" (or, formerly, W.H.B. Smith's now outdated "Book of Rifles") would be more comprehensive. It is mainly a thorough (528 pp.) technical treatise on most of the major military (17) and civilian (56) rifle actions. Its strength lies in the very good and very thorough technical descriptions, instructions for disassembly, hints for reworking and sporterizing. Nevertheless, the book also contains a remarkable amount of historical and general information; it is therefore suitable not only for the professional and amateur gunsmith, but also for any hunter or collector who wishes to gain a more thorough understanding of his gun, and who contemplates acquiring a new one.

De Haas' language is clear and simple, not without an occasional touch of humour. The author's modesty and willingness to acknowledge some limits of knowledge in such a vast field are remarkable and greatly underline his general credibility and experience.

Small drawbacks of the book are the generally mediocre quality of illustrations (while often okay, they are sometimes dark, sometimes downright blotchy). The bibliography is limited to articles in the "American Rifleman" and "Gun Digest", and an expanded edition would be appreciated. And some commercial German rifle actions might be added.

I have the older 2nd edition of this book, and it is one of the most dog-eared volumes in my library.

Sometimes the author is not quite as technical as I might like. For example, he frequently asserts that this or that old military action "must have been" made out of high-grade steel without having done any actual analysis or even hardness testing of the material in question. But, his descriptions do convey at least as much information about the many designs covered as I would have gotten if I had the chance to disassemble and study them all myself. I don't have a hardness tester either.

The book is generally well written and fun to read.

If you're thinking about buying a modern sporting rifle, you might want to read this and compare the various designs before you lay down your money. If you enjoy sporterizing old military junkers, collecting old military classics, or just lurking around gun shows, you need this book.

If you already own one rifle and will never buy another, don't bother. Reading this would be like reading Road&Track after buying your only new car for the next ten years. If you're only going to buy one rifle and know it well, or if you collect, or especially if you are considering a conversion of an old ex-military bolt action into a sporter, you need this book. It provides an in-depth analysis of not just how rifle actions are designed, but their suitability for customization, what cartridges they can and cannot be converted to, etc. The author restocked, scoped, honed, rebarreled, or otherwise upgraded all of the common actions in the book (and many of the less common ones too). Since these upgrades are what most hunters are interested in, the book in invaluable before dropping money on changes. It is not a gunsmithing how-to, but gives the detail you will need to speak intelligently to your gunsmith and understand his/her suggestions and objections. If you are looking for a good read, you can read the history of each action, skip the assembly/disassembly and design analysis, and then read the conclusions on conversion or upgrades. Later when a greasy old war trophy follows you home from a gun show, you can eagerly lap up every detail from receiver ring to tang.

As parodies go, it's almost as good as the National Lampoon Yearbook (the best parody of this kind I've ever seen) and much funnier than OJ's Legal Pad. I found myself laughing steadily while reading it, though I was able to eat a PB&J and drink milk without any milk blowing out my nose, which is why it only gets 4 stars. I'm gonna give it as gifts to several of my friends who could really use it. They think they're way too smart for their own good.

I read "The Complete Idoits Guide For Dumies," and like my mama said, some books are good and some are gooder. This one is just plain gooder. I loved it lots. I would recomend this book for anyone who needs a better way to understand what being mentally slow is. My mama said that dumies is as dumies does, and I think that lady got something there. Thank you, mama, and thank you United States of America.

Although the authors could have done a better job proofreading -- they spelled both the words "Idiott's" and "Dummys" wrong in the TITLE, for gosh darn sakes -- I felt the book was informative and worthwhile for readers of any age, gender, or level of mental acuity. The book, which is clearly a parody and is obviously unaffiliated in any way with the official Dummies' and Idiot's guides that it mocks and spoofs, has definitely turned my frown upside down. If I could ever meet the authors, I would definitely ask them for a free copy of the book, but if they did not comply or couldn't understand what I was saying I would buy a copy with my own money. THE BOOK IS THAT GOOD.

After working in IT for over a decade, one of the most interesting things I have found is how few people know what quality assurance is. Mr. Ginac has provided us with a simple and sound book on quality assurance that can help IT professionals to overcome some of these misconceptions. Its value can be seen on several fronts. First of all, its emphasis on the customer is refreshing, and is central to the focus of quality assurance. Second, its discourse is well rounded, illustrating that quality assurance is more broad in its focus than test planning and execution. In the latter point, it illustrates how metrics fit into the picture of quality assurance, and how QA is concerned with the entire process of developing software, from problem identification to solution delivery.

Mr. Ginac also touches on SEI's CMM, ISO 9000, and other topics of interest to the would-be quality professional. The thing that I hope that this book will do is to whet the reader's apetite for more on the topics discussed. As my title suggests, this book only touches the surface of a vast and inviting ocean of knowledge in this field. As such, I recommend it for the beinning to intermediate quality professional and for anyone in the IT field who wants to know what QA is.

I have been in the SQA business for 10+ years. I wanted to test my field knowledge by taking a certification. To my surprise, I did not pass the "Brainbench SQA Certification" (from brainbench.com) the first time I took it. Therefore, I wanted to find out what information I was missing. The test site recommended several books from Amazon.com. I choose this book because it seem to the information that I was looking for at a low cost. After reading this book, I was able to retest and pass the Brainbench SQA Certification.

What I like about this book is the basic industry information that an SQA Engineer should know. It is full of information in metrics. As a tester, I know that metrics were important but I did not know where to apply it effectively. It is also provided me some basic information in ISO 9000 and SEI CMM appraisals in customer-focused quality assurance.

I know there are many software organizations out there that have have not read this book. I highly recommend this book or similar basic book for those organizations that want to develop a quality product based on customer orientation.

This information-packed book taught me more about software quality from a service delivery point of view than I thought possible. I knew before reading it that it was not a typical SQA book, thanks to the previous reviews and a colleague's recommendation, so my expectations were set accordingly.

What I liked most about the book is the consistent focus on metrics that are meaningful to business users. While I was aware of many of the quality attributes discussed, I learned a few new ones to which I can apply to measuring the quality of applications that are delivered to end users. If you are unfamiliar with the term "quality attribute" it is a term that also means "desirable characteristic", and can be expressed as a technical characteristic (function or feature) or a service-oriented characteristic (quantified reliability, mean time between failures, etc.).

Another thing that make this book valuable to me is part that focused on developing questionnaires and eliciting from end users what they deemed to be quality attributes. This goes a long way towards aligning the IT/IS service delivery function to actual business requirements (instead of what we perceive to be business requirements - too often there is a wide chasm separating the two views). Moreover, extending the author's approach by communicating these quality attributes backwards into the application delivery organization that is responsible for developing applications, the ability of IT/IS to align to business requirements is further strengthened. Bear in mind that the flow down of quality attributes does not have to go to an internal development organization. Applications delivery also encompasses software vendors and consultants doing on- or off-site programming, as well as service bureaus and ASPs (application service providers). In the case of external sources of applications, the quality attributes are invaluable--no, essential--to the RFP, negotiating and contract stages of procuring and supporting the application. The value is that quality attributes are an objective way of expressing requirements that can be measured.

This book is must-reading for anyone who provides application support, including tier-2 support, business analysts and production services management. Although it is less than 210 pages in length, it contains a wealth of information that will lead to ideas and strategies for delivering better service and for more closely aligning IT/IS to the business. The only thing I did not like about the book is the "Software Quality Assurance" part of the title. Had I not been fortunate enough to have a friend who practically insisted that I read this book I would have never considered this gem. It rates five big stars by living up to the "customer-oriented" part of the title and for opening my eyes to some important concepts.