The 1997 Best American Essays is probably my favorite volume in the Best American Essay series. Ian Frazier did a superb job in selecting the essays in the volume. For anyone who is looking for satisfying essays to read, this volume would be the ideal one to choose. A reason perhaps why the essays were selected to be "the best" is that each one touches upon a common cord that readers can easily empathize with. Family, memory, history, and politics are the most obvious underlying themes that run through each essays that I picked up on. My favorite essays included: Hilton Als's "Notes on My Mother," Verlyn Klinkenborg's "We Are Still Only Human," Luc Sante's "Living In Tongues," and "Charles Simic's "Dinner at Uncle Boris's." The other essays are all equaly great.

I used to subscribe to Granta, New Yorker, Double Take, The Sun and other magazines but I found I really didn't have time for all of them. Best American Essays provides many of the same great reads in one volume. In the 1997 issue I particularly enjoyed Joy Williams "The Case Against Babies", and Paul Sheehan's essay "My Habit" is sheer genius. Each writing is wonderful though, and I often enjoy reading other works by the authors after I am introduced to their talents through the "Best Essays" series.

Okay, it's been a long time since I read this book, but it has stuck with me over the years and I think I can do it's review justice...hopefully.

The book is told from Little Britches' point of view...I forget her real name. Anyway Little Britches and Annie are best friends...actually, I guess it's more like Little Britches is the sidekick to the beautiful and wild Annie. Annie wants something more from life and she sees her chance for freedom and adventure when the girls meet up with a notorious gang of thieves. Annie soon begins a passionate affair with the gang's leader, while Little Britches loses her heart to another member of the gang. The girls are soon introduced to a life of crime and they begin taking part in the gang's unlawful activities. But will the girls realize, too late, that their lark is something far more dangerous than they ever anticipated?

This is not a book for kids and this is not a fairytale romance. This is a look at the Wild West through the eyes of a woman outlaw. It's gritty and real and you'll probably never forget it, if you read it.

I have read this book over ten times and try to read it every couple of years. Thelma and Louise in the Wild West. I have recommended it to all of my friends and nobody has been disapointed yet.

You will find THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WEIGHT TRAINING to be a good reference book and resource tool. Do not leave home without it!

The contents is basically textual in nature with a lot of easy to understand tables and figures which enhances comprehension. The book does not address the specifics of how to perform exercises but there are thousands of books that do that.

This book deals with the science of training and how to format a training program along with sound training principles and solid nutritional information that helps to ensure your success in training.

The cycling and periodization of training is very important for success in general fitness, bodybuilding and training for sport. This book is loaded with useful information, examples and principles that will get you on the road to success and very quickly.

It has great examples of periodization for all levels of training. Moreover, the nutritional information is solid and easy to grasp.

All people (young or old, male or female) as well as high school and college students and personal trainers should have it for their library.

You will not get the insight and information from any other source that you will find in the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WEIGHT TRAINING.

I highly recommend it. Buy one NOW and be ahead of the crowd.

You will never loan this book to anyone because it will not be returned because of it great value. It is truly a "pearl of great price."

Walter Hecht

Excellent resource: This book covers a wide variety of subjects relating to fitness and provides a tremendous depth of knowledge to anyone who is serious about fitness.

This is the long awaited basic textbook for osteopathic medicine. It is surprisingly complete, covering philosophy, history, research, and manipulative techniques. The beginning osteopathic student may find it most useful for its practical discussion on the techniques--high velocity, myofascial release, etc. I believe it is also helpful in standardizing our terminology, which will make it easier when taking board exams or talking with colleagues from other osteopathic schools. It includes contributors well known within the osteopathic community, including Michael and William Kuchera, Melicien Tettambel, Eileen DiGiovanna, and many others. As a family practice resident I frequently turn to this textbook first when I want to know more about how to treat a patient or when preparing lectures for students and housestaff.

This text is actually required reading for most if not all osteopathic medical students. It is a 'textbook', however, and hence completely (sometimes exhaustively!) comprehensive. But it is easy to read so that anyone with an interest in OMT will get a methodic how-to for myriad techniques, also a thorough history of osteopathic medicine to boot! One of my OMT professors at the University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine wrote or co-wrote a few of the chapters so of course, I think those are the best! If you are looking for an educational approach to learning manipulation and the reasons behind it, this is a valuable resouce.

New York State Government: What it does, How it works
By Robert B. Ward

Publisher: Rockefeller Institute Press, Albany, New York 12203-1003, 2002

Robert Ward, who has been involved in New York State government for over 20 years, gives us a great road map to what has happened in the Empire State politically and substantively in his book New York State Government: What it does and How it works. This readable, one volume work gives a great overview of the structure, purpose and implementation of New York's large government on both a legislative, judicial and administrative level. It is a nice review for those involved in government and a good beginning for those who seek to be in or who are new to government. Directors of associations directly impacted by government, new legislators and regulators and public policy students will find this a useful start in learning the somewhat complex way in which the Empire State operates and carries out its government mission.

As Ward points out, it is the administrative governmental structure, which has grown significantly since the 1970's, that carries out the nuts and bolts of New York State Government. Ward's premise that "the power of an agency executive with a vision, personal drive and the support of elected leadership can make an enormous impact on state government" is carried out in his summary of changes in the Department of Motor Vehicles. A State agency most New Yorker's must visit during their lives, Ward, on page 285 of his book, shows how the "bureaucratic ineptitude" of the way in which licenses and motor vehicle registrations were issued was changed by Governor Cuomo's Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner, Patricia Adduci.
The involvement of employees as well as customers combined with focused "executive support" lead to greatly reduced lines and improved customer service at the Department. In a more micro way, this example highlights how committed attention and creative thought can change the way the State administers its programs. This portion of the book also highlights how the Pataki administration continued these reforms through the implementation of several technology-based improvements. These efforts, at a minimum, have resulted in less waiting time at the DMV, and, in a broader context, prove how effective leadership and commitment can garner positive change in a administratively detailed government structure.

