Before i read this book, i know rocks just is rocks.But after i read this book, i know rocks is very important for my life.This book have many good point.For example it have more pictrun and easy letter in this book.So not too difficulty.There are still some left many interesting think in it.I willing recommend it to other people interested with rocks.

Before i read this book, i know rocks just is rocks.But after i read this book, i know rocks is very important for my life.This book have many good point.For example it have more pictrun and easy letter in this book.So not too difficulty.There are still some left many interesting think in it.I willing recommend it to other people interested with rocks.

Its a good book for beginners on this field, you wont find all of the rocks out there, but youll learn quickly about the major differences and characteristics of some rocks...

It is very colorful, pictures are awesome, and I liked that the book tells you about rock and mineral uses, as well as in the ancient times as in today.

I recommend it as an introductory book on the matter, then you should move to a more detailed book. I gave it 5 stars Considering that it is a pocket book.

I recently sailed from N.Y. to Southampton, England on the Q.E.II and was knocked overboard when I discovered that Chris Costello, Lou's daughter would be presenting her slide and clip show entitled "Lou's On First." What a magnificent journey Chris took me on during her 1 hour show. I immediately purchased her book in their bookstore and for the remaining voyage could not put it down! Bravo Chris Costello for your wonderful, beautiful and candid insight into a man I adored, your father!

Pamela J. Wise

Like the Practical Geologist, which I purchased at the same time, I bought this book on title alone, forgetting the level of my knowledge base. This book is perhaps slightly more in depth within its alotted space than the geology text is, but is again, a book more for the beginner. It is a lovely, well illustrated and comprehensive volume on working paleontology and includes some nice information on famous fossil sites and on museums with very nice collections in the US and abroad. The latter pieces of information might be especially useful for family vacations. I plan to give this book as well as its companion to a close friend with school aged children.

This is absolutley the best fly-fishing reading a person could ever do. Not only does this book provide insightful, narrative essays about NW fly-fishing but also delivers an enviornmental messages about the decimation of this areas one-time great fishing. I read this book every winter and each time it unfolds a new idea of fly-fishing for me. Where are the rest of his books?

Another entry in the long line about nefarious things going on in this wonderful city. If you liked Leon's other books, you will not want to miss this one. She writes with her usual craftsmanship and knowledge of the city.

Having read all of Helen MacInness and Sherlock Holmes (after midnight) as a grad student I couldn't stand reading anything less and so gave up mysteries for over 35 years. Looking for something to read on the train, I bought my first Donna Leon book (A Noble Radiance) in the station in Stuttgart and have read nine of her novels so far. Commisario Brunetti and his sharp-tongued wife (who, like Leon, accidentally teaches English in Venice) are never boring. So far, I've not guessed the plot before it developed, and the description of Venice and Italian life is fantastic. A wonder that she's not been run out of town tarred and feathered, if not be the city fathers or the patrici, then by The Church. Enjoy, when you need something entertaining and intelligently written, with attention to geographic and cultural detail.

Without a doubt, "Friends in High Places" is Donna Leon's best book in her mesmerizing Commissario Brunetti series. "Friends" is the ninth in this outstanding series and Leon has not failed her fans with this latest edition, which, for some unfathomable reason, is not yet published in the States!

The author is able to capture what very few writers in the mystery genre do-- she creates such memorable characters that the reader actually feels he really knows--and even possibly understands--her creations. Certainly, Leon does to Venice what few other writers do to their settings. It is unbelievable that she is able to understand fully the mechanizations of the modern Venetian. She has weaved her plots so intricately--and plausibly--in her series, which seems short of a miracle for some "outsider"--she's an American!--to be able to grasp the bureaucracies of that system, be it religious, political, social, even the illicit "trade" bureaucracies.

With her unforgettable Brunetti and his family, Leon's themes run throughout her novels: among them the "moral path" which is at odds with what Venetians have come to expect and to accept, it seems. If one has a problem, the solution is to utilize his "friends in high places"--a favor for a favor--to solve it. The corruption seems to permeate all aspects of their lives.

But, of course, first, this is a murder mystery, and here, again, Leon is in top form. How exquisitely she leads the reader through this valley of temptation and evil! Yet, despite the impossible task of ever "cleaning up Venice," Brunetti plods on. He alone, it seems at times, knows right from wrong. He takes refuge and solace from his wife Paola; he loves his two children, and his greatest fear is that something evil might harm them.

