This book is decent for a very low-level p-chem course aimed at chemistry minors or those simply interested in the topic. However, for a chemistry or chem. eng. undergraduate major, the book does not provide enough detail to develop a true understanding of the material. Students intending to apply to graduate school in chemistry should consider buying a stronger text, such as Atkins.

From my personal use of this text, it covers most topics adaquately, and unlike some texts, there are many equations available throughout the book, as well as how how the equations were derived. The most notable point, is the summary of equations at the end of each chapter, for ease of use. This is the only text I have used that summarizes the equations, in any portion of the book. This is a helpful book, for Freshman Chemsitry through Graduate school, both as a classroom text, and as a reference.

This book contains some of the most enlightening expositions of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics at the elementary (college) level that would help many layman science buffs understand some of the basic math; moreso than any other book I have seen! This book was designed to educate and not obfuscate or pontificate. All in all an outstanding effort! How about writing a quantum mechanics book at the same level and clarity?
[The reviewer who complains that it's to light provides a good warning to majors but all books are either too light or too heavy depending on the reader's expectations.]

Having read several other Patterson novels prior to this one, I thought I knew what I was getting: an interesting plot with servicable writing and characterizations no deeper then needed. Alex Cross is such a fantasy figure that one cannot and should not approach these novels as realistic. However, Roses are Red did not even come up to my low expectations. Jurisdictional issues -(DC cops,NY cops, and FBI agents all working together with never any tension) - family issues (traumatized fiancees and brain tumors) as subplots that add nothing to the story - and worst of all - bad plotting. It appears nothing the cops do, especially Alex, results in moving the investigation forward - with one exception. But it all comes to nothing with the ending - one of the worst endings of a book I have ever read. I struggled through this book just to see how it ended and I got twist after twist after inexplicable twist. And to make it even more insulting, Patterson doesn't even hint at how his ending is even possible. Is this some crass attempt to make me buy the sequel? Patterson is populating his world with criminals who keep coming back: Soneji, the Weasel, and now the Mastermind. It's beginning to look like Cross isn't such a good detective after all. And as for Cross being African American -- if someone were reading this book quickly, I doubt they would even know Cross was black. For a look at what Washington DC is really like and at the issues of race in our city, read George Pelecanos.

Caution: This book contains much graphic slaughter of the innocents and the guilty. If such things offend you, avoid this book. Also, Mr. Patterson likes to use vulgar language to provide a sense of colloquial English that may also put off some.

I'm serious about stopping on page 398. In fact, cover page 399 with a sheet of paper so you don't accidentally see anything on it. Reading the last two pages of Roses Are Red will reduce the attractiveness of this story to you, and eliminate most of the potential pleasure you can experience in Violets Are Blue, the next Alex Cross novel. The last two pages of Roses Are Red simply should have been edited out! Be cautious about which reviews you read of this book also, because some reviews reveal the material on those two pages . . . the ultimate in giving away a spoiler!

Mr. Patterson's strength is writing plots that are well paced, varied, surprising, and unusual. I thought that his plotting in Roses Are Red was unusually good. You will find yourself racing through the book, wanting to find out what's going on and who's behind it all.

The book's main theme is crime as a work of art expressing the ingenuity of a brilliant, but twisted criminal. As a result, the crimes are mentally very challenging to understand. You will think that you are reading about the criminal plans of Dr. Moriarty, Sethos, and the Riddler combined.

The weaknesses of Mr. Patterson's Alex Cross novels are also present here. He doesn't really show any detection, just detectives chatting with each other interspersed with developments driven by the criminals. The characters are about as little developed as they could be and still be differentiated from one another. The dialogue often reads like detective fiction rather than real dialogue.

But if you feel that you have enjoyed other Alex Cross novels, you will definitely like this one.

After you read Violets Are Blue, come back and read the last two pages of Roses Are Red.

Where else can less be more? Would the story, "The Lady or the Tiger," have been as interesting to you if you knew how it turned out?

Grasp the exact solution to provide the most for the least effort!

Let me begin by saying that I like Patterson's books, and have read, and enjoyed, all of the Alex Cross novels. They are fast-paced, filled with events and action, and hold my interest. With the short chapters and lack of a lot of description, they are easy to read in only a few hours. That having been said, I must admit, to my chagrin, that I did not like this work as much as I had expected, and it's all due to the ending. I never spend time while reading trying to "guess" who the killer or such is; I know the author will let us know in the end. In most books, there are subtle clues that, ocasionally, point to the correct person, and astute readers may be able to discern his or her identity. In this book, I really believe that the author pulled the villain out of thin air, for there is nothing anywhere in my reading of the book that even remotely connected this person to the action and crimes involved. I was greatly disappointed, for I expected more from Mr. Patterson. My rating should be lower, I know, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt, for it's possible I missed something along the way while I was reading. Don't get me wrong; you'll enjoy this book, and it will keep you turning the pages quickly. It's the ending, though, that may give you pause. (I'm holding up the ballot to my forehead, looking for the dimpled chad, and discern..... a sequel!)

