I was looking for a book with photos of the Monterey Peninsula, as I am considering relocation to the area and wanted to know what the peninsula looks like. This book provides a good variety of lovely aerial views that show off the region and essentially met my expectations. (I actually hope the photos don't do the area justice!) The photo captions provide some history of the features in the photographs, but I would prefer more description of all the things I'm seeing. Although, that would mean less room for the pictures! My only real beef with the book is a lack of a table of contents, which would make flipping to the right section/region easier.

Well I am always amazed at how well Robert Cameron's photos turn out. These pictures are breath taking. I'm fortunate enough to live close to Monterey and to enjoy the beauty. These photos are great as I can see where i've been from a different perspective. Everything is there from Salinas (which has changed a bit since photo was taken) to Carmel to Big Sur. All photos are wonderful and has sentences explaining what you are looking at. Great value too ...!

Lewis has a much more theatrical approach to acting than some of his contemporaries (Strasberg, Meisner, etc). This was the first acting technique book I ever read. What struck me most was how much fun Lewis got out of the theatre and acting. It has a much different tone to it than a lot of acting books. He fills it with many funny and interesting anecdotes from his life in the theatre. His technique seems closely related to Stella Adler's. If you like this book you should check out his autobiography "Slings and Arrows". One of the founders of the Actors Studio, member of the Group Theatre, successful Broadway director, and Yale Drama School Professor (taught Meryl Streep). A fascinating man

The art of acting is ephemeral. Mr. Lewis states in his preface that one cannot "teach" acting any more than one can teach singing or dancing. If the talent and equipment exist, then a teacher may help the actor to hone his innate abilities. As one of Stanislavsky's heirs, Lewis has an eclectic approach to his advice. The book consists mostly of acting exercises he has gathered over a long career as actor and teacher and which he has found to be most helpful.

The exercises are presented as transcriptions of actual classes--which they may be. The text includes what seems to be directives to named individuals "Ralph, take Rosemany by both her hands." This presentation choice has the effect of energizing the text with the immediateness that comes from speech. The reader receives a voyeuristic pull as though he were an outsider observing the class behind a two-way mirror. This style choice also relays a sense of Lewis as a teacher who is intelligent, generous and with a sense of humor.

The exercises themselves are excellent. Lewis talks through an exercise so a reader could actually follow the directions. Then he explains why the exercise is important and how it helps an actor gain control over his instrument, that is his own physical, emotional and mental being.

Lewis's approach is focused. The explanations are packed with detail. They are also practical. Lewis slips in helpful hints; for example, he tells how an actor simply by touching a physical object can dissipate a severe case of nervousness during performance. The tension leaves the actor's body and goes into the object.

The exercises are organized into chapters that concentrate on technique areas that actors must master to improve their craft: relaxation, body work, concentration, sensory perception, intention. These are concepts well known to anyone who has taken acting classes. Lewis's contribution is that he presents these lessons with clarity and directness. I recommend this book to all serious acting students.

This book taught me many new words that are valuable for everyday conversation. It is divided into different categories such as: number words, medical words, words from other languages, figurative expressions, etc. The authors give a definition and a sentence for each new word. They give exercises to help you master the words. The book also tells the history of some words which is often a good way to remember the word. However, sometimes these can get boring since they are all basically the same. I used this book to study for spelling bees, and I recommend it to students and adults alike. You will learn from this book.

I bought this book some time ago and just recently started to use it and I am very impressed. It has the same things as the others: word families, roots, stories, and exercises. However, the "thinking with your new words" section is genius! It's the best exercise I've seen which aids one's "recall." Having to take a description or phrase and narrow it down to a specific word instead of vice versa (determining a single word's meaning from the surrounding context) is the best way to add and retain/recall words to one's SPEAKING vocabulary (we all have one in addition to reading and writing). It's this part of our vocabulary which is the sorely lacking. I wish the authors would do a newer and bigger book with more words and with only this type of exercise (by the way, how could I get in touch with them to offer this suggestion?). We'd all be (like the Victorians who raised the art of conversation to unparalleled heights) a lot more eloquent!

I originally purchased "The Power of 5" as a guide to stress relief and weight management. I got much more than I bargained for! It contains great little tips to improve just about every aspect of your life; none of which take more than a few minutes to implement. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends!

