** Begin Excerpt ** To understand how 666 relates to this discussion, one needs to explore technology. One pertinent contributor to this technology is the International Business Machines Corporation. IBM developed a laser method of information transfer that has now become universally accepted. Lasers are used for many different applications in society today, such as measuring distances, detecting structural flaws, determining straightness, and so forth. You can see the IBM system at your local supermarket quickly reading prices and controlling inventory as it prints out a list of all purchased items. Since checkers no longer have to punch keys on a register, check-out time and errors are reduced. This system also provides the shopper with an itemized receipt. That receipt information is stored in a central computer, which keeps inventory and indicates what products the store should order, as well as which products should no longer be carried. ** End Excerpt **

I am Michael Zajac. No relation to the Author but I wish i were

it is sobering reading,comming from a scientist who also has knowledge of God and the Bible. It is helpful with another problem in regards to whether God does or does not truely exsist.Using something no one might have considered before...the Great Pyrimid. It may change you mind about a few things......

This is a marvelous and wide-ranging book. It is written at a level that is accessible to high school students or precocious elementary/middle school students. However, it also satisfies the needs of a senior scientist (namely me) who wants to review current knowledge in this area. The book covers the history of the Solar System, including the formation of the Earth and the origin of the Moon. Current knowledge of asteroids and meteorites, the latter one of the author's specialties, is summarized accurately without boring the reader to tears. The story of giant impacts and mass extinctions, as in the demise of the dinosaurs, is well told. The author carefully explains the evidence that certain meteorites found on Earth were blasted off the Moon and that other meteorites are from Mars. The discussion of the controversy over possible life forms in Martian meteorites is up to the minute. The book concludes with a summary of current thinking about alien life forms and the possibility of life elsewherein the Universe. In the preface, the author states his intention to show that science is an imperfect enterprise. He succeeds admirably, presenting a balanced view of current controversies.

Dr. Alan Rubin's first book covers an extremely diverse (but interrelated) range of topics, including solar system evolution, orbital resonances, mass extinctions, asteroids, meteorites, tektites, craters, volcanism, plate tectonics, magnetic pole reversals, planetary rings, moons, comets, the evolution of life, and even the Drake Equation and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. No matter how broad your background might be in astronomy, physics, chemistry and biology, you are still likely to find a few topics or theories in this book that you've never been exposed to before.

For me, I'd never made the connection that domesticatable animals might be a requirement for a technologically advanced civilization. And while I'd read a number of books (both fiction and non-fiction) suggesting that life might not have evolved if it weren't for our planet's large moon, I had not previously read that the Moon stabilizes the tilt of the earth's axis. I knew about the Moon's role in nutation of the earth's axis, but was not aware that French astronomers had recently performed a computer simulation of what would happen to the earth's axis over time if the Moon were absent. (Gravitational interaction between the planets and earth's equatorial bulge would cause the obliquity of the ecliptic to vary chaotically over relatively small time periods -- millions of years. Such unstable seasons would lead to extreme global climatic fluctuations, making it much more difficult for life to establish itself.)

As you might expect, there are many dozens of photographs, diagrams, graphs and illustrations scattered throughout. Indeed, this is the first book I've ever seen that contained pictures of the plaque aboard the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft, the pictogram sent out by the Arecibo dish back in 1974 toward M13, photographs of crater chains on Callisto and the Moon, and a table of all the magnetic pole reversals -- all in one place. It will make a nice reference book whenever I need to find something fast.

There is a fairly extensive 18-page glossary covering most of the technical terms in the book, and there are also 10 pages of chapter by chapter references for additional reading. Rubin obviously spent a lot of time putting all of this together.

Of course, in any technical book there are bound to be typos and errors, though I found very few. Page 94, for instance, has a confusing phrase "...gravitational resonance between the Moon and the debris disk..." I believe he meant ~earth~ and the debris disk. The most glaring mistake I found is that Figure 11.2 on pg. 164 is misidentified as being a partial eclipse of the earth when it is merely a crescent earth. There are a couple of minor errors in the glossary -- see if you can spot the problems with the definitions of arcsecond and parsec.

