Anthony Griffiths is the principle author of both 'An Introduction to Genetic Analysis' and 'Modern Genetic Analysis.' The former book is in its sixth edition, while the later is in it's second. I highly recommend both textbooks as the best teaching texts I have ever come across. Personally however, I prefer using 'Modern Genetic Analysis' because it is easier to understand, and less frustrating and confusing for students. The 'Introduction to Genetic Analysis' textbook is larger, more annotated, and has more difficult problems. The 'Modern Genetic Analysis' textbook provides a better basic framework on which to build an understanding of genetics, without going into too many unnecessary details that (in my opinion) only confuse students new to the subject.

The second edition of 'Modern Genetic Analysis' is very similar to the first edition, and only about ten percent of the material (at most) has been changed. Most of the problem sets are the same, but have been renumbered. This is actually a teaching advantage because it gives students the option of buying used copies of the first edition rather than new copies of the second.

One major improvement in the second edition, however, is the addition of internet-based genetics tutorials. Students are directed to the various public genome databases on the internet, used by real researchers, and are given practice assignments to do. They are shown how to conduct gene and protein homology searches, how to find open reading frames, and how to access other forms of information from the various public domain databases on the internet. Since internet databases have now become one of the most important tools available to geneticists these tutorials are a welcome addition to this textbook. I highly recommend it.

Greg Doheny (Vancouver, Canada)

In the last few years several very good textbooks and monographs in genetics have appeared, due mainly to the success of various genome projects and also to the rise of bioinformatics as a new discipline in biology, computer science, and mathematics. Most of these textbooks have appeared in many prior editions, and comparing these older editions with the newest ones, one can indeed see a remarkable difference in enthusiasm in the authors. They are clearly very excited about the developments in molecular biology and genetics that have taken place and the confidence among biologists that the fundamental understanding of life is finally within reach. Readers can share their excitement by the study of these books, and doing so one cannot help but be marveled by the incredible ingenuity of the scientific methods used to unravel the processes of life.

Of all these excellent books, I find this one to be the best, and my judgment of the book's quality is from the standpoint of someone who is very involved in the algorithms behind bioinformatics and mathematical biology and is attempting to gain, as quickly as possible, the necessary background in genetics. My review therefore will be primarily addressed to those mathematicians or even physicists who plan on moving into bioinformatics.

To relative newcomers to genetics such as myself, the learning of molecular biology and genetics can involve a huge amount of memory work. To the more mathematically-inclined reader, the memorization of facts can be most unpalatable. The learning of the material in this book will also involve such extreme exercises in memory, but there are a few strategies that the authors employ that, even though they were directed at a general readership, actually serve to make the learning much easier for the mathematician or mathematical biologist. These are the use of concept maps and the assigning of "challenging problems" at the end of most chapters in the book. These serve effectively to make the reader think through and interconnect the many concepts, which for the mathematician who is used to the economy of thought that mathematics brings, is an absolute necessity for the learning experience. Also, the authors are well aware of the need for students to learn how to analyze data and interact with online databases, so a lot of the material in the book is written to address this need.

Even from merely an aesthetic point of view the book is exceptional, as the soft colors used in the illustrations are very beautiful, and actually serve to make the learning of the material very pleasureful. And in addition, the reader can access the book's Website and follow the many animations that were put together for the book. And here again, the playing of these animations increase the speed in which one can learn the subject.

The authors also ask the readers to consider the impact that biotechnology and genetic engineering will have in the upcoming decades. One of the most dramatic, and I think the most important paragraphs in the book is the one in which the authors state that "the public cannot relay on reports published in the general media for the kind of critical evaluation needed to make informed personal and political decisions. Nor can it be left to experts, who have their own biases and agendas. There is no substitute for acquiring the kind of basic knowledge of genetics that is essential to all informed decisions." Their goal is provide the background that will allow the reader to differentiate between bad and good claims about genetics, and to think critically about both the negative and positive aspects of genetic research and genetic engineering.

I believe the use of genetic engineering and biotechnology in all biological systems, both human and non-human, holds the best hope for the future of life on earth. This book has given an excellent introduction to the biology and genetics behind these technologies. The excitement and optimism expressed in the book will no doubt encourage many individuals to further their studies in genetics and enter the new biological professions of the 21st century.

It is an excellent book for understanding the basics of marketing. It can be said that it is the door to the marketing world. An ordinary person can go through this book and then can look forward for other advanced books like Marketing Management of Philip Kotler.

I agree with some of the comments of the other reviewers: the book seems comprehensive and is very attractively laid out. However I am attempting to read the book on my own, not as the textbook to a course, and I am finding that it is quite badly organized. For instance, the first chapter rushes through a whole lot of stuff which is presumably covered in more detail later in the book, but they don't really tell you that, nor do they simplify it as they should if it's just an overview. In later chapters, several terms are used without being defined, and often it's impossible to tell what's going on in the figures from the captions and the text. I can imagine the book being good if you're taking a genetics course, but if you're just trying to read it and teach yourself, be prepared to be often confused...

