I disagree with the reviews above. I feel this book is really confusing. Ive been weight training, on and off, for 7 years at least. Due to lack of progress and chronic shoulder injuries I was forced to rethink my training program and start from scratch; back to the basics.

The book is basically split up as follows:

1) Basics: make up of muscles, stretching, Reps, Sets

2)Set programs A, B, C, D Starting with program A for beginners and ending with D for athletes.

3)Exercises: The above programs contain a number of recommended exercises done over a certain time period. this section explains how the exercises in the above programs are performed.

4)A whole section on nuitrtion: the basics, what kind of diet to maintain according to the type of sports youre in, and a bit about supplements.

Now i personally had no problems till i reached the set programs section. Personally i was hoping the book would teach me how to tailor programs for my own needs. I was more than happy to do set programs, except for the fact that the book was very vague in a few areas. For example, how many sets should one do for each exercise performed. To say that athletes can do such and such number of sets and that beginners should do so and so isn't very helpful for someone trying to get back into training. Plus there is no real mention of whether or not one should incrementally increase weights from set to set. I mean does one stick to one workload weight or increase as one goes on in the same exercise?

I don't know. This maybe a good book for some but it definitely left me more confused than I was to begin with. This is not a book that can be used to tailor your programs at all, which is what I was looking for. Out of fairness I cant say that the set programs don't work as I haven't tried them out. This is the first Weider book ive purchased and it hasn't given me a good first impression. And the only reason i gave this book a two star was because of the few bits of information here and there that i found useful. Definitely not for everyone.

This is one of the best books on fitness that I have read. Its definitely better than a lot of the books on the market. The book would be helpful to beginners, as well as those who have a long history of working out.

The style of the book is written somewhat as a weightlifting by dummies approach, except in a much more professional way. Specifically, the authors stick to general issues in the text, which they then support with more complex details, such as issues relating to physiology, in grey boxes.

For beginners, the detailed workout schedule may prove helpful. For advanced lifters, the discussions on different muscle groups (and how to improve muscle in those groups) is enlightening.

The section on nutrition is very detailed and, quite frankly, a bit long. It was the only part of the book that I viewed as somewhat weak (they tried to outline diets and dietary supplements, which is a very difficult thing to do).

This is the book I've been waiting for! While the exercise component at the front of the book was a little elementary for me (I've been training for three years), the Dynatrition section provided answers to many many questions I've had, and in an easily digested manner. Wonderful.

As I am one of the contributing authors to the work, I will refrain from commenting on it, any further then to make a slight correction to the kind review of Leonard Fox. Mr. Fox, in his review, has stated:

"The reader, however, should be aware that the authors are Karaites from the Egyptian community and tradition, and therefore they do not have the background or linguistic ability to provide information on the customs of the Eastern European Karaites"

This is incorrect. Avraham Qanaï (misspelled Qanao above), one of the major contributors to the volume, is a Crimean Karaite, and one of the few native speakers in the world of Karaija/Karaim, the language of the Crimean Karaites. Furthermore the Qirqisani Center, who produced this volume, counts among its members and advisors some of the foremost authorities on the Crimean Karaites alive today:

Dr. Phillip Miller,
Dr. Dan Shapira,
and Mikhail Kizilov (who has a new book "Karaites Through the Travelers' Eyes", which is on the Karaites of the Crimea, forthcoming from the Qirqisani Center)

to name some, but not all of the scholars the Center works with. The Qirqisani Center is no way affiliated with any official Karaite movement (i.e., the 'Egyptian' Karaites), but is, rather, a cooperative of scholars who are actively involved in the study of Karaism.

[note: so as not to affect the rating of the book, as much as possible, I have given it 4 stars to compliment Mr. Fox's generous rating]

As I am one of the contributing authors to the work, I will refrain from commenting on it, any further then to make a slight correction to the kind review of Leonard Fox. Mr. Fox, in his review, has stated:

"The reader, however, should be aware that the authors are Karaites from the Egyptian community and tradition, and therefore they do not have the background or linguistic ability to provide information on the customs of the Eastern European Karaites"

This is incorrect. Avraham Qanaï (misspelled Qanao above), one of the major contributors to the volume, is a Crimean Karaite, and one of the few native speakers in the world of Karaija/Karaim, the language of the Crimean Karaites. Furthermore the Qirqisani Center, who produced this volume, counts among its members and advisors some of the foremost authorities on the Crimean Karaites alive today:

Dr. Phillip Miller,
Dr. Dan Shapira,
and Mikhail Kizilov (who has a new book "Karaites Through the Travelers' Eyes", which is on the Karaites of the Crimea, forthcoming from the Qirqisani Center)

to name some, but not all of the scholars the Center works with. The Qirqisani Center is no way affiliated with any official Karaite movement (i.e., the 'Egyptian' Karaites), but is, rather, a cooperative of scholars who are actively involved in the study of Karaism.

