From The Annals of Internal Medicine, January 5, 1999

Audience: Health care providers, including physicians, nurses, and social workers; health care administrators; and health care educators.

Purpose: To improve the quality of partnership processes within the health care system.

Content: This book is divided into five sections. The first section contains conceptual material that is generic to partnerships at all levels. Each of the four subsequent sections deals with partnerships at various levels in the health care system: clinician-patient partnerships, partnerships in health care teams, community health care system partnerships, and educational partnerships. The chapters contain a mix of theoretical discussions and practical examples. The authors come from diverse professional disciplines, geographic centers, and personal backgrounds.

Highlights: Four aspects of the book stand out. First, although many practitioners have expertise in promoting partnerships in a specific area, few have knowledge in all four areas discussed. Second, through the discussions partnerships at different levels, one recognizes the importance of the editors' conceptual framework. Third, the book discusses important topics that are often neglected in similar books. For example, the chapters on spirituality, friends as patients and patients as friends, and guidelines for primary care physician-consultant relationships helped me better understand common but often ignored topics.

Finally, the book includes several innovative programs that a clinician, administrator, or educator could modify for his or her own purpose. The chapters on family systems case consultation and development of an educational consultative service for physicians about whom patients have repeatedly lodged complaints are especially useful.

Limitations: The book has some flaws endemic to an edited volume. Much of the background material on partnerships, their advantages, and the attitude needed to promote them is repetitive. Moreover, because the book is written for a somewhat general audience, some chapters are too basic for readers who are familiar with the field. The chapters on real-world experiences would benefit from more details on the obstacles that innovators faced and overcame. Related reading: Although numerous other books cover specific topics, I know of no other book that surveys partnerships so broadly.

Reviewed by: Robert M. Arnold, MD

The opening chapters of this informative book give the history of Cornwall in a nutshell:- the mining, the unforgiving coastline, the wrecks, the climate and the people. Specifically from the mining aspect, we see how the conditions lent themselves to some form of mechanised help with raising tin & copper ore and draing the shafts & tunnels. Newcomen and Watt were the first to provide the engines, but Trevithick saw how these could be improved, much to the dismay of Boulton & Watt, who kept up a litiginous fight against Trevithick for decades.
Trevithick prevailed and also saw that the static engines could be moved around by their own power to the next site, which set into motion the beginning of the railways and motor cars (little realising what this would become in 200 years!)....
This is a well-researched book, with plenty of apposite quotes and comments, but at the same time it is never dull - the story flows like well-turned novel, urging one into the next chapter. The great thing about the book is the way you are constantly kept aware of how new the technology was; and how daunting that power was to those used to the limitations of horse-power. And it reveals the impetuous yet single-minded nature of this ebullient giant who would let nothing stop him in his quest to further Cornish development.
The author opened my eyes to the unsung genius of Trevithick; we all remember Watt as the 'Father of Steam' (he actually hindered progress!) and Stevenson as the 'Inventor of the Railway Engine', but Trevithick made more technical strides - although they were quickly superseded - nontheless, it does not detract from the man's vision and tenacity in the face of opposition from the Patent law and his rivals.
Recommended reading ****

When faced with a difficult term paper I turned to this book. It provided me with invaluable information to include in my paper. Wright's work, in my opinion, is some of the most senstional writing in modern times and needs to be represented well. This book vividly describes his progression into authorhood and his works from there on in. I would recommend this book to anyone in search of the ultimate research resource.

What can one say for this bible of internal medicine ! Excellent algorithms, organised sections about the diseases with precise information are dominant in this book. It's a reference book with the ability to keep you satisfied no matter what you are looking for. If it's not in Harrison's it isn't anywhere !

This book is the Bible of Internal Medicine. Anyone considering a career in medicine should have this book in their library. Comprehensive and well written, it is the gold standard of medical textbooks.

This book is a medical tradition, and it is as important to doctors as their stethoscope.
It is very complete, there is no doubt about it. Every subject of medicine is covered, and for a reference book is a must-have. It is also written in an easy-to-read way, but some chapters are more difficult to understand than others, and like a good meal, in excess it can get heavy and occasionally become a brick, so slow-reading is advised. Also worth to mention are the atlases, that give a lot of pictographic information.
I would recommend it only as a reference book, because for the USMLE, or as a course textbook, it is impossible to read it all, especially if time is scarce.

It's incredibly difficult to find the exact words to describe how powerful I found this book. The devastating story about Laura made me realize that there is always hope in life. Beaten and abused as a child...and even put in a frying pan, people thought that Laura never stood a chance in life. However, Dr. D'Ambrosio proved them wrong. After 5 years of trying to reach out to this poor girl, he was finally rewarded when she decided to come out of her shell. An excellent story, and well worth the read... No Language But a Cry will take you on a journey through depression, schizophrenia, and abuse. But at the end, happiness will find its way to you. Read this!

