The 1999 British Medical Association Book Competition Prize for Basis of Medicine has been awarded to "Where's the Evidence?

Where's the Evidence is a collection of essays written by William A. Silverman, a pioneer in neonatology who is well regarded for conducting one of the most important randomized control trials in medicine. (see Pediatrics vol 102:1:2 , July 1998, Fifty Years of Pediatrics: 1948-1998).

The essays were written over the past decade for a medical audience, but their subject matter and the range of materials Silverman brings to the discussions make them useful, and important reading for a much larger public. Silverman centers the debates in medicine around the social consequences of medical practice and covers such issues as the increasing and "gross maldistribution of power between patient/family and medical techocrat; the problems caused by a "confusion of goals" within medicine, and the process(es) by which medical authority is established. In so doing, he raises key questions such as, what's the new knowledge for, or, when is medicine's benevolence on behalf of patients/families misplaced. As a collection of key issues in the development and application of medical knowledge, the present volume provides a wealth of case studies which could be probed by scholars in fields such as anthropology, sociology, public policy and philospphy.

Integrity, courage, clarity, and an impressive breadth of scholarship characterize the essays and his afterthoughts. He has truly mastered the art of explaining the most complex and critical issues in medicine in terms that are understandable, and useful to the public at large.

Where's the Evidence is a collection of essays written by William A. Silverman, a pioneer in neonatology who is well regarded for conducting one of the most important randomized control trials in medicine. (see Pediatrics vol 102:1:2 , July 1998, Fifty Years of Pediatrics: 1948-1998).

The essays were written over the past decade for a medical audience, but their subject matter and the range of materials Silverman brings to the discussions make them useful, and important reading for a much larger public. Silverman centers the debates in medicine around the social consequences of medical practice and covers such issues as the increasing and "gross maldistribution of power bewteen patient/family and medical techocrat; the problems caused by a "confusion of goals" within medicine, and the process(es) by which medical authority is established. In so doing, he raises key questions such as, what's the new knowledge for, or, when is medicine's benevolence on behalf of patients/families misplaced. As a collection of key issues in the development and application of medical knowledge, the present volume provides a wealth of case studies which could be probed by scholars in fields such as anthropology, sociology, public policy and philospphy.

Integrity, courage, clarity, and an impressive breadth of scholarship characterize the essays and his afterthoughts. He has truly mastered the art of explaining the most complex and critical issues in medicine in terms that are understandable, and useful to the public at large. Individually essays would serve a public good as op-ed pieces in the New York Times, as a collected work they reinforce the importance of a medicine that is public spirited.

Suzanne Calpestri, Librarian The George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library University of California, Berkeley

This compilation of David Jackson Logan's writings detailing his experiences during the Civil War is second to none! You won't be able to put this outstanding book down until you've finished it. The authors have melded all sources into an unforgettable book.

This book does an outstanding job of following David Jackson Logan's life during the Civil War, through letters to his wife and family, letters to the newspaper, and his diary. I am fortunate to have already known what an outstanding man David Jackson Logan was, as well as, his father, John Randolph Logan, and his siblings. Especially David's brother Ben F. Logan, my great-great grandfather. I hope everyone enjoys reading this incredible book.

I have bought a lot of books about futures trading and after reading them I usually feel like I have wasted my money. That's why this book was such a delightful surprise. In addition to providing useful and understandable information about electronic trading, the author, Mr. Silverman, can really write. It was really interesting to learn about life on the trading floor and how it compares to trading electronically. His anecdotes about his 20 year career in the futures markets really brought to life the pressures and rewards of being a professional trader. I especially appreciated his insight into e-mini trading. For the first time, I understood the shenaningans that the traders on the floor and on the screen pull to provide themselves with an edge over the retail trader. The great thing about electronic trading, as Silverman argues, is that it allows someone like me who cannot trade on the floor of an exchange to compete on a level playing field. By opening a window into the secretive world of the successful trader, Silverman shows that the differences between the professional and non-professional trader are relatively small when trading electronically. His advice has already helped me improve my p/l. As they say about the movies, if you buy only one book about futures this year it should be this one. I highly recommend it.

I saw the authors on Oprah Winfrey and then read the book. It has been a big help to my family. We( parents) yell less, the kids follow directions better, and our youngest child no longer has tantrums. The authors present specific "how to " techniques for helping parents teach children to follow directions, end lying, improve motivation and school performance, and how parents can enhance ther own communication with each other. The best parenting book my wife and I have seen. Also has very amusing examples and a great parneting quiz

In the first part of the book, David Silverman presents a brief history of the University of Pennsylvania Museum as well as fieldwork and excavations done in Egypt and Nubia; and Donald Redford gives a general overview of Ancient Egyptian history. The second part consists of a catalogue which provides a description of objects, along with a photograph and further reading. Featured objects are those of divine art (essay by Arielle Kozloff), royal art (Edna Russmann), private art (Rita Freed), architecture (David O'Connor), personal and domestic artifacts (Edward Brovarski), funerary arts (William K. Simpson) and Nubian art (Josef W. Wegner). Recommended, this book is for those needing to learn more on Ancient Egyptian art.