This is one of the greatest resource books I have ever run across. It is amazing how much you can change your life, your body, your relationships in just 5 minute (or less) increments. Anyone who says they "don't have time" needs to read this book. It gives you time. It gives you permission to do the things you want to do and you can no longer say you don't have time. It tells you how and has all the back-up to support what it says. It is laid-out well, with easy to read chapters, plus extra "information boxes" on a variety of subjects. Pick this book up and turn to any page. You will find something that you were looking for. From food prep, to muscle exercises, to meditation, to love, its all in there. Just check out the rave reviews on the book and who wrote them if you don't believe me.

Great starter book for van owner

pictures need more detail; the small parts are hard to identify for the novice mechanic.

charg

The book is fine. ()It only contains standards from 1932.This book is not very usefull to anyone building to current standards.

It has 154 more pages than the 9th edition, so it has new information, but as you page through it you will find it seems almost identical. They need to keep most of the old data, so I wouldn't take off points for that. You can see the publisher's review for all of the new features: I noticed that the Historic Preservation chapter has been shortened a bit.

Potentially, the biggest addition is the CD-ROM, which has CAD files ready to use, and includes pretty much everything from the book. You might think that you are getting all that for the cost of the book, but...no. The "demo" CD comes in a sleeve inside the back cover, and is noted: "Full functionality, Limited data." You can access a drawing of a bar joist, for example. It exports a DWG or DXF file with layers based on line weights. The interface is pretty clear; you don't have to read any instructions to start using it. The CD actually has all of the data, but you have to pay another $425 online to "unlock" it. That could be a bargain, but I suspect that most firms will feel that their own detail library is more applicable to the work they do. Still, $425 represents less than a day's worth of billable hours.

Every architect knows the value of this book, and most every architecture firm (in the U.S. anyway) will want at least one copy just to stay current, and because the old one is getting worn out. You might as well get it now, and decide on the CD-ROM later. I'd love to have a special edition set with each page ever published in all of the AGS books, or even just the last 3 or 4. I'd give that 6 stars.

A good reference book but of limited use, Its tables of materials is quit limited, especially sections dealing with steel,wood and concrete structural properties. The book tries to touch on all things at the expense of specificity in regards to basic materials and building techniques, The book would be fine for Architectural students but would be of limited use as a reference book for design. Severly over priced.

This is a pretty entertaining compilation of urban folklore. Please take note, however, anyone who might be expecting a scholarly tome -- THIS IS PRESENTED IN THE FORMAT OF A COMIC BOOK. Be aware of that. Still, it's a lot of fun. Every supposedly true story you've ever been told, that "honestly" happened to your brother-in-law's mechanic's bartender's plumber's girlfriend's babysitter's cousin's baseball coach's otolaryngologist's lawyer just last week... It's all in here. If you happened to catch the movie "Urban Legend," a lot of the story elements can be found in this book. I'd like to throw in one small note -- the urban legend called "Resurrection Mary" is one of the spookier ones, and I assumed it was an urban legend like all the rest of them, but that one actually is based on a true story. The History Channel has been running a series called "History's Mysteries," and they covered the true story it came from. Apart from that exception, I'm pretty sure all of these are authentic urban legends.

Anyway, this book is a lot of fun. Worth checking out.

Did I ever tell you about what happened to my cousin's college roommate's best friend? No? Well ... Who out there can honestly say he's never fallen for an urban legend, told as true by some acquaintance? The maniac in the back seat? The Mexican pet? The doped-up babysitter who microwaved the baby? The spider in the hairdo? We've all been the victims of these stories at some point in our lives. People pass them around at cocktail parties and office water coolers, always claiming that they really happened to a friend of a friend (but never able to offer a name of the unfortunate victim). And Jan Harold Brunvand is the master collector and debunker of the stories. Paradox Press wisely got Brunvand to write its mega-comic, "The Big Book of Urban Legends." Even for UL aficionadoes, there are a few new ones here. And the irreverent comic format is perfect for these just-plausible-enough modern tall tales. It's also a great way to introduce friends to ULs (or to disprove the stories your friends try to pass off as true).