Overall, the book is well-written in plain English that you don't need a PhD is astrodynamics to understand. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to expand their appreciation of just how fortunate we are to be alive on this little blue ball.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I compliment and commend the writing style of Alan Rubin in "Disturbing The Solar System".

It is rare to find books on science written in such readable and understandable prose. It was quite a pleasure to read this book!

It is also my opinion that most authors of science related publications could learn something (and probably sell more books!) by observing Mr. Rubin's writing style.

This book gives great insight into the process of developing into an emotionally mature, well adjusted, confident and happy gay man. It is extremely well written and clear. The authors say what they have to say, make their point and move on to the next topic. I think this book should be read by gay men of any age as well as all the people who love and care about them.

After reading this book I gave copies to several people who I thought would benefit from reading it. Without exception, everyone, gay and straight, felt they gained insight and understanding from Gay Warrior.

I am actively involved with our local PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) chapter here in New Mexico, where the authors live, and can say without hesitation that these two men have made a significant contribution to the adjustment and happiness of gay men of all ages in troding the path to becoming proud gay men.

I've read many books about coming out, gay relationships, intimancy and sex, and this is THE book to have if you are only going to have one book on being gay and acceptance of the gay man's sexual orientation.

I am fortunate to live in Santa Fe where I have been in one of Gary and Jim's Men's groups. I have been in this group for close to four years, but until I read this book many of their insights I had heard over and over had never really sunk in.
"Gay Warrior" has become a roadmap on my personal journey on what it means to be a powerful gay man; moving closer and closer to living up to my full potential and being free to live a vibrant and joyous life.
I have told many friends across the country about "Gay Warrior" and they all have thanked me profusely and had their own version of how this book is changing their lives.
In fact, one friend in Canada gave the book to his gay therapist who uses it as a reference text in working with not only gay men but all of his male clients.
I am forever in gratitude to these two warriors for writing this book.

I HAVE READ GAY WARRIOR TWICE AND NOW HAVE A REALISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN EMPOWERED GAY MAN IN OUR HOMOPHOBIC CULTURE. THIS BOOK HAS OPENED MY EYES TO THE WOUNDS THAT I HAVE SUFFERED AS A GAY MAN AND NOW HAVE A HANDBOOK FOR THE WAY TO HEAL THESE BETRAYALS.
MY HAT IS OFF TO GRIMM/FICKEY FOR THEIR CHALLENGING BOOK AND FOR THEIR PROGRESSIVE STANCE IN THE ARENA OF GAY PSYCHOTHERAPY.
I WISH THAT EVERY GAY PSYCHOTHERAPIST AND THEIR CLIENTS WOULD READ THIS BOOK,FOR I TRULY BELIEVE THAT IT SPEAKS TO OUR ISSUES AS GAY MEN SPECIFICALLY AND EXPOSES THE ROADBLOCKS TO OUR GROWTH.

Guess Who's Coming, Jesse Bear is the latest of the Jesse Bear series, a charming set of soft-cover picturebooks about young Jesse Bear, his family, and his friends. In Guess Who's Coming, Jesse Bear, the young ursine shares a delightful week-long visit from his cousin, with outdoor excursions, playtime and happy memories. Written by Nancy White Carlstrom in simple, friendly rhyming verse, and illustrated by Bruce Degen with affectionate color drawings, Guess Who's Coming, Jesse Bear is a highly enjoyable and recommended read-aloud story.

I now have 5 Jesse Bear books, Guess who's Coming Jesse Bear
is a great book for my grandchildren. They are easy to read and my grandson who's 2 has memorized some of the words. Again there is nothing more satisfying to sit and read to my grandchildren. Knowing the knowledge they get is the best. I will be watching for more of Jesse Bear books in the future!

My preschool kids love this story, especially when they learn that even little people can have complex relationships with each other.

I have read many books and seen many movies about the Holocaust; have visited Auswchwitz and Dachau, but I have never felt the horror of the camps as I did while reading this book. The reader is there with Ms. Birenbaum, feeling the cold, the hunger, the constant terror and rage. It is unimaginable that this woman survived 6 years of inhuman treatment--but she did.

