A friend gave me this book to read, and I must say it was the best thing I've ever read. From the beginning to the end. You just become one the Anne. I felt like I was the one going through all the her ups and downs in a extremely predijuce town. With the way some took to her and others didn't hesitate to let her know how they felt. Knowing how true it was and still is about peoples feelings of what was then called half-breeds. Anne was so strong and brave and always wanting to do what was right. Taking in Chuck and Ethel when their mother died. Knowing they'd never have the chance to advance if she didn't. The story is well written and very captivating. I was a little let down at the end. I would have loved to see what else happened - the ajustments Chuck and Ethel had to make, and much more about Anne and Fred's love for each other. I was hoping there would be a sequeal. Once finished with the book. I read the last six chapters again before giving it back to my friend. Then went right out and bought it for myself.

I met Anne Hobbs Purdy in Junior High School. Her story captured my imagination and still does to this day. I have read Tisha many times and every reading captures my heart. Her courage to stand for what she believed to be right in the face of opposition, is a lesson that carries through almost 80 years later. Alaska, seen through her eyes, is a place of incredible beauty and harsh reality. Even though I wanted to crawl into the pages and do battle with some of the characters, they also earned my grudging respect. Anne's will power, strength of heart, and sheer determination to do what she knew was right, made her a formidable force. The book I own is a treasured possession, signed for my father. She writes, "Happy landings from the Land of the Midnite Sun, Yellow Gold, and Determined mosquitoes." A must read book!

I teach high school literature in a suburban school in the midwest. I bought Tisha for my daughter, then read it myself. It is a captivating read. There are few "challenges" for even students who read slowly, yet the story and heroics are attractive even to sophisticated readers. For years, I have offered "extra credit" to students who will read a novel of my selection over Chirstmas. In recent years, I offered books by Farley Mowat and The Catcher in the Rye. Kids usually have great intentions, take books, but return from the holliday having not finished the book. Usually I would have about 10 out of 25 who finished the book/s and liked it. This year I gave out Tisha. 35 out of 50 finished it. I had trouble getting the books back because kids had given them to their parents to read.

Having first read this book while on active service I found the story truly amazing from the units last action against the Red Army to the hand to hand struggles with the Viet Minh in French Indochina.This story tells of how former German SS Partsian hunters used skills learned fighting in Russia during WW2 against Russian guerrillas to fight an equally determained enemy on instead of the Steppes of Russia it was the jungles of VietNam.Many of my friends have read this book and are eqully amazed as I was.The book having been read soo much is now falling apart being held together by tape.This is one of the best books on warfare I have read and Iam trying to get the others written by the same author

This is without a doubt the best and most definitive work on the former SS anti partisans who were recruited for the French Foriegn Legion after WW2. [Some people claim] this book is fiction, it is not. the Devils Brigade was real, and was the most effective combat unit that the French government had deployed in what was then known as "French Indo China". This is a work reportedly derived from the memoirs of one " Hans Wagemuller"( not his real name)and details the "Devils Guard" in action in Cochin China against the Viet Minh, in the years before Dien Bien Phu. The combat action is real and clearly presented. The main characters come alive on the pages of this incredibly exciting and absorbing book. This should be a must read for every NCO who will lead troops in ground combat or small unit actions. Every teacher of military history should read this book about the combat experiences of a field unit that was combat effective in a part of the world that would eventually embroil the United States and its allies. claiming an excess of 58,382 American lives. One of my friends and mentors was Henry Thibedoux( Henry Africa)during my tour(s)of duty at the Presidio of San Francisco. He was a well known and colorful figure. a retired 2REP from the the Legion, he owned two popular bars in the Van Ness area of San Francisco. Henry knew some of these Legionaires, and confirmed the validity of the basics this story. A must Book, along with the sequels if you can find them!
mine are under glass!
Viva La Legion!

Excellent expose of real history! I read (and still have) the first two books (Devil's Guard I and II) but just found out there was a third. I know a former U.S. army veteran whose father served in the German army during WWII. He knew nothing about these books BUT he did know about the events disclosed in this series. His father had friends (former German Army soldiers) who did serve with the French Foreign Legion in Vietnam...and they did know about the Legion of the Damned. One reviewer stated that the author (Elford) was sympathetic to the Nazi's. He should read the forward to the first book. Elford is relating Hans Josef Wagemuller's story. He is not uplifting or downplaying the role of the former Nazi's actions under the French in Vietnam. Wagemuller (not his real name) is the one telling HIS own story. I would dearly love to find the third volume...to add to my twenty year old collection.

