As a whole, the book is mildly amusing. But it is full of great material to use at the bottom of e-mail signatures. Impress your friends! *Age . . . Fac ut gaudeam*.

This book and its predecessor (Lingua Latina Occasionaibus Omnibus) will make anyone who struggled through Latin 101 the division of Gaul into three parts proud to be a Latin speaker. A great tool for Classics teachers who want to make Latin a living language for students doing translation, and wonderful for those of us who want to know how to say "I hate Astroturf" in the world's most distinguished language.

After Beard's first book, 'Latin for All Occasions', one might say this book is a case of deja vu, or prius visum, as the Latin would have it.

Who said Latin wasn't useful? Henry Beard, in this volume and its predecessor, demonstrates that it is very useful, and not just for identifying a dish on a menu in Rome that looks suspiciously like the Latin word for 'eel'.

This volume begins on a fun note: French sounds even better in Latin:

Savoir faire = Scire facere
Nouveau riche = Novissime locupletatus
Merde! = Merda!

From there we proceed to philosophy:

Cogito, ergo sum
Sum, ergo edo.
Cogito sumere potum alterum.
(I think, therefore I am. I am, therefore I eat. I think I'll have another drink.)

And lest we forget, the memorable Latin phrase for use at a toga party:

Toga! Toga! Toga!
(memorise this, for it will be on the test)

There are things in this volume for sports fans, pop culture fans, those about to celebrate and those who want to be casual. If you want to sound intelligent while saying you think you've just spotted Elvis in the crowd, this book can tell you how to bring up the subject intelligently.

If Caesar had had this book, he might have rephrased his famous utterance as Veni, vidi, nates calce concidi! (I came, I saw, I kicked butt!).

Divinissimum est!

Proving once again, some people have far too much time on their hands. And we are more fortunate for that!

Planning my first trip to Alaska this summer. Got this book to start...going to use others. This is a MUST BOOK if you plan on using the Alaska Ferry System a lot. This book would be useless if you plan on those big cruise boats.

The Jossey-Bass Guide to Strategic Communications for Nonprofits is a detailed examination of the relationship between nonprofits and the media. As the title says, it provides a step-by-step guide for nonprofits to establish effective relations with the media that result in publicity. My professor recommended this book to me, and I'm finding it quite useful. It has a similar approach to Guerrilla PR: Wired by Michael Levine; both are about maximizing your return on investment.

I especially enjoyed this book because I'm thinking about working for a nonprofit after graduation, and I haven't seen anywhere near as much about public relations and publicity for nonprofits as I've seen for corporations.

This book is a flat-out screaming attack on Henry Hyde that seeks among other things to blame him for the deaths of people who couldn't afford abortions on their own (Hyde got legislation banning the use of federal funds for that) who got "cheapies" that killed them.

If you think that Hyde's legislation is directly responsible for these individuals' deaths, then you will probably love this book. If you are a moderate or conservative, you'll hate it.

As a moderate, I loved this book! For all Bill Clinton's faults, I always felt (as apparently did most Americans) that impeaching him for trying to keep his less-than-ideal sex life private was more than a bit over the top, and I often wondered about those who set themselves up as some sort of moral and ethical centers of the American political universe. How well would they stand up, if closely examined? Of course, we found out quickly about Hyde's "brief, youthful indiscretion". But this book gives the full details (from the point of view of the woman who was the object of his desire, and who says she still loves him; but who calls him hypocrital) of the affair, that it lasted 8 years, that it continued even after his wife found out about it. And then goes into Hyde's involvement in the S&L scandals (and yes, I know many congresscritters of both parties abused the system. But most of them didn't then set themselves up as examples of purity and wisdom, allowed to judge the faults and weaknesses of another). My personal take is this is an excellent book (though it is a stretch to blame Hyde for opposing abortion, and therefore he is responsible for women who suffered from botched illegal or qualified abortions), which shows a man who clearly believes he is above the rules, above the law, and that his constiuents are simply uninterested in his hypocrisy and deceit and abuse of his position (or else he considers them too stupid). Someone should send a copy to every household in his district and let those who support him know what he is really like.

This takes the gift wrapping paper off of Henry Hyde and shows him for the warped sociopath that he truly is. His deviance seems to have no boundaries, which is why his moralizing during the impeachment of the President was so startling and shameful. A MUST READ for every committed American.

Blackjack is a game that is easy to understand and nearly impossible to master. It is also a game that is largely influenced by how people play. The odds will vary depending on compliance with basic strategy. For a new player, the basic strategy chart will be useful, as may the description of gameplay. But the suggested betting strategies and card counting techniques are nothing but snake-oil! I'd recommend Andy Glazier's works over this book to experienced as well as inexperiened players.

Thomason's book is very good. Novice blackjack players will find it informative and very helpful. I did.