Yes! I hated math and the very thought of taking it again made me queasy. But thanks to my college's graduation requirements I will once again be sitting in an Algebra class by Spring. Algebra had always been like a foreign language to me, and due to the fact that it has been 10 years since I took high school Algebra, I figured I'd better do some quick brushing-up. This book makes Algebra so accessible...so do-able even. It's divided into 51 practice lessons (the answers are in the back), starting with the basics and gradually moving up in complication. The author clearly breaks the problems down and explains how to work them. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is because although I realize mistakes happen in publishing, I found it pretty inexcusable for a book of this sort to have incorrect symbols in the few places where typos did exist. Granted it doesn't take much to figure out what the author intended but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

I purchased this book after circling the aisles of my local bookstore for over an hour. It was the only one which was straight-forward, concise, and repetitive. Most study guides are geared toward prepping students for standardized tests.

I was never good at math, and always hated doing it. There was no way around it though, when I decided to go back to college for a science degree and had to get myself ready for calculus. The Algebra Tutor's review of Algebra I & II concepts provided a great start. Mr. Thomas first introduces a vital concept, then gives examples, and finally lets the student practice-usually with 12 problems. This format is repeated in 51 lessons, giving a comprehensive survey of Algebra topics and operations. Answers to every problem are in the back of the book, making it easy to check one's work. He even gives look-alike problems for those which are likely to give students trouble.

**The only problem I found was a number of type-o's, probably 10 or 12 in the book. Occasionally, problems had the wrong sign (multiplication instead of division) or exponents were written as coefficients (instead of in superscript). But, as the author explains in the preface, friends of his typed every page to get it ready for printing. This is no mass market texbook. I discovered the errors when I checked my work and came up with the given answers by inferring what the author probably meant to write.

Completing this self tutoring course was, in fact, so enjoyable that I now have an altogether different opinion of math. I wish textbooks used in public schools would follow the example of Mr. Thomas' book. Fewer students would need tutors in the first place if they were taught using the Algebra Tutor's no nonsense method. This book proves that you don't have to be 'taught' math on a chalkboard or (ugh) overhead projector. You can teach yourself!

The title of this collection of texts is slightly misleading because the book is entirely devoted to proteins. It does not cover either DNA sequence analysis or nucleic acid structure prediction. Nor does it expose methods of "genome informatics" such as computer-assisted genome annotation or function-associated genome segmenting. Moreover the problematics of molecular evolution is covered only as much as protein phylogeny and homology is discussed. There is virtually no mention of methods for studying genome evolution.

Despite the above negatives the book provides a remarkable survey and tutorial of protein sequence and structure analysis. The editors introduction (Higgins and Taylor) is brief, precise and to the point. Chapter 1 (Jones and Hadley) and Chapter 2 (Johnson and Lehtonen) constitute a tutorial of protein structure analysis. Both chapters are likely to be informative for the beginners and enjoyable by the experts. Chapter 6 (Heringa) and Chapter 8 (Yona and Brenner) are real masterpieces and should be read by all practitioners of bioinformatics as well as by all individuals who want to learn methods of sequence analysis. These two chapters and the editor's introduction make the entire book a valuable desk reference for practitioners and a candidate textbook for students. Just to be completely fair I need to say that Chapter 5 (Henikoff and Henikoff) is potentially confusing and poorly written. The same - although to a lesser degree - applies to Chapter 9 (Harper.)

In summary: Higgins and Taylor have assembled a superb collection of short texts in protein sequence and structure analysis. Practitioners of both bioinformatics and protein biochemistry should use this book as a desk reference. Those who want to learn about bioinformatics will certainly benefit from reading selected chapters of this book as well. The book would not be harmed if it failed to contain confusing and poorly written Chapter 5 (Henikoff and Henikoff) and Chapter 9 (Harper.)

