How many journalists who follow the American military have ever noticed that in the last quarter-century more U.S. servicemembers have died in preventable accidents than in combat? Not enough, as Al Diehl's superbly told and provactive book, "Silent Knights," makes absolutely clear. Diehl shows how the American public has been hoodwinked by the military brass into believing that "training accidents" and other non-wartime military deaths are an unavoidable consequence of military service. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you have loved ones serving in America's armed forces, this is a must-read book if you wish to learn the true risks of military service. After you've read it, do something more: write your member of Congress & demand they investigate the problems outlined in this book. You will be doing your loved one, and yourself, a huge favor...

Patrick G. Eddington
Former Associate Director of Government Relations
Vietnam Veterans of America
CIA analyst, 1988-96

There are many books covering this subject. However it is more common for Epilepsy to be a chapter in a Neurology or other textbook. The signigicant advantage to this sole subject text is the thoroughness and completness of the coverage. It is also better than other sole subject texts I have reviewed. Furthermore simple and what should be obvious matters are discussed yet absent in other texts. An example is the discussion on page 166 of the loss of speech during a simple partial seizure. This symptom is clearly stated yet absent from many other compendium. In fact a patient had just this loss of speech symptom after a neurosurgery procedure and it caused much controversy. Psychiatric consult was called and it was misdiagnosed as a panic/fear syndrome due to the surgery. The patient would have received the wrong treatment. . It was only after being presented with this speech arrest discussion that the diagnosis was changed to being symtomatic of this patients sim! ple partial seizure. This book has more than paid for itself and I await the new edition which should be out soon. There have been many changes since this last publication....

This is a beautifully written biography of the most famous British historian of the twentieth century. It takes its place as the best book on Taylor, far better than the earlier books by Robert Cole and Adam Sisman. Kathleen Burk, similarly a prolific and professional historian, is especially good on Taylor's methods of work, and on the importance of his contributions to historical knowledge and debate. Taylor was one of the best ever diplomatic historians, yet he was also an inspirational populariser of history. He combined excellent scholarship with an unusual ability to make history accessible, through his many books, newspaper articles, book reviews, lectures at universities, speeches at meetings, and radio and TV talks and appearances. Diplomatic history is rather unfashionable today, but, as he wrote, it "deals with the greatest of themes - with the relations of States, with peace and war, with the existence and destruction of communities and civilisations." He analysed the profound and specific causes of historical events, so we can say that imperialism ensures that there will be wars, yet that each particular war occurs at a particular time for specific reasons. All his writings explored the causes, histories and outcomes of the world wars, but he also wrote about a huge variety of other themes. Unfortunately, Burk does not mention his many newspaper articles opposing the Common Market, a shared antipathy that largely explained his continuing links with Lord Beaverbrook. She concludes that his three finest books were The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848-1918, The Origins of the Second World War, and English History 1914-1945. Other readers will have their own favourites. I would also recommend The troublemakers: dissent over British foreign policy 1792-1939, and Professor A. J. P. Taylor on Europe: the historian who predicted the future.

Burk, like Taylor, shows how the study of history is endlessly fascinating. Yet above all, Taylor was concerned to assist us all to understand how people make history.

I learned more from this book about recent poetry than from any other. I found the insights sharp and the comments to the point; and there was also a lack of the usual 'knowing' tone of academic books. There are many illuminating analyses of poems from 'The Waste Land' to 'V' and this leads to a marvellously full overview of the range of British poetry from Rupert Brooke to Seamus Heaney. I found it enrmously helpful for my essays, but I would have read it anyway!

Dumas is deservedly famous for his intricate and engrossing novels, and The Three Musketeers is certainly no exception. As far as classics go, this one is among the most fun that you'll ever read.

The novel follows the protagonist D'Artagnan as he tries to join the French king's elite bodyguard unit, the Musketeers. D'Artagnan befriends three current Musketeers (Porthos, Athos and Aramis) and what follows is a fast-paced literary romp as the four friends share a series of swashbuckling adventures in 17th century France. The plot is full of twists and turns but is cleverly developed and believable. Dumas expertly develops the characters, engaging the reader as the characters experience war, love and just about everything in between.

The edition I'm reviewing (the Illustrated Junior Library version) is highly abridged (300 pages vs over 600 pages) and has many beautiful illustrations, making an already fun novel even more accessible for young readers.

