Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $1.07
Buy one from zShops for: $2.00
Used price: $21.98
John Norman and I have come from different firefighting backgrounds. Most of his book reflects his experience in larger metropolitan areas. His book's chapters on ladder companies and high rises raise issues which are seldom used in smaller, semi-rural communities like the one in which I live. Likewise he does not address wildland fires or oil well fires such as the ones which we deal with here in East Texas.
However I appreciate our differences and it here that I learn how to become a better firefighter than I am. When I was first taught scene size-up, I was taught four basic questions: What do I have? What do I need? What do I want? and Who's in command? Norman prefers the acronym COAL WAS WEALTH. (Pardon me if I refer to page 17 of Norman's book at this time.) The last of my four questions should reflect my adherrence to the Incident Command System which is something that Norman's index cites only on page 70.
You never learn it all. Norman includes chapters on ventilation, search and rescue, forcible entry, firefighter survival, etc. Even though Norman writes for larger metropolitan areas, all firefighters can learn from it. Every page of my copy has something highlighted.
Used price: $11.50
Second, he is thorough in his coverage on most aspects of the paleonotological record. In his section on trilobites for instance, he has photographs of trilobite fossils and artists illustrations of trilobites swimming, molting, walking, curling up in defense, egg laying, and plowing the seabed for food. The accompanying text is no less detailed and useful. On the lengthy section of conquering the land, Norman has a great diagram showing the major structural changes that fishes underwent to conquer the terrestrial world (particularly in the areas of the pelvic and pectoral girdles and the spine), several illustrations of amphibian skeletons, and several nice illustrations of early amphibians, both individually and in the context of their environment. Dinosaurs as you might imagine get a huge section, with an entire additional chapter devoted the evolution of birds and dinosaur-bird relationships (including discussion of issues of dinosaur endothermy). Marine reptiles of the Mesozoic are not neglected, with many excellent illustrations including some very fine paintings, photographs of fossils, and a diagram illustrating the differences between the swimming and body styles of three main groups, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and pliosaurs. The section on extinct mammals and mammalian evolution is quite thorough and one of my favorites, as extinct mammals are otherwise very poorly covered in the popular literature. In a readable and engaging format Norman discusses such varied topics in this area as the differences between birds and mammals with regards to the efficiency of their breathing systems, the evolutionary history of Australia's marsupials, the Great Faunal Interchange between North and South America, the evolution of whales, and the rise of grasslands and the role that played in mammalian evolution.
Third, the book, as you might gather, is richly illustrated. Though very much a great text one can sit down and read, it is packed with excellent photographs, drawings, and paintings of fossils, skeletons, animals and plants as they appeared in life, and prehistoric environments. Personal favorites include on pages 100-101 the early reptile Hylonmous scampering after a meal in a coal swamp, on pages 136-137 a scene of two Late Triassic pterosaurs fishing for a meal, and a Gigantopithecus family with associated fauna and flora on page 219.
Fourth (do you still need a reason to buy this book?) the book is very readable. Though quite accurate (though unfortunately one or two aspects of its coverage of the Burgess Shale and dinosaurs are a bit dated, hard to avoid), it is not a difficult read and one need not be a professional biologist. Relevant terms are well explained, often with the aid of diagrams and charts.
List price: $35.00 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $18.49
Collectible price: $18.50
Buy one from zShops for: $18.78
Like Norwich's other works, this is "merely" a well-written, enjoyable, non-scholarly (but why should scholars have all the fun?) reciting of "the other Norman conquest," a history that few people have ever heard of. Norwich's dry humor keeps the reader entertained and amused throughout. For example, after describing Bernard of Clairvaux' complaint about Anacletus II's family's Jewish origins -- "it is to the injury of Christ that the pffspring of a Jew should have seized for himself the throne of St. Peter" -- Norwich comments, "The question of St. Peter's own racial origins does not seem to have occurred to him." Comparing a mosaic of King William I with the chronicler's descriptions of hs extreme handsomeness, Norwish writes, "After all we have heard of William's beauty, that round face, fair scrubby beard and slightly vacant expression come as a faint disappointment."
This book is at least as good as Norwich's Byzantium books.
Used price: $69.88
Buy one from zShops for: $67.35
In addition to a sound presentation of concepts - without however being extensive (or boring) on theoretical details that probably would not be relevant - this book addresses most areas of University Math (Physical Sciences undergraduate curriculum) with a wealth of good practical programming examples. I specially liked the chapters on Eigenvectors and Eigenvalues, those on Differential equations, Fourier analysis and the simple but very clear and didatic one on Discrete sytems.
In summary, although not a complete text, the subjects addressed in this book are so well presented that it can be forgiven for not covering some areas (like complex variables and calculus of variations, to name only two). There is no waste of pages in this book, but as a suggestion for future enhancement I would mention the inclusion of a chapter dedicated to exploring the graphing power available in MATLAB.
Also as a reference, for most needs you'll probably be able to start doing something productive right away after reading. Well worth its price!
Used price: $73.00
Buy one from zShops for: $103.35
List price: $17.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $7.83
Buy one from zShops for: $7.99
Using some military music and representative battle cries for the many combat scenes and the opening and closing of doors to let us know about entrances and exits, this set gives us a fast-paced account of Shakespeare's dramatic shaping of so many years of tumultuous English history.
Now this play has a large cast and it is very seldom clear just who is speaking at any given moment--a problem endemic to any play on tape with several characters--and it is recommended that one have a text handy during the first hearing. Or if you have seen the magnificent BBC productions of this trilogy, you might be able to know who is speaking from your memory of that series. Suffice it to say, most of the important characters can be recognized by their voices, although (as many critics have pointed out) all the men do tend to speak alike until the very idiosyncratic voice of Richard Gloucester appears late in Part II.
Since the demise of the old legendary series on Decca/London label back in the LP days, this is the only recording we have of these three plays; and we are very fortunate they are done so well.
The "Richard III" came out at the same time and I will record my comments about that set on the appropriate webpage.
Pounds has really mastered the material, including the most comprehensive bibliography ever assembled. Much space is devoted to discussing the evidence and the historiographical debate surrounding each sub-topic. Perhaps the only downfall to Pounds' wonderful work is that it is really limited to the periods from which there is substantial evidence. Outside of Chapter Two, the Early Medieval period is hardly discussed. This is, however, made up for with spectacular analysis in the later periods.
Finally, the graphics alone make this book worth the hunt. There are amazing maps, charts, graphs, and illustrations all over this book, all of which are quite usefull.
Used price: $12.72
Buy one from zShops for: $17.80
List price: $40.00 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $30.36
Buy one from zShops for: $26.85
In addition a number of the maps were incorrect, especially for Uganda.
Still, if you go to the region for birding, make sure to get this book, because it is definitely the best field guide around.
Are you overwhemled or caught up in day to day events? Mr. Templeton's collections of various authors and his own works will explain sometimes difficult situations into easy to understand english. For example, lesson "No one knows the weight of another's burden" on page 20 is about the young man in a male therapy group.
The men were in a group session and the person in the story is a new participant. The mediator explained that each person would have a few minutes to explain his problem and what they plan to do about it. Natually, the new person thought with his marital break down, near bankruptcy and poor health, his would be one of the saddest cases.
Before it was his turn to speak, a handsome young man in his 20's revealed that he was terminally ill and had 6 months to live. Rather than dwell on it, he decided to take up flying lessons and live! Naturally, everybody else was taken off guard and rediscovered the gifts they have.
Templeton's 200 lessons in this book address almost every situation around. You don't have to be struggling with life to enjoy this. Everybody needs a bit of down to earth insiration and you'll have it with this!