This is one of my favorite books! I LOVE it! There aren't enough books like this! I hope to get ahold of the rest of the Factoid book set! This surely will be my fave though! I love Urban Legends and some of the scary stories I feel were made scarier by the creepy comic art. It was excellent! If you like this book, check out the movie Campfire Tales! It's what the movie Urban Legend should have been! Though Urban Legend was good, despite the cruddy sequel. Check it out!

Bobby's first hand account of the Cuban missile crisis was obviously written with an eye toward his 1968 presidential bid. In fact he was assassinated before compelling it, although the complete story is told. Not surprisingly he pays tribute to his mattered brother and if anything downplays his own role. Quite an interesting device, presenting the author as humble as well as battle hardened. The interpretation it presents, with both Khrushchev and JFK portrayed as being eager for a face saving piece is quite familiar (an easy position to take since Khrushchev was out of power and thus not a potential threat). It is other unnamed powers in Russia that are blamed for the hard line position of the USSR. Interesting to note the demand of the Russians that the US remove the missiles in Turkey and Kennedy's claim that his brother had already ordered it and the order was not carried out to a bureaucratic snafu Well written and easy reading, 13 Days is a quickie, a bit of historical candy for junkies. Highly recommended for its insight into the events, as well as the intentions of one of America's best-loved martyrs.

While I was not yet born when RFK and JFK were alive, I would have to say they are two of the greatest men in American history. Robert Kennedy brings his readers closer to a situtation that is almost beyond the scope of the human mind. His account of the Cuban Missile Crisis makes us realize how close we have come to the end and absolutely shows us that it is only because of great men we are here. This book reminds us how close we came to the end and the critical role Jack and Bobby played in bringing us back. I only hope that current and future leaders of the world read this account and understand what they understood...we are all mortal and we all love our children. Those are the things that will save us, Jack and Bobby knew that and it is obvious in this extrodrinary book.

"Thirteen Days", a memoir by Robert Kennedy has become one of the most insightful and behind-the-scenes accounts of one of the most studied military confrontations in history. It was a time in which the world looked nuclear annihilation directly in the eyes over the course of 13 dramatic days in October of 1962.

RFK, an intricate player throughout the process, lays out in chilling recollection the Cuban Missile Crisis and how close we actually came to that fateful day when the world's superpowers would square off with nuclear weapons. RFK's first-hand account articulately provides a perspective on what was going on in the minds of the players involved. It allows the reader to understand the enormous weight their decisions carried, as well as all of the pressures that affected each of them.

While a generation remembers a stoic President Kennedy giving his on-air address condemning the soviet supply of offensive weapons into Cuba, "13 Days" brings into account all of the human factors that affected these men as they sought to do what they felt was right.

This was a time in our nation's history when leadership was most needed. With the encouragement of the President, these individuals sought to learn from the mistakes of the past while also sympathizing with the Soviets who were also thrust into this position. The Soviets would not let a military attack go unwarranted, but at the same time had families of their own and ultimately wanted the same outcome from this standoff; a peaceful conclusion.

The decisions that were made by the ExComm would impact the history of the world and all of its inhabitants. It was a trying time that tested the souls of the leaders of the world and proved to be a turning point in world events. As JFK security advisor McGeorge Bundy aptly put it, "Having come so close to the edge, we must make it our business not to pass this way again." President Kennedy did his best to put it all in perspective; "For in the final analysis, our most basic link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."

"13 Days" lays out the sequence of events that brought us all to this realization. It is a historical account that also touches upon the fragility of human nature and teaches us all a valuable lesson about our own mortality.

I have always been a fan of the intellectual debates in the New York Review of Books letters to the editor pages. This book consists of two articles by Crews and the subsequent debates surrounding them. I would have liked to see better defenses of Freud, but none of the eminent defenders of psychoanalysis is able to mount a serious challenge to Crews's devastating attacks.

