...Since 1968 the field of ambulatory (general or community)pediatrics has developed rapidly and today most pediatric departmentsin the United States have a large division of general pediatricsresponsible for patient care, teaching and research in all out-of-hospital settings. Such divisions are also responsible for the care of children with complex chronic diseases both in the hospital and the community.

Ambulatory Pediatrics has 81 chapters with 103 contributors from various American universities. The book is divided into four major sections: Child health in the 21st century, health promotion and disease prevention, management of disease and the practice of contextual and integrative child care. The new edition has undergone many changes with less duplication of topics from the more traditional pediatric textbooks. The focus in this edition is more on the clinician's role in health promotion, disease prevention, adaptation, early intervention, coordination of the care of children with chronic illnesses, diagnosis and treatment of children with psychosocial problems and the role of the family and the community in child health.

In Ambulatory Pediatrics you will find chapters on homeless children, maternal literacy, child labor, poverty, self-hypnosis, self-care and international health perspectives. In the section on health promotion you will find chapters on home visits, telephone care and computers in pediatrics. ...

Ambulatory Pediatrics is a book that can be warmly recommended to the pediatrician working in general pediatrics, the out-patient department and the community pediatrician.

Professor Joav Merrick, MD,DMSc,Medical Director, Division for the Mentally Retarded in Israel...

I love this book as well as the whole series. It is written very well and incorporates WWII experiences into an individuals life. You become attached to the character as he goes through his experiences. Great book.

Diplomatic Circles succeeded in bringing the Foreign Service in all its excitement and importance (as well as its blemishes -- the darker side) back to life for me. The dialogue is excellent all around. An excellent book...it moves and moves you on from page to page. The excitement builds and comes to a high-pitched end. Then life starts all over again.

--O.H. Ganley, Retired Foreign Service Officer

I recommend that any fan of William Blake buy this volume and the other 5 in the series. The books are beautiful, large, and handsomely bound. Each book is reproduced in full color, using a six-color printing process rather than the standard four. The pages are heavy, opaque and have a gorgous lustre indicating very high quality paper. The text of each book accompanies the color reproductions in standard typeface with very competent commentary to boot.

Intricately plotted and consummately acted with impeccable comic timing, Fawlty Towers reigns in many a mind as the ultimate situational comedy--the yardstick against which all other comedies are measured. An interesting (though perhaps not surprising) bit of trivia: It came out at the top of the 100 most important TV programmes of all time (according to a year 2000 poll by the British Film Institute). Certainly, it is one of the most enduring of all time.

The year 2000 marked the 25th anniversary of the first series of the show, and to celebrate, writers Morris Bright and Robert Ross have penned a lovely 192-page tribute book loaded with colour photos (mostly stills from the show, but there are a few photos of the main stars at different stages in their careers). The book covers the history of the show, which I found to be quite interesting, not to mention entertaining. Did you know, for example, that the inspiration for the rude, abrasive Basil Fawlty came from a real life hotelier that John Cleese (and his fellow Monty Python co-stars) had the misfortune to encounter? Indeed, co-writer John Cleese has contributed a wealth of anecdotes on his and his fellow co-writer (and wife at the time) Connie Booth's experiences in creating and writing the series. It will come as no surprise to fans to find that Cleese and Booth (who also played Polly, the maid) sometimes took as long as 2 1/2 weeks to draught a plot!

The book also includes an informative episode guide for each of the twelve episodes (which includes anecdotes and recollections by Cleese), a brief blurb on each guest star to have appeared on the show, and a two- to fourteen-page career bio of the "regulars" (ie. Basil, Sybil, Manuel, Polly, Terry (who died in 1997 of cancer at age 59), the Major, and the two old ladies).

As enjoyable as the book is, I must admit that I was surprised not to find more participation by the other actors--the main ones anyway. Though the career bios are informative and Cleese's many anecdotes extend to the characters and actors portraying them, various incidents, and so on, there are no recollections or remembrances from either Connie Booth (who incidentally, having married Cleese in 1968, was divorced from him in 1976--in between series one and two) or Prunella Scales (Sybil). Usually the writers (at the very least) participate tremendously when a tribute book is written, and I found myself wondering why Connie Booth didn't provide a few tales of her own, as it would have been lovely to have her perspective too. Nevertheless, this is a minor point only--the book is superb in every other respect.