He senses something is very wrong when a local bureaucrat is found dead; it is labeled an accident, but Brunetti has his suspicions, especially after this bureaucrat had previously contacted him to tell him that he had vital information that he must reveal to him, and to him alone. Before this revelation can occur, he is found dead. Brunetti doesn't believe in coincidences, especially when an attorney who is involved in a corruption investigation is found murdered by a sniper--an attorney whose telephone number Brunetti had found in the bureaucrat's wallet.

From this point on, Leon and Brunetti move cautiously--and sensibly--through this tangled, deceitful web.

The author is quite astute in her observations and realist she is, the endings of her books are not always the "happy ever after" type. Frequently, Brunetti has to con- cede to powers greater than his; he alone cannot stem the flow of corruption--and the Brunetti world, as seen through the series, seems to have no boundaries on corruption, be it from illegal dumping of toxic wastes to the illegal sex trade with local travel companies to the smuggling of drugs from Eastern Europe. Leon leaves no holds barred and the reader is often left to wonder if there really are truly decent folk anymore. Leon does not imply that the corruption is only in Venice, that Pearl of the Adriatic, but leads us to assume that such corruption--especially with today's big bucks, can be anywhere. The average reader knows this all too well, anyway.

For Leon fans, reading this book is not just an inclination, it is a must, naturally;

for new readers, it's also a great read, after reading this one, they will want to go back to the eight previous ones. Indeed, it's a "aventura felice della lettura"! (...)

I picked up this book because I was ambling along 20 lbs overweight, approaching 50 and not feeling all that good about myself. What I read was completely in sync with what I always knew to be true but was presented in such a no-nonsense style that I decided to act on it. The results have been better than I hoped for. Read this book.

One of the best books on the subject, if not thee best. I've read Pritikin, McDougal, Depak Shopak (spelling), Ornish, even Susan Powter, and all the others during a 1 year exhaustive search of the medical facts on heart health and disease. This is the only book I continue to recommend to absolutely everyone who wants the truth about animal fat and it's relationship to whatever ails you, from heart disease to depression. I personally have not had one single day of depression since I went completely off dairy products. Kurzweil has changed my life and it's been one of the answers I had been looking for for many years. Nutrition is definitely one of the cures for all maladies. All who read this book can't help but benefit for themselves and those they love or cook for.

I'm not an engineer. I majored in economics at MIT, and over the past few years have worked as an economic analyst. Recently, I needed to learn and review some numerical techniques in a short time frame. One of my co-workers suggested this book. In contrast to many other numerical methods texts, it is very clearly written and has lots of examples. I used the book to quickly learn about topics like cubic splines and solving partial differential equations. The author obviously cares about efficiently communicating concepts to students.

I teach Numerical Methods at undergraduate level in Mexico, and I have used "Numerical Methods for Engineers" during several years.

I like this book because of its approach to learning: each part contains Motivation, Mathematical Background and Orientation, then the numerical methods and finally an Epilogue.

Also, the number and variety of the problems presented contribute to accomplish our educational objectives, and the emphasis made on the growing use of software packages (MATLAB, Excel, Mathcad and IMSL) makes this book more useful for students and instructors.

This is an extensive book (more than 900 pages) and perhaps some parts of it must be omitted during a normal course (4 months, 4 hours per week in our case).

I think that the book price of the English edition (Hardcover) is high. Fortunately for our students, there is a cheaper Spanish version, although the translation is not very good (not in the technical sense but in writing and style).

In conclusion, I recommend the book to students and instructors as a comprehensive, learning oriented text with many problems in several engineering areas, and emphasis on the use of software packages, suitable to be used as textbook of numerical methods with extensive use of software.

The strongest point in favor of this book is the fact that authors seems to have taken an effort to see the problems from students viewpoint: i.e. from a viewpoint of a person who does not know Numerical Methods and want to learn them without facing unnecessary complications. Topics are comprehensive and clear. Excellent resource for students at undergraduate or graduate level. No wonder it won ASEE Meriam/Wiley award. Highly recommended. (NOTE: As with the case with many textbook readers, I did not read the book cover-to-cover. The review is based on a few sections that I read. )

Basically the author of this book is more of a kempo practitioner then a Shaolin master of the arts. The Chinese arts require a life time of dedecation and hard practice.
Mr. DeMasco in this book represents very poor stances and a very shallow input on the Chinese martial arts. When he executes a horse stance his butt sinks below his knees, which should never happen. In his crane stance his leg hangs straight down when it should angle slightly inward to protect the groin area. The Chinese cross stances are too elongated, which places unneeded stress on the knee joints. The back knee of the stance should be placed in the calf of the front leg to provide strength and stability in the stance. He also doesn't use proper stance names such as Chinese cross stance, Lady's Horse stance (Lor E'ge Ma). It seems he has had some training in Wah Lum Mantis and in black tiger, but not enough to be considered a Master in these arts.
As for his Shaolin certificate presented to him by Shi Yong-xin, all I can say is that money (if you have enough) can buy a lot of things.
Even some of the self-defense techniques (from a kempo standpoint) were executed poorly and wouldn't be the most effective of techniques.

