This is one of the best biographies ever written. A wonderful piece about an interesting man.

Take a fascinating subject-- Edward Bennett Williams. Add a highly-skilled author with remarkably deep interviewing and archival research skills-- Evan Thomas. Put in a lot of hard work. And presto-- you have Thomas' "The Man To See," one of the most thorough biographies ever written (I have read many hundreds).

Edward Bennett Williams was one of the most dynamic men of the 20th Century-- a great figure of destiny whose life would have seemed emptier had not Evan Thomas been his biographer. EBW was a self-made man in the days where one could still achieve that accolade. He was no spoiled yuppie of family money. Bright, hard-working, forward-thinking, compassionate and disciplined-- and a wonderful rogue!-- this was Edward Bennett Williams. Warts and all, Evan Thomas presents the larger-than-life lawyer who pioneered criminal law practice in postwar America, bringing the constitution into the 20th Century. He sought power for the purpose of doing good, after doing well. Thomas interviewed practically every living person with whom EBW had a conversation or situation.

I am re-reading "The Man to See" for the fourth time in ten years. It remains fresh and fun. What a brilliant book!

This is one of the best biographies I have ever read. It is a great story about a great man. I read a lot of biographies and I can tell when the author is fauning over his subject - just read some of Robert Slater's books on Jack Welch. Thomas book did none of that. Thomas made you feel that he was giving an accurate and true account of Williams life. Of couse Thomas was helped by selecting a subject that was larger than life, a one of a kind person both in legal talent and raw personality. This book is right up there with "Vince", Michael O'Brien's biography of Vince Lombardi. Interestingly, Lomardi and Williams were very much alike - both very religious yet profane, and above the rest of their competitors in their chosen fields. They were also both like to drink, were emotional and quick to say exactly what they thought or felt about something. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read biographies about great men.

This book is wonderful. I recommend highly to anyone who does orthopaedic/rehab dictation. I ordered a copy for my partner who had little medical terminology knowledge and she has found it more than beneficial. It is extremely well cross-referenced and an asset to any transcriptionist's library. Thanks Stedman!

This is a wonderful book for any medical transcriptionist! I started working for another orthopaedist and he's a bit more "progressive" than my other clients. This book is invaluable! I highly recommend it!

I am a medical transcriptionist for several doctors offices and a hospital. I transcripe dictation from Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, orthopaedic and Rehab from doctors and therapists. This book has everything I have ever needed so far and I am ordering one for a fellow transcriptionist for her to add to her reference books. The sample reports included, tables and anatomical illustrations are fantasic. This one is a must! Thanks for making my job easier!

It was a pleasure to read Give Us This Mars, the second book in a series that deals with the great heights of achievement human beings are capable of reaching. The books illustrate well how each giant step for mankind is generally the accumulated results of the many efforts of a small group of amazing and inspiring individuals. In Book One, the three heroes of the story ended up with no choice but to attempt the first human settlement on Mars, and after many years of hard and frustrating work, they succeed in developing an efficient, prosperous and fully functioning Mars settlement.

This Martian settlement, thought impossible by people on Earth, is now, of course, the subject of considerable envy, especially on the part of the great powers. The satisfying theme of how the decent little people, with limited resources in a very difficult environment, attempt to outsmart the powerful and unethical big guys, is played out to its fullest in Give Us This Mars. The characters in the story are well developed and the plot unfolds smoothly, but with many unexpected twists and turns. Also, the necessary science in the story is clearly explained, and the author's understanding of the laws of nature enhances the flow of the plot. All in all, Give Us This Mars is a very enjoyable and stimulating read.

For those of you who have read the first book this one is very different. The first book was about surviving the elements of Mars and how to setup a living facility on Mars. The sequel is an action packed thriller that reminded me of the old Wild West. The bad guys arrive into a small town and try to take over. There are [weapons] and everything. Lots of twists and turns that kept me in suspence throughout the entire read.

I am a member of a book club of twelve, and we try to read as diverse a selection of books as possible. That includes SF books, which few of us would read without a prod.

"Give Us This Mars" is as good a page turner as I have ever read. Reading it was like being on a long and wonderful visit to Mars. I began on a Saturday morning and could not put it down. I continued until night, when I was forced to stop, with poor Astrid clinging to life by a thread. Next day brought more excitement, with Don giving me a big surprise. What happens is brilliant.

