This is an excellent book for the average reader as well as anyone researching the exploding field of the brain and how it works. The book is beautifully designed with stills, mind maps, animated photos, diagrams and such, all accompanied by short verbal summaries, easily understood by the average reader yet packed, for the researcher, with new and important findings in every area immaginable from the developing brain to mind and memory to diseases of the brain. This is the type of book that should grace a coffee table as well as a library. It is intriguing and interesting. The type is set to allow for in-depth reading or perusal of pictures and captions. One can walk through casually as a slow evening stroll or dive headfirst into it with hunger for knowledge about so important a vessel to the meaning of life. I highly recommend the book to all.

In planning a comprehensive unit on the brain, I purchased It's All In Your Head (student edition), along with a multitude of additional books. Of all items purchased, IAIYH (we educators love acronyms) proves to be an excellent resource--one I plan to use with all of my gifted students. The text provides basic and general information on a variety of topics: the inner workings of the brain, intelligence, "genius", problem-solving, sleep/dreams, and memory (to name a few). While no chapter provides in-depth, graduate level information, the information presented is clear, concise, and written in such a way that students, parents, and educators will find the book both interesting and engaging. Additoinally, each chapter provides a list of additional resources along with (and this is a bonus) readability ratings (one "*" means an easy-to-read book, while "***" is hard-to-read but "worth the effort"). Sections of the text require minor updating (for instance, the section on Gardner's multiple intelligences--only seven are dicussed), but these omissions are easily taught with supplemental resources. All-in-all, an excellent addition to any gifted educator's library and an excellent read for students. If your budget allows, buy classroom sets and let your students keep the book!

Although the name of Francis Graham Wilson has faded into obscurity, Wilson was among the first to define a coherent American conservatism, having preceded the major publications of Russell Kirk, Richard Weaver, and Peter Viereck.

As M. Susan Power states in her useful introduction, Wilson's main interests were Catholicism, conservatism, public opinion, and Spanish political philosophy. Born in Texas, he pursued a quiet life as a professor of political philosophy at the University of Illinois and the University of Washington.

The editors have compiled this collection of essays, written during the 1930s and 40s, into three parts: one, human nature and modern ideology; two, the definition of conservatism and its various aspects; three, "sources of renewal," including analysis of democratic theory, Jefferson, Cicero, and The Federalist.

Power asserts that Wilson offered an original interpretation of American political philosophy based on the classical quest for self-knowledge. This quest for ultimate meaning revealed both a shared human experience and a divine basis for history. In our time Christian conservatism has received a good deal of skepticism, with good reason, but I found Wilson's approach to be among the least intrusive, the most reasoned and flexible. Important to Wilson's view, for example, was the Catholic notion of subsidiarity, or localism, which dispersed political power and authority and which relied for its sustenance on the moral sense of the people. Localism of this sort was very much in the American tradition.

In this context I might also mention Wilson's belief, partly influenced by papal encyclicals, that the captains of industry in his day failed to take their moral leadership seriously, a remark that could be torn from today's newspapers. I am reminded of an observation by Russell Kirk that human beings, not being objects, naturally resist being treated like objects. Wilson was not the first conservative to draw attention to the limitations of industrialism or the mentality it fostered (Carlyle, Coleridge, and Henry Adams also had their doubts) but true to his nature he refused to settle for dividing the issue into legal absolutes or false dichotomies (e.g. Luddite pastoral versus Orwellian skyscrapers). Wilson could see that life divided itself into primary and secondary changes (essential and nonessential elements). That approach was fundamentally conservative in its recognition that the preservation of a moral order occurred among the tension between opposites: past and future, stability and progress, order and liberty, community and the person. Every generation must work to apply first principles to the particular circumstances in which it lives.

While Wilson's prose is free from the academic jargon that would later infect universities, it does proceed in a plodding style which might try the patience of the modern reader. This is not to say it is unreadable, only that it lacks, for example, the literary sense of Kirk or the plain speaking of Nisbet. Yet it covers enough of the foundations in a sufficiently nuanced way to encourage serious reflection about conservatism.

This book is an excellent academic work that can be used for research as well as interested lay-readers. I particularly like the variation in topics from unconventional guerilla movements, unorganized grassroots movements to more conventional movements. The topics include important issues like Las Madres in Argentina and economic structural reforms in the region. The book covers many countries in the region offering a great overview. The contributers are all well known in their respective disciplines and offer great insights into Latin American culture and politics. A similar book would be Free Markets and Food Riots by Walton yet this book is broader in content and easier to read.

