A Bicentennial Malthusian Essay(Conservation, population, and the Indifference to Limits) by John F.Rohe is an extremely interesting, must-reading, for all responsible people. Alarming, yet exciting, to gain a realistic understanding of conservation. Thinking non-conservationists will become conservationists. Conservationists will find the back-up information to substantiate their beliefs.

Richard M. Shuster, Retired Circuit Judge
5th Judicial Circuit Court, Barry County,
Michigan

At a time when many people downplay Malthus, or even ridiculed him, his predictions are coming true-if we just take notice. This is certainly not visible in the suburban supermarket where many of the people who affect what is happening shop. However, for growing numbers of malnourished people on our planet, this is all too apparent. This fine book looks at the underlying causes for this predicament and suggest that the only final way to resolve this problem is to face up to our population problem. Increasing food production, if that were still possible, only postpones the worst, and because the world's population would be larger, would make the suffering even more terrible. Everyone should read this book.

Rohe addresses the natural limits that we face, population, resources, environmental degradation, the earths carrying capacity whose totality is a disease of being indifferent toward these limits. He write with the precision and logic of a lawyer which he is.

This book was extremely helpful to me while I learned all about the fishes at the Aquarium of the Pacific. It is very concise and yet includes every order and family that I ever encountered during my studies. I recommend it wholeheartedly!

This 1995 copyright date assures the reader s/he is getting the latest in deep-sea discoveries. Scientists can gather more information with the latest, quieter cameras. It has photos from the most beautiful to the most grotesque fishes. The text is organized, readable & enjoyable

The account of John Birch's life is a great testimony of God's power today and how God can use individuals to accomplish His will. John Birch was a Baptist from Georgia and he was killed by Communists in China where he worked for the US Army and also started missionary work. John Birch is a great role model for a Christian, and for all those who desire integrity, character, strength and honor in a man's life. In fact, this book has led me to join a Baptist church in Tennessee since John Birch was strong for the Lord and he was a good Baptist. It is so revealing and amazing to read the letters he wrote shortly before his sacrificial death. This book is heartily recommended. The only flaw about the book is that the author seems not to be a faithful Christian because he expresses belief in evolution and does not focus on John Birch's life of faith, and his relationship to the Lord's church. But the words and actions of the missionary John Birch speak louder than the author's opinions and views.

In April, 1942, the Rev. Birch, Baptist missionary, was eating supper somewhere in China, and was approached to aid the crews of the Doolittle Raiders to safety from behind enemy lines. He volunteered for military service as a chaplain at that time. He was approached by Gen. Claire Chennault of the American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) who had other ideas. Rev. Birch was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on July 4, 1942 and served the remainder of the war as an intelligence officer, but preached whenever he could. Ten days after the cessation of hostilities, August, 1945, by then a Captain, John Birch was brutally murdered by Chinese Communists of Mao Tse Tung's 9th Route Army.

Any birder is familiar with the format that even the best guides use to convey the likelihood over time of finding a given species in a particular location. Because of the scope of those guides, they are limited to conveying the timing to seasons and the locations to regions.

This book tells the reader exactly when specific bird species are generally found in specific counties of the state. A field guide will tell you that a certain bird migrates through the state in the spring, but some birds migrate in March, and some in June. This book will also tell you how populous the bird is (ie. how rare it is). You can also see the general movements of resident birds in the state over seasons.

I live in Wisconsin, so I use this book all the time. I have been frustrated trying to find similar information for states that I visit regularly. It is an invaluable resource for concentrating observation and understanding the animals being studied.

This book is an ideal companion to a field guide to Eastern birds. Primarily designed as a reference guide (it contains no pictures, descriptions, or field marks) it contains a wealth of information on the likelihood of finding a particular species by county and time of year in Wisconsin. Based on at least 15 years of birding reports, the book is organized in standard order of species with one bird species per page. Each page contains the probability of spotting the species somewhere in the state in a given year, a map of the frequency of reports by county, a chart of the reporting frequency by week for the year, and a trend line by year of the total relative number of reports. I would recommend the guide primarily to the intermediate or advanced birder who is knowledgable about each bird species and their likely habitats already, but needs to know what is likely to be found in a given part of the state.