You know, this book is quite the most irresistable book anyone could ever have read. If you haven't read it, please read it. The paces are fast, the plot is fine, and the charators are cool. Really. I've always liked Athos the best, then it's d'Artagnan. This is the best of the Three Musketeers trilogy, and if you read this book, you better go read Twenty Years After. It's just as exciting as The Three Musketeers. You know, does any of you like Lady de Winter? I actually likes her a lot. She's so beautiful and intelligent, though she's, like, cold-blooded. I'm pretty saddened to find her murdered by my favorite d'Artgnan and Athos, of course, and Aramis, Prothos, Lord de Winter, and the executor. Anyway, I think anyone who haven't read this book should read it, or YOU HAVE LIVED FOR NO MEANS!! Admit it (at least, I've admitted it for a million of times since I picked up The Three Musketeers), ALEXANDRE DUMAS IS THE BEST WRITER EVER IN HUMAN HISTORY!!!! You do agree, do you not? ^O^

Catherine Lee

THere is a reason that classics are regarded as classics: they are timeless and very fun to read, often more fun than you would imagine. THis is a long book, 900 pages in the French version, but I sliced through so fast that I was sorry when it ended.

The plot outline is simple. The four musketeers - for there really are four - want to help the queen in her love for Lord Buckingham of England. All the rest is intrigue and adventure related to that. But the episodes are so funny, the chemistry between the characters so subtle and realistic, that it makes for a truly great read. Indeed, the characters of the musketeers are so well drawn, their inter-relations so complex, that a film or even a miniseries simply cannot do it justice. The glimpses at historical personnages is also fascinating, from Richelieu to Louis XIII. Finally, you get a flavor for the Paris of that epoch, just after the religious wars.

Highly recommended.

This is not a bad book, all in all. It covers a lot of useful territory, and for someone recently diagnosed who doesn't know a lot about depression, it might be a decent place to start. But, for those of us who are not starting from scratch, this book doesn't add much, if anything, to better books already out, and it falls short of the mark in some important ways.

My gripes with this book fall into two main categories. First, the book lacks detail in critical areas. For example, in the section on medications, there is only a passing reference to the sexual side effects of the SSRIs, and there is no discussion of how patients can deal with that problem -- i.e. reduce dosage, switch to another medication, augment the SSRI with another drug, etc. The author should know that sexual side effects like anorgasmia and reduced libido affect a huge percentage of people who take SSRIs, and that these side effects diminish the quality of many patients' lives and create serious compliance problems. I'm shocked that this important subject is given such cursory treatment. The section on meds also lacks details concerning dosages, augmentation, and withdrawal, important topics all. So much for the book jacket promise of a "cutting edge" discussion of medications! At the same time, the book is fairly long, and probably not an easy read for someone truly suffering from depression. If a reader is expected to plow through this much text, he or she should at least be rewarded with more detail and "state of the art" information, as promised.

Second, there are some pretty egregious errors in the medication sections. The charts covering various meds are a great idea, and they could be very useful, but they are replete with mistakes. Drug names are misspelled ("maclobemide" instead of moclobemide, "tobomax" instead of Topomax, for example) and the generic and brand names are sometimes flip-flopped (see "tobomax" and Lamictal for example). There is just no excuse for the sloppy, inaccurate charts. Didn't SOMEBODY who knew SOMETHING about these meds PROOFREAD this section? I really couldn't recommend this book to someone suffering from depression knowing that there are significant, obvious errors like this. I'd lack confidence that the rest of the book was more carefully written and edited.

I should confess that I was induced to pick up this book because of the promise of "cutting edge" info on meds, so that's where I started reading. The other sections, which I skimmed, looked pretty run of the mill, although I might feel differently upon a closer reading -- which won't be happening due to the other flaws noted above.

There is some good information here and perhaps the book will appeal to some readers. But, in my view, the book has some significant flaws, and it really doesn't add anything to a field that's already fairly crowded with better books.

This is one of the most thorough books on depression that I've read. I don't agree with one of the other reviewers who stated that those who are very familiar with depression may not learn too much from this book- it covers so much territory that novices and experts alike will surely learn quite a bit. The quality of writing is quite high, though some sections could possibly have been shortened. The organization of the book is pretty straightforward and intuitive, and I found this to be a smooth and easy read. My biggest criticism is that I would have liked to see the author open up a little more with more insider tips and idiosyncratic findings, rather than tending a little more toward reserved generalities. Nonetheless, the book is still quite detailed and well worth reading if you're interested at all in the subject of depression. Avery Z. Conner, author of "Fevers of the Mind".