This unexpectedly thrilling read took me into a world of political intrigue, armed conflict, power politics at the highest level, and the physics of trebuchets (medieval artillery, which I understood even though I am not a scientist), with a light sprinkling of Zen philosophy.. All this combines to give a futuristic reenactment of events that took place in the years following the discovery of the Americas by Columbus. The way the trebuchet comes into the plot is not what you might think.

I got a sense of the alien landscape of Mars, and the experience of the dangers of Mars made for exciting reading. At times I even experienced an emotional involvement with the characters and events in the story. The author is usually thorough in his narration of events, but on occasion he shows sophistication, in leaving out the details of events that are best left to the reader's imagination, such as a long journey Captain Derk and his military go on to carry out a surprise attack. There is not much technology/science detail in the story, and if you do not have a science background, I would recommend reading Book Two before Book One. You had better be ready for the directions north, south, east, and west, which are common in the story. I needed the maps and diagram at the end to help me keep track.

There is a discussion early in the book between Derk and Denise about land ownership on Mars. They have very opposing ways of looking at how land/territory is acquired and retained, and it explains many conflicts on Earth. I thought it was the most thought provoking part of the story. The book is definitely not far-fetched science fiction, and this non science-fiction reader closed it with a satisfied feeling, and many things to ponder. Did I see hints in the book of an interesting installment to follow?

This book is everthing you need in a literary tale. Pathos, Satire, Passion. He weaves his story in and out between decades and characters. I bought this in Audio (lots of commuting) and find I HATE to get out of my car..the story pulls you in and keeps you there. I am in awe!

This book is what literature is supposed to be about. It delves into what it means to be human; it does it without excuse and without any veneer of civility. Humanity is viscious, comical,and utterly unslavageable-this book demonstrates that marelously.

SIMPSON HAS CREATED A STORY MUCH MORE WORTHY THAN ANY BOOK ON THE BESTSELLER LIST. I RECOMMEND IT TO ALL MY CUSTOMERS AND THEY ALWAYS COME BACK ASKING FOR MORE OF HIS BOOKS. KEEP WRITING MR. SIMPSON , AND I WILL KEEP RECOMMENDING.

Thomas Jefferson's " Notes on the State of Virginia" is a brilliant piece of history, sociology, law, geology, government,and science. This work, Jefferson's only book, shows his powerful, brilliant mind at it's best. Jefferson shows the depth of his knowledge, not just on his own beautiful state, but on human nature itself. Some of the gems in this work are his views on education, advocating free public education for all, free government, advocating a revisal of the defective original Virginia Constitution. His knowledge of slavery, and the Indian races before his eyes are from personal experience and observation. Although painted by the deconstuctionist left as a "racist" Jefferson was a dangerous radical to the Virginia gentry due to his advocacy of emacipation and deportation of slaves. His views on black inferiority are exaggerated since he placed them forth as a scientific hypothesis based on personal observation. Jefferson could not see a "multicultural" society in America made up of former masters and slaves with resentment and prejudice still in the hearts of both. Many of his predictions about race relations have come true: hate, resentment, power struggles, and a continuing obsession which he forsaw would destroy the America Republic.

The best edited version of the is Koch and Peden's edited on in "The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson", but the full Notes is very good, but the reader must be prepared for numerous charts and tables. Overall a great book, and buy!

The book is written much like an epic poem- with lists of river, towns, economic conditions etc in 1780s. But also much more: His feeling on race. He obviously did not hate blacks, proposed a theory that they were less intelligent, had an aesthetic view of man akin to Gulliver's Travels and the horses. Theory of education is much akin to European model of today, much better than current theories in use. He opposed multiculturalism and opposed teaching children religion in schools or anyplace else, preferring Greek, Roman and European histories and philosophy for guidance of children. The difference between the America he wanted and the reality of today is striking. Which is better? Each must judge, but this is a must read book.

I recomend The book which was edited with an introduction and notes by William Peden. I have an orginal copy of "Notes on the State of Virginia" Second Amarican edition Printed in 1797, on loan to the Monticello, (of which I am welling to part with at the right price). This was a hard book to understand, once I read the one edited by William Peden, I had a much better understanding of what Mr. Jefferson wrote, as well as the history of Mr. Jefferson's efforts in acheaving it's final contents.

The Ambassador From Wall Street is a fasciating tale of one of the great financial leaders of the 20th Century. As a retired New York banker who started work in 1950 and who held some quite responsible positions, I found the book contained messages for bankers that are as true today as they were in the life of Mr. Lamont, particularly on how to avoid undue risk and how to manage the inevitable messes when they occur. The book seems to have been well researched by the arthor, a Grandson of the subject,and takes us through the many economic and financial developments of the first half of the twentieth century. Its scope allows the reader to have a broad view of the financial world, a useful benefit in this age of globalization. I particularly recommend the book to young students of finance. The lessons learned will enhance their careers.

