Filled with unique illustrations of the brain in an imaginative manner, combined with powerful information regarding the clinical anatomy of our CPU, this is a must read for those working with brain injured individuals or who would just like to understand the magic that is our mind.

The most striking aspect of the authors'work is the magnificent way in which the various layers of the brain/consciousness are paired with the drawings evoking our ancient evolutionary history. Rather than a modern suburban house built on a scraped lot, the brain is portrayed as a ruin with succeeding layers built on top of each other. I believe the book succeeds in conveying a sense of mystery as to how we are able to function as modern homo sapiens while carrying around with us the results of milennia of evolution: the hope and the danger as it were. And yet, this is all achieved in a very light-hearted and entertaining manner.

A really great introduction to the workings of the brain. Truly memorable illustrations: so much better than those dry, factual diagrams you get in most textbooks. This book is an easy read, and keeps a lively pace. Its only drawback is that it is a little dated, but any book on a subject under such intensive research is likely to be a bit out of date by the time it reaches the lay-reader. Highly recommended though.

I took a look through the 20 or so Latin books and dictionaries at my locals B&N book store. This one seems by far the strongest candidate for self-study (my intended use) - combining
a fairly attractive visual presentation with some interesting and easy-to-digest history/background information. Actually this is the only book I saw that I would consider buying. [I am thinking of learning a little Latin with my son, for fun and general education.]

I used these books in high school a few years back. Now I've picked them up to learn Latin on my own. Unfortunately I need a second language for my Masters, and my college didn't offer Latin.

The first book jumps you right into the lessons. Most books I've found, force grammer and pronounciation through the first few chapters.

People put down Latin and are afraid to learn it, saying it is hard. Considering the romantic languages and much of English come from Latin, it's a lot easier than people think. Just use common sense and you can learn to pick out words. I gave a few passages to my Latin-free husband and he got the idea of some of the sentences. It took a bit of figuring, but anyone should be able to do it.

The only negative, is using this book alone. It helps to have someone to ask questions of. At least when you get into the conjegating of verbs and their declensions. If you can find someone to ask a few questions of, then you're all set.

If you are just starting ut in Latin, and you want to learn the language with and exciting storyline, useful grammar tips, and cultural information at the end of each 'Stage' or chapter, then you would like to buy this superior textbook. In a set of four, the first book contains twelve stages.

I must admit, I was skeptical at first - tsumais in the East, Iraqi submarine. But, I decided to buy the book. I made the right choice. This book is a blockbuster.

My only complaint (that's why the 4 star rating) is the author didn't offer more detail on the damage to Norfolk as a result of the tsunami. But, as I read the book, I realized this wasn't all too important to the overall plot. Which, by the way, is great.

This book starts off fast and never slows down. The author takes us from Russia to Catonsville, MD in the first chapter and quickly establishes, "where this story is going." Some novels are choppy, moving aroung too much, but this one takes you on a ride that you soon won't forget. Truly an exciting, spellbinding novel that is sure to find its way as a movie one day. At least I hope so.

The description of the anthrax strain that the Iraqis plan to dump on America is chilling and down right scary. The CIA spy running the show from his London office - Knox Jones - is a great character - I see Gene Hackman playing this part.

This book is a winner. Get it!

Well, I had heard the phrase "tiger cruise" before but wasn't really sure what it was. I am now. Although I'm sure most tiger cruise's are not as exciting as the one depicted in this book (perhaps with the exception of the Greeneville incident), I wish I could place myself in the fictional story so brilliantly detailed in the book.

Tiger Cruise is one of the most exciting books I have ever read. I have to admit, the first 30 pages or so were somewhat of a struggle - most books take time to get moving - and I almost put it down. Well, I'm glad I didn't. I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! It was absolutely wonderful. The plot is outstanding, original and the characterization (although somewhat lacking for the antagonist, but understandable for a new author) was well done - especially for one Knox Jones. We'll see him again, I'm certain.