There is a pretty good overview of the popular treatments for depression. But nothing new here.For better help in getting out from under depression I recommend the book Depression is a Choice by A. B. Curtiss.

John Paul Allen takes you through 7 decades, many lives & one very evil soul.

Not for the squimish... you will never let your kids out of your sight again!!

Awesome.. Scarey... Disturbing...

John Paul Allen takes you through 7 decades, many
lives And one very evil soul!!

Not for the squimish this book is scarey and
disturbing.

You will never let you kids out of your site again.

Like an approaching creature, "Gifted Trust" will circle you and then move in for the kill. John Paul Allen brings to you a novel like no other. When I read "Gifted Trust" an overwhelming fear took hold over me and pulled me deeper within the pages of this dark tale. I can't recall ever reading a book in my life that made my skin crawl until "Gifted Trust" knocked on my door. His words will amaze you and his thoughts will haunt you. He is the Father of Nightmares.

-Kingdom of Shadows Review

If the authors are right about how they defined 'empowerment' and the three essential keys for achieving true empowerment, then leaders, managers, and employees of all organizations should read, discuss, and decide to apply this easy-to-read book's lessons. I am convinced this book has the potential to lead organizations to unheard of levels of effectiveness and productivity.

In typical Ken Blanchard fashion, the authors taught their important lessons through a logical and believable fictional story based on their years of research and experience. The story "guides readers step-by-step through one manager's struggle to discover the three essential keys to empowerment. By following the manager's odyssey to the Land of Empowerment, readers discover that they can take the same journey, which, like any heroic journey, is filled with paradox, challenge, and fitful stops and starts."

The authors defined empowerment as not giving power to people, but releasing the knowledge, experience, and motivation they already have. They then identified and explained the three essential keys for achieving true empowerment:
1.Share information with everyone
2.Create autonomy through boundaries
3.Replace hierarchical thinking with self-managed teams
These simple definitions are deceptively powerful when teamed with patience and persistence. I found the title of this book was most appropriate.

From my experience, the term 'empowerment' is frequently spoken, largely misunderstood, and rarely applied to its maximum extent. This book took the mystery out of the concept of empowerment and left me with a great appreciation for what true empowerment is and how it can be achieved. I am excited about what it could release in me and others who read it.

The author of The One Minute Manager switches gears and tells you not to manage your employees minute-by-minute. Instead, Ken Blanchard, along with John P. Carlos, and Alan Randolph, advocates and explains the notion of empowerment - giving your employees the information and authority to act and make decisions on their own, within a structured set of organizational goals and values. Presented as the story of a turnaround manager getting tutored by an empowerment mentor, the book establishes the fundamentals of the (now ubiquitous) theory of empowerment in a conversational and enjoyable style. We [...] recommend this quick, informative read, which will expand your management horizons in only a few short minutes.

If you are a new manager or a manager with outdated skills, this novel little book will have an absolutely positive impact if you follow the simple three keys to success. The book is based on a story of a real or contrived (who knows) manager and his adventure in discovering the importance of empowerment and why his technics have failed with his employees. Within the first week of reading this book, I used one of the exercises that was recommended. This simple exercise showed me that my employees are infact on track to becoming empowered. If your employees are struggling to complete everyday work because of a motivational problem instead of an ability problem, this book will show you how to get your team to respond. After you read this book, you may discover that the problem is supervisory and not employee related. However, this read gave me ideas of how to correct both!

Even if this play were worthless, which it is not quite, the concept that gives it its title has passed into the American lexicon, so it will long be remembered, if in name only. Supposedly based on true events, it tells the story of a New York City couple, Flanders (Flan) and Louisa (Ouisa) Kittredge, unsuccessful private art dealers who are desperately clinging to their Manhattan socialite lifestyle. Flan is cash strapped and badly needs to turn up some money to complete a two million dollar deal. One night, as they are hitting up a South African acquaintance for some money, a young black man, Paul, turns up on their doorstep. He claims to be a Harvard classmate of their kids who has just been mugged in Central Park. Any initial resistance they may feel towards this stranger evaporates when he cooks them and their guest dinner, expounds on Catcher in the Rye, reveals that his father is Sidney Poitier, and intimates that he might be able to get them all jobs as extras in his Dad's movie version of Cats. He plays their liberal guilt and their social climbing hunger to perfection and makes such an impression on the South African that he agrees to invest with Flan on the art deal. The grateful couple allow Paul to stay overnight in their apartment while they go out.