Gives a great overview of bioinformatic techniques in "sequence analysis and searching" and "protein structure analysis and prediction." Then it gives an overview of gene databases online as do all other bioinformatics books. The best part about it is that it spends 70% talking about new biology techniques which greatly helps a computer scientist like me to get into the field. Recommended.

I do volunteer work with the blind and find it a rewarding experience. I like to see the happiness on their faces when they are having fun. It is enjoyable being their eyes. Most are seniors and have been blind for life. When I discovered Blind Willie & Other Stories, it was a revelation. Here was a story where the hero is a dog who is more developed or evolved than his master. Willy's a good man, but he does not come close to the moral growth of his new dog, Perro. Willy does change in the end. The blind can accomplish and do. Loss of sight does not hinder personal growth. This story makes that clear.

The Other Stories leaves one with the sense that the writer drew on his own personal knowledge and experiences to illustrate love, friendship, loneliness, brotherhood, and compassion.

Toy Henry takes the reader into the soul and heart of a young urban teenager and his daily struggle to escape the life he is trapped in. He tries to use his artistic talent only to have his past immorality destroy him and all that he loved. I think this story is so real it deserves to be classed as a modern classic.

I liked Blind Willie, althogh it took me a couple chapters to get into it. I particularly liked the premise of some humans being able to communicate with animals. It definitely reminded me of the relationship between the two main characters in the book "Ishmael," particularly when Perro was discussing his former maste Lawrence. I also liked Willies perspective on religion, since my views are some what similar. I definitely think a sequal is in order for this story. Would love to see developed further.

I like the how the Pie story and Cookie Trilogy revolved around "karma," more or less, fate, and self fulfilling prophecy.
I especially liked the Fortune Cookie chapter. Twelve Boots in the saddle left me wanting more. I thought it was an interesting premise.

I enjoyed the Last Tribesman especially since I remember reading a short book about Ishi in grade school. The ending was a clever twist.

The Studio was a little implausible, but everything Hollywood falls into the implausible.

Of all the stories Toy Henry was the greatest. The characters jumped off the page. The story took me through a range of emotions. I hated the guy then loved him.

Overall I thought the book was well written.

I borrowed this book from my local library and I liked it so much that I realize that I'm going to have a hard time parting with it and returning it to the library. What really appealed to me about this book was that it was written for the thoughtful, intelligent reader who knows something about computers and the internet and who is interested in continuing to progress and expand in this knowledge. It doesn't give the reader a whole lot of useless, technical information that would probably be over the head of the beginner-intermediate computer user, nor does it approach the subject of the internet with the assumption that even a "dummy" or "idiot" can learn the material. The colorful graphics grabbed my attention, (yes, even adults like pretty pictures). There was plenty of useful, interesting information, including how to access some great websites and how to conduct various kinds of research. And most especially, I left the book wishing that it didn't end just then. This book almost compelled me to write the authors and demand a sequel !!

My husband does call it "keep it simple stupid" but really it is "series." :) I think that is a play on words and I appreciate not being called stupid for sure. I don't think anyone who is online is stupid, but there is so much to learn and it can be a bit overwhelming to someone just going online for the first time.

This book will help you master the basics of getting connected, help to unlock the secrets of the World Wide Web, e-mail, and chat rooms. You can discover how to shop, bank and do business online. If you want to navigate the Net with confidence this is the most informative book around. You can find the right service provider, access and download information, create your own web pages, enhance your family's hobbies, interests and education and even plan a vacation. One of the best parts of being online is meeting people in cyberspace. You are bound to find someone who has the same interests as you.

I "simply" love this colorful book. The pictures are adorable and "simple simon" who looks like a little dog appears all over the book. Sometimes he is found holding a VIP symbol and this points out a topic that deserves careful attention. At another page you might find him holding up a warning sign or telling you the inside scoop. When he gets technical he offers information on a deeper level in detail. There are little boxes which include specific web addresses which will take you directly to useful sites so you might want to be online while reading some of the book.