I read this book when I was in the 10th grade in high school when a friend recommended it and then I checked it out of the school library and man was this a powerful book that was depressing and also inspirational and heartwarming. Prepare to have a box of facial tissues handy! A baby named Laura is abused by her alcoholic father, one morning he abuses her in such a horrible, shocking, brutal way that it leaves her so badly disfigured and also causes her to retreat into herself, she is placed in an orphanage. She is so traumatized by what happened to her and so withdrawn into herself and doesn't speak. Years later when a new doctor comes to the orphanage he trys to reach her and his care and concern for her is truly heartwarming! This book which is a true story is a real eye opener! I normally don't like to read sad books like this because they can be so depressing but this one really is powerful and opens up your eyes and your hearts. How can this book not affect you emotionally and make you cry?

This book is one of the most depressing, uplifting, satisfying, and fascinating books ever. I read it many years ago and it has always stayed with me. I would recommend this to anyone.

I agree with some of the comments of the other reviewers: the book seems comprehensive and is very attractively laid out. However I am attempting to read the book on my own, not as the textbook to a course, and I am finding that it is quite badly organized. For instance, the first chapter rushes through a whole lot of stuff which is presumably covered in more detail later in the book, but they don't really tell you that, nor do they simplify it as they should if it's just an overview. In later chapters, several terms are used without being defined, and often it's impossible to tell what's going on in the figures from the captions and the text. I can imagine the book being good if you're taking a genetics course, but if you're just trying to read it and teach yourself, be prepared to be often confused...

I've used this book quite extensively in my introductory Genetics class, and I'm sure I'll be using it often as a reference in the future. It is superbly written, with clear explanations of the material.

There are many, many diagrams and photographs which help to solidify understanding, and they are all in full color. It is organized very well, although this organization has changed from edition to edition and any teacher or student using it in their courses should be aware that chapters and problems in this newer version do not always coincide with those in previous editions. The questions are excellent as well, although purchasing the solutions manual is a wise idea (it is also very well done, with long, detailed explanations of the answers to the problems).

Overall, of the 3 or 4 genetics textbooks I've looked at, this is by far the best one. In fact, it's one of the best textbooks I've ever used for any class. This one's a keeper.

I work in a Mammalian Genetics lab, I have referenced this book numerous times and I have only had it a little over a month. It is those little things we forget, but now that information is at my fingertips. Excellent, would recommend it to anyone in the field.

The book starts out at such a leisurely pace that one is fooled into thinking that it will be finshed in a few days read, but Feynman soon plunges into the much deeper aspects of computation. Some chapters are material that are covered by others much more extensively (such as theory of computation) but they are often treated in his unique approach, other topics (such as Quantum mechanical computers) are such rare gems that they alone would be worth getting the book for.

This book is not easy, but like his physics lecture, the effort in following his lectures and working out the questions and problems that he poses make this, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful, albeit difficult and terse, books on computation I have come across in a long time. Certainly belongs in the library of anyone who is serious about the theoretical aspects of computation.

This reference is derived from Feynman's lectures at Caltech between 1983-1986 for the course 'Potentialities and Limitations of Computing Machines'. This small volume introduces computers as a file clerk performing his tasks, moves on to show how the 'file clerk' can be built out of simple gates, how the gates can be built out actual transistors, discusses essential issues in computation theory such as computability and Turing machines, and then discusses essential issues in information theory such as data compression. The physics of computing from a thermodynamics context is then considered. If the general reader ignores the gas equations, this chapter is fairly easy to read and enlightening. The next chapter continues with a discussion of quantum mechanical computers. The final chapter discusses how real transistors function at the atomic level and fabrication techniques for real integrated circuits. Lectures given by invited experts on computer science topics such as vision, robots, expert systems, etc, are not included. Although this reference does not discuss alternative architectures for computation, such as the ones found in the brains of animals, this reference is ideal to introduce the motivated general reader to the concept of computation and the techniques used in commercial computers.

This terrific guide to one of my favourite places in the world is an inspiration to all first time travellers to this sceptered isle.I particularly liked the third chapter which discusses my favourite part of Bali,Its a really beautiful place that all people should attempt to visit.

I used this book to tour Bali in 1991-ish and found it an outstanding guide to the culture of Bali, a very unique Indonesian island. The best features are the excellent maps which illustrate the small, unpaved, unmarked roads. Although phone numbers and such may be out of date, these are not important to having a great time in Bali.

