A retired businessman who's always liked Lawrence, I bought this book because I wanted to know all about his "visual imagination," and I was not disappointed. The book, though written by a scholar, is about as lucid as you can get. I especially liked the fresh way it linked how writers and painters "think" in similar ways. I now see novels like "The Rainbow" and "Women in Love" as more interesting. In my opinion you don't have to have a PhD to get a lot out of this book.

The photographs and engravings reproduced in Lawrence Weschler's book are poignant and riveting. They account for the 2 stars in my rating. And David Wilson is indeed a "national treasure," as is his unsettling museum. This book, however, seems to me a snide, yuppie's-eye-view of a truly original person and his meticulously wondrous contribution to the long history of the wonder-cabinet. I was depressed for quite a while after reading it to think that this condescending and anti-intellectual account would bear Wilson's mind and seditious achievements out into the world so much more frequently than would the Museum of Jurassic Technology itself, or its own publications. People fated to live out imaginatively impoverished lives in latter-day American society could use some capacity for self-loss in the face of what is other than ourselves or what we have mastered. And--perhaps less fundamentally, but in the interests of our being less boring to each other--we could use a less pervasive culture of knowingness. *Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder* brings that possibility forward only to smother it in a kind of smugly affectionate ridicule for the person who tried to give us a chance. I was particularly disappointed in that Weschler's 80s New Yorker piece about Boggs was both intriguing and respectful, and his original Harper's piece on Wilson at least showed honest curiosity. The book is a failure for a writer who had seemed to have an interesting mission. People interested in Wunderkammern of the past, as Wilson himself is and as Weschler's irrepressible condescension demonstrates he is finally not, should look at the catalogue of Dartmouth's Hood Museum exhibit and conference on them, edited by Joy Kenseth, *The Age of the Marvelous*; Paula Findlen's *Possessing Nature: Museums, Collecting and Scientific Culture in Early Modern Italy; Lorraine Daston and Katherine Park's *Wonders and the Order of Nature, 1100-1750*, and Rosamond Purcell and Stephen J. Gould's glorious *Finders, Keepers: Treasures and Oddities of Natural History*. All are profusely illustrated; Purcell's photographs in the last are works of art in themselves.

What is a museum? Are the things we see in a museum "the truth", and how did they come to be so? These questions and others fill Lawrence Weschler's marvelous extended essay, Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder. Weschler takes as his jumping-off point the very real "Museum of Jurassic Technology," privately owned and operated in Los Angeles by David Wilson. In this book, Wechsler tells how European museums began as private collections of "wonder-ful" objects, with the focus less on whether the object was "true" than whether it evoked amazement. Many of the objects in Wilson's "Museum" appear real, and are described in the dry, precise prose known to museum viewers around the world. But they are not real. Or are they? This short (168 pages, with endnotes) book examines both the "wonders" of Wilson's storefront museum and the even more astounding wonders of the real world in gifted and sprightly prose. Not to be missed!!

This remarkable book documents, in part, the extraordinary collection of the Museum of Jurassic Technology, a small storefront museum in Culver City, California. The MJT is something of an anomaly, existing in some strange territory between genuine (though odd) museum and performance art piece. As Weschler walks us through several of these exhibits, we are ultimately left in a wonderful state of suspension between credulity and skepticism, simultaneously unable to dismiss the museum as a joke and unable to accept its wonders without skepticism. At times, the experience is very much like reading BorgesÕ elaborately self-referential fictions; at other moments, it feels like youÕve wandered into a Pynchon novel in which a deeply strange and hidden world lies beneath the surface of the real.

The second part of the book places the MJT in the historical context of the wunderkammern of the 17th and early 18th centuries, those vast collections of natural and artificial curiosities that served as the first museums. The articulation of a profound sense of wonder is at the heart of WeschlerÕs fascinating book, which is in fact astounding in its elaboration of a world stranger than many found in fiction. Enthusiastically recommended.

It has some nice pictures. Plenty of guys in Cavalry hats. But I really got very little idea on what they did in Vietnam and the battles they fought. I gather they were pretty important but the book told me little.

From beginning to end this book is a must read for anyone interested in helicopters and helicopter warfare! Some good photos too!jim

Required reading for Viet Nam history buffs. The Air Cavalry as only a Cavalryman knows. Ride with the crazy, really, Scout pilots as they do the impossible. The history of the Air Cav's formation and it's lessons learned in combat by one who was there. Will make you want to get your "chicken plate," helment, and grab the stick and go. Let's all meet over the valley just West of Dak To. "If you ain't cav, ---"

If you have an interest or are planning to run for political office, buy two copys of this book just in case you lose the first one.