Alethea W. Hawley's review offers an excellent summary of a well researched account of the life and impact of Mr. Thomas W. Lamont and his importance to the major economic and political powers of his era and why this account deserves a five star rating.

This biography of Thomas W. Lamont, J.P. Morgan's Chief Executive is a thoroughly researched account of the legendary financier during the first half of the twentieth century, when the powerful banking firm was at the pinnacle of international finance. The author, his grandson has written this lively biography based on his independent research and his personal collection of family papers and Thomas Lamont's letters.The reader will become acquainted with the economic and political history of the period, the many crucial world events that were transpiring, as well as a full roster of leaders such as Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Wilson and Hoover, who all sought advice from Lamont. Along with all of the above, the author portrays the luxurious lifestyle of his grandfather, such as commuting from his home to Wall Street by yacht. There are social vignettes such as a house party at Lady Astor's Cliveden, as well as a Lamont soiree during which a Federal judge broke the nose of Walter Lippman's charming wife. The reader is also given glimpses of such luminaries as Charles Lindbergh and H.G. Wells, who were among Thomas Lamont's close friends. John Kenneth Galbraith praised this volume and characterized it as "affectionate and well researched...We are in debt to Edward Lamont for this literate and thoroughly interesting biography." Book List and Publishers Weekly contributed highly enthusiastic reviews, and recommended it for those interested in history, banking and foreign affairs. Written in a brisk and informative style, Lamont interjects his wit at just the right places so as to present a very balanced, straight forward, and informative piece of work.

I enjoy reading Kurzweil because he's an adventurous thinker. This book is particularly fun because some other fine minds take him to task. Ray holds up well because he's a reasonable thinker. Although some of his predicitions seem outlandish, they may not be. You can't read this book without engaging in a lot of interesting visualization about the future. Some of it is frightening, but there is hope as well. Will the future runaway on it's own or will we be in charge? I don't know, but I'm sure thinking about it, now.

This is Ray Kurzweil's third book concerning the future of reductionist artificial intelligence design and it's possible effects on us in the decades yet to come. In THE AGE OF SPIRITUAL MACHINES, Kurzweil's previous book, which I enjoyed also, and this volume, he uses technological trends, including Moore's law and other tools, to show that a desktop computer will have achieved human level computational ability around the year 2020. Also, Kurzweil envisions that we will be able, sometime in the next few decades, to scan human brains and download that 'software' into these advanced computers to give them human level reasoning abilities, with the speed of computer neural nets, leaving humans behind, so to speak. Accordingly, it may also be possible to scan individual brains and load that information into an advanced computer (attached to a body of some kind), giving that person a sort of immortality. This is the gist of Kurzweil's argument, I hope I got it essentially correct.

What Kuzweil means by computers someday becoming 'spiritual' is that they may become conscious, and 'strong A.I.' is the view that "any computational process sufficiently capable of altering or organizing itself can produce consciousness." The first part of this book is an introduction to all of the above views by Kurzweil, followed by criticisms by four authors, followed in turn by Kurzweil as he refutes these criticisms.

Personally, I found most of the views expounded by the critics here to be either non-sensical, or 'beside the point'. One critic says that the life support functions of the brain cannot be separated from it's information processing function. Of course it can be, even the effects of hormones can be programmed into a downloaded brain, as well as other chemicals used by brains. Another critic states that possibly evolution is in error, and yet another criticism is that our machines will not be able to contact a divine entity and would thus be inferior.... give me a break, well...perhaps this is all true and maybe pigs will one day fly over the moon unassisted. I could go on and on, but this is the job of Ray Kurzweil and he defends himself admirably in the final chapters of this volume. Kurzweil does mention in this book that brain scanning machines are improving their resolution with each new generation, and eventually will reach a point where they should be able to image individual neurons and synapses in large areas, and allow the brain 'software' to be transferred to a suitable non-biological computing medium, my only criticism of Kurzweil here is that I think he should discuss this technology more, and where it is headed, his next book would be a great place for this.

One final point, it seems to me that when a new idea appears to be difficult and complicated to achieve, the pessimist says: "This is difficult and complicated, and may not work", whereas the optimist says: "This is difficult and complicated, but may work". Only time will tell for sure.

