I was very impressed with the quality of the photographs in this book. For a project with this much detail, a picture is worth more than 1000 words and I feel that the construction process is covered in great detail. The book has very little actual text, more like a step by step collection of photographs with captions and details. At the end of the book, a set of plans is included for use in the construction process.

Humanistic psychological theory states that man has an innately healthy character from birth and that psychological problems only develop as a result of the blocking of achieving one's positive potential. This idea is well-developed in Frankenstein. Everyone is quick to point out that this is a horror story. But it's also a very sad story if you consider the monster's innocent roots and what corrupted him.

The monster's own creator, Victor Frankenstein, rejected him immediately upon bringing him alive; the monster soon learned that he had to stay out of sight from everyone because all who saw him immediately rejected him, in terror. When the monster found a fire left by beggars, the warmth overcame him with delight and he thrust his hand into the fire "and quickly drew it out again, with a cry of pain" and once again something for which he has affection rejects him, leaving him in pain. The monster sufficed his own needs of food by living off what he could gather from the woods and by night he cut the much-needed firewood for an impoverished family. He did anonymous, benevolent deeds for them, planning to appear before them and plead for acceptance into the household. When he decided the time had come for his appearance, they too repulsed him, putting him on the run into forced seclusion once again. He saved a young girl drowning in a river only to be shot in fear by her father.

This characterization of the monster as a patiently caring being carries importance into later chapters when he sets out on his journey of heinous destruction. For Shelley to characterize the monster as merely innately and totally evil would not have as complete of a meaning as an innately good being turned evil by a cruel society that misunderstands him. As the monster himself contended, "My heart was susceptible of love and sympathy" and, "I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy and I shall again be virtuous." The monster's pleas to Victor make clear the theme of Humanism.

The monster, and to a lesser degree Captain Walton, show the reader the great importance of friendship and social acceptance. Lack of these is essentially the source of all the hardships of the novel. This story illustrates that being understood is vital to relationships. Because the monster is misunderstood, he is separated from society. Society's impression of him eventually becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. This truly kind-hearted creature is gradually turned into a monster because of society's impression that he is a monster. He goes through his whole life without a single friend. That's what was so sad about this book. All the monster wanted was one friend. He tried so hard to find one, then he tried so hard to get Frankenstein to create one when that failed. You would have to be a monster yourself to not feel compassion for him despite his later murders.

An interesting book, worth the price. However, it is only of passing interest as a collector's reference. I was somewhat disappointed in that not enough attention was devoted to material which would assist in authenticating uniforms and accouterments that are unique to the Deutsches Afrika Korps. Good text however, and easily read by high schoolers, possibly the target audience. Too bad the publisher didn't print the original color photos, in color.

This book covers the armies that fought to liberate overthrow Spanish rule in South America. In a fairly slim volume you will find uniform details, a potted history of the various campaigns and orders of battle for some of the major engagements. As with all Osprey books, there are eight pages of colour plates as well as numerous black and white illustrations. This book is an excellent introduction to this neglected area of military history, and if it has any shortcomings it is that it doesn't cover the Spanish armies.

The author is one of those fellows who writes a lot and researches very little. In the case of this book, since he was serving in the reserve forces in the period covered and had access to good photos this book is of some use. The illustrator does excellent work but as far as I know, being a Brit, has no first hand knowledge of the subjects he does. In other words, good sources, good illustrations. Or to use the computer terms--GIGO. This book is fine if you want a bunch of pictures to trace for a school project and the teacher is as ignorant as the pupil is of what should be.

This book masquerades as a comprehensive guide to developing a stock option plan. In truth, it is a very basic overview of some of the topics surrounding stock option plans. When it attempts to walk through how one would actually go about creating a plan, it uses a hypothetical company and an executive named "Charlie". Sadly, whenever Charlie comes to difficult questions, no answer is given. For example, when discussing the question of valuing stock in a private company, the author's answer is to hire an outside consultant....Gee thanks! Beyond the single basic example give, no discussion of how or why certain decisions are to be made and rationalized. Another great example of this is in determining the number of shares to grant to employees and management. The answer given in the case study is that Charlie had "no process to determine these numbers"....wow, really insightful advice.....No plan at all, so when the executives ask you how you came up with the grant allocations, you can just tell them that you winged it, just like Charlie.

As you can tell, the authors couldnt even tackle simple issues like how many shares to grant, or the appropriate strike price,
and this is not even to mention REAL issues like compensating employees whose options are underwater. I guess Charlie didn't have this problem. I am totally embarassed to have bought this book, save your money and search the web for real-world advice.