I've seen attendings who have been out in the field for decades quietly slip this little gem from their pockets to get a quick peek. Not many pages, and each one stuffed with invaluable information. The only drawback is the small font size, with is a common problem for pocket references. I've just made sure I carry a pocket sized magnifying glass with me.

The most used book in my coat pocket. It didn't matter what rotation I was on this book is always in my coat pocket and is frequently used.

I also found this book to be pretty durable. I carried the same book in my pocket every day of my 3rd and 4th year of medical school and it is still holding up great through a lot of tough use.

If you buy one book to keep in your white coat, make it this one. For a small book that will easily fit into any pocket, it contains guidelines for writing admission, discharge, and other notes commonly encountered on medicine, surgery, and ob-gyn rotations. It also includes commonly used formulas and cheat sheets for H&Ps and the neuro and the minimental status exam.
A great deal for a book that you're likely to use through the rest of your medical training!

THE MOST MAGNIFICENT PRODUCTION SINCE THE GUTTENBURG BIBLE!

If I had to rank my favorite British mystery authors who produced their best work in the 1930s through the 1950s, my list would look like this:

(1) Edmund Crispin a.k.a. Bruce Montgomery (2) Michael Innes a.k.a. John Innes Mackintosh Stewart (3) Dorothy Sayers (4) Margery Allingham (5) Michael Innes a.k.a. John Innes Mackintosh Stewart (with a drop in rank for his mysteries that went off the surreal deep-end).

Out of my Fab Four Brits, Michael Innes and Edmund Crispin share the most similarities. They were both of Scots-Irish background, both wrote their mysteries under pseudonyms while teaching at college, and both were educated at Oxford -- Oriel College and St. John's College, respectively. They both wrote highly literate mysteries with frequent allusions to the classics (nine out of ten of which go zooming right over my head). Michael Innes has his detective, Sir John Appleby poke fun at this high-brow type of murder fiction in "Death at the Chase":

"That's why detective stories are of no interest to policemen. Their villains remain far too consistently cerebral."

Expect that even the most vicious murderer in an Edmund Crispin mystery will quote Dryden or Shakespeare at the drop of a garrote. "Frequent Hearses" is a fertile setting for this type of classical badinage, since its plot involves the making of a film based on the biography of Alexander Pope. Gervase Fen, Oxford don of English Language and Literature, and amateur detective extraordinaire is hired by the film company as a story consultant, and he is plagued throughout the book by a Scotland Yard detective who is an amateur classics scholar. Fen wants to discuss the murder. Chief Inspector Humbleby wants to talk about the Brontes and Dr. Johnson. Neither one will admit to a less than perfect understanding of either his profession or his hobby, and both despise amateurs. Their encounters keep "Frequent Hearses" sparkling along right up until its final page. Here is a sample of dialogue, wherein Inspector Humbleby deliberately misunderstands Fen's explanation of the film's subject:

"Based," Fen reiterated irritably, "on the life of Pope."

"The Pope?"

"Pope."

"Now which Pope would that be, I wonder?" said Humbleby, with the air of one who tries to take an intelligent interest in what is going forward. "Pius, or Clement, or--"

Fen stared at him. "Alexander, of course."

"You mean"---Humbleby spoke with something of an effort---"you mean the Borgia?"

All of Crispin's characters are carefully (one might say 'crisply') developed, and distinguished for the reader by a quirk or eccentric manner of speech (sometimes Crispin overplays the eccentricity at the expense of realism, especially with his main protagonist-- I do wish Fen would stop expostulating, "Oh, my fur and whiskers!"). Physical description is sketchy. If one of Crispin's characters walked past you in the street, you probably wouldn't recognize him. However, if you were to overhear his conversation with the postman---

And I don't mean to imply that "Frequent Hearses" is all dialogue and no action. There is one especially harrowing scene where a young woman chases the murderer into a maze in order to learn his identity and then (when reason returns) can't find her way back out again. By the time Fen rescues her, she has endured an experience right out of an M.R. James horror story (in fact, the young woman quotes M.R. James at length while she is traversing the maze - a typical Crispin characteristic).

The mystery surrounding the murderer's identity and motivation is as cleverly convoluted as the maze, and it is equally as hard to get to its heart. Crispin himself wrote and published at least one film script and composed music for several films, so "Frequent Hearses" is told with the knowledge of a movie industry insider.

