An excellent, in-depth book that reads very well. It gives a wonderful narration and visual on every painting in this special collection. I was fortunate enough to visit the museum in Washington D.C. and see the actual works of art. It was an awesome show and the book follows suit. A very worthwhile book for the artist, student and those who just enjoy art!

A well written (almost conversational) review of Financial Analysis. Audience is Commercial Credit Analysts or CFO's of mid size entities , and perhaps a summary review for Equity Analysts (Valuation discussion was bare however and quite dated).

Covers basic ratio analysis, all the way through Capital Budgeting, and analysis of suitable equity / debt mix.

Although lacking in more sophisticated methods and any discussion of newer topics such as derivatives, and International trade issues (FX Translation), this book is perfect for the Regional Bank staffer or mid size Corp CFO.

If you're a fan of Marvel comic books, and more importantly, if you can't get enough of that Latverian supervillain, this is a great book. You actually get three reference books and the game board. You'll find comprehensive history of Doctor Doom, of Latveria and surrounding fictional countries, and the tools and weapons and sometimes allies of Victor Von Doom. There are some minor inaccuracies, and some of the information is now a little dated. Look for the list of Doctor Doom appearances throughout the Marvel Universe to help you complete your collection.

If you love the waterfront, the look of a fine vessel, the feel of freedom with a boat under you, you will love this book. Ms. Scott's poetry evokes the feel of the situation, the sense of the person portrayed, the reality of the environment. Along with the superb illustrations by her late husband, David Scott, the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. A delightful read, and a wonderful re-read, savoring the poetry AND the pictures.

The Search After Truth may (I stress may) be a better book, but this is simply the best introduction to Malebranche's system.

And you should read about Malebranche's system, since it was held in very high regard during the Seventeenth Century, although it fell into disregard afterwards. It had a big impact on Leibniz, so for that reason alone it should be studied. But it's also quite entertaining to study since it is, to be blunt, one of the looniest systems ever put forward by a major philosopher. The two main elements are that we see everything in God (leading Malebranche to assert that our eyes have nothing to do with sight), and that God directly causes everything (including everything you ever do - God personally reaches down from heaven and makes it happen). I'll let those speak for themselves.

While the Search After Truth is long and rambling, this is short and concise, and Malebranche is surprisingly good at the dialogue form, so it's really a fairly quick and pleasant read. If you're just looking to know what Malebranche's system was all about, then it's not even neccessary to read the Search if you've read this.

This text provides a quick, concise review of the pimary topics covered on emergency medicine exams. I found it to be a good way to prepare for inservice exams and the written boards.

I find "Redgauntlet" one of the less satisfactory novels in the Waverley series. Certainly, it has the local flavor, the dialect, the imaginative description of evocative landscapes all his novels have, but it is not a blast as some of the others are. The plot involves a fictitious third Jacobite rebellion, and it is interesting to see how Scott (especially in the notes from the Magnum edition, included in this edition) argues this time not for the historicity but for the historical probability of the events described. While Scott is often hailed as the inventor of the historical novel, "Redgauntlet" also shows him to be a forerunner in the historically probable novel--a genre practiced to great effect by our present-day history buff, Umberto Eco.

But probability alone does not a great novel make. Darsie Latimer's character is even less probable than his semi-historical counterparts, such as Edmund Waverley and Henry Morton. And this is strange, since moving further into fictionality, one could argue, a writer might allow themselves more latitude to make a character interesting, even if certain circumstances remain historical. Is this a conscious effort on Scott's part to show, after the fictionality of history, the fictionality of fiction?

Scott disturbs narrative conventions even further when the conspiracy against the Hanoverian King George III completely fails to materialize--ironically, for what seems to be the silliest of reasons: the Pretender (or the Chevalier if you're a Jacobite), Charles Stuart, refuses to give up his mistress. Thus, the main plot of the novel sizzles out and really not much happens in these 400 pages. Mind you, I personally don't need much to happen, but the 19th century novel did. Scott as a postmodern writer? That is pushing it too far, but this novel awaits a postmodern critique enlightened by a reading of Eco and Bakhtin.

That said, there are some really interesting things going on. Apart from the "regular" set of characters of Scott's Scottish novels, this one features an orthodox Quaker who is the epitome of anti-militant mercantilism. The form is also quite new for Scott--the novel is an epistolary, a set of letters between Darsie Latimer and his friend Alan Fairford. Thus, the novel's first-person point of view is split, and this provides for interesting contrasts.

For me, Scott sort of shot himself in the foot with this novel. His earlier novels ("Redgauntlet" is the last of the Scottish novels, written eight years before his death) lead one to expect a major action to happen before the denouement, and this one avoids that a bit too artificially. It seems that Scott was at pains to stick to history, and his own political convictions, a bit too much: a fictitious Jacobite rebellion is OK as a narrative vehicle, but it shouldn't interfere with the peaceful Great Britain (in which Scotland was in many respects subsidiary to England) that Scott himself inhabited and advocated. And so narrative excitement has to give way to Scott's pacifist politics--an honest choice, which Scott consistently maintains in all the Waverley novels--and character development and politics take precedent.

