It's not too often that you get a Civilian view of the Civil War. This book shows how Seccesh and Unionists acted towards each other in a border state, depending upon who's troops were occupying the town of Lexington (Home of John Hunt Morgan). The diary was written by a homebound girl (she had epilepsy) with Union leanings. The area that she saw from her window still exists today, including her home and others mentioned and also show up on a hand-drawn map that is in the book. A very good book for those seeking something besides the same old worn out War stories.

A very good diary of the occupation of Lexington KY by both CS and US troops during the Civil War. Since the city was home to both Unionist and Secceshionist Civilians, it shows how each acted depending on who occupied the city at the time. It is a good illustration of Home Front activity.

The subtitle of this work is "The Autobiography of a Western Buddhist". Unfortunately, that is not really an accurate description. The author, whether from humility or reticence, tells us little of his spiritual development and practice.

Still, his life has been remarkable and he describes a spiritual world in China and Tibet that is gone forever and can only be vicariously experienced through books such as this.

The author is a modest man, perhaps excessively so. I believe that he has left out much that would be of interest to his readers. The result is more a spiritual travelogue than a true spiritual autobiography. Yet, this book is so evocative that I am grateful to accept however much he is willing to share about his extraordinary experiences.

ven. Huston Smith's comments are right on. Having used and admired Blofeld's edition of the 'I Ching' for some time, I always wanted to get around to reading this book, and now am very glad I did! ven. John Blofeld gives us an honest account, free of self-conscious editing, of a Western seeker attracted by the fragrance of Dharma while still in grade school, who then pursued it to pre-Mao China and met many great sages from a millenia-old tradition. On my sagging particle-board bookshelf, I put this book lovingly next to ven. Anagarika Govinda's 'The Way of the White Clouds' and ven. Lama Alexandra David-Neel's 'Magic and Mystery in Tibet' and and ven. Kawaguchi's 'A Stranger in Tibet', and ven. Bhagavan Das's 'It's Here Now', (and while we're at it, next to ven. Friedrich Nietzsche's 'Thus Spake Zarathustra' as well! :). Namaste, y'all!

A rather convoluted attempt at answering the central question: What is life? But Smith and his co-author fail in other respects too. Among the subsidiary problems surrounding the question of life and its origins is a rather more specific question on how exactly cells with the same genetic information become different adult structures. In other words, animals, for example, are composed of many different cells - muscle cells, nerve cells etc - that are all identical, but in development they become different in shape, composition, and function. The answer (already well known) is that cells are not different because they have different genes, but because some genes are active while others are not. Maynard Smith pops the central question in developmental biology (page 18): how does three dimensional form arise during development; how does it come about that the right genes are active in the right places. He repeats this question on p18, p28,p100,and finally on page 115 once again, he repeats"...how is it that different genes are active in different cells...we will return to this question in a moment". Now I get fed up, when is he going to answer this question! But wait, on page 117, yes, here it comes, he finally says, yes, one more time - "how is it that different genes are active in different cells...the answer finally on page 117 - WE DO NOT KNOW!! What a run around! At this point I turf this book aside, and decide to slate this author for jerking me around.

As stated in the preface, this book presents to a general readership the same ideas as the authors' 1995 book "The Major Transitions in Evolution." I found it still challenging, but richly rewarding. The most interesting questions in evolution deal with the evolution of new levels of organization. The authors identify only eight such transitions starting from cooperating collections of replicating molecules up through multicellular organisms, colonies of ants and bees, and finally human societies with language. Anyone interested in the question of how cooperation evolved in human societies needs to also understand how cooperation evolved in the other seven transitions. This appears to be the definitive work on that subject that is accessible to a non-specialist.

Readers cruising through the wealth of books on evolution that have appeared in recent years will see one name [after Darwin] appearing almost universally. Either found in the text or the Bibliography, the name of John Maynard Smith stands ubiquitous. There's a good reason for such respect - Maynard Smith is both a capable scientist and strong presenter of science. This book, brief as it is, stands out as a prime example of his skilled writing hand. His collaborator, Eors Szathmary an Hungarian chemist, has clearly provided a wealth of resource information on many aspects of how life's mechanisms determined the path of evolution of early life. This is their second association, and it's a splendid result of the merger of two disciplines.