A truly wonderful reading experience; I anxiously await the next one.

I don't usually leave reviews, but this book is the exception. I have never read a book that kept my interest like this one, down to the very last page. Talk about a page-turner, this is it. I look forward to Thompson's next book. I hope it's as half as good as this one was. I highly recommend The Tiger Cruise for an exciting read.

"The World According to Student Bloopers," a section of Lederer's book, has been widely pirated on the Internet and is thus familiar to many, even though they may not know its original source. There's a reason why this text has echoed around the world: One cannot read it without laughing. Other sections of the book, all of which deal with the many misuses, distortions and double-entendres encountered in everyday English usage, aren't quite so laugh-packed, but are still well worth the trip.

This is one of the funniest books! Make sure you're sitting down, or better yet, lying down whe you read this book. Grammar has never been so funny. Then again, I'm not sure if I ought to laugh or cry at how the English language is murdered :-) The drawings in the book are also hilarious.
This book is a most enjoyable way to learn about how not to make mistakes in your writing. It has lots of great lines you can pull out to amuse people with, ( eg. Headline - Milk Drinkers Are Tuning to Powder). It would also be great reading during the summer, in preparation for English classes. Absolutely loved it.

I got this book from the library shelf along with several others on the same topic. This was the best by far. As you would expect from the title, this survey explains (but is not limited to) the details of the nervous system mechanism - from neurotransmitters to a basic explanation of voltage and other electrical properties. This technical material does not weigh down the book though, because the author skillfully relates the mechanism to its manifestations in behavior and illness.

The book contains information on the cerebellum and emotional centers which is conspicuously absent from many cerebral cortex-centric texts. I had hoped for more on these topics - but brain research has been biased toward the cerebral cortex for the last 100 years so any book on the topic will reflect that.

Here you will find the references to those amazing facts you've heard on the radio but can't remember when. An example: patients who have had the "gut nerve" (the nerve providing sensation from the abdomen) severed were found to be unable to make rational decisions. So we find out that our "gut feeling" about issues are not irrational but perhaps a key part of rationality! Every time I sat down with this book, I learned at least one interesting thing about the nervous system to share with my friends and associates. This book will provide you with ammo for cocktail parties!

I looked it up here in the hope there would be a 3rd edition since the field is changing so fast. I hope the author and publisher have it on their agenda!

Author Thompson calls this book a neuroscience primer. Well, it does assume that you know nothing about the nervous system, but it certainly goes beyond what most people consider a primer to be. Actually this is a wonderful book for the interested, intelligent layman who wants to learn more than a superficial introduction to the subject. It's a thick book of 500 pages, and you will want to take your time with it. You'll be reading and rereading many passages in order to fully comprehend what you've read. Skim through it and you'll finish with very little of it stuck in your long-term memory.

Doctor Thompson, a Neuropsychologist, is a patient teacher. For the most part he proceeds slowly, never leaping over one step in order to get to the next. The first 200 pages are on the structure and physiology of nerves. Extensive coverage is given to the function of neurotransmitters, and to what happens when they go wrong.

The rest of the book is about the brain itself, and includes a discussion of sensory and motor control systems; the life cycle of the brain; learning and memory; and an introduction to cognitive neuroscience. Each chapter provides an end summary of the material covered.

In the latter half of the book I did feel confused at times. The brain has so many parts and areas of specialization that I had some difficulty keeping things straight. If you are fascinated by the brain, and are willing to read an extensive yet accessible treatise on the subject this may be the book for you.

This book shows the Rottweiler for what it is, a lovable, loyal companion, with such an outgoing courageous temperament. However as the book rightly explains the dog is a lethal weapon in the wrong hands, the book helps novices decide whether they should consider something more sedate than this proud breed. All in all an excellent book for a novice tempted to purchase this powerful, strongwilled breed.

Excellent book. I expected an "Idiots Guide" to be too elementary but it is a great book for everyone interested in the breed!

