This book is meant to be a practical guide in reading and writing chemistry. There are numerous practical tidbits interspersed throughout the book. There are also exercises (many of which include "peer review" style discussion among classmates) and numerous examples (both positive and negative). The topics range from reading the primary literature through writing lab reports and even to giving oral seminars.

The authors do a good job straddling the line between keeping the text short (this is a "Short Guide" after all), while providing the essential kernals of information. Unfortunately, it reads a bit like a how-to guide for someone trying to get an "A" grade in their "Writing in Chemsitry" course. There is little discussion of format variations (except possibly in the "Writing a Research Proposal" section) probably not the author's fault, more of a page constraint issue. However, I would like to have seen less on, say "How to keep a freshman lab book" (17 pages!) and more on, "How to give an oral presentation." Surely the target audience should be the upper-year student, not the freshman.

If the biggest problem is the formulaic presentation, the best aspect is the numerous examples interspersed throughout the book. I was pleased to note that the examples, at least, are chosen to highlight the differences in scientific opinion that constantly arise and that younger scientists find baffling. Because science is generally taught as hard facts in high school, there is no indication that science is actually a refining process where theories are put to the test, elevated, or destroyed as work is done to test their validity. This process is amply demonstrated by the authors, in a wide variety of subdisciplines, all of which are fun to read, even for professors and other chemical professionals.

Therefore, I recommend this book for the senior undergraduate and graduate student who wants to refine/develop their scientific writing style. I'm skeptical about recommending the book to freshmen, in spite of the number of pages devoted to freshman topics, because I'm not as happy with those chapters.

In A Short Guide to Writing about Chemistry Herbert Beall and John Trimbur describe how to write in chemistry. Beall is an expert in writing books about chemistry and Trimbur wrote books about reading and writing. With these two authors combined for one book, there was no doubt that this book would be a top seller. The book thoroughly discusses how to write research papers, literature reviews, critiques, persuasion essays, and lab reports. The book describes what chemists read and write about.
To understand chemistry you must find what is significant, make a model, and reason by analogy. The book describes how to read a chemistry textbook, study for tests or quizzes, and take lecture notes. All of these hints are good for a college student in chemistry.
The book gives step by step details as the chapter goes along. It gives good details for visual aids, and how to rehearse before delivering your speech if you have to do an oral presentation. The lab report chapter is very useful because it's not just enough to understand the concepts, but you must write out a lab report.
After the authors describe the steps to follow, they give an example and then practice problems. The book includes websites to look at for a chemistry article and good engines to use when searching for a certain chemistry concept.
The book covers so much information that any student at any level of study can understand the book. The book is designed mainly to get the students to communicate in the chemistry language either by writing, reading, or giving oral presentations. With all of the great things found in this book, it is no surprise that it was successful at helping students and professors alike in writing about chemistry.

I don't understand some of the very negative reviews here. If you are new to SQL, then this book will be a good compagnon.
This book worked for me, it's gives you the fundamentals you need to get to the more advanced stuff. This book is to teach SQL, as a reference I use o'reillys SQL in a nutshell. And the comment on the price? Well, i think all programming books are getting more and more expensive...

I am one of the authors of this book, so of course my rating is going to be a little prejudiced. However, I must say that I'm very proud of this work, and after reading the complete work, I thought it should be called "Beginning to End SQL Programming." There isn't a single aspect of SQL that is not covered in this book. While it is designed to cover using SQL from the beginning, and written in a style that is easy for novices to understand, it covers more about the actual use of SQL than any other SQL book that I've seen. I actually use it as a reference myself!

This book is excellent! It's clearly written and easy to follow! And, I must admit that when I read a review of this book by the one of the authors I thought that his opinion must be biased, but it wasn't, it was right on the mark! This book is an excellent reference book. It has replaced my previous #1 favorite, Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes. The Sams book is still an excellent title to own too! The Sams book is a good "portable" reference due to its quality and size. The Wrox book is a good desktop reference. Even though the Wrox book is a big book you'll still be tempted to keep it with you because it's so good!

I am intensely interested in Franklin D. Roosevelt and his times, so I figured this book on a little-explored aspect of his career couldn't miss. Colorful characters straight out of "Guys and Dolls" rub elbows with the patrician Roosevelt in this account of the transition between the free-wheeling era of Tammany Hall to the do-gooder era of the New Deal. Too bad that author Mitgang lacks any sense of story-telling ability. The organization of the book is sloppy and confusing and robs the story of any drama. The humorous aspects fall flat. Great idea for a book, but the execution is a misfire.

Mitgang's presentation of the scandals involving NY Mayor Jimmy Walker, leading up to the Seabury Commission investigations and Walker's removal from office by then NY Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, offers a story that should be captivating. The personalities involved were among the major American political figures of their time. Walker's precipitous fall from power was one of the major political events of the era. But I laid down the book feeling that I had somehow been presented the story, but only at the most superficial level. Perhaps I should have known better given the book's brief length. But Mitgang has a good reputation as a journalist, and I expected more. For example, none of the major actors is presented with much depth at all. Their motivations are not explored in sufficient degree. The implications of FDR's action in this case for his Presidency are not explored. Walker's failure to run again for the mayoralty--if for no other reason than self-vindication--is not analyzed. Some major political figures--including former Governor Al Smith and succeeding Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia--are given what might be walk-on parts or cameo roles, if this were a movie, despite the fact that they were clearly major power brokers at the time. All in all, this book is a reasonable BASIC introduction to the story, but left me wanting more. It is hardly history; it is more a narration.