I've used this book quite extensively in my introductory Genetics class, and I'm sure I'll be using it often as a reference in the future. It is superbly written, with clear explanations of the material.

There are many, many diagrams and photographs which help to solidify understanding, and they are all in full color. It is organized very well, although this organization has changed from edition to edition and any teacher or student using it in their courses should be aware that chapters and problems in this newer version do not always coincide with those in previous editions. The questions are excellent as well, although purchasing the solutions manual is a wise idea (it is also very well done, with long, detailed explanations of the answers to the problems).

Overall, of the 3 or 4 genetics textbooks I've looked at, this is by far the best one. In fact, it's one of the best textbooks I've ever used for any class. This one's a keeper.

I work in a Mammalian Genetics lab, I have referenced this book numerous times and I have only had it a little over a month. It is those little things we forget, but now that information is at my fingertips. Excellent, would recommend it to anyone in the field.

I just bought this Civil War book several days ago, and I'm very glad I did buy it. While it doesn't seem to go into much detail about the battles, it still seems to tell the story of the Civil War well. I did notice that it mentioned Stonewall Jackson being wounded at Chancellorsville, and how he had an arm amputated. I don't think it mentioned the detail that he didn't actually die from that wound; he died from pneumonia. Still, the pictures are intriguing, to say the least. One of the other reviewers mentioned that. I would recommend buying this book.

Nothing fascinates the student of American history quite like the Civil War and this book, with it's beautiful illustrations and illuminating essays, does much to bolster that fascination. Readers are introduced to the Civil War's unforgettable cast of characters: Lee, Jackson, Grant, and even the nameless legions of soldiers whose faces grace the photographs and whose courage and determination have become American legend. I'd have to agree with a previous reviewer that the photographs alone are worth the price of the book. They are truly extraordinary. Keep a look out for the photo of Lincoln's second inaugural. You can see conspiracy members below him. All in all, a great book and I'd highly recommend it to any Civil War buff. It belongs in your collection!

I will make this short and sweet. I am a American Civil War student of many years. Within my library I have a nice collection of books on this subject. It seems that the common photographs are often repeated in the various books and seldom do I find an American Civil War photograph that I have not already seen. However, this book, "An Illustrated History of the Civil War", offers many photographs that this student had never seen. The book is well worth the price for the photographs alone, not to mention the text which was published in the highest quality. A good buy! One of my very favorite American Civil War books.

Although there is no faulting the content of this book, I do have issues with its presentation. As a literature textbook, it offers little to the user in the way of navigation. The page headers refer not to the authors or works on those pages, but instead to the abritrary titles of the Editors' sections. In this way, it is well-nigh impossible to find anything in the book. Further, the book could have done with explanatory footnotes in the texts and even something so simple as a publication/writing date for each of the selections.

The editor's notes are quite extensive, perhaps too much so. They spend a lot of time advancing their theories about the development of African American literature when they should be presenting the texts and leaving the reader to decide.

However, as I said, I cannot fault the content itself, which is very good, allowing the student a wide breadth of material, much of it by authors who are otherwise ignored by other anthologies. But much of this material is also covered in other anthologies which are much easier to navigate.

This is no mere literary anthology. It's a history, a cultural statement and a new way of looking at the African American tradition. Song lyrics weave themselves through the poems, around the stories, under the essays and beyond the non-fiction articles. Where else could anyone find the rhetoric of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and the old down home Virginny blues of Jimmy Reed?

This has the speech that Jesse Jackson gave to the Democratic convention in San Francisco in 1984. I was there. It was a big moment at the time but I didn't recognize it as an historical event until I found it printed here.

The book itself feels like the typical blues song. We Rhythm and Blues kids used to call it a 12 bar blues. This is a song where the first two lines were repeated and then came the summary. In section IV, the subtitle reads, "Play the blues, play the blues for me." Section V repeats the same words. Section VI has the summary line: "No other music'll ease my misery." I can put these words to the standard 12 bar blues tune in my mind.

Hill delicately reaches back to the lyrics from spirituals, prison songs, rural blues, ragtime and back to slave work songs and their African origins. She advances the music through R & B into Avant-Garde Jazz and Rap and Hip Hop. The book contains a CD with songs and speeches.

The music entices us into the literary content. There's more here than the usual fiction, drama, poetry and essays. I found sermons, toasts, prayers, and folktales, both slave and African. Readers may be unfamiliar with some of the classifications -- Conjure tales, Griot's chant, haunt tales and "Call and Response."