A final note: Scott has always proven himself a masterful and honest critic of royalty and nobility, especially of those characters he seems to love. "Waverley"'s Mac-Ivor is chastised for his political obstinacy, in "The Fortunes of Nigel" King James I (a Scot) is rebuked for his fickleness and corruption, and in "Redgauntlet" the formerly charismatic Stuart proves effeminate and tragic (dying an impoverished alcoholic, in the footnotes). And often enough, these tragic characters are of more interest than the somewhat ineffectual and sometimes foolish main characters: something for readers of literature to sink their teeth into.

This is a good book so far. I must admit that I'm not finished yet having only got it 2 days ago but I'm already to page 120-something. It's very interesting; great interviews w/ people I've heard about on Rocky sites and didn't know much about, so this book really helped me. It's amusing. My only complaint would be that everybody kind of seems to dump on Richard O'Brien in this book and I had always liked Riffy so that kind of bothered me, but all in all it's a good book.

From the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, December 1998

In July 1995, clients at the Center for the Visually Impaired (CVI) in Atlanta pioneered the first class in a unique program called Safe Without Sight. The program was inspired by requests from several newly blinded men and women who were concerned about their personal safety when they traveled alone. To design the course, CVI director Scott McCall drew on the expertise of Wendy David, a blind psychologist who has done extensive research on perceived vulnerability and blindness; and Kerry Kollmar, a martial arts instructor with a special interest in teaching people with disabilities. Now David, Kollmar, and McCall have distilled the Safe Without Sight program into a to illustrate two of their overarching concepts, "paying attention to your surroundings" and "listening to your inner voice." ...

Safe Without Sight is divided into two sections, covering how to avoid danger and how to escape from it. Some of the information in Part One is fairly general U.S. crime statistics and common misconceptions about victims and attackers. Yet the authors keep their audience in mind, bringing the discussion back to situations blind people may be likely to meet. These situations are not inherent in blindness per se, but they may arise as a blind person goes about living an active life. For example, blind people often depend on public transportation and may find themselves waiting at lonely bus stops. They must on occasion speak to strangers to get directions or find a particular street address. They may also run into safety issues when dealing with readers, drivers, and other hired assistants.

HOW TO THINK, TALK, AND ACT

"Being blind doesn't mean you need to feel or look vulnerable," the authors write. "It does mean you need to learn specific ways of thinking, talking, and acting so that you can live safely." Part One presents a "mind set" that can help a blind person move through the world with a minimum of risk. First and most important is the need to develop an awareness of the environment. By paying close attention to sounds and smells, by carrying a clear mental map of the surroundings, the blind traveler is less likely to be taken by surprise and turned into a victim. Intuition is also a key element of safety. The authors emphasize that "funny feelings" about a person or situation should never be ignored. They also encourage the reader to think about setting boundaries with both strangers and acquaintances.

The first line of self-defense is to avoid a dangerous situation altogether. The authors furnish a variety of tips for preventing trouble at home, on the street, and in the workplace. But even the most careful precautions are no guarantee.

FIGHTING TECHNIQUES

Part Two of Safe Without Sight deals with the harsh realities of life-and-death struggle, when survival depends on wit, skill, and sheer determination. The book systematically outlines an array of techniques that a blind person can use to disable or break away from an attacker.

Pivotal to the Safe Without Sight program is the "universal reference point." By touching this point, the juncture between the opponent's neck and shoulder, a blind person can quickly become oriented to his or her position. If it is not possible to reach the shoulder area, the person can find a foot by sliding his or her own foot along the ground. Orienting to the opponent's body is an extension of the general awareness that is stressed in Part One. With a sense of the opponent's height, size, and movements, a blind person can minimize the disadvantages of fighting without the aid of vision.

A SERIES OF EXERCISES

As the authors point out, reading these chapters once or twice is not enough. A series of recommended exercises, carried out with a friend or instructor, will help reinforce the various fighting techniques. Real proficiency will require a major commitment. However, even readers who do not master the program's self- defense techniques can glean much valuable and thought-provoking information from these pages.

FIGHTING WITHOUT A CANE

Safe Without Sight left me with only one serious concern. To perform most of the fighting techniques described, a blind person should have both hands free. This means that the person must put down his or her cane, taking the chance that it may roll or be kicked out of reach during the ensuing struggle. This could prove dangerous once the person breaks free from an opponent and needs to escape in a hurry. I wish that the authors had addressed this important logistical problem, since it could have a powerful effect on the outcome of a violent encounter.

Sighted people usually regard blindness as a sign of helplessness and weakness. The general public sees danger for blind people everywhere-in climbing a flight of stairs, striking a match, or chopping celery. The assumptions in Safe Without Sight are refreshingly different. This is a book that shows utter respect for the capabilities of people who are blind, even in situations that would be harrowing to the most intrepid. Safe Without Sight conveys the message that, like everyone else, blind crime victims can have a fighting chance.

This fat book, written by a two tech guys at Creative Labs and two independent tech writers have put together the definitive reference for legacy SoundBlaster 8bit and 16bit hardware up to the SB16. For PC users who want to progress beyond games.

Covers the basics still applicable for newer sound cards. About 1/2 the book includes configuring and using Win Apps for music MIDI keyboards, wavetable synthesis, sequencing, WAV recording, speech recognition, text-to-speech, and intro to sound card programming.

This book is often at libraries, used bookstores, and close-out bins.