This thin book is a quick, breezy read. It shines a spotlight on an interesting time in American life -- the tail end of the Roaring 20s and the onset of the Great Depression -- and the long-cherished "spoils" system of municipal government.

Many larger-than-life characters are here: FDR, Jimmy Walker, Fiorello LaGuardia, Al Smith. Smith's metamorphosis from trail-blazing liberal to the anti-Roosevelt in four short years was particularly eye-opening for me. (In school, they only taught us about the "Happy Warrior"of 1928, conveniently foregoing the not-so-happy iteration of 1932 and beyond.) I was also struck by the enmity toward the pre-presidential FDR which was evident in many quarters.

This book explored the War of Souls era, through the everyday peoples eyes. The front cover tells that it is the first volume of a series. That is of course not right. In fact there also were Bertrem's Guide to the Age of Mortals(which was terrible boring, to say the least), but this is much better.
What i think makes it better is that the book consists of journals written by different knights, or Qualinesti rebels, among other things, and in writing journals it makes the book much more interesting than Bertrem's Guide to the Age of Mortals.
It isn't a masterpiece. Some of the stories are very good, and some are still a little boring. John Grubber's part of the book was, after my opinion the most boring, while Jeff Crook's journal of a Qualinesti rebel was very well written and exciting.
It isn't one of the best Dragonlance books, but it is not bad, it is absolutely worth reading, if you love the War of Souls era.

While the mention of the name John Newton (1725-1807) will probably elicit a blank stare from most people, there are very few people who are unfamiliar with Newton's most famous composition - the hymn "Amazing Grace." Those familiar with the hymn most likely do not know that - prior to becoming a minister and a composer of hymns - Newton was a slave trader, a scoundrel, a ruffian, etc.

This book is Netwon's autobiography. I recently read it in one sitting and must say that I was incredibly humbled by Newton's account of his life. (This book broke scabs off of my heart that I thought were petrified!) There is no way that one can read this book and thereafter not have an added appreciation for Newton's lyrics (e.g., "amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me").

Newton's story puts flesh on the verse: "[God] determined the times set for [man] and the exact places where [man] should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though he is not far from each one of us." (Acts 17:26-27)

The advantages of now reachable unseen 'Territories' and freedom of 'Technology' has deep lightning effects in how news flows with context to global journalism practices. The gargantuan nature of news coverage & distribution has greatly been affected by digital revolution, learnings from patterns, ethics, ownerships and controls, says Shiladitya 'Sunny' Ghosh in a book review of Practising Global Journalism: exploring reporting issues worldwide written by Prof. John Herbert.

The Trespasser is the tragic tale of Siemund, a music teacher with an unhappy family life, and his student, who becomes his lover. It isn't a worthless book, but your time would definately be better spent reading one of the famous Lawrence books - this is clearly the creation of a young, impressionable mind. For instance, Lawrence makes constant reference to Wagner's 'Ring' in the book, rubbing the reader's nose profusely in heavyhanded hints that Siemund is borrowed from the German composer's work.

I had no trouble reading Lady Chatterley's Lover, but I did indeed have trouble reading The Man Who Died. It is gross and blasphemous. D. H. Lawrence must have been mad when he wrote this. His tuberculosis was sure getting at him.

The book, which is a novella, was about Christ's resurrection. He discovers that men are put on earth to have sex with women. And He Himself takes part in this heathen notion.

I was insulted when I read this. Christians and non-Christians alike will agree that this book is not worth reading.

This is D.H. Lawrence at his hobby horse again. He gives a portrayal of the risen Jesus after the crucifixion who is tired of life . . . weary of it all, with the life force at an all-time low. What can save him? Sex, of course. What else? It's the same old song-and-dance. Lawrence seems to think that the answer to all of life's problems is sexual union, which makes about as much sense to me as regarding vegetable curry as the meaning of life. Sex has it's place, to be sure, but I don't understand the primacy that Lawrence ascribes to it in each and every one of his novels. In certain instances, sex can revive a sense of purpose or ebbing energy, but it cannot and will not aid anyone in a sense of world-weariness. If attempted it will just be like trying to give live into a dead horse. It would probably only make one feel all the more disgusted with existence rather than giving one a sense of rejuvenation, as Sartre so adequately demonstrates in his "Nausea". All, in all, i felt the whole attempt was kind of silly. The Christians will get mad, the Lawrencians will love it, but it is really just another testimony to one man's inability to make sense of live in anyway other than genital terms.

The first time that I read this story was close to 10 years ago and it was coupled with another short titled, "Bryn Mawr" (sp). Being a fan of Kazantzakis, I was immedeiatly drawn into this speculative account. I couldn't put it down even when it ended. The best of this style and subject.