There are also little Trivia boxes which give fun facts and an extra appreciation of the cultural phenomenon that is the "Net." A definition box gives words and terms that are defined in an easy-to-understand style. There is also a complete Glossary at the back of the book with all the Internet lingo.

Part One is a Welcome to the Internet. It shows you how to get a handle on the Internet, how to get started, safety issues and smooth sailing guidelines. Part Two discusses communication online. You can also learn to put up your own Web site. Part Three is a fun chapter which shows you how to find the fun stuff. This explains advanced searching, specialized searching and how to download items. Part Four is especially designed for Families who love the Internet. It includes information on children being online, where to find special interests and how to get an education on the Net. Part Five could be a bit dangerous because you learn how to shop online. Once you have shopped online, there is no turning back! You can also learn to manage your money, invest in the stock market and make money online.

Amazon is listed as one of the online stores. There is also information on how to act when going to a board online. Bulletin boards act like a notice board. You can post a message and talk to many people all at once. Once a message is out there, there is no turning back!

Each "part" has a complete contents page at the beginning of the book in the contents section. Then, the pages are color coded so each chapter is easy to find. There are full-color pictures of Web pages and plenty of illustrations. This is one interesting book! The text is often in color and helps to make ideas stand out.

How do I love the Internet, let me count the ways...I also love this book. It is the best book out there. If you don't have it, you are missing out on one of the most brilliantly organized books about the Internet. This is a must have for the 21st Century. Can it get any better than this. I would live online if I could :). Being online really expands your world. Once you get there, you may never want to leave. It can be a bit addictive, so do try to sleep now and then. It sure beats watching TV. Being online will make you smarter, I can guarantee it. There is so much to learn that for some people it becomes overwhelming. I didn't get online until the year 2000. So, if I can do this...you can too.

Jump in baby and enjoy surfing. Hey wait...you are already here :). Oh, you will still need this book and love it!

Professor Clucas's book is really the first scholarly look at the Assembly Speakership of Willie Brown, now the mayor of San Francisco. The book was published before the end of Brown's tenure as Speaker, but nonetheless is still highly valuable. Clucas's book builds a solid, well documented argument showing the link between Brown's power and his extraordinary ability to raise and dispense campaign contributions to his political allies and Assembly colleagues. The book contains considerable data that should be of interest to any serious observer of legislatures or politics in general. Clucas's writing, while not flashy, is clear and readable. I only downgrade the book because Brown's force of personality counted at least as much in his amassing power as his ability to run an election machine; Clucas did not address that element of Brown's power. Still, his book is a major contribution. -- James Richardson

Legislative leaders now have as one of their principal jobs raising funds for their party's legislative candidates. None mastered the art of campaign finance like Willie Brown, the subject of Richard A. Clucas' ground breaking contribution to our knowledge of legislative leadership. Theoretically based, methodically analyzed, and cogently argued.

This book is great for kids who enjoy helping in the garden. The book is about a boy who is given a strawberry plant. After watching it grow, he tries a different plant next to it. He is excited and amazed as each thing grows. And he keeps adding more and more plants till his garden is huge. What more could a person want...

Willie's Garden was one of our children's favorite books. Willie inspired our son to take over our 1/4+ acre garden when he was about 12 or 13. He did just like Willie, and a piece at a time turned that patch of ground into a year-round vegetable-lover's delight. The author makes inspiring and motivating children to get into gardening fun.