I'll just mention a couple of interesting anecdotes, which happen to concern Andrew Sachs (Manuel), who incidentally hails from Germany and seriously questioned his ability to play a Spaniard--he needn't have worried! In the German episode, there is a fire drill during which Manuel catches fire; unfortunately, Sachs was accidentally burnt by the acid used to make his jacket smoke. In another episode, Fawlty whacks Manuel on the head with a frying pan; unfortunately (and inexpicably!), Cleese was using a real pan (not a rubber one) with the unintentional result that Sachs had a headache for about two days!

In short, this is a lovely, informative book and one which I (as an enormous fan of the show) highly recommend to fellow fans. I have the hardcover version, and it is a weighty 8 x 10 inches with thick, glossy pages. It's a lovely keepsake--one which I think any fan of this outstanding, all-time classic series would enjoy.

"Flights of Memory 2" is a collection of beautiful poems. Among other subjects, the book includes poetry on issues of health and growing old. Since the author served in both World War II and the Korean War, he has written insightful poems about military service.

Robert Morris's poemes are mostly light-hearted, but it is obvious to the reader that he is a caring man with a strong belief in God. A resident of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, many of his poems have a beach setting.

I highly recommend this book.

Enjoyable book for both children and adults

this traveling mouse continues to amuse

With over 200 episodes in nearly 30 years, Last of the Summer Wine is Britain's longest-running situational comedy. Authors Morris Bright and Robert Ross have created a delightful (albeit poignant) look back at this enjoyable series and at the characters that have made it so memorable.

Chapters include a 28-year history of the show (how it came about, changes that occurred over the years, etc.); a behind-the-scenes look at the series, which takes us through the stages involved in getting from script to screen; a listing (together with brief quarter-page bios) of every guest star since 1973 (most of whom will be unfamiliar to North American audiences); and a complete episode guide (a brief summary of every episode from 1973 to 2000).

My favourite chapters are the three ("the Winos," "the Stronger Sex," and "the Henpecked") dedicated to those memorable main characters and the actors who have portrayed them. Ranging from one to six pages per actor, brief bios are given (mostly career summaries, really, as there isn't a lot of personal information provided); further, each actor (if still alive, obviously) discusses his or her respective character, what it's been like portraying that character over the years, and so on.

Physically, this 221-page hardcover is as lovely to look at as it is to read. Printed on heavy, glossy, high-quality paper, there are an abundance of photographs (all colour) throughout. There are lovely photos of the actors posing in full Summer Wine attire, shots of the filming of the series, and scenes from the series itself. (Unfortunately, there is only one photo of the cast out of costume--a shot taken at an awards' ceremony).

Perhaps the nicest thing about this book is the participation the authors received from everyone involved--from writer Roy Clarke and producer Alan J.W. Bell to the actors themselves--and the book is rife with their many anecdotes. The authors spent a lot of time on location with the cast and crew, and the book is very well researched. Sadly, their research for the book engulfed the period of Bill Owen's (Compo's) illness and subsequent death in July 1999 from pancreatic cancer. He was 85. Nevertheless, Owen worked right up till the very end; poignantly, "The Finest Vintage" seems as much a tribute to him as it is to the series.

In conclusion, this lovely book, dedicated to the memory of the irreplaceable Bill Owen, is a wonderful keepsake that will certainly be cherished by anyone who has enjoyed this sweet series. Highly recommended. (This review refers to the edition published in 2000. I mention this because I think there may have been an earlier edition, though I am not certain.)

This book contains samples of some of the new approaches to the history of the Italian South that have appeared in recent years. It deals with both the history of the Mezzogiorno in itself, and the way that Southern Italy has been 'constructed' in both contemporary writing and subsequent historiography. The book focuses on the challenges to the doctrines of 'meridionalismo' that have developed in the last two decades, and contains work by English, American and Italian scholars. The opening chapter by Jonathan Morris is an excellent introduction to the subject.