This devastating book has two parts: (1) The Unknown Freud, where the reader gets a picture of Freud as a dictator, a megalomaniac and egotripper. A pope who alone knew the truth and who founded a secret commission to protect his 'church' against the heathen. He was a bad psychoanalyst (e.g. the Wolf Man case) and a venal man (e.g. the catastrophic Horace Fink case, where he tried to get his own hands on some money of the heiress).
I agree with the author that psychoanalysis is a pseudoscience - statements cannot be tested and the research results cannot be verified uniformly. Although it is not totally without meaning (Karl Popper), it is not a science.
(2) the revenge of the repressed
A frontal attack on the caste of the psychoanalysts, depicted as 'religious zealots, self-help evangelists, sociopolitical ideologues, and outright charlatans who trade in the ever seductive currency of guilt and blame, while keeping the doctor's fees mounting.'
The author is particularly severe with their latest 'school' : the 'recovered memory movement', based on the rape of children by their parents (really!). This lead to false accusations and condemnations of innocent people. No wonder the author predicts an accelerating collapse of psychoanalysis as a respected institution.
A much needed and courageous book to halt a profession riding at full speed on a misty highway. And a much needed angle on Freud as a person, written in a style to slaughter the not so innocent father of psychoanalysis.
After reading this book, I agree with Peter Madawar, who called doctrinaire psychoanalytic theory "the most stupendous intellectual confidence trick of the twentieth century".

Frederick Crews really knows how to tap that deep reservoir of hostility found in modern Freudian psychoanalysts. In 1993 and 1994 FC wrote two essays in the New York Review of Books debunking Freud in the first, and tearing to shreds the recovered memory movement in the second.

These two essays and the letters in response to them have been put into the book The Memory Wars. As someone trained in experimental psychology you can guess my own personal bias in this matter. Crews discusses Freud's botched cases; his frequent vacillation in theory formation; some of his sillier theories; and his serious interjection of personal bias into the formation of his beliefs. The main problem with the whole Freudian system is the total lack of scientific evidence supporting it. Freudian psychoanalysis is founded on anecdote and supported by anecdotes. To be fair, much current non-Freudian therapy is also based on anecdote. Indignant Freud followers write back, and their letters are indeed interesting (and often pompous).

The second half of the book takes on the recovered memory movement. It would be great to poke fun at this movement if it weren't for the fact that it has caused so much damage to all parties involved. Symptoms checklists are published with the statement if you suffer from these symptoms you may be a victim of sexual abuse. Read the list and you will find that the majority of Americans will find that they have been abused. It's all a patient seduction game with the intent to make big money. Hospitals have even set up units to treat such patients (Having worked in the psychiatric hospital industry I am well aware of the "product lines" that such facilities set up in order to fill beds). Crews does an excellent job of dissecting the memory movement, and once again we get to read the indignant responses.

Those who believe that psychological therapy should be based on sound scientific evidence will love this book. Those who have accepted Freudianism with a religious like faith will, of course, hate it. To me this whole subject is analogous to the evolution vs. creationist debate. It's science versus pseudoscience.

This is the best biochemistry book for medical students on the market. Medical students need a biochemistry textbook that balances detail with brevity. Harper's biochem does this very well. The chapters are well organized, well written and quite short. The brevity of each chapter makes it easy to digest in one sitting. It also allows specificity as you do not have to scan large chapters looking for information. There is a good balance of diagrams and text and the diagrams are of good quality. The 26th edition is shorter than the 25th edition and the information is more condensed, some chapters have been removed and the information incorporated into existing chapters. Many of the excellent diagrams are retained from the 25th edition. I recommend this text to all medical students.

Not only is this an excellent text on biochemistry, it also gives you the essentials in molecular biology. The book has excellent illustrations and even focuses on many clinical aspects. The book, however is not an easy read; but then again, biochemistry and molecular bio are not easy subjects. I think this excellent text coupled with a high yield molecular biology book, and lippincott's ever so famous biochemistry would be more than enough for any medical student to ace biochemistry and molecular biology!

The book, at least from my point of view, is not a good book to grasp the core concepts of Biochemistry from at the beginning of your biochemistry course.Actually,it is a tool by which you can get a deep understanding of the subject by the aid of other books that can give you the full picture of Biochemistry. Its advantage is in that it covers in details many of the topics that other books usually do not cover. I remember many times finding myself opening the book looking for some details that some professors mention as extra bits which are not found in the other textbooks and present in this book. I recommend it as a reference book for medical students but not a textbook.