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Book reviews for "Pikelny,_Philip_S." sorted by average review score:

Dayworld
Published in Paperback by Ace Books (1988)
Author: Philip Jose Farmer
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Let me say he's the best
This book is absolutely awsome. It made me enjoy every single single page I read, and I actually read it twice. Why living everybody on the same days at the same time? Here is a nice solution to the population explosion problem. In each day of the week only 1/7 of the population will live. But what heppens when someone want to live out of his day ? If U want to do a day-brake, then you need difrent identity in each day. Can anyone be 7 difrent peoples at once ? I guess so, I suggest to read this book, though.
Read it, it's fun.
Read it, it's very smart.

One of his best. The concept is the most creative yet.
The book tells a story about a criminal who wants only the freedom to live all the days of his life instead of being subjected to one day of the week. The only way he can do this, is to fight for it...

the social ramifications to a politcal solution
i read this book several months ago and it has really stuck. the concept of the book is simple enough, but the author really exploits the societal ramifications his world creates. it is difficult to locate the books in the series since most are out of print. let me know if any of the books are available.


Eclipse!: The What, Where, When, Why, and How Guide to Watching Solar and Lunar Eclipses
Published in Paperback by John Wiley & Sons (10 September, 1997)
Author: Philip S. Harrington
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Highly recommendable
I've been lucky to watch 3 total solar eclipses in my life, and still want more! This book was written by an eclipse-addict to help other eclipse-addicts, like me. I feel very grateful to Mr. Harrington for sharing all his experience and regarded knowledge to make the eclipse experience more fun. I'm now planning to watch the 2001 eclipse in Africa based on this book's advises.

The book includes charts, tables, photographic tips, and much more useful information. The only drawback I see is that it has no color pictures.

The Aug '99 eclipse is around the corner,THIS BOOK IS A MUST
I have been planning my trip to view the August 1999 total solar eclipse for a few years now. It's almost here!! Thanks to this book, the best about eclipses by far, I am ready! Chapters detail traveling to other countries, what to bring, how to photograph eclipses, and even information about *every* eclipse between now and 2017. It even gives details about expected climatological conditions!

This book is more than solar eclipses, however. It also gives me new appreciation for lunar eclipses as well. There is a beauty coming up in January 2000 that will be visible right from my backyard. I'm now ready for that one, too!!

Complete guide to nature's most spectacular show
Total solar eclipses are mother nature's rarest and best trick: for a few precious moments, a blackness replaces the sun.

This book answers the what-where-why, as well as capturing the awe of total solar eclipses, and also covers the related phenomenon of lunar and partial solar eclipses.

The book has the technical integrity to not "talk down" to the audience while still being interesting to the non-scientist.


The Guermantes Way (Remembrance of Things Past, 5)
Published in Audio Cassette by Naxos Audio Books (1997)
Authors: Marcel Proust, Veville Jason, and Philip Madoc
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Don't stop now
Let's face it, if you've made it through the first two volumes, then, in the words of Van Morrison, it's too late to stop now. There will be those parts where you want to wring Marcel's neck (both the author's and the protagonist's), but then, you already know that. No one sees the way that Proust sees.

Read the climax to one theme building since Swann's Way
In this volume Proust's narrator at last penetrates to the salon of Mme de Guermantes, the apex of Parisian society. If you've read Swann's Way and Within a Budding Grove, then you realize that this achievement is far more exciting than any summary can convey. Here Proust also develops the narrator's friendships with Saint-Loup and Albertine, presents us with one of the most beautifully written death scenes in Western literature, dissects the salon culture, and introduces an unforgettable ...mentor. This may sound irrelevant to life in the 2000s, but, as always, Proust's artistry captures the timeless human reality running through the daily details.

Aristocracy and delusion
"In search of lost time" continues with Marcel's return to Paris after vacation in Balbec, to the new family house. The neighbor is the Duchess of Guermantes with whom Marcel falls in love in a platonic and purely imaginary way. He gets desperate to be admitted into the Duchess's social circle, and so he takes advantage of his new friednship with Saint-Loup, who belongs in that circle. Marcel goes to visit him at the town where he's in military service, and on his return, he is admitted to the salon of the Marquise de Villeparisis, a first step to his goal. What follows is a treatise, a bittersweet one, on the aristocratic world of Paris, in times of the scandal provoked by the Dreyfus Affair. Proust admirably portraits the hypocrisy, hollowness and cruelty of the aristocratic world, as well as the main character's affection for his grandmother, his friendship with Saint-Loup, the spiritual desolation of the age, and his disenchantment with aristocrats. So continues the greatest saga of memory and emotions, one of the best books ever written.