If you like vintage British mysteries with a 'classical education' and haven't yet discovered the 'Professor Fen' novels, then you're in for a treat-- assuming you can find these out-of-print volumes. Here are all nine of the Fen mysteries plus two collections of short stories, in case you jump into 'Frequent Hearses' and want to keep going:

"The Case of the Gilded Fly" ("Obsequies at Oxford"), 1944; "Holy Disorders", 1945; "The Moving Toyshop", 1946; "Swan Song" ("Dead and Dumb"), 1947; "Love Lies Bleeding", 1948; "Buried for Pleasure", 1948; "Frequent Hearses", 1950; "The Long Divorce", 1952; "Beware of the Trains", 1953 (short stories); "The Glimpses of the Moon", 1978; "Fen Country", 1979 (short stories).

This book was informative and enjoyable to read. The pictures are a huge plus. I now have a much better understanding of how the beer industry in Kansas City contributed to the success of the city. After completing this book, I could hardly get myself to the bar quickly enough to have a pint of Boulevard unfiltered wheat. And, it was great!

Few Americans are familiar with James Stirling's work which is a shame. He was one of the three or four great high-tech architects. Maybe not as high-tech as Rogers or Foster yet maybe more intuitive and with more feel. His work also had a post-modern flair. He was a few years ahead of some of the most famous architects of today and if you look closely enough at Stirling's work you may notice how they all may have been influenced by Stirling. The book itself is a good representation of his work but the photos are somewhat small and in black and white. The book gets 5 stars because Stirling was a master.

Ogilvie's brief text on this subject has been the definitive text on Roman religion for decades. Using extensive primary sources (all in translation)as examples, he demonstrates his thorough understanding of how the Romans worshipped, as well as how they thought about their religion during the Age of Augustus (covering the period from roughly 80 BCE and 60 CE).

Chapters include The Gods, Prayer, Sacrifice, Divination, The Religious Year, Private Religion, The Priests, and Religion in the Time of Augustus. Of particular interest is Ogilvie's presentation of private religion, a topic many more scholarly texts seem to overlook. His focus tends less toward a sterile look at Roman mythology, and more toward a vibrant overview of what Romans believed (or not, as the case may be), as well as how they worshipped both privately and within the state religion.

Of particular interest are Ogilvie's speculations as to what "went wrong" with Roman religion as their world expanded, absorbing countless influences and values from other civilizations, and ultimately, failing to provide for the basic spiritual sustenance of the individual.

As Tennyson said, it is not too late to seek a newer world. In this book Bobby Kennedy's son sets out the quotes, speeches, notes, and words that shaped the journey of Robert F. Kennedy in the late 1960's. A journey to seek a newer world. That journey ended much too soon with Kennedy's assassination in Los Angeles in June 1968. But the efforts he began and the philosophy he followed continue to live today. These words speak to us still about our current lives in America, about what we need to be doing to make a better country, and about how we should view our fellow man. They tell us a lot about ourselves and the many things left undone by Kennedy's untimely death. For those of us who participated in the last campaign of 1968, it is important to us that others hear his message of what America can and should be. This is a book about hope in the midst of despair, about ending violence despite all the violence in our lives, and about so very many things still left undone some 30 years later. It is a message of hope and promise that speaks to everyone today, from a time not so long ago, that we must have courage and always continue to strive to seek a newer world. This book provides insight about what we should do, shows how we can be guided by the past, and it provides words of strength for us to continue on that journey. These are words that motivated Bobby Kennedy, and they will motivate you today.

While those alive during 1968 clearly remember his assassination and cannot help but be moved when reminded of the young leader, the power of Robert F. Kennedy's actions and the emotion of his words are still able to make those of a younger generation yearn for the type of leadership he provided. Divided into appropriately title sections, such as "A Citizen in a Civil Society" or the "Life of the Heart," this book is a collection of the thoughts and feelings written in the day journal he kept during the 1960s. Maxwell Taylor Kennedy's tribute to his father is filled with quotes, either read or heard, from different sources, along with reactions to those words. A man whose life was cut short in its prime, Kennedy did not have the chance to change the world in the way he wanted to, the way only he could have. This book gives the reader a little insight into the mind of a great politician, a inspirational philospher, an idealistic dreamer, a kind man. Like Martin Luther King Jr, Kennedy had a vision of the world that he wanted his children, and all people, to live and prosper in. This touching tribute reminds us that peoples are not all that different from each other and the path to equality and a peaceful environment is not as hidden or unattainable as it seems. In a society where doing right and good is less and less commendable, this book provides encouragement to dream and reminders of what society should be. Robert F. Kennedy was a man unlike any other, and this book, through his own words, reminds us why he is to be missed.

RFK's son has put together a collection of thoughts, quotes, and inspirational material on various topics from life to race relations. I think this book would make a great graduation gift! Also it is a positive book, full of hope and improvement. A great sources for quotes for papers and speeches. I enjoyed learning more about Bobby Kennedy through the words that inspired him to make a difference.