I study Medicine at Bologna (Italy) and I have a passion for Ophthalmology. I think that Albert & Jakobiec's Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology is a very fine work. This textbook has the correct range of structure and topics, although some of them are in need of integration, i.e. Surgery, Ophthalmic Pathology, Optics (involved exposition), Lens and Strabismus.
Every chapter is similar to a Scientific American article, but just not easy to read and sufficiently comprehensible. Therefore, the book is not appropriate for use by medical students and residents; yet the six volumes cooperate to make clear the physiopathology of many ocular diseases, chiefly because the Authors are very authoritative and experienced. There are few pictures, so I think it is necessary to buy a valid atlas (Spalton) to compensate for such lack. The strengths of the current edition are: Retina, Uvea, Eyelids, The Glaucomas, Conjunctiva and Cornea.
In my opinion "Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology" is a great work for Ophthalmologists who want to widen their knowledge.

This is a nice compact guide with many great photos. It is organized quite nicely and is a great help in finding your way around Washington DC. Unfortunately, this book has not been updated since 9/11, and contains a great deal of out dated material. The book does have a sticker on it saying it is being continually updated, but the version currently being shipped is not up-to-date. When using this guide make sure you call ahead for visiting any government agency, building or office.

No other Guide shows you more. I would not travel without one.

so much detail, and presented in a really nice way with lots of maps and pictures. Told me everything about DC which I could possibly want to know!

I'll definitely use an Eyewitness book on my next trip.

Seemed to be perfectly accurate, too.

The book is too basic. It also overemphasizes carbs and underemphasizes protein, just like every other mainstream nutritionist. I give it two stars and not one because at least the author is educated and does not give outdated or scientifically unsound info. I thought it was amusing that at one point the author slipped and admitted that a study showed that a group eating 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight gained five times as much muscle as a control group with normal protein intake. Whoops. I second the motion--save your money and buy some protein powder.

The book presents the standard high carb approach to gainingmass. It is material that you will find in many books, but Kleiner presents it in an organized manner and covers implementing this diet from all angles. She talks about all of the macronutrients -- how much you need of each and why, and some of the micronutrients. After discussing what to eat she talks about how to use the information to achieve your specific goals (building muscle or burning fat) and provides detailed plans for these goals.

I don't think this is the ultimate in diet books, but it is a worthwhile read if you are looking for a pretty complete book on high carb diets. However, if you own a similar book (such as Optimum Sports Nutrition) this isn't worth the money.

I discovered this wonderful book at a fitness exposition, and have been preaching it's usefulness ever since. I am a personal trainer and experienced weight lifter. After reading this book, I understand my body so much more. Do you know someone who skips meals to lose weight, but never reaches their goal? This book will easily explain why and teach them the proper way to lose weight without skipping meals. It's easy to watch the "perfect" people at the gym and copy their moves to improve your workout. The essential component you can't see is the person's eating habits. The science of proper nutrition is key to obtaining a healthy body AND a healthy mind. It's truly amazing how you can manipulate your body and mind just by changing your eating habits -- this does NOT mean dieting! This book is clearly and simply written to help anyone understand the impact of food, supplements and exercise on your body's metabolism. The key word here being "anyone". Whether you're a body-builder, vegetarian, person trying to lose or gain weight, or just the average Joe, Power Eating will give you the basics of what you need to reach your goals. I recommend this book to anyone frustrated with the way they feel. Don't try a new "diet". Read this book, understand how your body works, then go from there.

Susan Strange offers an excellently argued understanding of how the recent emphasis on national and global market forces has ham-strung political actors. However, as recent events in Russia and S.E. Asia have shown, political actors may still have the upper hand. While the book is marvelously presented, its thesis places too much emphasis on the here and now in its efforts to understand the future of political systems. My three star rating belies the great joy that this book must bring to economists who gain an opportunity to see the world as their domain.

First, to any stray Zep fans, this book is nothing like the books you're used to reading about the band. The book is written by an associate professor of music, in hideous modern academic jargon. You know, the blocky, obfuscating style the professors deploy to make their subjects or themselves seem more profound than they really are. Examining a Jimmy Page solo note-by-note is of extremely limited interest to anyone but graduate musicology students-and has high music culture declined so much that they now have to fill their syllabi with Zeppelin's catalog? Sure, I'd rather listen to "Gallows Pole" than some atonal serialist composer, but this book is laying it on way too thick. Tedious and unrewarding.

While I would certainly agree that you can overanalyze and lose touch with the emotional edge critical to LZ's appeal, I found Fast's academic approach refreshing. She brought up a number of aspects of the band's music and performance I'd never thought about before, e.g., the sexual interplay between Page and Plant. I also appreciated Jonesy's insights into the creative process, particularly the fact that the music always came first and then the lyrics. But I have to admit it would be interesting to hear from Page and Plant as well.

This is a good book for the thinking Led Zeppelin fan. And no, that's not an oxymoron. I think there are a number of us trying to understand why this band and its members continue to draw us in 20 years after their disbanding. This book is a step in that direction. But it won't titillate you with gossip about groupies and dionysian orgies. Look to Richard Coles for that.

This barely-disguised dissertation shows the limitations of using ideas trendy at one point in time to build an analysis of works far greater than the concepts employed. It is highly unclear what history or knowledge have to do with the historical dimensions the author explores or how these works of American literature illuminate larger cultural aspects to which they are completely unrelated.