The best microbiology book I've ever read (I haven't finished yet but it's still fun). I think it is the most up to date textbook in microbiology. It covers both biochemical and signal transduction pathways/networks in prokaryotes as well as principles in systematics and short introductions to medical microbiology and biotechnology. At the end of every chapter the various authors provide references to essential papers and reviews (instead to other books, like in Brocks Biology of Microorganisms) to start getting familiar with journals. The graphics are done with less colours but are very professional and as "easy" to understand as the topic they are representing (chemotaxis is not as easy as described in the stryer or brock). Maybe it's too much to read for undergraduates, but very useful for graduate students.

I asked for this biography as a Christmas present 20 years ago. I finally got around to reading it, and I was not disappointed. Dr. Vandiver has written an first-rate biography which compares to Dumas Malone's sextet on Thomas Jefferson and Douglas S. Freeman's classic four-volume opus on Robert E. Lee. John Pershing probably has languished in obscurity in recent times because of the events which followed World War I (the Roaring Twenties, the Depression) and World War II, which resulted from, as Pershing himself warned, failing to fight World War I to a decisive finish. He is also denigrated by some as not being able to chase down Pancho Villa during the Punitive Expedition. Vandiver sets the record of history straight on Pershing, though, as nearly all biographers of great men are wont to do, he does lapse into hagiography and glosses too readily in many instances over his faults and weaknesses. Nevertheless he fairly portrays Pershing as the simple, direct, honest, energetic, efficient, and dedicated man and soldier who rose to the rank of General of the Armies, a rank attained only by George Washington before him. Vandiver traces Pershing from his youth, his sojourn as a teacher in a small school, and his cadet days at West Point, showing how his values and experiences moulded him well for the service and duty he would render his country for decades. From West Point, Pershing went west to become an Indian fighter, to Cuba in the Spanish-American War, and then to the Phillipines, where he conquered the wild Moro tribes of Mindanao. Pershing performed each of his assignments with excellence and bravery, always earning the highest praise from his superiors. He was a spit-and-polish martinet, insisting that his subordinates conform to the highest standards set at West Point. He never asked of his men anything he would not ask of himself, and he honestly believed that all that drill, efficiency, and discipline put his soldiers at the minimum risk when the tasks of campaigning and battle were at hand. He had no patience with slovenly subordinate officers who let their commands slide. Pershing did have a knack for selecting excellent subordinates, and rarely had problems getting his overall plans and objectives executed. The best part of Vandiver's work is that which describes Pershing's command of the AEF. The general did an incredible job of commanding the mobilization, buildup of troops and materiel in France, and ensuring the training of his Doughboys, all the time holding off repeated French and British attempts to siphon off and amalgamate the arriving American soldiers into their forces. Had the French and British succeeded, it is not inconceivable that they would have wasted thousands of American soldiers in the grinding, failing trench warfare the French and British were accustomed to on the Western Front. Pershing's dogged insistence on an American army angered the Allies, but proved decisive and effective in the last five months of the conflict. To their everlasting credit, both Secretary of War Newton Baker and President Wilson also never wavered from this course, and backed up Pershing fully whenever Lloyd George or Clemenceau tried to press their case over the general's head. Vandiver fully portrays the human side of General Pershing, including his marriage to Frances Warren, their brief 10 years together, and his grief at losing her and their three daughters in a fire at the Presidio in 1915. He also depicts Pershing's social circle as a young man, and the fortuitous friendships with men who became extremely influential and helpful to him later in life. Many of the subordinates he mentored and nurtured all either proved essential to the building and command of the AEF and/or became the pillars of America's armed forces in World War II (Marshall, Patton, and MacArthur, for example). This biography does have a few editorial flaws. Dr. Vandiver, who was a prodigy who never attended high school or undergraduate school, does some excellent writing for having had no formal coursework, but he does have a shocking weakness in writing subordinate clauses as separate sentences. Of which this is an example. A good editor would have caught the few dozen instances in this work and revised the grammar. Also Dr. Vandiver sometimes drops articles from a sentence, resulting in some clumsy passages. Again, good editing would have corrected these. At the end of the second volume, as Pershing's retirement approaches, Dr. Vandiver omits the necessary explanation that, in 1924, the mandatory retirement age in the armed forces was 64; the reader has to infer that from the narrative. Nevertheless Dr. Vandiver hit a home run with his biography of Pershing, and it deserved far more acclaim and exposure than it has enjoyed in the past 20 years. Reading about this genuine American hero was a breath of fresh air in these times of antiheroes. America today surely needs more men like General Pershing. Thanks to Dr. Vandiver, he will not be forgotten.

