with so many tiny tidbits of interesting information stuck in here and there it was a learning experience just reading the special highlights throughout the book. There were useful lists of important dates and happenings throughout each chapter and even suggested websites relating to each chapter's material for further information. The way the book was written made for easy understanding of the material and better memory of what was read. Although the book follows a text book formula it was fun to read which is rare. A real find!

I looked for a long time to find a decent world history; one that was neither 10,000 pages nor painfully dry. This is the best I found. It is a very readable book of reasonable length. The authors make good use of sidebars with thought-provoking bits of literature which are scattered throughout the overall history. They also make a good attempt at discussing underlying causes and patterns behind the historical events. I perfer that to a dry recounting of the facts, even if I may not always agree with them on the interpretation. It was surprisingly neutral on religious topics, given the origin of the book.

When I started training in Family practice I searched for a large reference book to study from. I choose this text because it was written so well. The Language is direct, the explanations are clear and the advice is well founded. Now that I am in training the book is not as helpful as I hoped. Most of the time I find the treatment on any given topic too shallow for what I have to learn. I belive this is the result of a compromise between size and completness. I now wish I had saved my money and bought three textbooks - Harrison, Williams and Nelson as opposed to trying to find one book to cover all of internal medicine, obstetrics, and pediatrics.

This book is designed in a practical and understandable approach to family practice. It is an excellent text and a comprehensive reference especially useful for a nurse practitioner/graduate student in family practice. Not only does it provide treatment and management of common medical conditions but also includes psychosocial aspects of caring for clients and their families.

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.

Crudely put, the major thrust of Joseph Campbell's and Jung's work was the unity of the human psyche throughout the world - that the ancient religions and traditions are psychologically relevant.

Neither man, however, was an adept of these systems, by which term I mean, neither pursued these systems to their obviously implied conclusions, instead contenting themselves with the (what is now) non-controversial conclusion of psychological relevance. Jung was obviously at a loss to understand alchemical terms coherently, contenting himself with interpreting alchemy in Freudian and his own terms. Campbell maintained that God no longer speaks to mankind because He never DID speak to mankind...

Thomas Taylor, on the other hand, "the Great English Pagan", was thoroughly versed in the Platonic and Neoplatonic traditions, and although he lacked the benefits of 20th century scholarship, not only approached the essentially same conclusions as Campbell and Jung, but FURTHER concluded that there DID exist at one time, a religion of INVOCATION.

There are numerous examples from both reliable, trustworthy witnesses (Plato, Plutarch, Iamblichus, Proclus), and old sources -the Bible included (e.g., the Witch of Endor summoning the spirit of Samuel for King Saul), which argue for this conclusion. Modern Rosicrucians and Golden Dawn adepts concur, arguing for a dramatic reappraisal of what we understand by the term "RELIGION".

Taylor concurs with Campbell that the Christian religion has inadvertently charted strange and unknown seas by its insistence on the historicity of its symbolism. Unlike Campbell, he is virulently anti-Christian, not only in the Nietzschean sense that Christianity has undermined true Spirituality by its insistence on the fallen nature of the physical world, but also because he considers it a selfishly-motivated and bizarre perversion of the Old Religions.

This translation is to be highly commended as it is Taylor's. Secondly, as usual, Taylor provides voluminous footnotes which are very helpful in acquiring a basic understanding of the Mysteries of Eleusis, with its central sacrament of wheat, analogous to the Eucharist of the Catholic mass and symbolic of the spiritually dead rising from the tomb of the body..

A very good and engaging Taylor volume, but like all his works, it tends to raise more questions than it answers. If you enjoy this, you will also want to read Taylor's "Iamblichus on the Mysteries".

This edition contains what can be argued to be Middleton's most famous plays: A Trick to Catch the Old One, The Revenger's Tragedy, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, Women Beware Women, and The Changeling. I always appreciate it when a collection contains "greatest hits" without being interspersed with more obscure works. Penguin Classics also includes a nice introduction.

As for the actual plays, they are classic Renaissance drama. There is plotting, marriage, and revenge. Fans or students of Jonson, Massinger, Marston, and Shakespeare are likely to be interested in these as well.

This book is for lighthouse lovers that are living in or interested in lighthouses of Florida. The book lists all the lighthouses and gives a brief history. Each lighthouse has a fact list and there are also directions on how to get there. Fees for entering the lighthouses and museums are also listed. This is a great book if you are planning a trip such as we are this summer. The only thing lacking is a good map of Florida showing the locations of the lighthouses. There is a map in the front of the book but it is too small and needs to be larger.

If ever a book needed to help comfort a new graduate nurse, it is this one. Fluff My Pillow Bend My Straw follow a graduate nurse through her first year out of nursing school. All the schooling in the world would not prepare this eager, ambitious, inexpereinced nurse for the trials and tribulations she would encounter her first year working in a typical understaffed hospital. This book takes a humuorous, yet realistic look at what the secrets of the trade are of the profession of nurssing. Follow the love story,and humorous outlook in a hospital setting. Great for those who have been in the nursing profession for years, or for those just entering.

In this book the authors have taken a fresh look at the conventional wisdom of non profit governance. moving the debate on from the classic boards must govern and mamagement must mange divide. They provide useful insights into a more dynamic and flexible relationship. A good read.

There is however need for more guidance on implementing the model.

Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy is a compelling and intriguing novel. Instead of most conventional novels that rely on plot, it places its emphasis on getting certain points and ideas across to the reader. It is a book meant to make the reader think, not as a leisurely Sunday afternoon story. The story takes us through a series of tragic events, starting first, in contrast, with Jude as a young child full of hopes and dreams, the primary dream being to go to Christminster to become a learned fellow. We follow his life as he marries Arabella, a woman who fakes a pregnancy to get Jude to marry her. Because their marriage does not have the foundation of love, it quickly crumbles and Arabella leaves Jude to go to Australia.
Jude then decides to follow his old dreams and travels to Christminster, only to find it was little like what he had imagined. There he falls in love with his cousin Sue, who in order to spite Jude, marries the schoolmaster Phillotson. She despises their marriage, and soon asks her new husband to let her leave. After much contemplation, he consents, and Sue runs off with Jude. The two start a life together with Jude worshiping Sue and Sue constantly pushing Jude away. They will not commit to marriage, and live a life together looked down upon by all of society. After a while, they get a surprise from Arabella, saying she has a son that belongs to Jude, and that he will be coming to live with them. Father Time, as he was nicknamed, comes to live with them. He is a very depressed young soul, burdened by things way beyond his years. Sue and Jude have two more children out of wedlock, and constantly move from town to town to get away from the jeers of society.
Just as things are starting to look up, as Sue seems to finally love Jude, Father Time decides to take things into his own hands and hangs himself as well as the other two children. Sue, being unable to cope with the situation, leaves Jude and goes back to Phillotson, saying it is her duty. Jude, left alone, is then visited by the vivacious Arabella, who gets him drunk so he will consent to re-marry her. Their marriage, however, is simply one huge lie, and Jude, from depression and a loss of hope, becomes sick and finally dies in his misery.
The main topics looked at by Hardy seem to be about goals and marriage. Hardy clearly defines Jude's many goals, for instance his pursuit of knowledge and his pursuit to win the love of Sue, but just as St. Jude, the saint of hopeless causes, Jude is never able to achieve them. The idea seems to conclude that no matter what your goals are, you will never be able to attain them. This is a depressing thought, and though it may be true for some people, I believe it does not clearly express the true things that happen in people's lives. Most people, if they have a goal in sight, do achieve their goals, bringing themselves happiness.
Marriage is clearly looked down upon in this book. Hardy shows marriage between both Sue and Phillotson as well as Jude and Arabella as a trap of unhappiness. He then contrasts that unhappiness with the life of "true" happiness that Jude and Sue had together, out of wedlock. This idea, in my opinion, is absolutely false. Marriage is meant to be the union of two people who love each other so much that they are willing to commit their entire lives to each other. It is meant as a means for happiness and love to blossom. Hardy's demented idea of marriage is clearly false.
Even though some of the philosophies in this book tend to be skewed, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It made me think on an entirely different level. I could sympathize Jude's pain, and though it may not be a leisurely novel, it is a classic that I recommend any educated person should study.

Jude the Obcure is really a book about life. It involves Jude's search for happiness. Of course, he never quite achieves happiness because something is always in the way-preventing him from being happy. He starts out as a young lad living with his working-class aunt, dreaming that one day he may study at Christminster. The problem is as he grows he falls in love with a devilish girl named Arabella who tricks him into marrying her. Inevitably the marriage goes sour and he goes to Christminster, while she moves to Australia. Jude then meets his cousin Sue. He sets her up with Phillotson and they get married. Sue is then not happy and leaves to live with jude. As you can see this is really just a soap opera, but isn't life really just one big soap opera. Arabella then comes back to Jude with a son in Australia. Basically Jude feels responsibility to go back to Arabella and Sue goes back to Phillotson. Jude then dies soon after.

It's quite interesting how Hardy devises his plot. It's quite a dark novel, filled with every character's problems. Through this book we see that what society thinks is the right thing to do isn't always best for everyone. The climax of the book is a horrifying murder-suicide of Jude's children. This is no doubt a book that makes you think about the psychological aspect of life. It's a good read if you like the fact that none of the problems actually get resolved and trying to solve problems only makes new ones.

Hardy wrote Jude the Obscure at the height of his career. Does the book reflect his mastery? Or does it fall short of his capability? At the time of its publication, Jude (like Tess) received critical admonition from the public: The blatant sexuality and the unfulfilled/unheroic main character won over fanatics and made enemies of literary elites.

I picked up this book out of boredom, believing I'd put it down after a few pages. I enjoyed Tess from High School, but Jude for leisure? I was wrong: Hardy's poetic melancholy and rythmic cadence drew me in yet again. I was mesmerized by Jude, Arabella, and Sue. Though their conversations seem forced and some of their characterics unnatural, I felt sympathy for their deterioration and sadness. And in my feeling this, Hardy has accomplished a great poetic influence.

I really believe that Hardy could have written a greater Jude the Obscure if he was unhindered by the public. Though his true passion lay in poetry, he had much potential in prose. Too bad this was his last novel...

This is a great book to use if you want honest, useful information on medical schools. Maria Lofftus, the author, was on the admissions committee at UC San Diego Medical School and does a great job of breaking down the process. One drawback: the book is hard to navigate through.

This has all of the information needed to apply and become accepted at the medical school of your choice.

This book is very frank about what it takes to get into med school. It is, at times, inspiring in that it made me want to pursue a career in medicine even more. But, the book is also very honest about the difficulty of getting into school as well as the not-so-fabulous aspects of being a doctor. I think it's a must-read for any serious pre-med.