The book " Whistle for Willie " isn't the best book I have ever read. Although it was a pretty good one. This book is about a little boy named Peter and his dog Willie. One day Peter sees another boy whistling and playing with his dog. Peter decides it would be really cool if he could whistle for Willie. So he tries to, but he doesn't know how to. He tryed like five times, but still he couldn't get a noise to come out. Finally he gets it to work and he gets all happy and plays with his dog.
Now this book kind of shows that if you wanted something bad enough you shouldn't give up. You should keep going for whatever you want untill you get it, as long as what you want is resonable. This book does remind me of me in a way. Ever since I was about four years old I have wanted a Corvette. And I am hoping that one day if I stick to what I want that I will get it. And by the book, it looks like I just might.

but NOTHING came out! Whistle for Willie, oh what a JOY! This was one of the very first books that I read to my boys when they were in the high chair! What fun we had trying to whistle, just like Peter, blowing and blowing, but NOTHING CAME OUT! You see, my son's name is Peter, just like the little boy in the story, and so I started to collect books with little boys named Peter. Besides appealing to HIM, however, this book has inter-generational appeal. The rhythm and cadence appealed to my son, but the family's warmth and genuine love for each other appealed to me.

A little boy goes about his daily routine, all the while trying to learn how to whistle. "Oh, how Peter wished he could whistle!" We enjoy tracing a chalk line with him, trying on Daddy's hat, and walking to the store. And when he finally whistles, well, don't we ALL just feel proud? Yep!

Colorful collages illustrate this Ezra Jack Keats classic, and I am sure you will "Whistle for Willie" again and again, because this is a story that BEGS to be read over and over!

I grew up in the 60's and fondly remember the school librarian reading Ezra Jack Keats "The Snowy Day" to us as snow fell outside. We were glued to every page and every word. Keats' books stir the imagination. "Whistle for Willie" is another timeless classic from the award winning author. My 3-year-old son could not get enough of this book from the time he was old enough to pull it from the bookcase. The pictures are fun and imaginative, and the text puts you right in Peter's meandering, carefree world. Almost every boy wishes for a dog like Willie, and can relate to Peter's quest..."Oh, how Peter wished he could whistle..."!

Wille's Not The Hugging Kind is a book that can teach a child about not listen to what other people think about what you do. This book was published 1989 and Written By Joyce Durham Barrett and Illustrated By Pat Cummings.
In this book one of Wille's best friends Jo-Jo thinks hugging is Silly and when he sees Wille hugging his dad before school one day he says something to Willie. This made Willie think that it was stupid and silly to hug people so he didn't want to give hugs anymore. But when Wille stops hugging everyone he soon misses giving and getting hugs from his family. Then one morning he put his arms around his mom and notcited that he liked the feeling and didn't want to listen to what Jo-Jo had to say about hugs being silly. And then now Willie feels free to give hugs and doesn't care about what other people think.
I think this book teaches a lesson about not to listen to what other people think and say about what you are doing and if it feels good don't stop doing it just because someone thinks its silly.

My second grade students loved this story. Willie has been told by a friend that hugging, basicly, isn't the thing to do. He finds himself jealous of others (including family members) that he sees hugging, and longs for a hug himself. In the end, he does hug his mom, and let his family know he is, in fact, the hugging kind!

This is a great book to let all kids know that no matter what anyone thinks of you it's ok to hug your family members love is a important part in life and if you are afraid to have love because of what friends think it's wrong. You should always be able to have love no matter how old you are

The advetures of tom sawyer was on of the greatest books I've ever read. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a mischevios adventurerous kids. This book is good for adults because it could most likely to take you back to your own childhood. For kids it could give some ideas to enjoy your childhood.

Tom sawyer is a mischevios boy who always gets into trouble. tom tricks his friends into doing his chores. He falls in love. He wittnesses a murder scene. he runs away to be a pirate. He attends his own funeral. he finds buried treasure. feeds his cat pain killer. gets lost in a cave with the person he loves. Also gets 6,000 dollars.

I've learned from this book the importance of being young. It also taught me don't rush to grow up because you're only young once. IT also taught me what it was like to be a kid 150 years ago.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of the best books I have ever read. The language,the thinking,the adventures-all of it was just incredible and enjoyable. The only thing this book needs is more pages! Mark Twain's skill in writing has created a book that all ages should read (or have it read to).Mark Twain reactivates the life and actions of a boy in the mid-1800's,and showed me that kids should be who they are- not what they will be. This is a classic for every generation to read and enjoy.