I bought this book because I had read a bad opinion on amazon.com. I had read a previous article about Steve Demasco and his certification from the Abbott of the Shaolin temple. I was skeptical and I wanted to see for myself just how bad the book was.

The book lived up to my low expectations when I first saw it. It's a typical Ohara cookie-cutter book. The pictures are full body shots that are taken from a distance, which prevents you from seeing details, especially in the self-defense techniques, and the layout is unimaginative and predictable. I also found it hard to follow the "Iron Wire" form, which played such a pivotal role in his success at the temple.

But then I actually read the text. I was impressed with Mr. Demasco's sincerity. The little things that made him seem more real; like on the back cover where he lists his titles, there is a quote "These are titles I continue to earn." I particularly appreciated his retelling of his initial meeting with the Abbott of the Shaolin temple in ch.8. I was also struck by his honesty when he was reluctant to tell anyone about his certification. He was "certain that if this (certification) got out to martial artists, somehow they would find a way to discredit it."

I'm an experienced martial artist (I am not affiliated in any way with Mr. Demasco's system) with more than 15 years in the arts as well as a school owner. I have seen many fads in the arts and was skeptical of Mr. Demascos. But I found the book worth reading and even entertaining on a very human level. It's a story of his journey, successes, and mistakes. One that I think is easily relatable.

Although I would have appreciated some better technical pictures of his techniques, I feel it's a good addition to a martial artist's library. For it's human value, I gave it 4 stars.

This book, at first glance was poorly written, short, and boring. Of course all of my first impressions proved wrong in the end. I haven't been formerly trained in any Shaolin art, nor in most of the various Martial Arts available for general practice. However I can say I felt like he really knew what he was talking about. My studies really have been in the area of Jeet Kune Do, but also Karate to a point. I successfully found myself performing the short-forms, and understanding the Iron Wire without difficulty. People not experienced at all would find this book confusing, but upon reflection by someone familiar with Martial Arts it begins making sense. I originally thought "What can a small book like this contain?" Boy was I surprised at the level of detail actually shown in the photos, the simple direct methods for practice. Also I plan to buy his video series.... fore those of us not able to focuse entirely on fighting this makes a good point of forms exercise. I loved it personally and urge anyone to read it. Much better than the Shaolin 5 Animals Kung Fu book I bought earlier, that was laugh-able.

The author's activities were indeed questionable. His version of events are trite and biased. There is no smoke without fire.

I met Steve in January 2001 at the Renoir where he was working as Director of Sales. He gave me his book to read and first I thought - oh well - will see. Then I started reading it and was very sad to find out what can happen to your life if you are open, helpful and friendly as Steve is. It amazes me to read that Steve never gave up hope and even tried to educate/help other people while his situation was hopeless. And the endless love he shares for Asian countries is amazing. I loved the book even though it made me cry a lot.

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I read it straight through in eight hours and have read it several times since. It is the gripping (and documented) true story of an American business executive falsely accused of child abuse by a former college classmate. The accuser is John Cummings, a convicted child molester who was deported from Thailand when charges were filed against him in the US in 1988. He was sentenced to 68 years in jail, but an overzealous child abuse investigator got 40 years chopped off the sentence in exchange for Cummings spinning a tale of international "child sex tours." Although all of the people he accused were found not guilty or carges were dismissed in both US and Thai courts, in the meantime Cummings and his supporters (like US Senator Jesse Helms and economic doomsday author Howard Ruff) destroyed a world famous street children's shelter, along with the lives of dozens of innocent adults and children. This case began the media frenzy surrounding "sex tourism," and is often cited by the media as "Proof" even though no one was guilty. Steve Raymond spent two years in jail while the U.S. Justice Department -- realizing they had wrongly accused him -- used international pressure to keep him locked in a Thai jail and away from the media. He was finally freed after intervention by Amnesty International. Every time you turn the page, you believe that someone *HAS* to come into his cell and say, "I'm sorry, Mr. Raymond, we made a terrible mistake." That apology never came. READ THIS BOOK! If you think your American government will protect you, you'll learn differently. (Fully documented, BTW).