The Seminary at 100 is a book published on the occasion of the Jewish Theological Seminary reaching its 100th anniversary. Since its founding as a rabbinical school, JTS has greatly expanded its mission, created a beautiful Manhattan campus and evolved into the prestigious center of Jewish learning it is today. A Jewish university with a world-class faculty and a diverse student body, JTS grants undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees through its five schools and offers enriching programs for the Jewish community in the US, Israel and around the world.

This book is a compilation of essays on topics from the sociological changes in Conservative rabbis in the 1980s compared to a century prior to the Conservative Jewish Ramah camps. The essay authors each bring their knowledge of Conservative Judaism and the Seminary. This is a wonderful reference book on Conservative Judaism as well. It covers all areas of discourse (history, literature, philosophy, Talmud, Bible, and Education) studied at JTS.

The Seminary at 100 is also one of the few published works that attempts to define Conservative Jewish theology, exploring the struggle toward self definition in a movement that often sees itself in terms of the negative (neither X nor Y). Published only a few years after the monumental decision to allow women to be accepted into academic programs leading to rabbinic and cantorial degrees, this book is also a valuable source of information on the Seminary's response to feminism. Over fifteen years since its publishing, it is also quite interesting to read about the Seminary's outlook for the future determining the accuracy of these prophecies. I have no reservations in recommending this book to anyone with even a cursory interest in Conservative Judaism, the Jewish Theological Seminary, liberal rabbinic training, or modern Judaism and American Jewish history in general.

Used this book during a visit to the ancient sites of Egypt and found it superb as an extension of the information provided by local guides. Really helped to bring ancient Egypt alive, even returned with a replica of the blue hippopotamus shown on page 219. Occasional cross reference errors such as Page 115 ref to 'illustration, p126' is actually on p122, and (I think) ref to tomb of Ramesses IV on p114 should read Ramesses VI, having visited the actual tomb in The Valley of the Kings. This however did not detract from the overall superb value including first class details of Egypts real treasures,'The Temple of Karnak' p208-208 and 'Inside the Great Pyramid' p182-183. These diagrams alone make the book worth taking on a visit.

I have read many a book on Ancient Egypt.This is one of my personal favorites.David Siverman filled this book with everything on Ancient Egypt. Any Ancient Egypt fan (like me) will enjoy reading it.

David Silverman, author of several fine books as well as Curator of the Egyptian Collection at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, has made a major contribution to the literature in this comprehensive, engagingly written and well-illustrated volume. I have to admit a bias, since I studied hieroglyphics in one of his classes at the University of Chicago a while ago. His enthusiasm and knowledge shine forth in this mature work, which draws on the talents of the best people in the field today. I would give this book a ten-star rating!

I bought this book and when I started reading it discovered that I had read the bios on the ballplayers previously. Wondering where I had, I started to do a search in my huge collection of baseball books and cds. Sure enough, I discovered that the biographical information had previously been released on the Microsoft: Complete Baseball Cd that was available in 1995. There is some new stuff in the book that was not on the cd.

I received this book as a gift and have enjoyed it very much. The number of players covered is extensive, and the biographies are generally fair, well-researched, and well-written. As a younger baseball fan who has long had an interest in the entire history of the game, I have particularly gotten a kick out of the analyses of the 19th and early 20th century ballplayers, as well as the pictures attached to each biography. I am a little disappointed, however, that the authors only use the classic, rather banal (generally) statistics in their biographical sketches, especially as the book was compiled by the editors of the bible of baseball, "Total Baseball". It's fine to read about how many wins Grover Cleveland Alexander racked up in his great career, but how good was he really in comparison to the other greats of his day, as well as in comparison to the greats of today? Stats like ERA+, PRO+, etc., would have really put each of these players in the proper historical perspective. I realize that this book is aimed at general audience, and that many baseball fans still deride advanced statistical analysis, but such analysis truly enriches evaluation of the long history of America's past-time. Don't get me wrong, the book is a lot of fun. I look forward, however, to when some accomplished sabermetricians expand the project. Reading about Babe Ruth's antics off the field accompanied by a searching analysis that truly reveals how mammoth a presence he was on the field, will be icing on the cake.

