Tsvetaeva's version of the Pied Piper of Hamlyn legend is one of her finest and most complex works. Angela Livingstone's translation is endowed with remarkable vitality.

References on Italian warships of World War 2 in English are rare and that's a shame, because many of the ships in the Italian navy were attractive, sleek and stylish, in keeping with the traditions of that nation. Some innovations of Italian naval architects include the introduction of the triple gun turret and ships with a higher speed than any other navy.

This book, which is intended as part of a series, is an excellent reference for naval historians and modeler alike. The history of all Italian battleships is covered, ranging from the Cavours to the Littorios (arguably the most attractive battleships around). Most of the photographs have not been seen in equivalent publications outside Italy, since these photos are from private collections. Photo reproduction quality is very good, since most of these negatives are well over fifty years old. Also useful for the modeler are illustrations of the various camouflage patterns worn by the battleships during their service and a set of color chips representing the paints used by the Italian Navy.

A must have for the naval enthusiast. Now when will the book on Italian cruiser be released? I have a bunch of Italian cruiser models in my closet waiting to be built and I sure would like Messers Grossman and Bagnasco to continue this series.

As the author, I feel it is important to state that this book was written to accompany a set of 15 workbooks, each of which contains a number of spreadsheets in Quattro Pro for Windows format (somewhere around 100 spreadsheets total). Ten of the workbooks address a number of common and some uncommon business situations and needs, using many standard business decision-making tools and formulas. The remaining five workbooks address many common personal needs, from children's allowances to college planning, real estate, and retirement. The book by itself has a great deal of useful information, information that complements and enhances the information in the workbooks.

The financial information in this book is all still quite current; it is based on sound business practices and financial tools that have stood the test of time. Therefore, despite the somewhat older date on this book, it is just as useful today as when it was first written. And although each chapter documents how to use the various spreadsheets, each chapter also contains separate, useful information about the concepts themselves, making it an excellent introduction to many of the most commonly used personal and business financial tools in use today.

The contents are as follows:

Introduction.

Chapter 1: Creating a Master Plan, which includes quarterly and five-year sales forecasts, production schedules, manufacturing cost estimates, and a number of budgets: manufacturing, operating expenses, budgeted income statements, cash budgets, and capital expenditures, as well as tools for assessing capital expenditures.

Chapter 2: Controlling Inventory, which contains two different economic order quantity (EOQ) models, a reorder point tool, and two different inventory valuation models.

Chapter 3: Purchasing, which includes a request for quotation, quotation comparisons, response to request for quotation, and a purchase order.

Chapter 4: Financial Reporting, which contains an income statement, a balance sheet, and a number of ratio tools for analyzing the health of any business: net profit to net sales, collection period, cost of sales to inventory, net sales to fixed assets, net sales to net worth, total liabilities to net worth, current liabilities to net worth, net sales to working capital, current assets to current liabilities, the Quick ratio, total noncurrent assets to net worth, long-term liabilities to working capital, and net profit to total assets.

Chapter 5: Project Planning and Tracking, which includes an expense report, a project log, a phone log, a project dates estimator, and a project time and cost estimator. Although I had also created a project management tool in Quattro Pro, I felt that the professional project management tools, such as MS Project, were preferable.

Chapter 6: Invoicing, which contains a bill for retainer, materials and labor invoice, materials and labor summary, service invoice, and a shipping form.

Chapter 7: Granting Credit, which contains an overview on granting credit, then several analysis tools for credit, including corporate credit, cost of credit, individual credit, the Z score, and credit applications.

Chapter 8: Preparing for Taxes, which includes various tax worksheets for 1993, focusing on estimated taxes and on Schedule C and related forms. These worksheets could, of course, be updated.

Chapter 9: Tracking Auto Expenses, which includes two different workbooks for tracking auto expenses.

Chapter 10: Managing Personal Finances, which includes checkbook reconciliation, creditors, monthly budget, debt ratio, and net worth.