[note: so as not to affect the rating of the book, as much as possible, I have given it 4 stars to compliment Mr. Fox's generous rating]

This book fills a long-standing gap in Karaite studies. It is a very useful exposition of Karaite doctrine and practices, written by Karaites themselves. The reader, however, should be aware that the authors are Karaites from the Egyptian community and tradition, and therefore they do not have the background or linguistic ability to provide information on the customs of the Eastern European Karaites - specifically those of the Crimea, Lithuania, and Poland, whose books and journals were written in Karaim (a Turkic language), Russian, Lithuanian, and Polish.

There are also some questionable - or at least debatable - statements made in the book about the history of the Karaites in general, and the connections of the Crimean Karaites (Karaims) with the Khazars in particular.

Although the book is well printed and bound, there are, unfortunately, a great many typographical errors which should have been corrected during proofreading before publication.

Readers interested in further information on the Karaites should look for the English translation of a work by Simon Szyszman, the greatest Karaite scholar of the twentieth century, entitled "Karaism: Its Doctrines and History," which is due to be published this year.

I had to use this book for my Advanced Accounting class at the U of I at Chicago, and I followed it along with Bill Gates' Excel. Even without an available student's solutions manual, I recommend this book.

The learning approach I employed was different. I used the exhibits, figures, and other tables, and duplicated them in Excel. Within the cells, I created formulas to derive the numbers shown in each debit (credit) line item in the worksheet. When it came time to try a different problem, I just changed the inputs, and in most cases, the numbers fell into place. If something didn't, it usually meant that I had to modify or add to a formula or input until the entire worksheet balanced.

After each chapter, the instructor provided the solutions so that we were able to check our answers, but in most cases, I really didn't need them because the answers would just reinforce the solutions that I derived.

With this book and Excel, learning advanced accounting (consolidations) was fun and intellectualy stimulating, and I learned a lot. Moreover, I refined my Excel skills. I just hope I don't become too overconfident and not sufficiently study for the consolidations portion of the CPA exam! :-)

This was an excellent book. I greatly enjoyed each and every adventure that Ben K. Green takes you through in the book. In a time where everything is done the easy way it is great to be able to look back and see how things realy used to be done. Through this book you are able to get a very clear picture of the old west. I loved reading about all the different ways the horse traders thought of to skam each other and somehow they both thought they were getting a good deal. I thought this book was great and was not able to put it down once I picked it up. I can't wait to read more by Ben K. Green.

I read "Hey Joe" while I was on vacation and it is the perfect book for that- vacationing, hanging around. The novel chronicles sixteen year old Joe on one night when something really important happens- I won't give it away. The novel also introduces a counterplot with a jury verdict, a female sexual predetor, Joe's neighbor who hasn't come to terms with certain items, and his mother.
"Hey Joe" takes its readers in the colorful, crazy, and at times implausible world of this New Orleans teen. The characters are fun, have a sense of reality, the dialouge is realistic, and the story moves well. I enjoyed the fact that Joe was not hung up about his sexuality, but rather accepted it. Niehart also didn't portray Joe as a flamer or any of the characters as caricatures, which is often a mistake in first novels. The writing as languid, easy to understand, and enjoyable- all things a vacation book should be.
I must say that the novel ends on a confusing note. I have a hard time beleiving that such a comfortable guy would end with such jargon. And I couldv'e done without the counterplot about the trial and jury. That sounded a bit outlandish. The book wasn't meant to change the face of the world and how people view gay teens ... but was meant to be enjoyable, dream like and even a bit romantic- in it's old notions of course. But don't take it for anything else. Niehart has a good stlye. I just hope to see it develop in the future.