Because Ms. Birenbaum describes her own experiences as a Polish Jew coming of age during the Third Reich, she has much to teach us. The author expresses her emotions so simply and beautifully that the reader feels joy at her triumphs and while crying at her losses, emotional pain and humiliation. This remarkable woman, who was a child (between 9 and 15 years of age during the war), was wise, strong, resourceful and brave beyond all expectations. She watched almost all those she loved disappear. While standing in line at a "selection" at the Majdanek Camp, she turned around to talk to her beloved mother who had for years emotionally sheltered her young daughter from the inevitable (a la "Life in Beautiful"), and found her gone. She never saw her again, never said good-bye. In the camps she created new families for herself, only to loose these people, as well. Most touching was Ms. Birenbaum's first experience of falling in love and the loss of that man. And through all this, she was never able to mourn. Emotions had to be pushed deep inside because the focus had to be on survival.

On several occasions, the author expressed her need for dignity and self-respect by standing up to her captors and, unbelieveably, was not shot for her defiance. She describes her indifference to the pain of others as a way of coping with the near certainty that she would loose them, while also expressing her longing to be touched and held and by someone.

After reading this book, I think about all the little annoyances of daily living, and how meaningless they are. I wonder how many of us, in our pre-teens, could have dealt with the protracted horror of the ghetto and camps as Ms. Birenbaum did. How many of us would have had the will and fortitude to live through the experiences described in this book? Ms. Birenbaum, you were a remarkable child and are a courageous woman!

I have read many books about the holocaust, but this one is special to me. After having the honor of actually meeting the author and hearing her story told first-hand (twice), I felt like I had to get her book. I did, and it changed me. Reading it was an experience which was almost too difficult for me and yet, I didn't want it to end.

It is written like a story -you go through everything she goes through, you sort of relive it with her. That is why, when you finish the book, you feel like she is your best friend. I wish she was.

One of the BEST first hand accounts of the holocost and life inside Auschwitz. I bought my copy at Auschwitz and every detail from the book is superimposed with the memory of the camp as it is today. The imagery the author uses is mesmerizing. This is a truly moving story full of hardship and courage. Even through all of the trials and tribulations of life in the camp of death, the author shows us the beauty of companionship and hope. I wondered at this book. How one individual could servive those around her dying and still have the desire to live. It is through the hope and courage that she can live and it is through this book that the problems of my life seem so insignificant.

"Let's Go, Gaels" is an impressive debut and a wonderful coming-of-age story. Set in 1964, the main themes -- love, loss, family and friendships -- are relevant no matter what the timeframe. A tragic event changes the 12-year-old narrator's outlook on life, forcing him to grow up quick. I found myself fighting off tears as the world got bigger for him, as it became about more than just school and weekend basketball games. Mr. LaBate does a wonderful job capturing the difficulties and joys of being a teenager, especially a teenager coping with loss. His narrator is fascinated with the opposite sex, secretely wonders if the tragedy that his impacted his family could somehow be his fault, and is mature enough to put what was once was an all-important basketball game in perspective. "Let's Go, Gaels" made me remember being a teenager and dealing with the death of a family member, trying to make sense of it. Anybody's who's ever been young, who's had to grow up, or who is still growing up, will enjoy and identify with "Let's Go, Gaels".

In the humble opinion of this former English Major, this 57 page book is a literary masterpiece. The prose is spare. So was Lincoln's, referring here to the real Gettysburg Address, not the version "Gail Wells" giggled through. It is poignant, funny, sweet, engaging, charming. If you fail to recognize any of the characters you will nonetheless find yourself laughing and crying on nearly every page.

But knowing the characters makes it ever so much more fun. Nearly every phrase brought back a hundred related memories of that oh-so-innocent era of SMI and Market Hill in 1964; the paper routes, the class assignments, the movie theaters, the smell of the locker room at the Armory, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, the intricate plans the guys would make to casually and accidentally bump into a favorite girl, the incredible sentiment attached to a single thread, and the very special memory of an adorable happy little four-year-old girl whose sudden death is at the center of the piece.