This work, like their previous book, puts to rest the idea that evolution by natural selection is a 'group' or species phenomenon. Evolution works at individual levels. An animal, cell or even a gene - how it operates, survives and replicates. For all these elements to function successfully and pass their behaviours on to succeeding generations, a wealth of mechanisms must occur without serious hitch. Maynard Smith and Szathmary take us through these biological steps with unsurpassed clarity. Yet with all this wealth of detail, the reader finds nothing obscure or confusing in their descriptions.

This book starts with descriptions of attempts to understand how life started. Now that it is understand that life's history is but a bit less than the existence of our planet, the beginnings of life must be a chemical phenomenon. Maynard Smith and Szathmary show how these reactions occurred and how they originated the steps leading to the complex life forms sharing the globe with us today. If their text wasn't clear enough [and it definitely is that] the accompanying line drawings spell out graphically how chemistry drove, and is driving, life's forces. Those seeking a wealth of information on various species will be disappointed. What this pair superbly depict are the mechanisms uniform over all life.

Discussions of evolution cannot avoid addressing that creature who considers all life to have been created to ultimately produce it - the human being. The pair depart from their basic concept here by addressing human society. And rightly so. The ability of humans to modify their environment utilize powers that overcome the chemical basis by which we live. This ability rests on the use of language to convey ideas. No other animal possesses this capacity and the authors conclude this work with some ideas about the future course of human evolution and the role language will play in it. The major factor will be Dawkins' idea of the meme. They see memes as a Lamarckian element in human culture, guiding the path of our ongoing development. Clearly, a required companion volume to this book is Susan Blackmore's THE MEME MACHINE.

This is a superb summation of evolution's workings and a must read for anyone wishing a start in the mechanics of life. Please buy, read and point your friends to this seminal effort.

360 pages of all the facts you'll need about the Web, e-mail, service providers, and search engines. An encyclopedia of the easy to locate information you'll need to surf like an "expert." Provides a complete table of contents and an index of more than 2,200 entries. Topics range from The Net at Home and Work, Your Kids, Web TV and Shopping, to Your First Home Page, Mail, Messages, Chats, and Swiping Files from the Net. Written in the fun, but informative style of the "Dummies" series. At $ 15.95 you'll find a wealth of information to help you. I keep this book on my desk and refer to it often. My two sons are systems analysts and programmers, but I find the things I need faster in this book, than trying to understand what the boys are saying with their technical jargon ! After they answer my question, I still look it up in the book so I can understand the "practical" steps I need to take to get what I want.

Almost everyone has heard of the "For Dummies" books. The "Quick Reference" series' direct method and clear (sometimes playful and fun) language make learning easy. "The Internet For Dummies Quick Reference" is a fact-filled quick reference that gives the chance to find out a small, clear and fun guide which takes the horror out of meeting the Internet for the first time.

"The Internet For Dummies Quick Reference" is a quick guide designed for beginners. Authors do an exceptional job of explaining a large number of Internet terms. You'll also find here a lot of tips for optimizing your browser for speed, building your first Web page, managing e-mail, subscribing to mailing lists, and go shopping on-line. Here is really the perfect guide to help users find their way around the Internet.

I hope, almost everyone has heard of the "For Dummies" books. The series' direct method and clear (sometimes playful and fun) language make learning easy. It is also a well-known computer book series in Russia. "The Internet For Dummies" is the chance to find out in a simple, clear and fun guide which takes the horror out of meeting the Internet for the first time.

As a computer writer, I am always delighted to discover new great book that makes understanding the computer. Many so-called Internet books are nothing more than printed collections of Web addresses. "The Internet For Dummies" is a guide designed just for newbies. Authors do an exceptional job of explaining a large number of Internet terms. You'll also find here a lot of tips for optimizing your browser for speed, building your first Web page, managing e-mail, subscribing to mailing lists, and go shopping on-line. "The Internet for Dummies" is a great start to learning the Internet.

This memoir is consistent with what I have observed of Smith over the years: intelligent, organized, interested in the world outside of basketball, publicly reserved, and loyal to a fault. The last two characteristics make the book a little frustrating to read: Smith will not name names or criticize his former players or coaches, though if you are fan of Carolina basketball you will know the names to fill into the anecdotes and incidents he describes (e.g. J.R. Reid's suspension from the 1989 ACC tournament semifinal for missing curfew.) Nevertheless, it is far better than most other sports memoirs (i.e. he actually had a life off the court)and should broadly appeal to people not especially interested in basketball in general or Carolina in particular.