With all the trouble baseball is in today, this book provides an outlet for the fan who loved the game before agents, Selig, Don Fehr, astroturf, overpaid performers, etc. You can browse through it again and again, and still enjoy the stories of these players. It is a great supplement to the statistics that we have for all the players of the past.

This reference has more or less picked up the torch from the late lamented "Baseball Encyclopedia," and is indispensible for serious fans (and probably casual ones as well).

Included in the hefty (nearly 2,000 pages) volume is everything you'd expect (player stats, franchise histories, postseason results) and a number of things you might not (Curt Smith's wonderful roster of radio/TV announcers, for instance). It's perfect for whiling away the hours on rainy Sunday afternoons, and invaluable for settling arguments or answering trivia questions.

It would be nice if the next edition included a few more historical essays such as those found in its NFL counterpart, "Total Football II." That's a minor quibble, however, and perhaps impractical considering the voluminous size of the current book. All in all, this is a must-buy for baseball lovers.

Total Baseball is definitely a must for every baseball fan, from hardcore to casual. And it can be a gateway for many who haven't enjoyed the blessings of this beautiful game. There's everything you need to know: from team histories, great essays on the Negro Leagues. There's stuff for the stat nut as well: from sabermetrics to a handy guide on how to score a game, some insights on Women and Baseball, and of course, the hefty, precise and so accurate register of every player in Major League history. There's even a chapter on International Baseball results, that suprisingly, does NOT include the champions of the Venezuelan League, and does have the Dominican and Mexican team champions. Anyway, all in all, if you love baseball or simply you want to understand baseball, this book is for you.

Total Baseball is to baseball what the Beatles' songbook is to rock n' roll music, with authors Thorn and Palmer the Lennon-McCartney of baseball composers. It is a work of mind-numbing thoroughness, the baseball reference to end all references. The prose section includes the story of baseball from every region of the world. Also included are "The True Father of Baseball" and a lively new section of quotes. There are dozens of other sections, including the complete voting for every MVP award ever bestowed and diagrams -- including fence distances -- of every Major League park ever played in. Want to find out the Brooklyn Dodgers total attendance the year before they left for Los Angeles or the attendance of any other team in a any other season? It's in here. The register includes complete records of the nearly 15,000 men who have ever tied on spikes. The statistical derivations, including algorithms, are the standards and most ambitious ever done. For the rue fan, this is it: nearly 2,700 pages of baseball bliss.

If you're expecting the football equivalent of Total Baseball, you'll be disappointed. The text articles are superficial and unimpressive. For example, while Total Baseball has articles on Japanese baseball, Total Football does not discuss Canadian football. Total Baseball discusses the history of black baseball players, but Total Football does not do the same for black football players.

But perhaps I am being harsh in comparing Total Football to something as canonical as Total Baseball. Total Football has been an invaluable reference. It has statistics on every NFL, AFL and AAFC player (no comprehensive playoff stats, though); team statistics dating to 1920; and scores and attendence (where available) for every game played. The book even lists players' high schools, although unfortunately it does not have an index of high schools. For stats junkies like me, the book is a lot of fun.

Don't expect to find a football book you can use exclusively from the rest. This is a good supplement to books like "The Pro Football Encyclopedia" (by Maher/Gill). If you're into statistics this is one of the best to have. Whereas "Pro Football Encyclopedia" has players longest gains, which this book doesn't, this book gives you kickoff and punt return stats for all players, the encyclopedia doesn't. This book is mainly about the NFL. I bought it for the statistics. It's also a good book to use if you want to find out more about a specific player (statistically speaking). Chapters like "The 25 Most Memorable Regular Season Games" and "The 300 Greatest Players" etc.. are not what I got this book for. I would prefer a book that leaves out author's opinions. I've seen games I'll never forget that I knew wouldn't make the list and also players. Although these chapters are somewhat interesting along with others I could live without half this book easily but like I said, it's a good season by season individual stat book that has information other books don't. It mainly depends on what you're buying this book for. There are statistics here excluded from other books but there are stats left out that ARE in other books, like blocked punts for instance, which may not seem to matter to most, but it all depends on what you're buying it for. It has stats other books don't, that's what I bought it for.

Being an avid Football fan, Total Football is a dream come true. It gives me fast reference to players and their statistics, positions, high schools, and even hometowns. However, there is one glitch that keeps popping up. After referencing through the book many times, i finally realized that a player must have played in a game in order to have been given credit for being involved in football that year. Therefore, a player could have been not played in a game, or sat out the season on injured reserve, and the book does not give him credit for playing at all. If a player was on a team's roster, but missed the year because of an injury, that should be noted. With the way Total Football is, I wouldn't know if a player was injured for the year, on the roster but didn't see action, or just sat out the year. To me, that's a big deal.