IMHO, this book is a template of how every state or regional guide should be designed.

Having studied under David Scaer, I have come to appreciate his insights and his dedication to the confession of the Christian faith. He is a man who leaves no stone unturned, who questions traditional views yet always finds a way to support and teach what Scripture says and what the Church has always taught. Most importantly, Dr. Scaer does not locate his theological security in the ability to re-hash what everyone else said before, nor does he assume that his experiences of Christianity are normative simply because they are his own. Rather, Dr. Scaer questions his own views and subordinates them to the person, words and work of Jesus.

These qualities in the writer provide for a solid presentation of the Lutheran understanding of Christology. For those of you who may be reading this review and are not yet familiar with this term, let me explain: Christology is the study of Christ's person and work as the Scriptures describe Him. Particularly, the Person of Jesus is a phrase used to speak about the fact that Jesus is truly 100% God at the same time as truly 100% man, with distinctions but no divisions between the two natures. Christ's work concentrates on the area of His atonement for all sin on the cross, His justification of sinners, His Resurrection, His life, His teachings, etc.

Many things make this book valuable. First, Dr. Scaer tries to address modern heresies on their own ground. Instead of providing an alternate framework to posit questions, Dr. Scaer tries to argue from the inside out - and then watches as the faulty arguments fall under their own weight. He engages the Quest for the Historical Jesus, 20th century theologians of all kinds, and current views. At the same time, Scaer addresses the theological differences between various groups (ex: the classic tensions between historical Lutheranism and historical Calvinism).

Second, though this book is short, it condenses a great amount of thought into it. In many ways, Scaer's books are like springboards for new and deeper considerations. For example, Scaer comments on the Calvinist Christological view that the finite flesh of the man Jesus is incapable of the infinite Son of God, and so (acc. to some Calvinists) the Son can also be found outside the Man. Lutherans have always asserted that this Calvinist view denies the Incarnation, but Scaer brings up some more points to consider. "If the finite is intrinsically incapable of entering into union with the infinite, then the finite has the possibility of being an obstacle to the infinite, and thereby, at this one point, superior to it" (pg. 26).

Here is another thought: "The crucifixion, more than any other moment in the history of the world, or Israel, or even of the life of Jesus, is the greatest manifestation of God's essence. It is not without purpose that the first two evangelists concentrate the testimonies that Jesus is God's Son in the moment of the cross (Mt 27:40, 43, 54, Mk 15:39). The cross is an affirmation of God's triune essence and not incidental to it. Only when God is thought of in majestic and transcendental categories and not in terms of love and compassion is the cross with its suffering a contradiction or paradox" (pg. 75).

In summary, I strongly recommend this book. The language may be challenging at times for the inexperienced (but such is the case with many good theological books... the best way to learn the language is to start reading). Scaer organizes his material around the themes of the Creed. A thorough book for its size and one that I will continue to read.

Concise, and image intense discussions are to the point yet encompass all necessary details. Excellent resident review book and excellent for the generalist in practice. Highly recommended.

An excellent choice for anyone who is interested in transportation. The essays range from issues related to developing countries to those that are pertinent to the US. While this is not exactly a beginner's book it is very easy to read with some background in economics or engineering.

"The human race, without intending anything of the sort, has undertaken a gigantic uncontrolled experiment on the earth. In time, I think, this will appear as the most important aspect of twentieth-century history, more so than World War II, the communist enterprise, the rise of mass literacy, the spread of democracy, or the growing emancipation of women." (J. R. McNeill)

Over the past few years there have been a spate of histories of the 20th century. Most of them have been written from traditional, often Eurocentric, historical perspectives that focus upon political history set in the context of socioeconomic development and ideological and military conflict. J. R. McNeill's *Something New Under the Sun* replaces the political narrative, usually found at the center of histories, with an environmental one. It invites readers to reevaluate the legacy of the 20th century.