Wow, where to start? The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, the research was painstakingly done, and this book is now one of my favorite treasures. There are stories in this book - true stories - that are much more poignant and emotional to me than the fictional love story in James Cameron's movie. I had been interested in the Titanic long before that movie came out, and one reason was that I had seen a set of documentaries on cable, called Titanic: Death of a Dream, and Titanic: The Legend Lives On, and the documentaries featured interviews with this author and artist, as well as highlighting illustrations and stories from the book. It is a definite must for anyone with a serious interest in Titanic lore. I have read the Walter Lord books and think highly of them, but I think this book is the best I have seen on the subject.

Like lots of other people, I first became interested in the Titanic after seeing James Cameron's brilliant film. Titanic: An Illustrated History is a really detailed, interesting book and one of the best one's I've read about the huge ocean liner. It's full of amazing accounts and pictures, and gives you a true idea of how terrifying it must have been on that cold April night when Titanic went down - Lauren, 13.

Though this book precedes the blockbuster movie by about two years, this book, and its amazing paintings by Ken Marschall, put you right in the middle of the building, sailing and tragic sinking of the behemoth Titanic.

Don Lynch's descriptions of life onboard Titanic during those last tragic hours brings to life the events unfolding after the collision with the iceberg. But it is the additional history, describing the onset of the age of the great ocean liners, through the investigation of the tragedy, which really bring the whole story to light.

The push to builds faster, bigger liners, the competition between White Star and its main rival, the Cunard Line, the great shipyard at Harland and Wolff Shipbuilders-these are the tales of prehistory which led to the construction, and quite possibly the sinking, of the great ship. It is all presented here in its glorious detail, giving you an understanding of why Titanic was built-and why such mistakes as the horrific l! ack of lifebouts ever occurred as they did. Even the sister ships Britannic and Olympic are given their due.

But three things stand out in this tome. First is the way author Lynch brings the human stories-the sacrifices of the Strauss's, the efforts of the officers and wireless crew, the survivors about the rescue ship Carpathia-to a somber and sobering detail. This book gives you insights into stories which the movie only shows as coincidental scenes amidst the fictional love story.

Next, the book shows what happened after the sinking; the waiting of the families, the inquiry, the rules put in place due to the disaster. These give you the aftermath; beyond just landing in New York, lingering in the pain of the survivors and families. The loss of the entire Goodwin family is especially disturbing, as are the graphs showing the percentages of deaths as organized by class,

Lastly, it is the images, particularly Ken Marschall's depictions of the Titanic in its splendor ! and sinking which bring a lifelike quality to the story. W! hether it is a fold-out diagram of the entire ship, bow-to-stern, or Marschall's eerie views of the sunken ship. discovered by Robert D. Ballard (whose foward opens the book and famed expedition closes it) these make the reader think one is in the midst of a time warp from the early 1900's through present day. They give the real faces to the tragedy.

For all of the heart-wrenching emotion of the movie, "Titanic: An Illustrated History" is truly the companion volume for those who want the complete story. Put them together, and you will believe just how real this tragedy was.

This book was positively spellbounding this and all the rest in the Keeper Martin's Tales series. This is the best book I have ever read. Nobody but nobody could be dissapointed with this book. It is wonderful! Did I mention probably the best book you could ever read. I love it! The greatest thing about Robert Stanek's writing is that its never what it seems. If you don't believe me read yourself! The first thing I thought when I finished was WOW! Robert Stanek makes you feel as if you are there. If only a world like this existed it would be so great. Everything in this book is wonderful. Some of my favorite characters are Adrina, Vilmos, Galan. This book is wonderful if you don't read it your missing out on great adventure!

I think that it is outstanding fantasy novel that everyone should atleast try and read. It keeps you on your toes. You always want to know what happens next. You sometimes get wowed! It can be so dramatic, fun and moving. I don't ready many books more than once. This book, however, and the entire series I not only read over once, I read it three! Stanek's characters are so real. The characters drive the story and makeup for some quirks. The setting is full of wonder and as the devil is in the details, so it is here. The descriptions are just long enough as to be perfect.

The Kingdoms and the Elves #2 made me want to read it again and again! I first read it from the library but then I got it for Christmas and Im so glad I have books of my own! I've read all three so far, and can't wait for my dad to get me #4. I've read all the books twice except for #4 which I don't have yet. My absolute favorite so far! I highly encourage you to buy it!