Arden's edition of Shakespeare's works is an essential item in everyone's shelter. It's a great buy (for a carefully sought edition), but it lacks the critical discussion of the single-play edition.

Haven't figured out a classy way to tell someone that they get on your nerves? Want to make a big impression in a heated one on one dispute? Well, this is the book for you. Potent, sarcastic yet classic quotes taken from Shakespearean plays are compiled in this tiny book. Whether you tuck this small treasure in your desk at work or place it on the nightstand at home, you must use it. You will definitely have the upper hand in your next verbal battle with the enemy. Be offensive with style!

While the information in the book can be gotten elsewhere these days, Davis' text holds together quite well, and without caving in to any commercial artiface. The term "ethnobiology" seems a little much, however -- I am not sure that any new theoretical ground has been surveyed.

This is an excellent well written and well researched book that gripped my like few non-fiction books ever have, yet, it leaves science minded people hanging. After all the research Davis conducted it makes no sense that he failed to follow up with experimentation using tetrodotoxin in a laboratory setting. It seems that he comes so close to finding a new use for this sodium blocking drug but fails to follow up. Maybe he has and I just haven't been able to find it despite extensive efforts. If you know of any follow-up please e-mail me

I actually met Wade Davis when he came to Haiti to do his research on his book, and I know personnaly manny of the characters in the book. Wade did an excellent job in portraying what goes on in the underworld of Haiti.

The chapter when he talks about the driver of the commandant of St Marc who was actually a secret society leader and actually had more power and influence than his boss is really key point in the balance of power in Haiti. Those who seem to be nobodies sometimes have more power than presidents

As this posthumous collection of essays suggests, Weaver felt most at home writing about the old South, which was his birthplace, the topic of his dissertation, and the subject for which he reserved his highest praise.

To Weaver the evils of the world were rooted in modernism, industrialism, materialism, and nationalism, all of which he blamed on Union victory. At one point Weaver even asserted that total war -- war unrestrained by chivalry or other ethical restraints -- was a northern custom which had led to the rise of National Socialism in Germany.

The stark line Weaver drew between South and North, with divergent and logical worldviews ascribed to each, was for him the line between good and evil. In reducing every issue to either-or, Weaver oversimplified his subjects, so that his essays resemble legal arguments: Haynes v. Webster, Thoreau v. Randolph, Lee v. Sherman, Emerson v. Warren. In each case, Weaver's preference is obvious.

I found the strongest essays to be in section one, about southern literature and the Agrarian writers. Here are many useful and profound insights that time has not diminished. When Weaver leaves his specialty, however, his comments are less persuasive, amounting to sweeping sociological observations and cheerleading for the old South.

The converse of Weaver's feeling at home in an imagined South is feeling alienated in an imagined North. Although he spent most of his career teaching literature at the University of Chicago, he isolated himself from the city both physically and intellectually. Perhaps if Weaver had made more effort to adapt, he would have left us a richer legacy, one less marked by decline and defeat.

I admire Weaver's work a great deal. He should be praised for showing, from a conservative perspective, the limitations of capitalism, industrialism, and modernism, limitations which are more often the outcry of the radical left and dismissed as anti American. He would have been wise to consider also the limitations of the old South. I am less willing to blame today's discontents on Union victory. In Weaver's rigid arguments, moreover, there is little to be learned about the vital American principles of acceptance, pluralism, and compromise.

Sometimes it is difficult to sort out the contradictions in Weaver's work, but I prefer to keep in mind his comments from Ideas Have Consequences: Piety accepts the right of others to exist, and it affirms an objective order, not created by man, that is independent of the human ego.

In short, if you are a friend of the South, or would like to read the words of a man who can explain the conservative axiology, this book is for you. The contents are essential for anyone seeking a neoclassical education. For me, reading Richard Weaver's Southern Essays brings together the final sentences of Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily."

"Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair."

The book is a monument to Lee and Jackson. Anyone who wants to understand Picket's charge needs to read this excellent book.