Mark Twain's,The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, tells about a boy loving and living his life to the fullest. Tom Sawyer is the kid that the world has seemed to forgotten. He is the kid who always get in trouble but continues to have fun with life. In this book, Tom does everything from being engaged, to watching his own funeral, to witnessing a [death] and finding treasure. Twain's creative character finds fun everywhere in his little town in Missouri, as do his friends. The storyline is basic, but it is a piece of the past that everyone should hold on to.

In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, I learned mainly two things. The first thing I learned was that you can make life fun with just about anything if you use your imagination. Life is too short and precious to be wasted. I also learned that where you least expect it [help or protection], you might just get it. This book was just amazing-filled with unique characters, exciting events, and how a town can pull together to help those in need.

Tom Sawyer is one of the most endearing characters in American fiction. This wonderful book deals with all the challenges that any young person faces, and resolves them in exciting and unusual ways.

Like many young people, Tom would rather be having fun than going to school and church. This is always getting him into trouble, from which he finds unusual solutions. One of the great scenes in this book has Tom persuading his friends to help him whitewash a fence by making them think that nothing could be finer than doing his punishment for playing hooky from school. When I first read this story, it opened up my mind to the potential power of persuasion.

Tom also is given up for dead and has the unusual experience of watching his own funeral and hearing what people really thought of him. That's something we all should be able to do. By imagining what people will say at our funeral, we can help establish the purpose of our own lives. Mark Twain has given us a powerful tool for self-examination in this wonderful sequence.

Tom and Huck Finn also witness a murder, and have to decide how to handle the fact that they were not supposed to be there and their fear of retribution from the murderer, Injun Joe.

Girls are a part of Tom's life, and Becky Thatcher and he have a remarkable adventure in a cave with Injun Joe. Any young person will remember the excitement of being near someone they cared about alone in this vignette.

Tom stands for the freedom that the American frontier offered to everyone. His aunt Polly represents the civilizing influence of adults and towns. Twain sets up a rewarding novel that makes us rethink the advantages of both freedom and civilization. In this day of the Internet frontier, this story can still provide valuable lessons about listening to our inner selves and acting on what they have to say. Enjoy!

This book lacks some of the focus and the sheer joy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but it is a delight nonetheless -- Charlie, Mr. Wonka and Charlie's family take the Great Glass Elevator around for some wild adventures.

It's a sequel, folks. And, frankly, when you are the sequel to the greatest children's book ever written, that's a hard act to live up to. Dahl does a decent job, so I give him 4 stars.

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Visit Willy Wonka's Wondrous World Again!
* * * * * (5 Stars)
I chose this book because when I looked at the cover I thought it was cool. The cover shows and elevator flying up in space, so I thought it would be about space and cool inventions. The book wasn't like that at all. It was about Mr. Wonka, a man who owns a chocolate factory, and Charlie, a kid who will be getting the chocolate factory, and Charlie's family. They go into space and help people from dying and as a reward having a party. Since the book was different from the cover, I do like what's in the book better than the cover and the idea of the cover.

Mr. Wonka, Charlie and Charlie's family got into an elevator and ended up in space. They stayed in a Space Hotel for a day and later had to save it from space aliens. This book is for children 8 - 10. I couldn't put this book down. It is a great way of using your imagination. This fantasy is written by Roahld Dauhl.

I liked imagining what aliens looked like, and how they saved the space hotel.

You'll miss out if you don't read this book!

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is a book for kids for a vivid imagination. Charlie is off again with his new book (after Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) that has more excitement and adventure. I would higher hieghts, in space. Charlie has to fight in a vigorous battle, and save his grandma from some far off place. Charlie now owns the Chocolate factory from the first book where Charlie was last seen in the great glass elevator. Roald Dahl made this book you can't put down because of his wording. So run off to the nearest book store, lie down, and prepare for adventure and suspense.