Robert B. Strassler's edition of the famous Richard Crawley translation of Thucydides is a remarkable work, not only because of its intrinsic merit but also because it is quite simply unique. Mr. Strassler has provided the ultimate in critical apparatus, an exhaustive series of tools with which to understand and appreciate one of the great books of world civilisation. I have never seen anything like it. First of all, there is the index; if an index can be said to be a work of art, the Strassler index is a work of art in the way it organises and informs the text. Next there are the maps - dozens of them - not clumped together in the middle of the book or hidden away at the end, but strategically placed throughout the appropriate points in the text, right at the reader's fingertips when he or she needs them. The footnotes (yes footnotes, not those pesky and inconvenient endnotes!) would fill a small volume of their own and add immeasurably to one's understanding. And as if this were not enough, there are 11 appendices - short essays by prominent classical scholars on different aspects of the Greek world in the time of Thucydides, from "Athenian Government" and "Trireme Warfare" to "Religious Festivals" and "Classical Greek Currency." As far as I am concerned, the only problem with Mr. Strassler's edition is that is has made me greedy for more of the same - a similar edition of the Mahabharata, say, or Gibbon! Any takers?

Robert Strassler has done a remarkable editing job with Thucydides' Peloponnesian War. He has included three key features which provide the reader much luxury:

One, he has provided maps throughout the text, to the extent of repetition, to ensure that textual geographic references are always accompanied, in close proximity, cartographically.

Two, he has provided paragraph summaries on the margin throughout the work so that a reader, who has put the edition down for any length of time, may refresh their memories quickly by reading as many of these one to two sentence summaries as necessary.

Three, as Thucydides provides his narrative in chronological order, he must often leave one narrative to begin another. Strassler has provided a thread to follow each narrative through to its' end by way of footnotes.

These editorial enhancements greatly enrich the reading experience and would be a welcome addition to any historical text.

Thucydides, himself, presents the reader with a narrative unromanticized, strictly adhering to the events of the Peloponnesian War. His work possesses many passages that rivet the reader, but also contains areas where the sheer and voluminous recitation of fact can render one foggy. This is not a book for the light-hearted, though Strassler's editorial enhancements make for a pleasurable experience. It is, in short, a classic which has been classically edited.

This book presents a wonderful way to read Thucydides. While the introduction and appendices can be quite helpful to the non-specialist, the edition's greatest strengths are its translation and its maps. Crawley's is truly the definitive English translation, doing justice to Thucydides' majestic, albeit sometimes dense, prose. At the same time the maps make reading it a real pleasure. The Peloponnesian War ranged all across the Greek world, and most editions force you to constantly flip back to a few small and confusing maps in a feeble attempt to follow it. This volume entirely relieves you of that burden, removing all obstacles to the enjoyment and appreciation of this classic.

For those further interested in Thucydides and the war he recounts, I highly recommend Donald Kagan's four-volume analysis of the Peloponnesian War. An up-to-date, thoroughly scholarly work, it is also very accessible to the non-expert and well-written to boot. For expanded views and interpretations of the war, as well as an evaluation of Thucydides himself, pick up any one of his volumes.

Albert Ellis is the grand-daddy of modern psychology, and this book is the classic. While many psychologists and authors focus on one or several "pet techniques," Ellis and this book show you how to adapt an integrated set of rational (cognitive), emotive, and behavioral tools to your personal situations. And Ellis writes this and many of his other books for us non-psychologists...not just for "professionals."

The book starts by briefly summarizing the results of Ellis' ground-breaking work on what we do that causes us to feel and behave differently than we want. The author then teaches his general cognitive system...which includes very specific instructions...on how to change these feelings, behaviors, and thoughts. Ellis terms this system the "A, B, C, D" method of "disputing" irrational thoughts that are "irrational" because they (i) are not true and (ii) produce results that we don't want. The book then moves beyond this general system and shows you how to easily use cognitive, emotive, and behavioral tools to effectively stop your unwanted patterns. While the methods are extremely user-friendly, they do require work...beyond the reading.

Because this book shows how to effectively tackle a wide variety of patterns...the following is a partial list of chapters:
1. Overcoming the influences of your past
2. Refusing to be desperately unhappy
3. Tackling dire needs for approval
4. Eradicating dire fears of failure
5. How to feel undepressed though frustrated
6. Conquering anxiety
7. Acquiring self-discipline
...and others.