This is a marvelous book, and a marvelous collection of essays, written by a clear and conscientious southern conservative. Richard Weaver was heir to the Southern Agrarian tradition of protest and opposition to the directions modern American society and politics was taking, particularly in the New Deal and post WW II eras. Writers like John Crowe Ransom, Donald Davidson, Allan Tate, Caroline Gordon and Robert Penn Warren, were caustic critics of modernity, of the decline in community, and a sense of the common good. Weaver, an english professor who might better be described as an intellectual, lived, learned, and worked in this tradition. Of all the essays in this collection, all of which are well written and thoughtful, two stand out in my mind. His essay on 'Lee the Philosopher' captures the pragmatic and common-sense spirit of southern political and social thought. Southerners felt little need for abstract theorizing, or great theoretical and philosophical models. Simple, everyday ideas, the ideals of common sense and everyday life, were more than enough for the down-to-earth farmers and planters of the American South. Weaver does a brilliant job of portraying Genl Lee as the epitome of the southern ideal of both gentlemanly duty and social thought. The second wonderful piece is 'The Two Types of American Individualism'. Weaver contrasts the individualism of a character like John Randolph of Roanoke, a fixture on the Virginia political scene in the early 1800's, with the individualism of Thoreau (and by implication the North). Randolph was a supreme example of an eccentric indivdual. He had bouts of insanity throughout his like, fought duels, appeared on the floor of Congress with his hunting dogs, jug of hard cider and his slave attendant, and refused to toe the party line. Yet, when the needs of his community demanded, or the society in which he lived was threatened, he was willing- even eager- to rally to the cause and defend it, despite his personal believes and misgivings. Weaver felt that Thoreau, on the other hand, with is notions of civil disobedience and voluntary taxation, put the individual ahead of the community, and would refuse to defend anything that was not justified according to his principles and beliefs. This was recipe for chaos and disorder, and disintegration. Weaver leaves no doubt as to which he preferes. The division between community and tradition, and individual liberty is a fault line that continues to run through American political and social ideas. Weaver, in powerfully defending tradition and community, has been one of the men shaping current political discourse, particularly among the social conservatives and in the religious right. He deserves to be read.

The author tries to postive intrepretations to the astronmical details found in Srimad Bhagavatam. In the process he is drawn to discuss the cosmology of purna and the standard scholar's attitude to these puranas. He weakens his case in chapter 6 & 7 by questioning much of modern astrophysics and the question about moon flight. Appendix 2 is quite important. Here he explores the question whether Aryabhata borrowed from Greek traditions to arrive at the planetary positions at the start of Kali yuga. This part deals with the debate on astronomy transfer among cultures. I recently drawn attention to his approach to astronomy in Bhagavatam ( including ideas in his paper Exact Science in Srimad Bhagavatam) to an Indian academic audience who have explord the histroy of kerala astronomy. Even the professor from Bhubaneswar, who presented about the astronomical works of Samanata Chandrasekhar ( who assisted Puri Temple in last centuary in arriving at calender) felt skeptical about Thompson's claims.

Thompson, who holds a doctorate in mathematics from Cornell, has been a student of Vedic science for many years. This is apparent in his interpretation of the Srimad-Bhagavatam; he explores the possibilities of not only the diffusion of astornomical data and ideas between pre-Roman cultures, but also the possibilities that the Vedas refer to other dimensions and parallel universes -- concepts which have been seriously studied by Western physicists for only the past 60-70 years.

Unfortunately, Thompson is largely underrated or dismissed due to his work on "Forbidden Archaeology" by some critics. Not having read that work, I can only say the following: His contribution to a Western understanding of Vedic science, which occurs within this book, is of supreme importance. It is the best introduction to such Vedic science for Westerners by a Westerner that I have yet seen.

A simple yet definitive interpretation of ancient Indian cosmology, cosmogony and cosmography for the highly suspicious and discerning scientific western mind!