Light One Candle: A Survivor's Tale from Lithuania to Jerusalem
Published in Hardcover by Kodansha International (1995)
Authors: Solly Ganor and Philip Turner
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a well written thought provoking account
i have read well over two hundred memoirs. This is worth crying over (not that other ones aren't also) and listening to very carefully. without sentimentality - without profession of feelings that may or may not have been felt but remembered...solly ganor brings the reader inside his mind and heart.

The best personal account of the Holocaust I've read.
In LIGHT ONE CANDLE, Solly Ganor takes the reader into that nightmare world of the Holocaust--I could practically feel the harsh elements, the constant danger of the camps. This book isn't anther rote recitation of death counts. There's so much heart and compassion for all those sweptup in these horrors. The insights into camp life include the primal nature of life stripped to itsbasics--such as the "storyteller" who keeps the outside world and traditions alive. Particularly poignant is Cooky, Ganor's childhood friend whose account of the slaughter at the Ninth Fort is more compelling than Dante's own descent into Hell. Ipersonally feel Ganor's book is deserving of some national/international award. Actually, reading the book I wonder how Ganor got it all done. It must have been so painful to revisit these terrible, incomprehensible, sublime, poignant memories. To me it's the best book on the Holocaust, personal or otherwise--certainly it should be a companion to any serious study of this subject. To me it hits at the heart, gets into the soul. It's the humanity of the account,particularly those heart-rending final glimpses of the condemned trying to smile as they wave good-bye.

This Is One Terrific Story!
Solly Ganor's book is simply not to be missed. This is a great narrative from a good man.


Merriam Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms
Published in Hardcover by Merriam-Webster, Inc. (1984)
Authors: Merriam-Webster Staff, Merriam-Webster, and Philip B. Gove
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Excellent
This book and Chamber's Etymological English Dictionary are my two favorite but little-known word reference works. The main difference between this book and Roget's Thesaurus is it focuses more precisely on the actual meanings of the words. A thesaurus will give you plenty of words with similar or nearly similar meanings, grouped by general idea or concept. But most of the words are not exactly synonymous. If you need that, this book will come to your rescue. Another nice feature is, as another reviewer here pointed out, it will even give you examples of words with very similar meanings, but with enough description and definition so you can distinguish among otherwise seemingly identical words and synonyms.

It's also in some ways easier to use than a typical thesaurus, since if you just need a different word and can't recall one, it's easiest to just look it up and get a quick alternative, instead of going through all the extra words you'd get in a thesaurus, but which aren't exactly what you want. Overall, a fine reference work and one that deserves to be better known.

An essential reference work for people who work with words
This excellent reference book deserves to be much better known than it is. I do a lot of writing in my job, and have used it (or its earlier edition) regularly for about 15 years. I am surprised at how many people do not seem to be familiar with it. There are few truly synonymous words in English; many words mean about the same thing, but have slightly different meanings and connotations, and are more appropriate in different contexts. The purpose of this book is to help you sort all of this out.

It is important to understand that this book is NOT a thesaurus, but a completely different, yet equally useful, reference work. A very good essay at the beginning of this book explains this, and gives an interesting history of how books of synonyms developed over the past centuries.

The best thesaurus is Roget's International Thesaurus -- the original work, now in its 6th edition, not one of the ones in "dictionary format." Roget's provides long lists words of similar meaning, grouped under conceptual headings. Its purpose is to jog your memory, spur creative thinking, or help you realize what you are really trying to say. It is absolutely the best thing for easing writer's block and helping you to find a word.

The purpose of this book, on the other hand, is to help you understand the differences between similar words. It explains nuances of meaning and compares words that mean approximately, but not quite, the same thing. It has a number of long entries that discuss 5 or 6 similar words together, explaining when to use each and giving examples (usually from good literature) of the correct use of each. When you look up one of the other synonyms, it will point you to the main article in which it is discussed. For example, the entry for "prim" dicusses and differentiates the near-synonyms "priggish, prissy, prudish, puritanical, and straitlaced." It explains the differences in meaning, and the contexts in which each word is appropriate. If you look up any one of those words, it will list the synonyms briefly but refer you to the main discussion under "prim."