This is what every die-hard Carolina basketball fan has been waiting years for-an opportunity to hear in-depth from Dean Smith. This book is a wonderful example of what a great teacher Smith is. The stories are great and we finally get to learn a little about the personal side of Coach Smith. A must read for all North Carolina enthusiasts.

For years we've all wondered just how he does it -- from telling freshman Michael Jordan to "knock it down" in the final seconds of the Georgetown game to resting his starters in the final minutes of the '93 national championship. How does he know? This book offers outstanding insight into the man and the game he mastered. If you care at all about college basketball, you must read this book. There will never be another Dean Smith.

While not the first reference book I would recommend for a general library, it is certainly one a library or chemist's office shouldn't be without.

This is an encyclopedia, with abstracts on zillions of chemicals. Is this the most authoritative book on the planet? No. If you want that, go read Chem Abstracts.

If you want an handy reference which will give you a pointer in the right direction for information on chemicals/drugs/biologics, then this is for you.

Got chloroform in your waste water and wondering how it might have inadvertently developed from miscellaneous stuff dumped down the drain? Wow - acetone + bleach powder catalyzed with sulfuric acid = chloroform, with citations.

Not always the most useful, but definately a good resource.

This edition of "The Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, & Biologicals" shows remarkable improvement over its predecessor.
Boasting of diverse groups of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, it is a success in its own right. There are just plenty to be explored! The book brims with accurate up-to-date information. Pharmacists, Medics, Chemists, Biologists, Physicists, Agriculturists, and many other professionals who work with elements, compounds and mixtures will find this book very useful. It is revised, and is complemented with detailed descriptions, which include molecular formulae, molecular weights, as well as the percentage compositions of constituent chemicals in a compound or mixture.
It is a valuable reference tool.

This book must be the most organized reference book I have ever used. Its so fulfilling to be able to find exactly what you're looking for when you need it. Includes a common name index, chemical formula index, as well as registry numbers, therapeutic categories for drugs, useful tables, and organic chemical equations. highly recommended!

Ok, Vollmann is brilliant, a genius. One has to give it to him with this and his other huge tomes in which he goes full-tilt in an attempt at literary greatness, and his passages are often riveting.

The book tries to out-do ULYSSES. It does. But finally, around the 400th page, who cares?

It helps if you're a little bit compulsive about reading Vollmann. Oh, he doesn't need the help, but as a reader, you do.

It's easy to compare him with Pynchon, since they both attempt a similar feat of matching subject with style in an expansive format that contains much humor peppered within the story. But Vollmann isn't a humorist at heart, he's part historian and part seer. He brings you the characters that you'd love to believe really are; he worms his insistent way into their hopes and imaginings so that he can present you with their characters.

You learn a lot of history reading the Seven Dreams series, of which "Argall" is a part. You learn more about how Vollmann regards history. But what makes the author so necessary and integral to my reading is that way of making me see how his characters regard themselves.

So throw your reading schedule out the window. Pick up "The Ice Shirt" and start in on this yet-to-be completed chronicle of how the Europeans came to the Americas and what that meant for both the Europeans and the people who were already here. Catch up soon, because you'll want to starting wishing for the next book in the series to appear... compulsively so.

William Vollmann is like the nerdiest person you knew in college or high school. He grew up to become a novelist who gained notoriety by writing in great detail about his experiences with prostitutes and having the audacity to claim that it took some sort of moral heroism for him to smoke crack with them in roach-infested transient hotels. Of course, it wouldn't do to be slumming all the time -- otherwise he'd just be another John Rechy or Bruce Benderson. So he adds Ivy League intellectual patina to these books by positioning them as meditations on the history of North America, or as reflections on how "all loving relationships are really forms of prostitution." He writes long, long books hoping that you'll be very, very impressed with him.

Folks, read this book or any other book by William Vollmann and keep in mind that this is an author with a profoundly stunted emotional growth. There's nothing cute about celebrating prostitution as the "most honest form of love" -- it's sickening writing, the babbling of a man still stuck in the fantasies of adolescence who will never understand that real love transcends economic exchange into a pure giving of oneself to another. He pats himself on the back for his "ferocity," when in fact he's never really outgrown being a journal-scribbling teenager who thinks every word he scribbles needs to be published and admired. His writing amounts to one big infantile gesture of lashing out at his Mommy and Daddy -- he admits as much in his interviews -- but at the same time hoping all these books he writes will make his parents love him. It's sad.