Picking up some years after The Prisoner of Zenda leaves off, this one brings our hero back to Ruritania to set to rights a blunder which has arisen from the damage he inadvertently did the last time he sojourned in that mythical Balkan state. Then the dashing Englishman, and royal look-alike, Rudolf Rassyndyll, played the king to save a life and a kingdom.

But, in so doing, he also won the love of the king's future wife. Now a Queen, the lovely Flavia cannot forego one final good-bye to her beloved Rudolf but this, through the machinations of the nefarious Rupert of Hentzau, promises to be her downfall. To rescue the name and honor of the woman he loves, Rudolf Rassyndyll sneaks back to Ruritania with the help of the comrades of his earlier adventure.

But this tale, though full of intrigue and marvelously paced, suffers from the fact that the narrator this time (unlike what was seen in The Prisoner of Zenda) is not privy to all of the action and so must recount and reconstruct as he goes along. So there is an odd distance from the fun this time out and the dashing hero, Rudolf, is seen only from afar. He is, in fact, something of a shadow player here and only slightly more real to us than the almost ghostly villain, Rupert of Hentzau, after whom this book is named. This Rupert, himself, was the henchman of Black Michael, who drove the plot in "Zenda." Rupert fled at the end of that tale with Rudolf Rassyndyll and his colleague, Fritz Tarlenheim, in hot pursuit. Now the dashing and scheming Rupert returns to re-claim his property in Ruritania, which he means to do at the expense of the Queen who loves Rassyndyll. And so the plot is set in motion.

But Rassyndyll never comes fully to life this time around and the tale ends on a sad and tragic note. Rudolf is the noble hero par excellence, and no less noble are his many companions in the adventure. All are fine folk, torn by their sensitivities and loyalties. As a result there is something rather unreal about it all which detracts from the sense of satisfaction of the telling. But then it is a fairy tale of sorts, isn't it, one that is certainly well-paced and fun to read. Still, I wish Anthony Hope had fleshed his players out a bit more, especially the villains, as Rupert of Hentzau seems almost a non-entity this time out (he was so much more interesting in "Zenda") and Rudolf a mere shadow of what he was before. Tarlenheim, the narrator this go-round, seems rather more of a bumbler than a doer and Sapt far less capable than before. Flavia, herself, is certainly more foolish. In sum, while this was a fun read, I think they'd all have been better off if Hope had stopped after Rudolf rescued the king from Zenda.

Anthony Hope continues his gripping saga of the Prisoner of Zenda in this adventureous sequel. Rupert of Hentzau is well written and keeps the reader in constant suspense. Hope follows his traditional writing style of unexpected twists in the end. The book builds the reader up full of emotion and then concludes by purging the reader of all emotions. Rupert of Hentzau is full of deuls, escapes, conspiracies, and love. At the start one might be inclined to pause and stop reading, but as the book continues this is no longer an option. This is truly a worthy sequel and only makes you respect Rudolf Rassendel more for his quick wit, ability to overcome obstacles and continous love for Queen Flavia. Our hero ends the book the same manner that he finished Prisoner of Zenda, as a gentleman worthy to be a king.

And that is descriptions of longer treks.
There are a few described as 4-8 days long in this book, but when walking I found that that would have been at a snail's pace and the times given had to be halved. Even a quick look at the regional maps will confirm that all hikes described only cover relatively small areas.
So those planning a longer trek through the backcountry of Japan might be disappointed, but I understand there aren't many of those.
On the other hand, those looking for advice on short hikes in national parks or near the major cities will find lots of good ideas, and practical details that tend to be amazingly correct by guidebook standards!

I found that you really don't have much of a choice if you are going to Japan and are interested in recent comprehensive English hiking guides. There is a lot of information once you get to Japan on day hikes available from the tourist information places in each town. I found that for a survey trip, this book was just extra weight in my pack. (I ended up using this book thrice for 1-2 days trips on a 3 week trip to Japan, and that was pushing it.)

I did read it and looked at the pretty pictures to get an idea of where to go during my Japan trip planning phase. It is useful to the person focused on hiking around Japan. This may seem obvious, but it's basically a trail guide. It gives great information (including translations of hiking signs) that isn't found in other more general guide books. It tells you how to get to a trailhead, and where to go once you get there, and has some sections on floura, etc. native to Japan.

Although they are great (just because they exist), I found the trail maps lacking at times, especially (and surprisingly) for the everybody-does-it Mt Fuji trek.

Good reading if you're thinking about multi-day treks. Otherwise, skip it for a more general (regular Lonely Planet) guide since it will just weigh down your pack.

Very well written and detailed description of the trails of Japan. Excellent resource to prepare potential hikers and walkers for the task of exploring the hinterlands of Japan...