I highly recommend this book to high school, college, and graduate students; to people learning English; and to people who write for a living. I suggest that a writer get this book and Roget's International Thesaurus (as well as a good dictionary, of course). Look up a word in Roget's to find some synonyms, then look them up in the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms to see which of those words are really correct in the context.

A Fantastic Book
Ii cannot say enough positive about this book. It goes beyond a thesaurus, which provides you with a list of synonyms. It gives one the exact shade of meaning that enable you to use the best word for the exact meaning that you intend. If you don't have it, you should buy it.


Damascus Nights
Published in Hardcover by Farrar Straus & Giroux (1993)
Authors: Rafik Schami and Philip Boehm
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Going to the Middle East?
My husband and I read this book while touring Syria. It was the perfect accompanyment. It casts a humorous, gentle, but not uncritical eye on the culture of this region, and--though not a political novel--places its story against the background of the coups and counter-coups leading up to the Assad regime. Highly recommended!

A book for all ages
Damascus nights is indeed written like a delightful story based on the ancient 1001 nights. There are however some dark under-currents and echoes of other important pieces of literature. Do you not hear the echoes of other horsemen, of the darkness of the Apocalypse in the distance? Like Gullivers Travels this book can be read on so many levels. Enjoy it!

A wonderful book
I loved this book. It kept me engaged from start to end - it was so delightful. This is for all ages.


The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Essentials of Evangelicalism
Published in Hardcover by Crossway Books (2002)
Authors: James Montgoney Boice, Philip Graham Ryken, James Montgomery Boice, and R. C. Sproul
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Good explaination of Calvinism, but went further than needed
Boise really explains Calvinistic views well in this book. He draws off of scripture and not just philosophy. My main problem with the book is that Boise tries to go beyond what needs to be covered. If he would just stick with verses that are plane spoken he'd do good. But he takes a lot of verses that are kind of gray, and tries to force them into his Calvinistic views. This is not good exegesis. It really weakens a Calvinists argument when you try to fit verses into your theology. Boise would be better again, by just sticking with the verses that clearly point to the doctrines of grace. Overall this book is adequate, but if you come at it from a mind seeking truth you will see where he does force his meaning onto verses. If you come at this book as a Calvinist, you'll cheer as he uses all verses to support his argument. If you come to it as a Arminian, you'll be swayed when he shows the clear cut verses that show how God elects, but you'll be repulsed when he forces his belief on the not so clear verses.

Intro to the Reformed LifeView
I bought this book with a desire to understand more of Calvinism. I came at it with, I believe, an objective view. Boice expounds convincingly the Calvinist texts, redefines the TULIP acronym so that it is more clear and precise, and gives direction on how a Calvinist lives.

As other reveiwers mentioned, Boice does a good job on the easy texts and leaves some wanting on the hard texts (see Michael Horton instead). Also Helpful are the verses of the hymns that Boice composed before each chapter. In the final chapters Boice (and Ryken) attempt to refute the claim that Calvinists are the "Frozen Chose" and points to history and the example of 10th Presbyterian Church as signs of a lively Reformed faith.

Final Analysis.
If one is a seasoned Calvinist or Arminian, then this book probably will not be anything new for you. However, for a new Reformed or an Arminian wishing a debate, this book will be interesting. For those more seasoned, try Michael Horton's Putting Amazing Back into Grace.

WHO BIRTHED YOU INTO THE KINGDOM?
James Boice and Philip Ryken present a cogent, easy to understand
presentation of the Reformed faith. The church today generally does not read church history and are therefore not aware of the doctrines that were preached and died for. This effort plainly
expounds the profound deep truths of the Bible without losing its
audience. I highly recommend this as the beginning book for anyone dealing with the issue of God's sovereignty. The question truly is "Who birthed you into the kingom; yourself or Jehovah God?" If "every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of Lights", salvation is one of those gifts and comes "from" God and not ourselves. The question that this book helps answer is this: is man TOTALLY depraved or partially wounded? Ephesians 2:1,5 says "you who were dead, God made alive". This book explains in simple language one of the deepest truths of the Word of God.


J2EE Performance Testing
Published in Paperback by APress (2003)
Authors: Peter Zadrozny, Philip Aston, and Ted Osborne
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THE book for J2EE server performance
I was looking for a good book that can help me not only learn Application Server performance tuning and benchmarking rather help me in my day development activities.

I found this is THE book,which meets my needs.