What a delight there is in reading this book. Rev. Jones's writing style has the sound of a personal conversation, sincere and informed, yet sprinkled with wit and charm. (As I had the pleasure of meeting this Welsh minister last May in Annapolis, I can attest to these attributes in the person whose hand I shook and sparkling eyes I appreciated!)

This book you can have "both ways." You can take is as a general read, picking up on parts of the Old Testament that have always fascinated or intrigued you. Or, you can read it paragraph by paragraph in order to more fully absorb the scholarship Rev. Jones offers.

What's offered here works well in study groups, too.

My goodness - don't be put off by the title. This is a swell book about swells! I have read this volume many times and have given it away as a gift too. Hundreds of humorous anecdotes about "Boston Brahmins" and the nouveau riche who invaded their watering holes. They were NOT amused - but, I was! I loved reading about the myopic brothers who founded the Myopia Hunt, the Sears heiress who used wandering tourists for target practise, the Booth Brothers (as in John Wilkes) summer haunts, and more. Very entertaining, very tongue in cheek. Great beach reading.

I have used this book both personally and professionally on numerous occasions. I appreciate the authors' clear knowledge of the specialized needs of lesbian, bisexual, and gay persons in terms of career counseling. The best part of the book is on how to create ally relationships with heterosexuals on the job. Outstanding work. I have adopted this for use in graduate counseling classes that I teach. I would encourage the authors to include transgendered persons if they do a second edition.

At a time when extremists of both the left and the right continue to polarize the Catholic Church in the USA for what, in many cases, are no more than their own self-serving ends, it is imperative that moderate and unity-minded Catholics take up the hard work outlined by the esteemed Cardinal Bernadin in bringing church-splitting extremists to the table of dialogue. As Paul wrote in his letters, "Is Christ divided? Can one say, am I of Apollos and another, I am of Paul?" Bernadin had the intelligence, foresight, and grace to see that the Common Ground Iniative would be a way for moderate peacemakers in the Church to bring our feuding brothers and sisters together in a calmer, more productive manner. His words still ring prophetic. Come, let us reason together, that we may all be one. At the very least, the Common Ground Initiative offers real hope and stability against the polarizing impulses of special-interest Catholics whose myopic North American/USA point-of-view fails to include the mission of the worldwide church. We owe it to Cardinal Bernadin and his legacy to equip ourselves for the work of healing and reconciliation in any way we can.

I am reminded of a saying I once heard: People may come to dinner, but a true friend helps you wash the dishes. This book presents friends. I can picture Grandma as she tells stories of her childhood or humbly contemplates the meaning of the owl's call. She remains with me after the book is finished. This is a good book for those who need to see the beauty and small acts of kindness and generosity that are triumphant in the face of hardship.

Archbishop Raya of the Melkite Greek-Catholic Church explains, in terms of extreme poetical beauty and eloquence, the heart of the Byzantine understanding and celebration of the Nativity of Christ, and the meaning and significance of this celebration in the theology and liturgy of the Byzantine Church. Raya uses the liturgical hymns, traditions and iconography to describe the living Byzantine tradition regarding the Nativity of Christ, and the private life of our Lord. This is an excellent introduction to the Eastern Christian view of Christmas, as well as a beautiful book overall

Abstract macro photography art underwater! If you like any one of these things you will love this book. The beauty of nature in deep rich detail that jumps off the pages. Truly enrapturing

This is the most complete and accurate book to entail the essence of what Joe Pilates wanted to accomplish with his brand of movememnt and exercise. In addition, I was able to find more of his exercises not utilized by my teachers or training as a pilates instructor. I believe that this will be a welcome addition to any library.