Most of all it is a tribute to a wonderful family, made all the more exceptional precisely because the LaBates were not atypical. They were (and are) one of many wonderful families and folks in this town. The book reminded me of so many of them: the Welches, the Borwhats, the Petrucciones, Father Glavin, Doc Cortese and his work among the poor in Central America, the Gormans and Blanchfields and Cushings and Rileys and all those haunts of my youth like Mac and Tom's (and Mac's. And Tom's.) and Fariello's, all of whom and which made Amsterdam such a great place to grow up, and made our decision to raise our family here so easy. ( No offense intended for anyone I left out. Jumbo left me out, too, thank God.)

Finally, and unwittingly, this book is a tribute to the Author, for in its pages Jim LaBate comes through as the sensitive, funny, shy and sweet guy that we always knew. I reveal here for the first time that when the nasty girls in our class were writing their "slam books" rating their classmates, I took a different approach and privately made up a list of all the people of whom I could think of nothing bad to say, putting great stock in the virtue of Nice. Jim LaBate was at the top of the list. In the 34 years that have passed since, no one has come remotely close to knocking him off.

Let's Go, Gaels. Read it. Cherish it. Pass it down to your grandchildren.

Jim LaBate has written a poignant, fully-realized tale of loss and redemption as seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old boy. LaBate eloquently captures the language of youth and the moment-by-moment realities of his young narrator as his world is shattered by an unexpected tragedy. This is that rare coming-of-age story which does not sacrifice innocence. Rather, it reaffirms the values and beliefs that form the foundation of the innocence that is threatened during the one week that is relived in the pages of this book. This gently-told tale is tender but not sentimental and is guaranteed to touch the hearts of readers of all ages. Highly recommended.

It's a shame this book was published by a university press that gave it such a dull academic-sounding title. The story you'll find within its pages is a wonderful eye-opening memoir that takes you deep into daily life in a tiny village in Nepal back in the 1970s--when the traditional way of life had not yet succumbed to the forces of globalization.

The author does what the best authors of memoirs do--she allows herself to become almost a transparent vehicle for you, the reader. You experience at a strange and exotic world peering through her eyes and reading her vivid descriptions. She keeps her analysis to a minimum but shows you enough that you can draw your own conclusions.

When I was done reading this book, the people she had described seemed so real to me it was hard to believe I hadn't met them myself.

Honest, authentic, and completely without the pretentious literary tone that ruins so many current memoirs. A great book!

If you have been to Nepal, were a Peace Corps Volunteer, or lived in another culture, you will love this book. The people in this Nepali village came alive for me, and the writer was honest about the pleasure and the pain of living in another culture.

'Love and Honor in the Himalayas' will appeal to anyone who has ever desired to travel to distant lands and lose (or find) him- or herself in the invigorating freshness of new experiences, cultures, and friendships. Living as the daughter of a Gurung family in a remote Himalayan village in Nepal, McHugh experiences the incredible richness and immediacy of everyday high mountain life. Hers is a perspective unimagined by the casual tourist, and through her wonderfully rendered observations, we are challenged to look beyond our own comfortable Western lives at a culture that deserves our respect and admiration.

When Jenna's little brother was born, funny things started happening to her mother. Mama remembered some things, but forgot a lot of others! For example, she remembered to read to Jenna, but she forgot to defrost the chicken for dinner ("so they had pizza instead."). When Mama draws water for Jenna's bath, she forgets about the water when the doorbell rings and Jenna's little brother brother, Mickey, spits up. Mama also remembers to get groceries, but forgets to close the trunk and one time even accidently locks Mickey in the car! (a friendly neighbor comes to the rescue with a coat hanger).

For any older sibling who has a newborn addition to the family, things like this are common even among the most organized parents. What can be confusing to the older sib is what exactly is going on? Why is Mama suddenly getting forgetful? While the book doesn't exactly answer this question, it does tell us that everything will work out in the end and Mamas are good at improvising (when Jenna, Mickey and her Mama go to a birthday party a week early, Mama looks ready to cry but instead they go by a bakery and have a cupcake instead).

