I bought this book for my 12 year old to prepare for a computer literacy test he took to 'test out' of a required middle school course. While he uses computers a lot and I have for years, the illustrations helped both of us to better understand how computers work. I've suggested that our school purchase a set for the computer lab.

This is a story about a newborn Bottleneck dolphin's first day in the ocean. It is nicely written and illustrated but the kid friendly story line takes away slightly from the factual information. Even so, both my children (2 year-old and 4 year-old) and I really enjoy this book and others in this "Smithsonian Ocean Series" especially Manatee Winter.

This is an excellent text for historical readings in ethical theories. The writings begin with Plato (Euthyphro, Defence of Socrates, Crito, etc.) and carries the reader into the Contemporary period (i.e. James Rachels, Joel Feinberg, Michael Tooley, etc.).

Every important historical figure and their ethical theories is covered. The group includes, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Epictetus, Augustine, Aquinas, Hobbes, Butler, Hume, Kant, Bentham, Mill, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, James, Dewey, Camus, and Sartre. As you can see the historical writers/philosophers are a great mix.

From the modern period the text includes, Moore, Ross, Ayer, Anscombe, Rawls, MacIntyre, Held, Nagel, and many more. Keep in mind that this text is a very comprehensive primary readings source book and nothing more. If you are looking for commentary on the various ethical theories this text will not provide that for you. It is simply, but quite exhaustively, a readings text. This text would be great for teachers who are teaching a type of intro class to ethics (which is fact what I will be doing next semester and using this very text). The only downfall to the text is the fact that it has no glossary or index for easy and quick reference. However, I highly recommend this text as a great compilation of primary sources.

Anyone interested in constructing repeating patterns, the history of design and ornament, quilting, M.C.Escher, geometry, tesselations, or mathematical concepts in the regular division of the plane, will find this hefty book an excellent resource. The historical examples are drawn from an astonishing variety of cultures, and following the exercises at the end of each chapter will give the reader a very thorough grounding in the subject.

Steve Zaloga is an expert on Soviet Armored Fighting Vehicles. This is a well written study of the history of Soviet Heavy tanks. I particularly enjoyed reading and seeing the prototype tanks that never made it into production. There are many line drawings and text to help clarify some of the misconceptions of Soviet tank manufacture. I only wish that the cut away drawing were not cut in half by the pages. Can't have everything, but this is a very good primer, I definately recommend adding this to your collection.

With the accolades garnered by L.A. Confidential, the movie, there's been a surge of interest in the noir stories of LA. Unlike "Sins of LA", this book uses simple black and white photography to accent the words of LA Noir pros. The book is worth a look if for no other reason than the overview and snap of the chosen author quotes.

This cookbook, subtitled "100 Fabulous Feasts with Wild and Cultivated Mushrooms", is a great introduction to gourmet cooking with mushrooms. The book is an updated version of one published in London in 1996 and is extracted from a larger compendium entitled "The Ultimate Mushroom Book." The 128 page paperback version includes hundreds of color photographs that illustrate how to cook everything from "Kedgeree of Oyster and Chanterelle Mushrooms" (a breakfast dish served over rice) to "Mushroom Borek" (a Turkish pastry filled with eight ounces of assorted wild and cultivated mushrooms). The recipes are organized into sections on mushroom breakfasts; soups, starters and salads; poultry and game dishes; beef pork and lamb; fish and shellfish; and vegetarian dishes.

In addition to the recipes, the book includes a great introduction that provides a bit of information on 30 species, including truffles (with pictures). It also describes various ways of preserving and using preserved mushrooms. For those of you interested in developing value-added products, the book addresses, drying mushrooms, mushroom powder, mushroom puree, pickled mushrooms, chanterelle vodka, spiced mushrooms in alcohol, and mushroom extract.

Like the New York JobBank 2000, this book is very useful. If they give a CD with all the addresses in the Book, that would be more helpful. Except in few companies (that I checked), info is upto date.

Many movie novelizations either read like a straight translation of the screenplay or else appeal only to people who were so obsessed with the film they wanted the book. Not this one. Peter David not only managed to write a faithful adaptation of an excellent movie, he created a book that can actually stand alone as a good novel whether you've seen the movie or not. Included in this version of the book are photos from the movie and a few scenes that were, for some reason or another, left out of the movie altogether.

What a cute book! This book is about a little boy that can see his neighbor is a wizard but no one believes him when he tries to tell them. The illustrations are wonderful and it is easy to recognize Steven Kellogg's work. It teaches about imagination and that many times people only see what they want to see and learning to accept others with differences. I highly recommend it to all with children preschool ages and up.