While many other psychologists/authors, such as David Burns in his "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy," use cognitive methods, Ellis shows how to use many of them far more effectively than most others. And he also includes emotive and behavioral tools, many of which he created years ago and that his non-for-profit institute has used successfully for decades. While Burns' book has some excellent additional tools, I strongly suggest that you start with "A Guide for Rational Living" and then move on to Burns' book if you want.

I've gone back to this and a few others of Ellis' books several times during the last 10 years or so. After working through a new situation, I keep realizing how much this one volume still does for me.

In my opinion, the book's only weakness is its stlye of writing. It's older style is less interesting than that in some of Ellis' newer books. I strongly recommend it not for its literary value, however, but for what it can do for you.

If you are uncertain about buying this book, just take a look at how many people have given this book 5 stars. I have read self-help books before and found most of them to be full of it. Dr. Ellis really has something here. This is a book that can really help you. It has really helped me. I know it may be hard to believe that a book can improve your life but the ideas in this book did just that. If you're not familiar with REBT,you will be after reading this book. It is a simple technique that you can apply to anything that is bothering you about yourself or your life. It's helps you to work on your thoughts. And no, it's not easy, it takes work, but it is possible. I have bought this book several times always to give it away to someone else. Also if you are not into sappy sob stories than this is a good book.

I have in my short life have read maybe 200 or 300 self-help books. Thse books vary from "The Power of Positive Thinking" to "How to Win and Influence People." Throught all these books, I have never seen a real good method to be happy. TO be really happy.

This book is the excpetion. This book can help almost any person to be happy.

The basic idea of the book is this: People have certain beliefs about things. For example you might have the belief that you must be liked by everybody. Beliefs like this cause you to become very upset when you realized that this belief is being broken and twisted by the world in which you are living. For example, if you believe that the world should be fair, then anytime the world treats you unfairly, you will very depressed. Or if you believe that you must be liked by people, then anytime somebody insluts you, you might become depressed.

So point A= Our beliefs cause our distresses and emotional problems. Eg. if I want everybody to like me, I will feel depressed when someone doesn't

To stop these "irrational beliefs" you have to put in place of them "rational beliefs" such as "I want people to like but if they don't it's ok and I should rather accept myself as I am." When you have rational beliefs than you will not feel depressed at all.

The book talks about ways to refute your irrational beliefs and uses examples from case histories on how this can be done.

The point of the author is to make you understand these irrational beliefs and dispute them using various methods. Once you do that, then you'll be happy.

The authors, want you to be rational in your living.

I also recommend that you read; Feeling Good, books by John Sarno, and books by Aaron T. Beck and other Cognitive Therapists.

Overall, the book was worth the price. While much of the technical information about the hardware and architecture are available in other books, the case studies are unique to this book.

One thing I did not like was the MS-Windows centric view in designing the systems. Many of the readers who are going to bother building their own PC are going to be GNU/Linux users (like me.) It is apparent from the first chapter that the author is NOT anti-Linux, nor is he ignorant about its potential. I just would have liked to see more OS-neutrality throughout the book.

My approach to recycling PC hardware is just the opposite to the author's: When I build myself a 'bigger and better' PC, I load it with GNU/Linux and recycle the old one for my four-year-old son with MS-Windows 95. The only reason I do that is solely for the learning games that he has.

Other than that one complaint, I say again, this book is well worth the price.

Good job.

This is an excellent comprehensive guide to the insides of the PC. There's a chapter on each component (motherboards, memory, processors, hard drives, CD-drives, you name it). For each component the authors describe and explain in detail what it does, how it works, how to install/config, the different types, preferred models and much other relevant info. It's very well-written, too; no time spent wondering what the authors are trying to say. I'd been looking for a book like this for quite awhile: a comprehensive PC 'innards' book done in the O'Reilly Nutshell style. I've been poking thru it almost every day since I got it. And I am SO much smarter at work... :]

My wife's PC died and the repair place said it'd cost $225 parts and labor to replace the power supply. That seemed awfully expensive given what new PC's sell for, so I hauled it back home. On the way I got to thinking about fixing it myself, so I stopped by the mall and looked at PC hardware books. This one had more details about power supplies than the others so I bought it.

I'd never worked on a PC before and was a little nervous about opening my wife's system but I figured if I killed it it'd be no great loss. I bought a new power supply for about $50 and installed it. When I crossed my fingers and turned the system back on it started normally and has been working ever since. That means this book already saved me $150 over its cost.

Even if you're a PC novice like me this book tells you everything you need to know to fix or upgrade your system. I don't know how this book compares to other PC hardware books because I've never read any of them. But as far as I'm concerned it definitely deserves five stars.