By any measure, the 20th century is, as McNeill characterizes it, "a prodigal century." In terms of growth of population, economic development, and energy production and consumption, it is a case of 'quantity having a quality of its own.' On the one hand, it is a triumph of the human species. (McNeill suggests readers consider that over the past 4 billion years of human history, 20% of all human life-years took place in the 20th century.) On the other hand, this prodigal century - this triumph of human ingenuity - has also exacted an unprecedented environmental cost. It is this trade-off that McNeill's book explores.

McNeill's approach is interdisciplinary, and the book is divided into two sections. The first section is organized around transformations to the lithosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere, and the resulting pollution and resource depletion. Each topic includes a (very) brief conceptual introduction, case studies from around the world, (black and white) photos, maps, and tables. This section also includes the best example of unintentional environmental consequences. McNeill introduces Thomas Midgely, the inventor of leaded gasoline and Freon, "[who] had more impact on the atmosphere than any other organism in earth history."

In the second section, McNeill introduces the 'engines of change" - 1) population growth, migration, and urbanization, 2) energy, technology, and economic growth, and 3) politics and environmental awareness. The pulses of 'coketowns' and 'motowns' take place amidst the tumultuous social, economic, and political events of the 20th century. Environmental awareness doesn't take root until the 70's - a critical period for women as well. (His examples of Rachel Carson and Wangari Maathai were well chosen - and gendered.) In his epilogue (So What?), McNeill's history portends an environmental crunch, a change of circumstances - a dilemma unlike the world has witnessed so far.

"With our new powers we banished some historical constraints on health and population, food production, energy use, and consumption generally. Few who know anything about life with these constraints regret their passing. But in banishing them we invited other constraints in the form of the planet's capacity to absorb wastes, by-products, and impacts of our actions. The latter constraints had pinched occasionally in the past, but only locally. By the end of the twentieth century, they seemed to restrict our options globally. Our negotiations with these constraints will shape the future as our struggles against them shaped our past." (J. R. McNeill)

*Something New Under The Sun* is written in a popular style well suited to both non-fiction readers and students. Readers of environmental historians like William Cronon, William McNeill, or Alfred Crosby will certainly find McNeill's book interesting. Personally I think that McNeill's global perspective of the 20th century will stand the test of time.

McNeill's basic thesis is that in environmental terms, the 20th century has been unprecedented in human history and planetary history in general. He points out that the impact of humankind's breathtaking technological advancements in the last 100 or so years can be likened to a major cataclysm, like an asteroid hitting the planet. The book provides a wealth of background information on a number of major technical/technological developments, and how they have improved the lives of many people but also damaged or imperiled the air, water and soil that sustain all life. McNeill is hardly a Luddite or a primitivist, but he does make some reasonable calls for restraint and, perhaps, a worldwide assessment of where human economic/industrial/technological activities are taking the planet. Interesting in this vein is his consideration, toward the end of the book, of how the economic thought of the last century, with its adherence to the concept of unlimited growth, has played a key role in preventing such an assessment. As he points out, overcoming this way of thinking represents a daunting task, since these (Anglo-American) economic doctrines have assumed the status of irrefutable dogma - like any system of religious beliefs.

For a throughly researched, densly written , book of facts to be readable is almost a contradiction. Yet this is exactly what J.R. McNeill has accomplished. He is a Historian, most interested in change, objective in his assesment of those changes (Who and What benefits, Who and What doesn't), anthropocentric(a viewpoint too often missing in environmental studies), and broad-minded concerning possible approaches to problems (the shark has done very well for a very long time).

What makes this such an important book aside from its readability and penetrating analysis, is perspective. J.R. McNeill considers history without consideration of the life-support system of Earth or ecology that neglects social forces, incomplete and capable of leading to dangerous conclusions. Further, "Both history and ecology are, as fields of knowledge go, supremely integrative. They merely need to integrate with one another."

Having grown up in Pittsburgh, Pa., I can attest to the author's history of Pittsburgh and to his grasp of the complexity of problems there (for instance: Andrew Carnegie found the level of pollution intolerable, later some unions fought smoke-control). In today's world, no matter where we live or what work we do,environmental issues will arise.

