This is a superb book, and the best way to first sample the delights of math for its own sake. Don't let the subtitle "Selections from Mathematics for the Amateur" turn you off. True, the math involved is elementary, not going beyond high school algebra and geometry. But the material won't be found in most textbooks, having been chosen with elegance and beauty, rather than utility, in mind (which isn't to say that it doesn't have its important uses). Even the professional mathematician who has already seen most of the contents will profit from studying the book's exemplary treatment of its topics. The authors are some of the best math expositors who have ever lived. Each idea in the book is developed admirably, and strikes the perfect balance between conciseness and lucidity. You probably can't do better in choosing an introduction to prime and perfect numbers, the four-color problem, regular polyhedra, Pythagorean triples, pedal triangles, periodic decimal fractions, Waring's problem, the number 30 (sic!), and many other fascinating intellectual tibdits.

At Dover's low price, this book is a great buy. Get it! If you have more mathematical knowledge, then I also recommend "Proofs from the Book" by Aigner, et al., which is written for mathematicians in a similar style.

Written by two top-notch mathematicians, requiring the mathematics that a high school student can do, this book takes you on a journey that is easy to follow and yet shows the power of mathematics. It is an excellent book for high school enrichement or early undergraduates.

Even if you are a mathematician you will be suprized at many of the results and enjoy trying to solve some of the problems. Many of the problems are quite hard. Even though some of the problems are the standard ones, many are off the beaten track. No matter what your level of expertise, I am sure you will enjoy this book.

A RESPONSE TO "Liberation from the Affluent Society"

My first impression of Herbert Marcuse' speech was the title. Upon reading it I thought why would anyone want to be liberated from an affluent society? It seemed rather odd to me that anyone would want to be freed from prosperity. However, upon further and deeper reading I soon learned exactly what the author meant by his title. Marcuse sees western society as an enslaving system which crushes its members into a life of bondage towards gain. Marcuse sees a need to fight against the society and to not be a normal citizen while society dictates so much in its members' lives. I believe that although Marcuse has a place in awakening the reader against the drudgery of life, overall Marcuse is a man who is too revolutionary to ever be content in the modern state of mass society.
I realized how much in common Marcuse had with the great Nineteenth Century Transcendentalist Henry Thoreau. Both men are radicals of their time. On that basis both unhesitatingly confronted the contemporary world, however shocking or bizarre their claims might seem to the conformist consensus of the establishment. Just as Thoreau challenged the government's moral decision in the Mexican War and his opposition to social conformity due the drudgery of life, Marcuse also pitted himself against the War in Vietnam and his opposition to mass society due to his position of seeing the great limitations of capitalism. Both men have basically the same struggle and that struggle is against the enslavement of society. However, they differ in the sense that Thoreau does not advocate a new social order just a method of passive resistance, whereas Marcuse in another essay advocates a Utopian alternative to the restraints of capitalism.
The central question of Marcuse's thought appears clearly in this short speech. The question being from what standpoint can society be judged now that it has succeeded in feeding its members? Recognizing the arbitrariness of mere moral outrage, Marx measured capitalism by reference to an immanent criterion, the unsatisfied needs of the population. But that approach collapses as soon as capitalism proves itself capable of delivering the goods. Then the fulfilled needs of the individuals legitimate the established system. However, Marcuse' radicalism means opposition, not just to the failures and deficiencies of that system, but to its very successes. Marcuse sees that this affluent society has ruined its members by the very nature of gain in capitalism. In his discussion of the divisions of the hippies he commends the sector that goes beyond the norm to radically oppose capitalism for its inability to bring true fulfilled in life.
It is viewed that the conflict between rationalism and irrationalism was a major division in the main thinkers of the modern era. However, Marcuse wants to go beyond that to redefine rationalism. He believes that collectively in society we have become irrational-rationales who define rationalism only as efficiency. The same efficiency was used by the Nazis to slaughter millions of Jews, but would we define that as rational? I think not. Marcuse' only real solution to this irrationality is education.
I believe overall men such as Marcuse and Thoreau have an important place because in a sense these men are like mirrors. They help the reader to step back from the chaos of life rethink our motives as to why we behave the way we do and whether or not this behavior is for our benefit.