The work, inventions, and opinions of Ray Kurzweil in the field of artificial intelligence have captured media attention and the attention of philosophers and researchers in artificial intelligence. But not only is Kurzweil one of the most brilliant and controversial of all the individuals working in artificial intelligence, he is also the most optimistic. This optimism holds not only for the future technology of artificial intelligence, predicted by Kurzweil to give independent thinking machines in the next three decades, but also for its social impact. Kurzweil believes that artificial intelligence will work for the benefit of humankind, but that this benefit will depend to a great degree on his belief that humans will take on technology that will effectively make them cybernetic.

The controversy behind Kurzweil stems from his recent book "The Age of Spirtual Machines", which is a detailed accounting of his predictions and beliefs regarding artificial intelligence. Many individuals objected to his visions and predictions, and he answers a few of them in this book. In particular, he attempts to counter the arguments against him by the philosopher John Searle, the molecular biologist Michael Denton, the philosopher William A. Dembski, and zoologist Thomas Ray. With only a few minor exceptions, Kurzweil is successful in his refutation of their assertions.

But even if Kurzweil completely refutes the arguments of these individuals, and possibly many more against him, the countering of arguments will not by itself solve the problems in artificial intelligence research. The fact remains that much work still needs to be done before we are priveleged to see the rise of intelligent machines. Kurzweil is well-aware of this, for he acknowledges this many times in this book. He points to reverse engineering of the human brain as one of the most promising strategies to bring in the robotic presence. The success or failure of this strategy will take the mind-body problem out of purely academic circles and bring it to the forefront of practical research in artificial intelligence. The 21st century will thus see the rise of the "industrial philosopher", who works in the laboratory beside the programmers, cognitive scientists, robot engineers, and neurologists.

Each reader of this book will of course have their own opinions on Kurzweil's degree of success in countering the arguments of Searle, Denton, Dembski, and Ray. But one thing is very clear: Kurzweil is no arm-chair philosopher engaging in purely academic debates on the mind-body problem. He is right in the thick of the research and development of artificial intelligence, and if the future turns out as he predicts, he will certainly be one of the individuals contributing to it. He and many others currently working in artificial intelligence are responsible for major advances in this field in just the last few years. Their ingenuity and discipline is admirable in a field that has experienced a roller coaster ride of confidence and disappointment in the preceding decades. All of these individuals have proved themselves to be superb thinking machines.

Every major class of battleship is described in meticulous detail. From design to outcome this book has it all.

Be warned, this book also contains extensive technical information, so if you are interested in narrative storytelling look elsewhere. This book is for the true devotee of battleships.

Quite a bit of detail about each individual ship organized in sections on a ship-by-ship basis. Lots of good photos and drawings.

Bill Garzke and Bob Dulin have outdone themselves again. When I was the structural project leader to direct the hull and armor redesigns for the reactivation of the Battleship NEW JERSEY at Long Beach Naval Shipyard (the planning yard for the Battleships), we used their earlier edition of this book as our general guide. Two members of my design team brought in their personal copies and kept them handy so I could include excerpts from them for official Navy memos and instructions. The Naval archives were sorely lacking detailed chemical and heat treating records of the Class A and Class B armor of the Battleships. A quick phone call to Bill Garzke gave me an armor expert on the west coast that had all the data our designers and welding engineers needed. Thanks, Bill. I owe you one. The only thing I have found missing from this edition is the fantastic Gibbs & Cox scheme D Battleship that was half Battleship and half Aircraft Carrier and was actually bought by the Soviet Union in WW II, but never built. In this edition, perhaps the most important section is the one devoted to the disasterous incident of turret II on the IOWA where 47 men were killed. The authors go into meticulous detail as to actual facts and almost every conceivable theory as to what caused the deflageration (not an explosion). However, they are properly cautious as not to force their personal opinions on the reader. Yet they give enough detail, including histories of past turret incidents on other Battleships, so the reader can draw his own conclusions. There are a few typos and descrepancies between the text and the illustrations. For example, the text correctly identifies the powder in the propellent bags as D846 where the illustrations identify it as B846. Also, the elevation sketch indicates that the heavily armored turret bustle hatch was blown off when in fact it was the turret bustle hatch ACCESS PLATFORM below the bustle (overhang) that was blown over the side. But these are miniscule descrepancies only an "insider" like me would know (I was tasked to write a repair procedure). All in all, it is unthinkable that any true Battleship historian or lover would be without this book. Actually, both the 1976 and this 1995 edition should be in every Naval Architect's library. Richard A. Landgraff DREADNAUGHT CONSULTING Long Beach, California

Worth every penny!! Used this as my main reference to study for the hand examination.