The Judge spells out everything you need to know about running a local campaign from getting your name on the ballot to what to do on election day.

Its very understable, easy to read, and highly informative. It will help you in countless ways, such as how to go about fundraising, mailing, signs, door to door campaigning, when to campaign, and how other people can help you.

Following the Judges's years earned advice is your first step to winning.

Someone who wants to be a first time candidate for local office would do well by reading Judge Grey's book. He's actually run and won. As someone else who has won local elections (six for the State House), I can attest to the usefulness of this book.

Grey breaks down campaign functions and issues into small bite sized paragraphs. It's all pretty much covered: fundraising, candidate recruitment, campaign organizations and staff, use of volunteers, election day activities, media, etc., etc. Each chapter focuse right in on the subject with a check list approach to executing each facet of the campaign. The author also provides useful examples of forms and other organizational tools your campaign will want to utilize to organize itself and campaign data.

The style is breezy and matter of fact. Grey uses some of his personal experiences to illustrate his points. This is helpful, since it increases the credibility of the points he's making. The only other book I've found that rivals this "How To" is Beaudry's "Winning Local and State Elections..." Her book is as practically focused but perhaps provides a little more solid framework for the issues presented and is more tightly written. On the other hand, Grey is probably as accessable a book on the subject as one is likely to find.

His appendices are helpful, also. One can pretty much be on their way to structuring a campaign including the campaign plan and schedule thanks to this book. If followed, I suspect candidates will not be able to blame their loss on themselves or their campaign. Some will win due to the promise of superior organization and focus using this book's model will provide.

I'm teaching a course in elective politics at the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Center of Government. This is one of the required reading books for the course and is also used by some other teachers in the field at colleges and universities around the country.

Judge Robert Grey offers a great primer on political campaigns at the local level. This book will walk you through the process of running - and WINNING - a local campaign, inclduing a great "what do I need to do now?" timetable that gives you a checklist of tasks that need to be completed well in advance of the election.

When I wrote "25 Fundraising Secrets, Raise More Money, Guaranteed" I did so to give campaigns at all levels the know how they need to raise enough money to win thier elections. This book is a great compliment to mine - it does for political strategy what my book does for fundraising strategy.

The book Beetle Boy by Lawrence David and Delphine Durand is about Gregory Sampson waking up as a Ground Beetle. Find out what happens in Beetle Boy.

I think the book Beetle Boy is a book for people who like fiction books. That is true because it has a boy turning into a beetle. Also it has some humar in it too.

This is a very clever book, which my 6 year old son loves and which I found laugh-out-loud funny myself. I bought it at holiday time after seeing it on an Amazon recommended list for kids, and we weren't disappointed.

Gregory Sampson (like Kafka's Gregor Samsa, get it?) is a 2nd grader who wakes up and is surpried to learn that he has transformed into a giant beetle. He tries telling his parents, but they won't listen to him - his mom says "You were always our little bug-a-boo dear." He is forced to improvise by cutting extra holes in his shirt to accomodate his extra arms (or are they legs he wonders?), and he uses his extra appendages to score in soccer. All in all, this is a charming story which explores some of the themes of alienation and fright that Kafka brilliantly explores in The Metamorphosis, but with a light, humorous touch. Kids will love it, and you will enjoy reading it to them. I wish I could say the same for all childrens' books.

When I saw the page I recognized the cover of the book, but I could not believe what people were actually writing about it.

First I want to say that I am an undergraduate biotechnology student. I have a very strong background in biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, tissue culture techniques, and immunology; but I have not had any classes dealing with anatomy or physiology since Bio 101 way back when. I have read and am quite comfortable with Alberts Molecular Biology of the Cell and Stryers Biochemistry, and even a handful of primary journal articles, so I do know how to read a textbook.

Now with that out of the way, let me say that this book is completely incomprehensible. It is so full of anatomy and Latin derived words (which it does a poor job at explaining BTW) that I can only assume that it was meant for medical students, and to have physiology an a prerequisite for it, but it doesn't even have an introduction describing the recommended background or whom it is supposed to be for. In fact, most of the book is devoted to the physiology of sensation and movement, not neurobiology. Now if you have the background for it and thats what you are looking for then it is a very thorough text that goes into a lot of depth.