His implausible story begins to unravel though when, returning early to their apartment, they find him in bed with a male street hustler and throw them both out. Flan takes particular relish in telling the story of their visitor and they are surprised to find that Paul has similarly hustled a number of their friends. They, especially Ouisa, become obsessed with finding out who Paul really is; apparently just a street hustler. He drops back into their lives several times, and they are tangentially involved in a scandal when Paul seduces and dumps a young man who then commits suicide.

Most of the philosophizing in the play, with the exception of the Six Degrees concept, is fairly silly and the people are immensely annoying. There are some funny lines, but most of the humor comes from watching the loathsome Kittredges humiliate themselves repeatedly. It is perhaps the ultimate comment on the kind of people that the play portrays that none of it is very believable. Despite the nonfiction origins, it strains credulity to believe that people who are this shallow actually exist. I'd recommend it mildly, but only for its cruel treatment of a group of people I don't much like--upper class NY City liberals. The LA Theatre Works production has the added bonus that Flan is played by Alan Alda in a near self caricature.

GRADE : C

John Guare has created a witty, creative, funny, and tragic play with his SIX DEGREES OF SEPERATION, based upon the true story of a wealthy Manhattan couple who are fooled into allowing a con-man who claims to be a friend of their Harvard children, and the son of actor Sideny Potier into their home. Paul, the con-man in question, is a homosexual who has previously seduced a lover into telling him secrets about people in this upper-class Manahatten community. Paul even goes so far as to stabbing himself and claiming that he was mugged for his briefcase.

Mr. guare has adapted this story to the playbook with astoinding creativity and brilliance. His characters grow and learn with each passing scene. Mr. Guare is an incredible author who has built a beautiful world on the stage. I can't imagine how wonderful a sight this must be when seen live. SIX DEGREES OF SEPERATION is essential when studying or performing modern theater. Nothing this decade has stood out as much as this play.

I was introduced to this play about a month ago when I was cast in the role of Kitty, a friend of the Kitteredges. Intending to only skim the script and hilight my lines, I read the entire play in one sitting. From the opening scene to the closing, I felt like I was being included in the characters' experiences.
The characters' personalities are also quite deep. After the first couple of times that I read through the script, I realized that there was so much more to the characters than what was written on the page. Guare does a wonderful job of letting the reader use his imagination and create his own backgrounds and deeper personalities for the characters.
This play is an intellectual-artsy type for those who are willing to examine their trust for strangers.

This book has its share of shortcomings, but overall, it is probably the best and most complete reference on DSP. Unfortunately, it does skip a few important topics. For example, the second edition threw out the section on designing IIR bandpass and highpass filters from lowpass prototypes. This section used to be in the first edition and is VERY important, so I don't see how Oppenheim & Schafer could have justified throwing it out. They also conspicuously left out filter design based on the frequency sampling method. But in spite of these omissions, it's hard to recommend another book over this one. The one that comes closest is Mitra's.

In the end, if you want to learn DSP and work in the field, you have to have this book, as well as the ones by Mitra, Proakis & Manolakis, Jackson, and, of course, Rabiner & Gold. If you get all those, you'll have the complete reference of CORE DSP texts.

This is probably the most complete reference in DSP. It's full of examples covering the whole stuff in DSP. However this is certainly not fur use as an introductory book because the aim is not the explanation of fundamental concepts in DSP (for that go to Lyons "Understanding Digital Signal Processing"). Maybe it is possible to learn DSP with this book but then as a companion of a good undergrad course, not for self-study.

As stated by another reviewer, this book is over-crowded with developments, details and examples that could be overwhelming to the newcomer. This is probably its biggest drawback, in that its completeness hinders on its readability. So be aware that this is not an easy DSP book, it's THE DSP book.

I found this book to be an excellent fundamental text about DSP. But is it a good introductory book for beginners? Well, it depends... The book covers the essential topics in great depth and that means every one of its 800+ pages is packed with concepts and details and examples. The style is clear, but the amount of information can be a little overwhelming when you read it for the first time. If you have time, patience, a good maths background, the desire to master the subject, and someone to clarify your doubts, this can be the best first book on DSP you could ever buy. If you just want to learn the basics, and don't have much time or patience you should probably look elsewhere.