Chapter 11: Managing Personal Investments, which includes growth rate, a spreadsheet for determining whether it is financially more advisable to keep an old car or purchase a new one, purchasing a new car, savings goals, and tax-free yields.

Chapter 12: Financing Life's Passages, which includes a baby budget, college savings, life insurance, a wedding budget, and retirement.

Chapter 13: Finances for Kids, which includes a spreadsheet for tracking income and outgo, and a savings goal plan.

Chapter 14: Managing Real Estate Investments, which includes ARMs, closing costs, down payment, gain on sale of a home, home improvements and rental expenses, true cost of a mortgage and mortgage payment calculators (insert different down payments, interests rates, balloon payments, points, and other costs), rental cash flow, rental income, and a worksheet for determining whether it is better to rent or own.

The book includes a bibliography and an index. Thank you for considering this book. I hope that you enjoy my work.

Science is Fiction: The Films of Jean Painleve, edited by Andy Masaki Bellows and Marina McDougall with Brigitte Berg, exposes the reader to the odd and beautiful films of Jean Painlevé (1902-1989), who was both an artist and a scientist. These professions do not often mix, but in Painlevé's case, his scientific side made his film work stronger and stranger. He was the first to photograph sea creatures underwater, and he was also involved with surrealist artists like André Breton, Antonin Artaud, and film giant Georges Franju, in addition to his racecar driving pursuits. The images in his films are a combination of classroom science instruction and dance.

Painlevé was focused on aesthetics as well as scientific commentary in his films. According to this book, his two masterpieces are L'Hippocampe ("The Seahorse") and Le Vampire ("The Vampire"). L'Hippocampe (1934) is about the mating process between the male and female seahorse: The viewer sees a female laying eggs into the abdomen of a male, where he fertilizes them. To Painlevé, this represented the perfect relationship between the sexes. On a darker note, Le Vampire (1945) is a film that lends a political flavor to the behavior of vampire bats. The film stills displayed in the book are quite creepy. In one scene, as a bat falls asleep, it extends one of its wings in a Nazi-like salute.

Painlevé didn't believe that there was a separation between science and art. Throughout his life he founded a series of movie clubs as well as film schools. This lavishly designed book by designer Jean Wilcox is a perfect complement to the aesthetics of Painlevé. It is a book fetishist's dream date. Very rarely in this business does one see such a perfect combination of content, text, and design. Imagine the film viewer who went to see one of Painlevé's films expecting a dry documentary, but instead encountering a strange and poetic way of looking at the world.

This is a very well written book. It is meant for the well educated person with an interest in linguistics, psychology, philosophy and the human condition in general. A definite read for the Spanish language lover.

The book has an good epeel to it and recipes on it to going get another one for my friend.

An excellent book for beginning signers who are interested in religious signs. This book has incorporated signing of simple songs, the story of Jesus and four scripture passages in less than 30 pages! The pictures are easy to follow even for children.

As an busy simultaneous interpreter I have found Ms. Orellana's glossary invaluable in many different conferences. This is usually the only dictionary I pack for my assignments

This is an excellent book which I highly reccomend. Carter has collected folk tales from a wide variety of sources and cultures which have strong female characters in them. She uses the more orally based tales, rather than literary creations, which gives the stories some real zest. Instead of a collection of didatic stories about good feminist heroines, this is a collection of stories about strong women, both good and bad. Their craftiness may save their home or allow them to cheat their way to glory. I adore this collection, and reccomend highly to parents who want to give their children something to read that doesn't have namby pamby princesses who wait around to be rescued, or adults who loved fairy tales as a child.

A great book to have if you have kids or spend time with kids. Has great activities for children of all ages (and even adults). Not only have I gotten great ideas for things to do with my young son from this book, I have also learned alot myself. Every parent and teacher on my shopping list is going to get a copy of this book for Christmas this year.