The fact that Vollmann has a big crowd of admirers says a lot about the sheep-like mentality and the moral vacancy of too many people who like cutting-edge literature. Read the bombastic praise Vollmann receives that is printed on the dustjackets of his books, and reviewers envious of his lifestyle just look like fools with the pumped-up praise that lavish on Vollmann. Go to a Vollmann reading and look around -- the people there are the sort who are hip, cynical, wear funky glasses and hate their parents, and whose main worry is keeping up with the latest slick novels and edgy CD's to hit the shelves. They have no ability to think for themselves and they are bored with life -- so they are profoundly impressed by this guy who writes about his experience with prostitutes. If you recognize yourself in this description, you need to get a life.

There's a certain sort of bourgeois person who believes their life can be redeemed by writing a novel in which they'll "show 'em all" -- the 'em being Mommy and Daddy, the cool kids who rejected them in high school, the jocks who called them nerds, etc. Vollmann is the "patron saint" of this sort of misfit. I read an interview in which Vollmann stated confidently that he is as important as Shakespeare or Faulkner. He doesn't seem to understand that the self-absorbed navel-gazing of a well-read prostitute's john doesn't quite cut it as great literature, no matter how many big words and descriptive phrases he tries to pack into his sentences. Vollmann's delusions are as bloated as his books, and his vision lacks even a hint of the universality or breadth or understanding that literary importance requires. Nobody but a few misfit loners and antiquarians will be reading Vollmann fifty years from now. Vollmann is a Montherlant in the making -- that is, an irrelevant curiosity that even most highly educated people will not have heard of.

Please think for yourself and don't buy this book just because you think it's kind of neat and edgy that this guy writes about his experiences with prostitutes. Don't engage in the sad spectacle of living vicariously through William Vollmann's sad, warped world. You'll just put yourself one step closer to moral oblivion.

This play can be read as anti-semitic. In fact, it's pretty hard to defend it from such charges. Shylock is a pretty rotten character and the fact that he is jewish is difficult to overlook (particularly since the other characters mention it on pretty much EVERY page). However, I think it is important to mention that the "heroes" of this play do not necessarily have to be interpreted as heroes. They are by no means perfect and there are many subtle (and some not-so-subtle) instances within the text in which their biases against ANYONE unlike them is illustrated. If one reads the play this way, then Shylock becomes more of a tragic figure rather than an absolutely heartless villain. I don't know. My feelings about this are mixed. There are a few funny parts of this play and the language is, as always, beautiful. The theme of putting a price on human beings is one which has been explored numerous times since. Overall, it is enjoyable, but perhaps not so much so as some of the other comedies. Do not read this play without having read a few others by Shakespeare first. It is an excellent play, but not his best and not his most enjoyable either.

This is a wonderful play - and unless you have seen it or read it you don't know it at all. That's because everything the popular culture tells us about this play is false (for example; how many of you think this play is about a merchant named Shylock? ;-)

The Merchant of Venice is a lively and happy morality tale. Good triumphs over bad - charity over greed - love over hate.
There is fine comedy. Portia is one of Shakespeare's greatest women (and he ennobled women more than any playwright in history). There are moments of empathy and pain with all the major characters. There is great humanity and earthiness in this play. These things are what elevate Shakespeare over any other playwright in English history.

Plays should be seen - not read. I recommend you see this play (if you can find a theater with the courage and skill to do it). But if it is not playing in your area this season - buy the book and read it.

After reading most of the other reviews here, I am fully aware that most of the reviewers didn't read carefully enough (or watch carefully enough if they saw the play.) Now, I'm not saying its not open for different interpretations, but there is one thing I would really like to get straight.

I read MoV for a Bar Mitzvah project on Anti-Semitism. Naturally, my sympathies went to Shylock. However, even if i were Christian, i still would've favored Shylock. What many people believe is that Shylock is a cold hearted ruthless person and only wanted to get back at Antonio because Antonio was a Christian.

Not true. Shylock specifically says something along the lines off, "Why should I lend money to you? You spit on me, and call me a Jewish dog!" I'm not saying that Shylock was a good guy, but I am saying that he is not the villain.