Excellent Read
I was looking for a book to help me understand how regular performance testing is performed so that I could construct a plan to do Denial of Service security testing. I knew nothing about performance testing at all. The books really well laid out, structured, has great examples and is really methodical. It was perfect !

J2EE Performance Testing with BEA WebLogic Server
It was a great book! Had lots of information about Performance Testing. When coupled with the power of Panorama(TM) by Altaworks.com, it is incredible.


Lockheed L-1011 TriStar (Airliner Color History)
Published in Paperback by Motorbooks International (1998)
Author: Philip Birtles
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Very good book on one of the finest aircraft ever built!
A wonderful book detailing the development and uses of the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar.. Sadly, most Tristars are disapearing from the skies due to their age and fuel consumption. This book explains the history and development of the aircraft very well. It is loaded with pictures of many of the carriers which were fortunate enough to fly this wonderful aircraft. A great book, I really enjoyed it.

The Tristar in Depth
This title is an excellent begining to anyone who wants to understand the L-1011. From its inception to its continued airline service and service with the RAF, the program is detailed to the nth degree. Filled with wonderful and lovely color photos as well as numerous technical illustrations, this book is turely and avaition afficinatos tribute to a wonderful and beautiful aircraft. They don't make them like this anymore.

Informative and Interesting
After just flipping through this book I realised this was not the normal run of the mill airliner book I usually expected. I already had a few books detailing certain aircraft indepth and I wanted another!

This book had plenty of color photos including shots I had never seen before or expected (such as one showing the development prototype fitted with an experimental EFIS instument panel!!) and plenty of reading and facts to keep you busy.


More Heat than Light : Economics as Social Physics, Physics as Nature's Economics
Published in Hardcover by Cambridge University Press (1990)
Author: Philip Mirowski
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Excellent Book
Mirowski's argument is that economists as it is practiced today is simply thermodynamics circa-1855. The neoclassical notion of "utility" is the thermodynamic notion of potential energy, which is a version of the vis viva of Kant. The Laplacian dream of a perfectly mathematizable, atomic world is preserved, as if mummified, in economics even though the mathematics (and the physics) is nearly 150 years old. Mirowski goes back to Adam Smith and notes that in Smith there is the same dream of a "social physics," except that Smith understood physics more as Cartesian vortices than Newtonian gravity. Mirowski has a very interesting story to tell, the basic problem is that he mixes it with his own homegrown theory of Western Civilization that only confuses the basic argument. The equation of body-motion-energy may or may not be a central motif in economic history, but that argument is separate from the very interesting story of economics as social physics. Too bad he didn't save his little pet theory for another book.

Imaginary worlds of theory
This fascinating upgrage of the author's earlier _Against Mechanism_ gives a severe account of the state of mathematical economics as it has been since the marginalist revolution. It is a reminder that mathematical technique and basic modeling are two separate activities and that understanding what it is that one is attempting to make into a science is not so easy. It is probably true no deterministic mathematical science of any type known is possible in a medium involving human consciousness. Yet the obsession to treat these different domains of discourse as analogous to physics or amenable to predictive science via the apparatus of differential equations simply refuses to die. It is a peculiar history, that some very good mathematicians of the nineteenth century, who understood the physics, found bizarre at the start, before the bad habits of phantom thinking became institutionalized. Mirowski's expose of the whole game is priceless, and almost unnerving. Hm, ideology perhaps Very important book.

Update
Since having reviewed this book in September 1999, I was inspired by it to resolve Mirowski's Thesis in a recent paper called 'The Futility of Utility' (Physica A,2000). My resolution shows that both Varian and Mirowski were partly wrong. Mirowski is right in one sense: when dynamics is taken into account in the theory of production then the generic case (nonintegrable dynamics) is that utility is a path-dependent functional, and so doesn't exist mathematically as a function of demand. In this case (as Osborne observed from empirical data) price as a function of demand does not exist (the 'cartoons' passing as graphs in Samuelson's textbook can't be constructed from real market data). Varian was wrong: the most trivial integrability conditions are violated in this case because utility as a function cannot be postulated but either exists or doesn't according to dynamics. On the other hand, Mirowski was wrong that an analog of kinetic energy, or even a conserved quantity, is required. Utility is not, as Mirowski believed, analogous to potential energy: it is analogous to what physicists call the action. When optimization-control dynamics (Hamiltonian dynamics in econometrics) is integrable, then the action is a function, not merely a path-dependent functional (see Liouville's integrability theorem, ca. 1880, also discussed in 1916 by Einstein in the context of why Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization fails).


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