Thic book is adequate for emergency medical information, but is not a good quick reference in the midst of a true emergency. In most things, it is quite lacking, and other emergency "handbooks" seem to be more user and cost-friendly. Although this book is part of my library, I found little use for it when I worked as an emergency small animal veterinarian.

This book has been a big help for me in my practice

For those of you who have read the other mysteries by Mark Richard Zubro, this mystery should be no different. Detective Turner is back and they are searching for the murderer of a federal judge. This New Years Eve murder keeps Turner and his partner busy as they travel through the gay area of Chicago looking for the killer. It is well paced, well developed characters and an intresting plot. If you have read Zubro before you will enjoy this one as much as the others.

Easily the best of Zubro's novels. Snappy dialogue. Good plotting. No preachy diatribes. A look into an honest friendship between two detectives, one straight, one gay. And a good swipe at the pompous judiciary. Bravo Mark. Can we expect more of this caliber

I consumed this mystery in very short time. Like all good mysteries, the murder is revealed in the first chapter (in this book on page 4!). The past is fast and furious, leading the reader through a maze of character relationships held together with drug dealing, jealousies and suspicions, and of course murder. This was the third Zubro book I've read (Political Poison, and Another Dead Teenager being the other two) and it has renewed my faith in the author as a competent crafter of murder mysteries. Characterization remains a weakness for Zubro, however. His characters at times are difficult to differentiate: primarily they speak the same. He shrewdly and effectively uses how they dress and what their home environments look like to establish their character, as well as creates interesting set pieces for them to move and act within, but as soon as they open their mouths, they sound like everyone else.

But his strength remains crafting plausible plot lines that hold you and tease you enough to wonder if you really know who did it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will continue to acquire and read his others.

Like potato chips, the Tom and Scott mysteries are easy to consume and (as brain food goes) nutritionally valueless. I WANT to like these books. I keep hoping...

The problem with Tom and Scott is that I can't tell Tom from Scott. Oh, I know one of them (narrator Tom) is a Viet Nam vet who now teaches highschool, and one of them (guess who) is a highly paid professional athlete. Scott is Southern-born, starts out a little closeted (a potentially interesting conflict never explored), and Tom is...not. Unlike in Joseph Hansen's Brandstetter series, or Richard Stevenson's Strachey novels, I'm never lured into believing Tom and Scott are real people. They are a gay fantasy--not even an interesting gay fantasy. They are too perfect, too plastic. Barbie's Ken without Barbie.

Another thing. No sense of humor. Scott and Tom have the most painful repartee I've heard outside of a kung fu movie.

But as serious a handicap as having cartoons for lead characters is, Zubro does have his strengths. He concocts a crafty, clever mystery here about murder and drug rings in highschool, and he paints a realistic picture of highschool (minus the drugs and murder), as well as unflattering portraits of administrators, fellow teachers and students.

It wouldn't take a lot to turn this series into something delicious and satisfying. Until then I'll keep munching away, knowing I should be doing something better with my brain.

This book is interesting and informative for children of all ages. I had forgotten how much fun it is to lose yourself in a time period through beautiful illustrations and facts that let your imagination leap into the pages. Parents will love explaining the lively pictures to their children.

The transformation of one of the most imposing "wild" parcels of land in Los Angeles into what is now the Getty Center (Museum, etc.) is the story of these stunning, beautiful black and white photographs. These images and thoughtful essays will be appreciated by anyone interested in art, landscapes, culture and/or modern architecture.

Mu'tazilism was a school of Islamic theological discourse (kalam) that enjoyed the patronage of many Muslim rulers during the Abbasid Age (800-1050 CE). Mu'tazali intellectuals forwarded a rationalist conception of Islamic theology and offered specific opinions about divine unity, the historical context of revelation, and ethical answerability to God. The first principle of Mu'tazilism was that all humans must exercise speculative reason in order to know God. Further, the Mu'tazila believed that humans had the power (qudra) to act independently and were responsible to God for those actions. Later Muslim orthodoxy (i.e. Ash'ariya) strongly opposed this doctrine and favored the doctrine of divine predestination.