This book is wonderful.It was worth every penny. This is my main resource that I use when I have a question on any hand problems. The book is very thorough and informative.It is a "must have" for any hand therapist.

I doubt anyone can pass the CHT exam without this book. If I only could read one on the list, this would be it.

Read this book for what it is, and you'll enjoy it very much. This is not meant to be a literary masterpiece. That much should be clear from the subtitle of the book: "Erotic Tales of the Vampire". Don't expect an all new and brilliant monster epic, and you'll like this book.

I want to praise the publisher for mixing two well-known names (William J Mann and Micheal Thomas Ford) with two names I am not familiar with (Sean Wolfe and Jeff Mann). The diversity of the stories and writing styles are fresh and keep the reader engaged. Much better than reading a long book with one style from one author.

The two Manns (William J and Jeff) have a similar style. Both of those stories, though decent, are my least favorite. They seem to try to be more than what they are. A little superficial for my taste, but not badly written.

I like Sean Wolfe's story very much. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and is comfortable being a short entertainment piece. It doesn't try to be more than what it is. I was entertained and appreciate the "humanness" that the story brings to erotic vampirism. It is both erotic and interesting. Though I haven't heard of Wolfe before, I'm sure we'll hear more from him in the future.

It is Ford, though, who is the star of this book, and a good reason for naming him as the main author. Most of us are familiar with his non-fiction material, which has won several Lambda Literary awards. His fiction writing here is no less brilliant. Ford's talent for putting the reader in the middle of the story and for character description are perfect. I love his story, and look forward to more fiction from Ford in the future.

If you're a fan of vampire fiction at all, you'd be crazy not to get this book. The variety of stories and writing style is fresh and refreshing. The writing is good. It is both erotic and frighteningly engaging. A must have for serious fans of horror, and especially vampire fiction!

MASTERS OF MIDNIGHT contains four novellas in which vampires play a prominent and erotically gay role. The authors have different visions of vampires leading to highly original and entertaining tales.

"His Hunger" by William J. Mann. Thirty years ago in Cravensport, Maine murders and disappearances occurred with no explanation. Jeremy thinks the story will make a good human-interest piece, but he also has a personal stake in the story as one of the vanished was his father. However, he is in peril after visiting Bartholomew, a vampire who plans to enslave Jeremy and convert the writer's lover.

"Sting" by Michael Thomas Forge. Following the suicide of his lover, Ben becomes head librarian in Downing, Arkansas. He sees customer Titus put his hands into beehives. When the two men become lovers, Titus explains that he is a vampire and the bee venom prevents his blood craving. Titus feels strongly about stopping his kind who kills innocent children.

"Brandon's Bite" by Sean Wolfe. His father was a vampire while his mother was mortal. His father taught him how to survive as a vampire. As an adult Brandon discovered he was gay so his father disowned him. Brandon can choose any victim he wants but fears love because he believes he cannot control his urge for blood.

"Devoured" by Jeff Marin. Three centuries ago two Scottish lords shared a secret passion for one another. When they were caught, Angus was killed but Derek was changed into a vampire. He avenged his friend's death before immigrating to West Virginia. Now an affluent businessman, he finally has a chance to love again but must first take care of Matthew's homophobic enemies.

Harriet Klausner

Unlike a previous reviewer, I AM a fan of gay vampire fiction, and of gay horror in general. I picked this book up because I'd read some of the authors' previous work in books like QUEER FEAR I and II, SONS OF DARKNESS, and BROTHERS OF THE NIGHT (all edited by Michael Rowe, in case you want to look them up). So how does this collection stack up? William J. Mann's contribution is an obvious ode to the glorious old cult supernatural soap opera, DARK SHADOWS, and if you read it that way it's a lot of fun. Sean Wolfe and Jeff Mann are new names to me, and although Wolfe's story didn't grab me, I really liked the second Mr. Mann's ability to bring out the most in his setting. But I have to say, it was Michael Thomas Ford's "Sting" that kept me up way past midnight. I saved it for last, because it sounded the most interesting, and was it ever. This novella is totally unique, not just in gay horror but in ALL horror. His writing is gorgeous, and the imagery he creates is both beautiful and terrifying. I defy anyone to read his descriptions of the Death Puppet and be able to sleep with the lights on. I, too, would love to see this story made into a film, especially if George Clooney plays Ben!