After Patterson's last disaster, When The Wind Blows,he has redeemed himself with his newest book, Pop Goes The Weasel. This story is very exciting but light in terms of character develoment, narrative style and basically most other literary elements which make for a well-written novel. However, these are not elements I, and I think many other readers', seek in a James Patterson book.With this said, I think you will enjoy Pop Goes The Weasel very much and find it a very, very fast read. The one minor flaw that I've found in this and other Alex Cross books is the totally unrealistic maturity level and dialogue voiced by Cross's seven year old daughter, Jannie. I'd suggest that in doing research for future books, Patterson should spend a little time finding out what real seven year olds are like.

Another Alex Cross adventure comes with another super villain and non stop thrills. This time Cross is investigating a series of "Jane Doe" murders in the impoverished sections of Washington D.C. The problem is that he is doing so unofficially and he is one of the few that sees the crimes as being related.

The killer is a well respected foreign dignitary who also has a passion for role playing games. He, along with three others throughout the world are members of an exclusive game called the four horsemen. How Cross comes to his identity and possible capture is a series of non stop chills. The ending may not be as topsy turvy and dramatic as other Patterson books, but some surprises do change the complexion of future Cross novels.

Patterson sticks to his format here. The positive aspect is that his fans know the characters and enjoy their continuing saga. Sampson has developed into the type of figure that would be extraordinary in his own book. The negative aspect is that some of Cross's statements and the details of his family life are a bit worn on the faithful Patterson fan. As a result, the Alex Cross novels could use an injection of freshness. Therefore the novel was a bit shy of the better Cross chapters.

Overall the book has a quick flow and only sputters in some of the chapters that surround Alex's relationship with Christine. The villain is devious but also falls short of a Gary Soneji or Jack and Jill. The plot is better than average and I am still left wanting more Alex Cross. A no brainer four star piece of fiction.

James Patterson has created Alex Cross so well, that he can be hard to distinguish from reality. He is a wonderful father, an upstanding citizen, an excelent cop, and a brilliant psychologist.

Pop Goes The Weasle, the latest installment of Alex Cross, gives his fans almost everything they could ask for and some they don't want!.

Just when Alex is the happiest he has ever been, the events surrounding the latest psychokiller threaten to make this the worst time of his life (even worse than when his wife was killed).

Will Alex pop the question to Christine? Will Alex prove to be a "bad cop", or worse yet a murderer? Will Alex lose what he holds dearest to his heart?

Read this book, and these questions and more will reel you in and keep you hooked until the very last page.

One caution! Don't read this book if you want a long read. I read this book in about 12 hours with no trouble!

You should NOT buy this book if: 1) you are going to Hong-Kong for a week, and want to get the basics of the language. 2) you already know Mandarin or any other language using Chinese characters.

Why? The first 10 or so words you learn are different kinds of fruit. You have to memorize all these to be able to go on to the exercises. This may be fine if you intend to get a huge vocabulary, but for most beginners, 10 different fruits are not the most urgent need. The book goes on in the same way with chunks of specialised but not necessarily useful words.

The next problem is that hardly any Chinese characters are used, so you get little or no help from your possible previous knowledge of Chinese or Japanese. I bought the book, because it provided CDs with the text, and I still think that's its main advantage. I still haven't learnt Cantonese very well, but I've started using another book (Teach Yourself) in parallel, and that helps a lot.

I didn't know anything cantonese when I picked up this book and tape set, and like another reviewer, after having spent quite some time with it all I remember is the word mango (an English cognate). I eventually gave up in frustration mainly because I couldn't figure out how to pronounce the words; They're book includes a pronunciation key that is frustatingly useless. If you still want to try it, good luck with colloquial cantonese!

I bought this book + CDs after I finished another Cantonese text for beginners. If you already have some knowledge on Cantonese, this book really helps you learning more words and colloquial expressions.

One thing I don't like about this book is that all the Cantonese sentences are written only in alphabet. If you already know Chinese characters, it is much easier to remember words and expressions if written in Chinese characters.

I found this book exremely biased, especially on its treatment of ethics and environmentalism, which were extremely collectivistic and altruistic. I felt like I was also overcharged for the text book, for something so vaguely written.

Most textbooks do a very poor job of addressing current issues in a clear, accurate, concise manner. This book, however, is to be commended. I especially found the resource information and discussion cases to be a tremendous benefit. The discussion questions and current event topics encourage the students to explore these issues outside of class, in their businesses and in the community. Business and society is a topic of extreme importance. Unfortunately, it often goes overlooked in so many universities and colleges. Overall, I rank this book as a worthwhile investment and hope the authors continue to explore these important issues in business and education.

This was the text book for my Cognition class at Rutgers University. It's not organized very well, and is extremely confusing. There are frequent spelling and grammar mistakes, and Glass often makes up his own words, which is laughable at times. Glass obviously has a lot of knowledge about Cognitive Psychology, and a little more attention to the flow of paragraphs would make all the difference. Not to mention a good editor.

I think this is a great book

It's a good book. Lot's of good information about the Keith's from Scotland. If you are a descendant of the Keith's you will love the history. If you are just a history buff you will learn a lot about a not very well know person who had a big impact on history.