In fact, the "Merchant of Venice," in this story is actually Shylock, not Antonio, contrary to popular belief. My thoughts on the story was that Shylock requested a pound of Antonio's flesh because he did not trust Antonio. Who would trust someone that spat on him? The fact is, Antonio doesn't pay him back in the end.

Now, there's always something else we have to put into consideration. Would the judge had given the "spill one ounce of Christian blood" verdict at the end if Shylock were not a Jew?

This is the mark of a great play. A play that really gets you thinking. But I encourage you, I beg of you, that when you read it or see it, please do not hold Shylock up to being a cold hearted villain. Hold Antonio up to that image. (joking, of course, Antonio's not a bad guy, he's just not a good guy.)

Reminds me of a cartoon of a guy standing on a chair and holding his pant legs up as high as he could; the caption read, "Now, go on with your story." Much of it is obviously contrived: the men allegedly interviewed around the world all speak fluent English, use similar mannerisms, and quote American statesmen! LOL

As a teenage martial arts fan I thought this book was riveting. Now I wonder if anyone really believes the account of the "Parisian Halitotic Attack" (bad breath attack).

Read magellan359's review for a theory on who's behind the pseudonym. The picture of "Don Eagle" on page 134 bears a striking resemblance to the Donn on the back of the "Practical Karate" series of books. My rating is an average: 1 (lowest) as a training book, 5 for being a howl --a collection of shaggy dog stories.

I wrote a previous review of this book before I had ascertained John F. Gilbey's likely identity. This book (and Gilbey's other two books) purport to be written by a wealthy textile scion who holds an 8th degree black belt in judo and a 5th dan in karate.

It seems likely that John Gilbey is really Robert W. Smith, a well-known authority in several arts who most readers here will no doubt recognize. I hadn't made the connection until recently, but I'm pretty sure about it, for two reasons.

In "Secret Fighting Arts of the World," Gilbey has a habit of peppering the text with various literary quotes. In Smith's recent book, "Martial Musings," he does the same thing. Moreover, the overall somewhat choppy writing styles are very much the same. He does this to a lesser degree in "Chinese Boxing, Masters and Methods."

Not sure why I didn't put this together earlier, but I'm sure other people have already figured this out. Anyway, whether this is the case or not, I've enjoyed these books very much and hope there will be more.

One final comment for the unaware. Be sure to take many of the more fantastic claims in this book with a grain of salt. To mention just one of these (which actually occurs in the next book, "The Way of a Warrier," but anyway, it's the best example) Gilbey meets a young exponent of an Icelandic art who claims to use the energy of black holes to put a significant dent in a metal beam in a train station in Rejkyavik.

Well, there are no train stations in Iceland and never were. They don't even have any trains to speak of, except for a small-gauge railway that I understand no longer operates.

So remember, you've been forewarned!

This book is an entertaining, funny read, not to be taken seriously as some of the reviewers have. Really guys, did you think that the "Ganges groin Thrust" or the "Macedonian Buttock" were for real?

Fiato has many interesting stories, but most relate to his dealings with low-level "wanna-bes". His encounters with "made guys" are mentioned, but little detail is given. This leads me to believe he had very few meaningful encounters/business dealings with these guys. His claim that he was being groomed to become a "boss" in LA is absurd considering he was never even formally inducted into LCN. The worst part of the book is when Fiato claims his brother was responsible for him turning "rat" - its as if he feels that by using his brother as a scapegoat, he can reclaim any respect he once had. It is clear to the reader, however, that Fiato cooperated to save his own skin, period. The book is a fun read, but I came away thinking there was a little fiction tossed in to make Fiato appear more important than he was.

Anthony was on the radio, and he is facinating. his story was unbelievable, in the sense that he accomplished so much, in a town that is so easy to get caught. He is no dummy like most Mafia guys What guts he has to wear a wire on over sixty
Mafia members sworn to kill like himself

This is the most authentic, and exciting view of organized crime I have ever read. Not only is it full of the true life day to day events of one of the most feared Mob emforcers, but it also shows the true unseen sides of the glamour of Los Angeles. Anthony Fiato took control of the West Coast Mob with sheer viciousness, and chilling brut force within the glitz of Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, and the surrounding areas. I never thought this could happen in beautiful California. This book is like no other Mob book I have seen or read. If you want the real deal on the life in the Mob, and if you read one book this year, make it this one. you will not be sorry. The Animal in Hollywood is truely a compelling, and exciting book.