The authors argue that modernist Muslim intellectuals have dipped into the well of Islamic history and drawn heavily from Mu'tazalism. In addition to the belief in human efficacy, modernist Muslims seem particular interested in the Mu'tazlite assertion that the Qur'an was revealed in a particular historical context and therefore Muslims must use reason to interpret it when living in new contexts. The Mu'tazilite doctrine that asserts that associating attributes to God is tantamount to shirk (polytheism) seems to be of little interest to most modernist Muslims.

Although very few of these contemporary intellectuals self-identify as neo-mu'tazalite they admire the Mu'tazalite commitment to reason. However, one Indonesian intellectual, Harun Nasution, has boldly declared himself to be a modern day Mu'tazalite.

The authors translate and explicate two Mu'tazalite texts. The first was written in the tenth century CE by Qadi 'Abd al-Jabbar, considered by some to be the last major Mu'tazalite scholar. The second was written by the contemporary Indonesian Islamic scholar, Harun Nasution. The authors compare these texts both in term of their theological (kalam) arguments as well as in terms of the context in which they were written. In this way, it is a exquisite examination of continuity and change within a religious tradition.

This is not a book for the casual reader, despite the fact that it is distributed through popular booksellers in the United States. It twists and turns through the history of theological debates in Islam. Some of the debates might seem arcane to the first time student of Islam and others confusing as to the real difference between the opposing views.

For the advanced scholar of Islam, this is a marvelous book. It reflects a collaborative effort of a kind that should be encouraged and repeated in the study of Islam. Martin is an historian of Islam and a philologist. Woodward is an anthropologist well-known for his work on Indonesian Islam. Both are detached scholars; neither is Muslim. Atmaja, on the other hand, is a young Indonesian Islamic intellectual conversant in historical texts and, like many of his contemporaries, trying to come to terms with modernity and postmodernity. In fact, as the preface of the book openly admits, this book was inspired by Atmaja's desire to examine Mu'tazilism as a source for thinking about the relationship between rationality and faith.

Ron Lukens-Bull, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Anthropology University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL 32224-2650 (904) 620-2850 rlukens@unf.edu

As a novice psychotherapist/psychiatry resident, I found this title to be an invaluable part of my training. Dr. Console provides us with transcripts of his "first encounters" with patients and then discusses what is happening (on a psychodynamic level) in each session. In a way, the book is a transcript within a transcript -- a dialogue between Dr. Console and his residents discussing videotapes of the sessions themselves (also transcribed for the reader). The importance of the initial interview becomes evident while reading this text. It is amazing to see how much information can be learned by observing both the explicit and implicit content of a relatively brief meeting between doctor and patient. I highly recommend this book to all psychiatrists and psychotherapists especially to those who are just starting out and are in the process of fine-tuning their interview style.

This is a good children's sports book highlighting the Mark McGwire's record breaking 70 home runs in 1998. The brief book (about 30 pages) traces his power hitting from his youth to high school and to college at USC, then picks up his home run stats at Oakland and St. Louis. There are excellent color photos throughout. Somehow, the book doesn't quite capture the magnitude or excitement of his achievement (later broken by Barry Bonds), and a page devoted to his full stats would have been helpful. But the book does mention some of the more subtle reasons why that year was special, such as the competition with Sammy Sosa, and the respect McGwire showed to the family of Roger Maris. McGwire also established a foundation to help abused children, and is presented as a good role model for kids. Enjoyable reading, with great pictures, this would be appreciated by a young baseball fan.

Quote books are a dime a dozen. The cartoon drawings illustrating a number of the quotes make this book unique and a pleasure to read. It's insightful, humorous, and thought provoking.

This is not the best book for a beginner as it assumes you know how things generally work. It is not the best book if you are a seasoned professional looking to expand your knowledge. BUT it is the best I've seen to date on taking the tech with a little knowledge and experience (me) and making me a much more able and valuable technician. More valuable in the sense that I can now trouble shoot with a lot more confidence... go to this book - look up the procedure and then make the repair with a great deal of understanding. Not just guessing and hoping that I can reassemble the thing properly. To me it is a must have. It is clear - to the point - and covers a lot of little details that will make you look good time after time.