"There is little to be satisfied in reading this book"?? I couldn't disagree more. Bleak House left a profound impression on me, and was so utterly satisfying a reading experience that I wanted it never to end. I've read it twice over the years and look forward to reading it again. Definitely my favorite novel.

I don't know what the previous reviewer's demands are when reading a novel, but mine are these: the story must create its world - whatever and wherever that world might be - and make me BELIEVE it. If the novelist cannot create that world in my mind, and convince me of its truths, they've wasted my time (style doesn't matter - it can be clean and spare like Orwell or verbose like Dickens, because any style can work in the hands of someone who knows how to use it). Many novels fail this test, but Bleak House is not one of them.

Bleak House succeeds in creating a wonderfully dark and complex spider web of a world. On the surface it's unfamiliar: Victorian London and the court of Chancery - obviously no one alive today knows that world first hand. And yet as you read it you know it to be real: the deviousness, the longing, the secrets, the bureaucracy, the overblown egos, the unfairness of it all. Wait a minute... could that be because all those things still exist today?

But it's not all doom and gloom. It also has Dickens's many shades of humor: silliness, word play, comic dialogue, preposterous characters with mocking names, and of course a constant satirical edge. It also has anger and passion and tenderness.

I will grant one thing: if you don't love reading enough to get into the flow of Dickens's sentences, you'll probably feel like the previous reviewer that "...it goes on and on, in interminable detail and description...". It's a different dance rhythm folks, but well worth getting used to. If you have to, work your way up to it. Don't start with a biggie like Bleak House, start with one of his wonderful short pieces such as A Christmas Carol.

Dickens was a gifted storyteller and Bleak House is his masterpiece. If you love to dive into a book, read and enjoy this gem!

This is the second book by Dickens I have read so far, but it will not be the last. "Bleak House" is long, tightly plotted, wonderfully descriptive, and full of memorable characters. Dickens has written a vast story centered on the Jarndyce inheritance, and masterly manages the switches between third person omniscient narrator and first person limited narrator. His main character Esther never quite convinces me of her all-around goodness, but the novel is so well-written that I just took Esther as she was described and ran along with the story. In this book a poor boy (Jo) will be literally chased from places of refuge and thus provide Dickens with one of his most powerful ways to indict a system that was particularly cruel to children. Mr. Skimpole, pretending not to be interested in money; Mr. Jarndyce, generous and good; Richard, stupid and blind; the memorable Dedlocks, and My Lady Dedlock's secret being uncovered by the sinister Mr. Tulkinghorn; Mrs. Jellyby and her telescopic philanthropy; the Ironmaster described in Chapter 28, presenting quite a different view of industralization than that shown by Dickens in his next work, "Hard Times." Here is a veritable cosmos of people, neighbors, friends, enemies, lovers, rivals, sinners, and saints, and Dickens proves himself a true master at describing their lives and the environment they dwell in. There are landmark chapters: Chapter One must be the best description of a dismal city under attack by dismal weather and tightly tied by perfectly dismal laws, where the Lord Chancellor sits eternally in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Chapter 32 has one of the eeriest scenes ever written, with suspicious smoke, greasy and reeking, as a prelude to a grisly discovery. Chapter 47 is when Jo cannot "move along" anymore. This Norton Critical is perhaps the best edition of "Bleak House" so far: the footnotes help a lot, and the two Introductions are key to understanding the Law system at the time the action takes place, plus Dickens' interest in this particular topic. To round everything off, read also the criticism of our contemporaries, as well as that of Dickens' time. "Bleak House" is a long, complex novel that opens a window for us to another world. It is never boring and, appearances to the contrary, is not bleak. Enjoy.

After years without picking up a novel by Dickens (memories of starchy classes at school), I decided to plunge into "Bleak House", a novel that had been sitting on my bookshelf for about ten years, waiting to be read. Although I found it heavy going at first, mainly because the style is so unfamiliar to modern readers, after about ten pages I was swept up and carried off, unable to put the hefty tome down until I had finished it. This book is a definite classic. The sheer scope of the tale, the wit of the satire (which could still be applied to many legal proceedings today) and the believable characters gripped me up until the magnificent conclusion. One particularly striking thing is the "cinematic" aspect of certain chapters as they switch between different angles, building up to a pitch that leaves the reader breathless. I can't recommend "Bleak House" too highly. And I won't wait so long before reading more Dickens novels.