We follow the history of a people through the writings of slave poets, the abolitionist orators, the fugitive slave narratives, preacher tales, and the voices of reconstruction. It continues through to contemporary fiction and non-fiction writers.

It's not an easy book to read because every time I look for one idea, I get distracted by selections like, "Sketches from a Black-Nappy-Headed Poet," or "Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane."

I confess, I know more about the music than the literature. This book draws me in with artists like Muddy Waters, Leadbelly, Howlin' Wolf, Oscar Brown, Jr., Public Enemy and Ice T. After I'm involved, I'm learning about Phillis Wheatley, David Walker, Frances Watkins Harper and Sojourner Truth.

I'm afraid that if I were to ask the average American high school student to name three African American literary figures, he or she would say: Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughs and then stop there. Some might add Alice Walker. This text puts those writers in their place and, given the wealth of content here, they occupy a small place compared with all who surround them.

I came upon this book as I was participating in the Urban Dreams Program, a federal project to train high school teachers in computer technology. Pat Hill spoke to our group. She impressed us all with her spirit, her knowledge and her comprehensive understanding of the African American tradition. To the degree that I've been positively influenced by her dynamic presence, I caution the reader of this review to be aware than I may have elevated her book higher than if I had not seen Hill in person. Other than that, this book is one of my personal favorites which will never be loaned out to anyone, ever. So please, my friends, don't even ask.

I found this to be a truly valuable resource put together by some very smart people. It's packed with insightful essays, rich overviews and enough great black literature to keep me busy for a good long while. I only wish it had been written years ago.

Fallen Soldier is a portion of the Civil War diary of Andrew Roy. It is interesting as a portrayal of what happened to badly wounded men both on the battlefield and in later life. It certainly works as a story of medical incompetence (the result of low medical technology, not necessarily doctors' negligence). It really isn't particularly gory or harrowing to read -- very few Civil War memoirs are and this is consistent with the genre. What I found annoying about this book was the editing. The text has been cut down so as to only mention Roy's wounding and medical treatment, but the original document, as the editor admits in passing, was much longer. Some segments are given as appendices. Why not just give the entire diary as it was written, or at least include all the material not related to the wound as one appendix?

What a pity that Miller was so narrowly focused that he did not even mention the important reforms brought about by this early proponent of mine safety and the formation of labor unions in the United States. Roy, the first mining inspector for the state of Ohio, was the author of A History of the Coal Miners, The Coal Mines, and the Practical Miner's Companion.

This self-taught Scottish immigrant went on to change the face of coal mining in America because his wound gave him the time to write and speak up for his friends underground in the mines.

I am not generally a reader of Civil War books, but found this work to be an amazing insight into the life of a soldier, and into the human condition. Highly recommended.

A frightening and unforgettable narrative of cutting-edge science and spy craft. In the groundbreaking investigation journalism, Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg, and William Broad of The New York Times uncover the truth about biological weapons and show why bio-warfare and bio-terrorism are fast becoming our worst national nightmare. Germs shows why advances in biology and the spread of germ weapons expertise to such countries as Iran, Iraq, and North Korea could make germs the weapon of the twenty-first century. Germs sprayed in shopping malls, bombs that let scars in battlefields, plague spread in Times Square and all is a common man's hydrogen bombs, hideous weapons of mass destruction that can be made in a simple laboratory.  
There are some startling revelations found in the Book Germs and these shows bio-warriors, past and present at their trade. There is the American scientist who devoted his professional life to perfecting biological weapons, and the Nobel laureate who helped pioneer the new biology of genetically modified germs and is now trying to stop its misuse. The Germs focus on former Soviet scientists who made enough plague, smallpox, and anthrax to kill everyone on Earth and whose expertise is now in great demand by terrorists, rogue states, and legitimate research labs alike. Germs shows how a small group of scientists and senior officials persuaded President Bill Clinton to launch a controversial multibillion-dollar program to detect a germ attack on U.S. soil and to aid its victims, a program that, so far, is struggling to provide real protection. Its Terrorism everywhere! The world combats to fight the fury of man man weapons leading to endless destruction and violence.

As a crime fiction writer with my debut novel in initial release, I found GERMS fascinating. Within minutes of the shameful attack on our twin towers, I mentioned to my wife the possibility that truly determined terrorists could have planted biological weapons within their luggage as they boarded those airliners they planned to turn into bombs. GERMS confirmed, to this reader, that such a possibility was at the very least possible. Fortunately, it appears now that our nation has dodged that bullet on this occasion, but this book is a must-read work. The journalists who collaborated on GERMS present frightening details involving the possibilitiy of biological warfare in our modern age. They also report on our government's attempts to prepare for and, we hope, prevent such an attack. We are living a new age. Warfare will not be what we have witnessed in the past. GERMS makes that fact clear. Anyone who wants to be an informed citizen, ought to read this bok.