If you are looking to understand the biochemistry or molecular aspects of neurobiology, find another book!

As an undergraduate Psychobiology student, this text served me well in my Neuroscience course. In all honesty I never went. I just read this book. I got excellent marks in the class. As a serious slacker and bibliophile, I recommend this textbook for any like-minded student.

As an undergraduate Neuroscience major I found this textbook to be highly informative and well-written. It was used to a Freshman-level course, and was easy to understand, yet thorough and interesting. The graphics are well done, and the format is better than most textbooks I'm used to. Anyone, even with minimal science experience could dive right in and learn a great deal. It may not be advanced enough, however, for grad or medical students. As a reference it does okay, but there are more-advanced texts which would probably do better. All-in-all it is an excellent book. In-fact, I liked it so much that I didn't sell it back at the end of the semester and keep it on my bookshelf for future reference (and future classes!)

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 ?

I think author made every effort to make the subject simple to understand. It does not go to much into details yet covers more in general terms. If you need more detailed information you could look at book "The Cell" but I found this book more easier to follow. Pictures are better.This book has lesser pre-requisite information to follow and understand what is going on.It has all the standard subjects of Molecular Cell Biology. Cell itself is explained in laymans terms with good pictures.

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 I first began to read Lady Chatterley's Lover I thought it was going to be quite a chore. I'm used to flowery language and all that, but I just wasn't in the mood for what I anticipated to be a sex-charged love story. Much to my surprise I got MUCH more from this wonderful classic.

D.H. Lawrence makes some striking observations about the state of the social classes in post WWI England, as well as providing some good insights into tough individual decisions we make in regard to relationships. I had limited knowledge of the post-war subject beforehand, but I felt that I learned a great deal in the process of reading. At times the book seemed repetitive, as if Lawrence were beating me over the head with his message, sacrificing character and plot in the process, but after all was said and done I couldn't say that it was a bad book. It's a very insightful, multi-layered work and I'm very glad I read it. The fact that the book was widely banned from publication in its early days is just another tempting reason to read it although, by today's standards, what was so risqué then borders on the ridiculous for us now. As long as you remind yourself of the time period in which it was written you'll be just fine...the laughs and raised eyebrows in conjunction with more serious themes are a pleasant mix.

This novel is not the explicit sex book that you have been led to believe. instead it is a flawless masterpiece that tells the story of Charlotte, the sexually deprived wife of an invalid husband and her search for true love and sexual fulfillment. As a woman, I have no idea how Lawrence was able to delve into the female mind so thoroughly, but so he has done. This book is a compelling argument in favor of the belief that sexual attraction is certainly one of the most important aspects when we search for a mate-despite what snobbish types may say about how looks don't matter and good sex and attraction grows with time. Baloney! Charlotte's attraction to Mellors was immediate and we watch her life developing with breathless anticipation. Some may feel the ending is too cute and tidy, but knowing the characters as they are, you feel that it could not have ended any other way. A profound book, thoroughly readable, and shockingly modern for its time.

I did not read this book until ten years ago - age forty for those who count - and found it a brilliant work. It touched on every aspect of life in that era, using a difficult premise at the focus.

One reviewer called it 'sexist.' In that era, women were kept removed from the world, so men were the ones who made the initial contacts with reality and their sexuality. If Lawrence had written about that society in any other way, he would have been inaccurate. Lawrence shows the social conflict with both subtlety and brutality. Yet, Mellor IS a lover. There are sexual descriptions which are explicit, but within the coccoon of emotional bondings.

The way that Lawrence has essayed the class structure of England in that era is brave and accurate in all ways. He makes the posturing of the aristocracy both frivilous and full of assinine criteria at the same time he understands the willingness of those in power to offer their lives in the defense of the general welfare.

Lawrence notes again with unpleasant accuracy the detriments of an unchecked Industrial Revolution on the social structure of the time. He has Constance both witness these effects and suffer the olfactory damage.

This is a literary work which has an effect across the full spectrum of the possible. Finely drawn characters searching for a better way to survive their lives in a scenario that is rife with obstacles and unpleasantness. He has the touch of the finest artist working with the lightest gossamer and the blunt force of an ogre swinging a stone axe.

This was published in an abridged version because it was felt that the societal message it conveyed should be allowed to transit the draconian (by the less filtered standards of today) censorship of the era which DID focus on the sexual descriptions but could NOT stop the voice of social criticism any more than the same group could stop Dickens a few decades earlier.