I wasn't expecting much from this book, but I couldn't put it down. Of course, as a man debating adopting an older boy from Russia, I suppose I was the perfect audience. Klose writes in a personal and friendly style, and I found myself totally caught up in his emotional highs and lows. The book provided a wealth of practical application of the many facts and stories I have read in my exploration of foreign adoption. But it did so in a warm and touching story that I absolutely loved.

I received this book with low expectations considering previous tactical books I had read on the subject. It stopped me in my tracks.
I was so impressed by Robert's literary style and story-telling ability. He allows us to go through the entire process and share very personal emotions --discovering with him important lessons for anyone involved in international adoption. The frustrations and bureaucracy encountered are almost overwhelming, but well worth it. I loved this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone considering international adoption--single or married. However, I would also recommend it to anyone who would enjoy an inspirational true story about a man and a boy half-way accross the world who seemed destined to be family. I promise it will change your perspective on adoption and what it means to love. All we need now is the sequel. Thanks Robert for living and telling your story.
(One more thought, if I were a TV producer, it would make a great Sunday Night Movie)

As a fellow single dad who just completed the adoption of my son from Romania, I can certify that Bob Klose has accurately rendered what many (if not most) single men who want to adopt go through. International adoption has its own special set of ups and downs, and he related these with a sense of humor (and irony) that helped me prepare for my own adoption journey with a little less fear.

I think all prospective adoptive parents (and most certainly all single male prospective adopters!) have something to gain from this book. I also think that it's a wonderful, loving story that offers a lot to everyone else -- it's nice to read a "warm fuzzy" story every now and then, isn't it?

If my doctors would have read this book, I would definitely be in a healthier condition. But all my propaganda did not help. In Switzerland they prefer Harrysson, which is larger, but therefore no doctor has the time to read it. The Merck Manual seems to be the best book for concise information about diseaes, diagnosis and therapy. The authors are high level in their fields and still present there topics in a comprehensible way. But still, some knowledge about physiology is assumed. Pathology can only be understood as a deviation from physiology.

This book MUST be in a survivalist library! It is the authoritive guide to identifying, diagnosing and treating human illness. You'll find nearly all the collected current knowledge of modern medicine within these pages.

Along with the Bible, this book is the single most important literary resource you can own. The Merck Manual is broken up into sections categorized along types of afflictions and causes, followed by appropriate treatments. Sometimes the language is clinical and can be difficult to follow without an understanding of the terms but most laymen can grasp enough to administer correct emergency medical care when necessary.

The Merck manual also proves useful when confronting your doctor about your condition or that of a loved one, it enables you to understand the diagnosis and treatment sufficiently to determine if there may be a mistake or a possible side-effect your doctor might not be willing to admit to.

I also recommend "Where there is no Doctor" and "Where there is no Dentist" to accompany this great book.

My daughter bought me this book last year and I have updated the editions through the years. It has the latest information on medical conditions that can even help you to know if your doctor is keeping up with the latest in the field of knowledge he is supposed to be treating, for whatever condition you have to be managed. Not all doctors graduated in the top half of their class, patients need to keep in mind. It also helps a patient be knowledge to be able to speak better with their doctors, but please do not mention that you read the Merk Manual, he will think you are trying to diagnose yourself or be critical of him if he knows that he has not kept up with the latest information. It will help a knowledgeable patient to know when their doctor perhaps is not the doctor they should be seeing if the doctor always seems to midiagnose or order medications that make their conditions worse, but will not compromise or change how they treat them. I have a great deal of respect for doctors who have not forgotten that keeping patients well, the best that they can was the mission they were supposed to get into medicine for in the first place. If a doctor does not take the time to keep up with their field, it is time to find another doctor. Being upset with your medical care or lack of interest by the doctor is just going to make a patient sicker. It is true, if you have your health you have just about everything. Medicine is not an exact science as it is proven by the new additions of this book that are revised frequently. This edition has the "original" Merk Manual as a bonus to prove that point. Doctors are not infallible and many are very incompetent, while others are exceptional, and keep up with the latest. When a doctor states your medical is too complicated for him to treat, he does not want anything but assembly type simple patients, and earn the money as fast as he can. We need dedicated physicians, and I think most doctors are in the dark when they do not know, even without a medical degree, patients can tell when they truly do not care. Patients have the intelligence to get familar with the terminology in this book, and if my life depended on it I woould certainly purchase a book on medical terminology to get understanding. Ignorance is no excuse to allow a doctor to victimize your health. Mrs Symmington