Well, the book is about 30 years old but so far it is probably one of the best observations of the forces behind the scenes which are running the western culture. It does not offer any clear conclusion but it definitely raises the level of consciousness and what is also funnier it makes visible to many social mechanisms around in the present time. Definitely a good reading, written in a good normal language which is easy to understand... Enjoy.

Excellent look at relationships, what goes arry, and what can be done sensibly to make it work. All this is presented with a non- threatening sense of humor.

This book meant a great deal to me and my wife. It helped us over a number of hudles. I appreciate the insights, humor, wisdom and spirituality.

My 3 ½-year-old son loves Fireman Small. He identifies with the fireman's diminutive stature and is entertained by the shenanigans of the silly animals he rescues. We both think Fireman Small Fire Down Below! is the best book ever. The illustrations are deceptively simple. From my son's point-of-view they are easy to understand and lively. I find them witty, complex, and beautifully composed. The singsong rhythm of the text makes it easy for me to read it over and over--as my son demands. Unlike many children's books, this one rewards multiple readings with new surprises. Don't miss the little mouse who turns up in odd places. While this book definitely charms kids, there are also amusing little vignettes that appeal to a grownup sensibility.

Fireman Small returns in this humorous story with an important message about fire safety. Yee uses a variety of fire safety words and phrases in order to help young children learn what to do during a fire, for example: 'No, no, No, not the elevator!', 'grab a wet towel to cover your head', 'stop, drop, and roll' and others. With the fire on the bottom floor of the hotel, Fireman Small has to help the people get to the roof. In humorous drawings and rhyming text, Yee shows Fireman small feeling the door to see if it is hot, pulling the fire alarm, knocking on doors to get guests out, etc. Great for a read aloud story time, especially during Fire Safety month. Some vocabulary terms (hotel, elevator, stairwell, fire escape) may need to be introduced prior to the reading, particularly in areas where children are not familiar with multi-story buildings.

Herbert Ford succeeded to write an original book about World War II. His heros John Weidner created an underground network as soon as 1940 and saved a thousand people (Allied pilots gunned down by the Nazis and Jews) without ever wearing a weapon. The great originality of the network Dutch-Paris is its high morale standards and its efficiency in making fugitives escape occupied France, Belgium and Netherlands towards Switzerland and Spain. A great book about an unusual heroe that deserves to be better known.

This book is very touching, inspirational, and gripping. It follows the experience of one man who would do anything to free as many Jews as possible in the Holocaust. It talks about those who helped him in his efforts, and how he himself escaped some very scary situations with the Lord's help. Everyone should read this book!

I can remember pouring over the pictures in this book,using my book light,long after the final lights out call from my parents. I traveled back in time, imagining dinosaur growls and prehistoric seashells. By day, I would wander the acreage on my Grandma's farm, scouring the weedy earth for the slightest hint of ancient rock or dinosaur footprint. I wanted my school-age children to enjoy the imaginative art of archeology and paleantology and immediately remembered my favorite book, Fossils: A Guide to Prehistoric Life. I was delighted to see that it was still in print with the same exciting drawings. I immediatley ordered my copy! I then decided to order a copy for my kids! This is a great book that will encourage your children to look beyond the video games and satellite channels and into the fascinating world of the ancient past.

This little guide is the best choice for beginners and children. Book gives the reader an idea about what a fossil is, where and how they can be found, and some information about major fossils. All the pictures are hand drawn illustrations, so that they are not very detailed but still OK for kids and beginers. (I liked it when I was young!)