I love this story, especially now that our second child has entered our lives and our older child is wondering why the adults are not only always tired, but why we do things like stick the cereal in the refrigerator and the milk in the cupboard, and why I've gone to work in mismatched socks on more than one occasion. As families, somehow we manage to muddle through all the little trials and tribulations and try to make the best of even the most frustrating situations (when the bathroom floor floods, "Jenna went wading in her rainboots.").

The text of "Mama..." is easy to read and understand, so young children with new sibs can easily understand these funny situations. The illustrations are soft and colorful (watercolors, I think), and they clearly convey a sense of belonging and family among the characters, even when minor disasters strike like flooded floors, open car trunks and too-early arrivals to birthday parties. The book also shows us that minor setbacks and frustrations are simply a part of being in a family, and instead of complaining about it, what can we do to make the situation better? (Jenna entertains Mickey in the back seat while Mr. Carbone jimmies the door lock).

For the delightful illustrations, for the ease of text and for demonstrating that everyday frustrations are part of life, I highly recommend this book to parents and families of all kinds!

This is a wonderful look at the forgetfulness and distractions of a new mother of 2.

This is one of those great books that will entertain children (especially older siblings with new babies in the house) as well as making mom laugh out loud. The illustrations are great, and the story is right on target. I especially love the warm relationship that is shown between Mama and Jenna. This is one of my favorite all-time books. It would be a perfect present for a family who just had their second baby. (Check out Judith Caseley's other books too...they're all wonderful).

I lost my original copy of the Coming Plague and have mourned its passing ever since. The book is so full of necessary information concerning the vulnerability of the world's peoples, that we are all seriously in danger of complete loss of the world's populations if we do not pay attention to these important facts and frightening possibilities. I especially appreciate Garrett's warning that we must educate the women of all nations if we are to survive!

Well written, astoundingly accurate and frightening. It is an excellent readable reference volume.

In 1980 I worked in the emergency department of the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, Manhattan, often as the triage nurse. With my youthful, callous, professional, and caffienne-fired style I greeted the neigborhood's denizens each evening as they staggered or were carried in by the EMTs. But it was not until I read Laurie Garrett's riveting account of emerging infectious diseases did I recall the one or two times when a different sort of visitor arrived at our door. They came by private ambulance, with a strange and worried entourage', and the patient on the stretcher always looked moridund in a way I'd never seen before. When I politely asked this strange group if they needed help or direction, they quickly, politely refused, using their bodies to screen my approach to the patient. No, they explained, they were awaiting someone from the Infectious Disease service to accompany them upstairs. And so I'd back off and return to my post, ready to latch on to the next guest on the evening's never-ending list of walking wounded. Ms. Garrett's description of those patient's entrance to CPMC (they were possible Ebola and other disease victims from Africa) in search of a diagnosis, and hopefully rescue, was riveting and accurate, and made me beleive that her other information and anecdotes were equally accurate. There's nothing like the ring of Truth to make foreboding tales of pandemics and death keep a reader up nights turning pages. And in the light of news of an emerging influenza pandemic, I returned to "The Coming Plague" for a fast review. It provided all I needed to feel prepared for the unavoidable.

The information and anecdotes in "The Coming Plague" ring true both from a clinician's viewpoint as well as from one who scans the newspapers and medical journals for signs of outbreaks and breakthroughs. Medicine and science race daily to discover, and best, the next plague. The competition is real, and the stakes are almost beyond comprehension. But not beyond the comprehension of those of us who deal with disease and death and the risks inherent in caring for those infected each day. Ms. Garret's descriptions of signs and symptoms, of the history and natural progression of newly discovered and historically familiar diseases, is beleivable, accurate, and ghastly, while avoiding tabloid sensationalism. She has done her awful homework, and the results are spellbinding and educational. In the end, I felt like I'd sat through a series of ID lectures at the feet of someone who'd been there. I brought much of what I learned back to my work. But the most telling result are the nightmares.