Speaking of timely...what an understatement. With two confirmed cases of Anthrax (as of 10/10/01) staring the U.S. in the face (whether associated with terrorist activities remains to be seen), this book could not have been shoved to the forefront at a more necessary time.

In this expose, Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg, and William Broad, writers with The New York Times, report to an ostensibly unaware public the truth regarding biological weapons. They make an extremely compelling case that biological warfare, not conventional conflicts, could become the U.S.'s worst nightmare and the everyday U.S. citizen's worst fear. "Germs'" foundation is based on an incredible number of interviews with bio-scientists and other knowledgable officials thereby creating a very real basis for belief.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Miller reports that the U.S. promoted and maintained an active biological program. Led by the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention in the 1970s, the U.S. reportedly discontinued its biological production and maintenance program. (While program discontinuation made this reader feel proud, it also became haunting given the potential consequences of NOT having the ability to defense such biological threats.) The reemergence of the biological threat came in the form of the Gulf War and Saddam Hussein. While the U.S. may have crippled Iraq's immediate biological abilities during the Gulf War, Saddam may have reconstituted the program over the succeeding decade and THAT may be the crux of the immediate threat to the U.S.

Every American should read this book. It was very well written and researched. I cannot commend the authors enough.

Educate yourself and understand the threat.

I acquired this book after enjoying other books in The West and the Wider World Series (Harris' The Sins of the Father, Seaman's Paper Airplanes in the Himalayas). Unlike the other books, The Cloud and the Light provides little insight into the relationships and the interactions between cultures. In part, this is due to the others being written by children of missionaries, authors exposed to both worlds as a child. A large part, however, seems to be Dr. Kawano's desire to be positive and not critical. He speaks against the horrors of radiation poisoning, suicide and smoking, but seems hesitant to criticize any person or cultural group. The absence of comments regarding America's use of the bomb are notable.

The first chapters of this autobiography provide revealing descriptions of what it was like to live and to provide medical care in Nagasaki during and after the bomb. The middle chapters, however, focus on other aspects of his life - his work in neurology and his support of suicide hotline and anti-smoking campaigns. The final chapters provide more wartime background and address how Dr. Kawano became a Christian.

Readers interested in "inspirational" lives may enjoy this book. Those interested in Japan and Japanese medicine during and immediately after the bomb should read the first chapters. Most will probably find the translated prose readable but dry.

THE CLOUD AND THE LIGHT Memoirs of a Japanese Christian Surgeon from Nagasaki

The West and the Wider World Series, Vol. XII By Martin Kawano, M.D.

In an extended memoir, Dr. Martin Kawano reviews his life from the rare perspective of a Protestant inter-denominational surgeon who, while a medical student, survived the bombing of Nagasaki. This intensely personal account casts more light on the bombing and its immediate aftermath than other existing classic works.

Dr. Kawano had studied Protestant theology, but set these pursuits aside to join the army. Following his stint in service, he began medical studies. He has been a surgeon all his professional life and a crusader against smoking. In his world-wide service as a social reformer he worked with many well-known people such as Maria Von Trapp and the daughter and granddaughter of Albert Schweitzer.

"Like my father Albert Schweitzer, who influenced him, Martin Kawano has made his life his argument. From the time when as a medical student he miraculously escaped death from the atomic bomb which fell on Nagasaki, his life has unfolded in steady service to mankind. From his studies in the USA, Germany, Switzerland and Canada, he has brought back to Japan unique capabilities for helping where he sees the greatest needs, without consideration for his career or his personal life. His story is inspiring, the testimony of a man with unwavering faith and dedication." Rhena Schweitzer Miller, 1996

While dated, this third issue is still unmatched in breadth and depth of scholarship on this rather obscure topic. The legacy of Alexander of Macedon in Central Asia will certainly grow as more digging occurs in the region, and this book will be a valuable reference. One quibble is the lack of a complete and thorough update of the references, including footnoting the latest archaeological finds. Regardless, this text is essential for anyone interested in the ancient history of India, Central Asia, and the Hellenstic world.

This is one of very few studies available on the Greek kingdoms in Bactria (Modern Afghanistan.), and western India (Modern Pakistan.). W. W. Tarn treats the history of these Indo-Greeks as part of the general history of Hellenism. The only other major study, V.K. Narin's "The Indo-Greeks", treats the subject from a more Indian perspective. None of this should be important to the person who loves to read history-- the subject matter of a nearly legendary lost kingdom on the edge of the world, is fascinating in and of itself. This is a scholarly book, but it reads much better than the title would lead you to think

Thomas Sullivan provides a clear, consise, and easy to use reference guide for anyone to use. This book not only contains actual text of some major environmental laws, but it also sites case studies and court decisions, all in an easy to read format. This book is a must for anyone dealing in environmental matters, and is a good source of reference for anyone concerned with the environment and public policy.