This is perhaps the most comprehensive and complete book on the theory behind the innumerable inventory models. More interestingly, it is an extremely well written for a technical book and the lucid style makes readin interesting. I am using the book as reference for research and this book provides a good b/g and development of different models: both stochastic and deterministic.
However, due to the mathematically moderate to advanced treatment of the subject (calculus, probability and some linear algebra and stochastic processes would really help), the audience for this book is definitely those with some background in math and/or engineering.
This book is not for those looking for a formula to plug in values (although it does give those too), it is for those who are keen on understanding the underlying 'logic' of inventory policies and systems and how they have been developed. Anyone in Industrial Engineering, Operations Research, Management (with quantitative inclinations) and professionals will find this an extremely good book.

This is a great reference book for Operations Research and Management Science professionals. Covers most of the classical inventory theory models. Highly recommended.

Forget those boring civics classes, forget those classes where American history's most important events were relegated to footnotes skipped over by the teacher. If Howard Zinn had not written "A People's History of the United States" Michael Linfield has written it for him.

Linfield's compelling revealations of the US government's record of civil liberties violations throughout our relatively short, bloody, aggressive and imperialistic history documents how every real and contrived wartime scenario has been used by the rulers to eliminate civil liberties and impose a true Pax Americana domestically.

Beginning with the American "Revolution" which appears to me to be less and less like a revolution and more and more like a contrived power and land grab by the greedy, not the needy. I believe that one could make a case for the fact that after their ascension to power, that American "revolutionaries" were as reactionary and oppressive as the power from whoom they had wrested control.

Each wartime scenario shattters any illusion of goodness or democracy with one holds certain rulers. As Jim Morrison wrote, "No One Here gets Out Alive." So, too, with the author. One comes swiftly to the conclusion that not one U.S. leader, either in declared wartime or between conflicts has really done anything to insure the civil liberties for which Americans fought and died on a myriad of foreign battlefields.

Linfield has written American history as it is, not as, Rush Limbaugh might ask, "The Way Things Ought to Be." This is indeed Mr. Wells' history, Howard Zin''s history, but not 10th grade American high schol history.

I highly recommend reading Linfield's book, checking out the footnotes and the primary source documents. Keep the book handy next time some...patriot resembling a beached whale drenches those around him with his version of American history. Linfield's book will rock their world.

Linfield's work provides a handy overview of extent to which Constitutional safeguards have been compromised over the years, particularly during wartime. Beginning with the infamous Alien and Sedition Acts of the Revolutionary war period, through the Civil War, W.W.I, and Vietnam eras, the author compiles a steady pattern of government assault on Constitutional restrictions whenever those restrictions become politically or militarily inconvenient. Of particular note in this regard, are the McCarran - Walter Act of the cold war era, aimed at resricting free flow of information and travel, and the notorious Palmer raids following W.W.I, aimed at curbing the rise of a socialist movement. Whether your politics are left, right or center, this historical record should be of interest. It shows pretty clearly how slender are these parchment-bound safeguards whenever established wealth and power feels threatened.

the bible of tooth prep. a major work. i'm not dentist, but i'm married to one. an absolute must read. you'll never look at cavities the same again.

I read this book during third year and final year of my degree.there are enough diagrams for good understanding.I like every topic. I am very thankful to their author and publisher,who gave a great gift to dental profession.

Allthough I knew little about Frieda Lawrence when I started reading this book, I found the topic fascinating--mainly because the writing is superb and the descriptions are vivid. I know it's a book I'll read again (and again) because it's rife with compelling detail and history. I found myself wishing I had known Frieda Lawrence almost as soon as I started the book. She did seem to have a genius for living, but it took a skillful, gifted biographer like Byrne to capture her fully in print with humor and insight. I recommend this book--it's unforgettable. It's also a great gift (as I discovered with numerous friends).

Here is a biography that contains many surprises: historically and artistically. It's exhaustively researched and detailed and is always funny and fascinating. Byrne's sense of humor shines throughout the book. She's a terrific artist; her way with words makes this a quick read. The insights into the marriage of Freida and D.H. Lawrence are often harrowing. But throughout, Freida's relationships with all the people in her life make up a powerfully compelling story. I was sorry when I reached the end