This book by elucidating the processes and trends that underly today's world, gives us a foundation on which to base our opinions and choices, working toward the day when we , in the author's words, "Make our own luck, rather than trusting to luck..."

Director 8.5 is a monster application with huge range of functionality. Nyquist's "Bible" uses CD-ROM-based tutorials to carry you through the concepts with relative ease. The tutorials are part of one continuous complex project, taking the reader from the basics through media management, interactivity, project management and some pretty sophisticated Lingo programming. It is also organized to allow easy reference for specific issues. Having recently completed an 'Emedia & Design' programme I would have to say that Nyquist's book is probably the most valuable text in my library.

Este libro es realmente extraordinario para aprender a usar director, pues se ve desde el uso basico de cada herramienta aplicando los ejemplos que incluye el cd-rom.

Recomiendo este libro a quien nunca haya usado director antes, y para aquellos que habiendo usado, solo han aprendido por su cuenta sin referencias técnicas.

There is no better book with which to get involved in Director. I've read nearly all of them; nothing else comes CLOSE! Get IT! ENJOY IT! LOVE IT!

Our lab used this book for a study group on effective scientific writing. We are located in Korea, so with the exception of the instructor and I, all participants were not native speakers of English. As a result, this review is from the viewpoint of foreign students. It is based on chapter reviews written by the members of our lab after finishing the book.

The book is just what it claims to be, a step-by-step approach to writing a scientific manuscript intended for publication. The first chapter helpfully furnishes a checklist (Table 1.3) for preparing a research paper. The chapter is actually a summary of the rest of the book so a reader already in the process of writing can easily find which chapter they wish to skip to via Table 1.3.

In the subsequent chapters, the authors provide good advice accompanied by helpful tables, examples and exercises, although the figure chapter could have used more tips on actually preparing the figures. Examples of poorly prepared and corrected figures would be a useful study aid. One student suggested that the second chapter on computer use was not particularly informative for graduate-level students. Regarding the chapter on grammar (chapter 6), another student pointed out that in some scientific articles, ungrammatical sentences are not corrected in order to effectively deliver the point.

The overall use of informal expressions and phrases seemed intended to make the text livelier for English-speaking students, but was confusing for several participants with English as a second language. We would like to suggest that the authors take their own advice and refrain from using slang and jargon. Several of us liked Appendix 2 and thought it was a good read for those unfamiliar with the practice of journal editors.

Apparently the authors had intended to attract those who had not already submitted a manuscript to read their book, but Successful Scientific Writing contains many helpful pointers for published scientists and journal editors, as well.

it is unfortunate the authors did not review the most recent scientific style and format conventions of the council of biology editors(accepted internationally) that were published in 1994. had they done so, they would not have made a number of the errors that show up scattered about in the text. i use parts of this text , especially the exercises, in a course i teach on scientific writing and have to make the corrections as we go along

Words can hardly express the beauty and cleverness of "Successful Scientific Writing" by Matthews, Bowen and Matthews as a step-by-step guide on how to write scientific reports for publication in English. I am using this book for a course that I teach on scientific writing at the Postgraduate School of Health Sciences at Aarhus University in Denmark, and I find it to be perfect! Before this book was published, there was none that dealt so well and so entertainingly with so many aspects of what it actually takes to prepare a manuscript for publication in a scientific journal. Many young (and old) scientists are good thinkers, but they are often poor writers! Thus, although they may have been able to design and carry out an experiment, they often lack the ability to express what they have done clearly and concisely. This book is for them! The first few chapters provide mainly words of encouragement for getting the writing process underway. There are also remarkable bits of advice, such as the notion of avoiding certan snacks that could derail ones momentum. In my view, the crux of the book appears in chapters 5, 6 and 7 in which extraordinarily lucid and practical instructions and exercises are presented for improving one's ability to write scientifically. There are also tips on how to optimize word-processing so that the manuscript submitted to the editor of a journal is most likely to be accepted for publication. Perhaps some old-timers in Science can do without this book, but they should nevertheless have a copy of it on hand for their students.