During an arugment with an associate, Robert Maxwell quips, "'Am I speaking Chinese?'"(Greenslade 97). The reader is left to wonder at times what language Maxwell is speaking. Is this the tough, arrogant businessman or the gentle, misunderstood corporate leader who "enjoyed mystery because it lent glamour to the truth"(Greenslade 156)? What this book raises into question is not so much the life of Robert Maxwell but the lives of all powerful and enigmatic men. Whether because of his tough talk or loud lifestyle, Maxwell seems to either attract or repel the reader's attention. During a night out on the town to celebrate his birthday, Maxwell comments to one of his associates about a certain problem he's been having with hard liquor, how he's been trying to avoid it because he beleived it was making him insane. His suggestion was glossed over by the underling and then Maxwell had one of those episodes--ranting, raving, waking up the next day and not being able to remember what happened the night before. In many ways, the whole world knew Robert Maxwell but not one person knew him closely. He was a hard man to approach--as is often the case with geniuses. Greenslade's treatment of Maxwell, while harsh, captures many facets of his curious personality. Many have wondered what drove Maxwell to be such a tyrant. And was his death...an accident? These questions are very hard to answer but Greenslade puts them into context with precision and the kind of care a man of Maxwell's depth merits(Greenslade remarks at one point that Maxwell was the most intelligent man he ever knew). One is left to wonder what Maxwell might have done if he was a poet or an artist. Certainly his skill with people, albeit brutal, was brilliant and colorful. What if he had applied these same things to the canvas or the page? We can only surmise that he would have made just as great an impression.

Even though this book is almost fifteen years old, it is not out dated at all, since the last space exploration mission to Mercury was flown in 1974 by the Mariner 10 space probe. It is one of the few books, other than children's books or NASA publications, which provides a detailed description of this planet.

The first chapter of the book "The Elusive Planet" opens with the knowledge acquired from Earth based observation, which is very minimal, hence the title of the book and chapter. The book then proceeds to the development of the Mariner 10 space vehicle, mission plan and flight to Mercury. The remainder of the book deals with the discovers made by the Mariner 10 space probe, such as, the general surfaces features, the planet's interior, how impact craters are formed, and some of the unique geological features found on Mercury.

This book is extremely easy to read, since it does not contain any unnecessary geological terms. In addition, there are plenty of nice black and white photos and numerous line drawings.

The deluded misconceptions of the African race are exemplified in this book. Oh, sure the Africans created EVERYTHING: all of the major religions, all of the gods are black africans, mathematics, the alphabet, philosophy, etc. The Egyptians were originally black. The Greeks stole EVERYTHING from the black Africans. How very sad indeed.

Then we have to hear that not only were all the great philosophers black, but the gay community has put in their claim as well; all of these philosophers were homosexuals! But wait, to be precise, all of the great philosophers were gay black men.

EVERY race has contributed to civilization and our society as we know it. Nobody knows definitively if any of these people mentioned were actually black Africans, but it seems that racial/sexual/gender groups are always trying to glom on to some sense of misguided, egomaniacal insolence.

Be proud of your race, whatever it may be. But please don't try to browbeat everyone into believing some unsubstantiated drivel.

Prior to the European Slave Trade racism did not exist, Africans were highly regarded ,respected and revered; however, during the European Slave Trade (15-19th centuries), Africans were belittled, scorned, disgraced, and lied about concerning their legacy they gave to the world, in order to justify enslaving them: especially denied, was their creation of philosophy, science, mathematics, astronomy, architecture, writing, medicine, humanity, civilization, Chirstianity, Judaism, and Islam (Adam, Eve, Jesus, Mary, Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad were black). In fact, according to the author, Indus Khamit-Kush, there are no albino Gods - all the Gods (Hercules, Apollo, Athene, Venus, Zeus, Buddha, etc.) are black!- and he backs it up with documentation from both albinic and melanic historians. He proves that Athens, Greece was founded and colonized by an African King named Kecrops. He also proves that the Greeks are the greatest plagiarizers in the history of mankind. Virtually, everything they claim they invented, they stole from Kemites (whom they call "Egyptians," both terms mean "black people"). Every nationality needs to read this book, it will change the major misconceptions and the abysmal miseducation we have about ourselves!

This book contains little known facts that are not taught in most history classes. They are verified with references, names and quotations from reknown scholars and historians, some of whom are not African American. This is a great source to me as a newswriter. There parts on lineage, references to the ancient worlds and modern historical events. If you are interested in bringing your references up to date, this is the book to buy.