"Hey, Joe" takes you inside the head of a young teen just coming to grips with his sexuality. In a very believable way, we watch as Joe tries to balance his emerging sexuality with the push and pull of all the other everyday problems that surround him. Ben Neihart has coupled his own insights into this coming-of-age story with an implausible, but entertaining suspense story involving murder, betrayal and, of course, love. As a first novel, "Hey, Joe" shows great promise. Neihart has a strong voice, a clear style and an ability to create likable characters. His one weakness, his contrived subplot, is offset by his unwillingness to take the safe wrap-it-up ending that until the final page seems all too likely. For those drawn to coming-of-age novels, good character development and a fun fast read, "Hey, Joe" is a good bet

"Hey, Joe" is the novel I reread the most this year. The characters are funky and the lines they speak are so palpable that they jump off the page. I found myself reading lines out loud to my friends. New Orleans, where the novel is set, looks and smells and feels exactly as I remember it. Joe, the main character, is the most heartbreakingly open-hearted character of the year. He's a sixteen year old kid who just happens to be gay and who gets caught up in a wicked conspiracy. The fresh supporting cast recur at just the right frequency, as in the best novels; just when you've forgotten about one great character, he or she returns. There's plenty of sex, plenty of great food and booze and dancing. Gentle breezes. Wet kisses. All of the best things in life

This is a fantastic and superb account of Joe DiMaggio's baseball career and a sad account of his life after baseball. DiMaggio the player was without parallel. DiMaggio the man apparently fell way short of the mark.and is very sad to realize what a sad, lonely man he really was.Cramer has written a masterful biography of a very complex and complicated man.

The Hero's Life is one of the better baseball biographies I've ever read. When I finished the book I had a much greater appreciation for Joe DiMaggio the baseball player and was not at all impressed with Joe D the man. But the book works best at explaining the myth of the Yankee Clipper, one that could not have surrounded the same player in a different city or era.
Like most athletes there's nothing special about the person off the ball field. Indeed there's plenty not to like. The Joe D that the public came to see was a one dimensional character. Congratulations to Cramer for fleshing him out.
DiMaggio was a fiercly loyal friend, unless, like Toots Shor, you one day said the wrong thing. He totally and completely loved two women. One gave birth to his only child and the other was Marylin Monroe. Yeah he loved Monore, he also beat her.
DiMaggio the ball player was one of the greatest of all time and Cramer provides a convincing argument, simply by letting the facts speak for themselves, through stories of his remarkable exploits including his unparalled flair for the dramatic.
Dimaggio the person was moody, tempermental and most of all, uninteresting, except from the distance of biography. And a top notch biography this is, detailing the subject's life from childhood, through his playing days, his much much celebrated romance with Monroe, and the cold business dealings of his latter years.
This baseball bio ranks only behind Creamer's on Ruth, Stump's on Cobb and Alexander's on McGraw. It would have been better served had Cramer not tipped his hand in the foreward in revealing his contmept for Joe D.

Richard Ben Cramer's biography of Jo DiMaggio is an indictment of our culture of hero worship. That an individual so thoroughly despicable could be so idolized and worshiped says a lot about what's wrong with where America puts its values. No doubt, DiMaggio was one of the greatest atheletes of the 20th century. He was also a legendary womanizer who cavorted with mobsters and took mob money on the side. He broke off all relations with his son (who died a victim of his father's fame shortly after he did) and had little to do with his own siblings, two of whom were also major leaguers. He was a man capable of cutting off frendships that had lasted decades over the tiniest perceived slight. The only touching aspect of his life was his genuine love affair with Marilyn Monroe, a woman whose life he tried to save even as he physically abused her.

Cramer is a first rate journalist and his lively prose makes "Joltin' Joe" come to life for the reader, warts and all. Cramer manages to get inside the head of the man behind the myth despite the fact that he received no cooperation from his subject. Cramer has the proper respect for DiMaggio's on field accomplishments and the proper amount of dismay at the bitter, stingy, thoroughly dislikable old man DiMaggio became. The closing of the book shows DiMaggio as a greedy huckster so willing to cash in on his own name that he was still attempting to autograph baseballs for cash on his deathbed.

This is one of the absolute best recent sports biographies. And if it should happen to cause some people to re-examine their passion for sports memorabilia, so much the better.

This book begins promisingly enough, with a suspenseful and foreboding first chapter. The death of Georgina, a professor, comes satisfyingly quickly and I settled down for an entertaining read. Unfortunately, the 2 1/2 page list of characters at the beginning of the book, along with not one, but two maps, should have served as a warning that this book would quickly become bogged down by too many characters and subplots. I found myself flipping back and forth to this list until I didn't care any more and saved myself any more trouble by flipping to the back of the book instead, thereby revealing the not particularly clever or believable ending.

This book was a disappointment - I don't recommend it.

This is an engrossing and complex book. Not actually my favorite of Sally Wright's three mysteries, but beautifully written as always. And, a finalist for an Edgar this year. Worthwhile.