Lord Kitchner has an apologist in Mr. Pollock. If you are expecting an objective historical account, I do not recommend this book. The lack of objective thought makes one suspect that the book was written during the Victorian period and not at the start of the twenty-first century. Examples abound, but I will site two as representative. Rumors that Lord K was a homosexual because he never married and was very found of young adjutants are dismissed by Mr. Pollock as a modern bias that would make anyone fond of young men and not a womanizer a homosexual. That is not historical writing from sources, it is the opinion of the author in the nature of conjecture. Secondly, Mr. Pollack dismisses the Murant incident during the Boer war as a subject for "fiction" writers, after admitting that in a suspicious case Kitchner signed the execution papers and then made himself indisposed to appeals for clemency. Why did K do that Mr. Pollock? To answer that, by historical research is your task as a historian. Instead of research we have evasion of the issue. This blot on Lord Kitchner's reputation cannot be dismissed by an objective historian via relegating it to the dustbin of history, with a comment that the incident is a good one for fiction writers.

Though it is now possible to recognise Kitchener as the architect of a British victory that he did not live to see in the Great War, he has often come across as a stiff, remote and unimaginative figure. This first volume of a two-part biography goes far to change that impression and portrays Kitchener as a sensitive man of high intelligence, capable of great affection, loyalty and kindness. His apparent shyness is here revealed to have been a result of chronic eye problems, which he was largely successful in covering up, while a serious facial wound left him with an almost invariably severe impression. A delightful photograph in this book, which is new to this reviewer at least, showing Kitchener beaming as he is reunited in Britain with the Cameron Highlanders who provided his personal escort in South Africa, reveals a totally different side to the conventional picture.

This biography makes for easy reading - and is a suitable companion piece to Mr.Pollock's excellent earlier work on that other great Royal Engineer, Charles Gordon, Kitchener's idol. The life here described is one of enviable adventure, admirable courage and daunting responsibility. Kitchener emerges not just as an ideal engineer and manager, but as a man of considerable daring and initiative, with an uncanny ability to pick up languages quickly, to understand alien cultures, and to evoke loyalty from peoples of widely differing racial and religious backgrounds. His diplomatic skills are also seen to be of a high order, as exemplified by his handling of the Fashoda incident and his efforts to bring the Boer War to a negotiated settlement. Somewhat of a surprise is the extent to which strong but unostentatious religious convictions underpinned his behaviour. A virtue of this biography is that Kitchener is portrayed as a man of his time, and judged as such, without projection of twenty-first century values on him - typical being the manner in which speculations by later biographers as to possible homosexuality are robustly dismissed in an appendix. This is one of those rare biographies that one would have wished to have been considerably longer. One would have welcomed considerably more detail on the more minor battles in the Sudan, such as Firket and Um Diyaykarat. This small gripe apart, this book is a splendid treat for aficionados of the Victorian period and one looks forward with impatience to the second volume.

This collection is a travesty indeed. Great poems no doubt, but abysmally read. Furthermore they should have put all the introductions together separate and apart from the poems. It's nice to hear intros the first time around. But who wants to hear the intros everytime you listen to the poems? Sometimes I want to hear just a stream of poetry without any interuptions and this format makes that impossible. It's incredible that such a great concept could be so terribly executed.

I could not get this back to the store for a refund quickly enough. While the poem selection is great and the poem introductions are narrated well, the choice to use "modern poets" as the readers made this compilation utterly unlistenable. The only one that I found acceptable was Anthony Hect--the others were notably bad. In particular, I found Jorie Graham's "readings" to be abysmal. She reads each poem as if it were simply a string of unconnected words, giving equal stress to each, with halting pauses between them, never breaking out of a drowsy monotone. Other readers were not much better.

There are three major flaws in the readings:

1) The readers are no better than the average untrained person, and often much worse. (You've just got to hear them for yourself to appreciate how bad they are.)

2) Successive poems by the same poet are read by different "readers." It's jarring to hear 3 or 4 poems from Poet X, each in a wildly different voice.

3) No regard is given to matching the sex of the poet and reader. In general, it is really annoying to hear your favorite poet read by the wrong sex. In particular, making this mistake on "gender specific" poems (like having a woman read Poe's "Annabel Lee") is unforgivable.

Why is this all so upsetting? Because it is practically impossible to find poetry collections on CD, making this a serious waste of limited resources. If you are looking for a good collection on CD, buy "81 Famous Poems CD" by Audio Partners (ISBN 0-945353-82-0). It's a good collection on two CDs and is read by professionals: Alexander Scourby, Bramwell Fletcher, and Nancy Wickwire. In the meantime, we can only hope that the producers of this collection will eventually come to their senses and re-record the poems with the services of trained professionals.

If you are prepping for the GRE in literature or are trying to gain a basic understanding of literary periods and poets, this audio-collection is a must. It features a brief introduction about each poet's life. It also includes a brief introduction about the theme of each poem. The fact that you have to listen to these introductions before listening to the poem inculcate the poem and aids retention. If literature has turned into a cumbersome and overwhelming task, this collection will not only provide you with a sense of direction but will also make literature far more pleasurable.