In the end, Ward's book posits, what is the role of state governments? A great question in a time when state government decision-making is beginning to dissipate. As Ward points out, the federal government's role in a traditionally state issue--- insurance--- has become more pronounced with the repeal of Glass-Stegal. The federal government's involvement in the lowering the drinking age and education are significant signs in the reduced role, based on the significant financial needs of state government, states will play in policy making and control of their agenda. In the end, says Ward, voters who care about these issues "should recognize federalism matters." In his concluding remarks, Ward gives us a glimpse of his view that, "perhaps the only safe prediction is that the balance of power will continue to shift. Governors, legislators, and elected leaders at the federal level will push and pull to control the policy debate. Such competition over ideas and political influence will serve all America-as long as an informed citizenry is a full partner in the conversation." It is difficult to argue with this advice.

For a good, basic understanding of New York State's government, Ward's book, New York State Government: What it does, how it works, is a good reference.

This should be required reading for anyone who lives in, does business with or reports on New York State government. Ward combines a bird's-eye view, honed through years of thoughtful observation, with an intellectual appreciation for the nuances of politics and policy.

Many have criticized -- with considerable justification -- the rat's nest of rules, regulations, traditions, politics and georgraphic considerations that so determine what happens and doesn't happen in New York. But few have taken the time to understand that there is indeed a method to this madness. Ward is among those very few, and his book is both insightful and practical.

The following review of "Rendering with Radiance" was published in the November 1998 issue of "Lighting Design + Application" magazine. It has been posted to AMAZON.COM by the author.

Ian Ashdown, P. Eng., LC byHeart Consultants Limited 620 Ballantree Road West Vancouver, BC Canada V7S 1W3 e-mail: byheart@acm.org

Lighting Design + Application contact:

Mark Newman, Editor Lighting Design + Application Illuminating Engineering Society of North America 120 Wall Street, 17th Floor New York, NY 10005 Tel: (212) 248-5000

Rendering with Radiance Greg Ward Larson and Rob Shakespeare ISBN 1-55860-499-5, Hard Cover 664 pages; 1998; Morgan Kaufmann Publishers

Many LD+A readers know Radiance as a lighting design and analysis program that was developed by Greg Ward (Larson) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Those who have investigated Radiance know that it is freely available, but usable only if you have a UNIX workstation and the patience to master more than 50 software tools. In ten years, it has attracted a coterie of fewer than 400 dedicated users.

Rendering with Radiance will undoubtedly change this. Originally conceived as a UNIX-style technical manual, the book is much more. It offers several tutorials, numerous application examples, and detailed discussions of the program's underlying mathematical algorithms. The accompanying CD-ROM includes example images, Radiance models and material libraries, reference manuals, and fully commented C source code for Radiance 3.1.

Despite first impressions, this book is not about computer graphics. The Radiance Lighting Simulation and Rendering System was created for advanced lighting designers and academic researchers, and more than half of the book is devoted to applying Radiance to real-world lighting problems. Ward Larson, Shakespeare and three contributing experts discuss luminaire modeling and lighting analysis, daylight simulation, animation, roadway lighting, theatre lighting, and exterior lighting. Even if you have committed yourself to using architectural visualization programs such as Lightscape and RadioRay, you will find an abundance of useful information in this book.

Radiance is the only software program that faithfully models the physical behavior of light, especially specular and semispecular reflections. It has a steep learning curve, but the quality of the architectural renderings it produces is unequalled by any commercial product. With Rendering with Radiance, we now have a user's manual that fully complements the capabilities of its namesake.

This truly is a remarkable book. Unlike most computer graphics texts, it presents lengthy discussions of IES photometric data files, luminance meters and spectrophotometers, the CIE overcast sky model, roadway light metrics, veiling luminance, spectral transmission data, and much more. The major algorithms used by Radiance are fully documented, including discussions of their limitations. There is more information in this book on lighting software use and design than can be found in all other books combined.

The major disadvantage of Radiance is that it was developed for UNIX workstations. In the past, this restricted the use of the program (really a set of UNIX tools) mostly to academic researchers. However, the freely-available and popular UNIX clone Linux now allows Radiance to be run with few difficulties on Windows and Macintosh computers.

As a contributor to the text, I am a bit biased, but I do think you will find the book's numerous chapters very helpful for folks of a wide range of skill levels. It is a great resource guide, reference book and tutorial. It includes the Radiance executables for a few Unix platforms on the CD-ROM! These alone will save you an hour or two. The book is well worth the money, but don't take my word for it.

This is truly one of the most comprehensive histories of Alabama I have encountered. From the first settlement by Native Americans to the confusing, and most times laughable, political present of the "state" of Alabama. Dr. Wayne Flynt, Professor Emeritus at the University of Auburn, writes the final section of this book which covers the socio-economical status and political machinations of Alabama from the early 1900's through the present. He has a clear insight of where Alabama has been historically and where she must go to contribute significantly to her people and her nation. A must read for anyone who votes in Alabama and a must read for those who envision a new and brighter history for Alabama.

I have not yet seen this particular book, yet I give this man's work the deserved stars above from what I have seen about and around. He brought to me the same feelings that Abdul Mati Klarwein's work did when I first saw it. This man and Walton Ford are sending a message in different ways yet show us our fallible nature and perhaps prophecy some things to come. A good night would involve reading D. Quinn's Ishmael and perusing Rockman's images...

Every year since 19??, a book is published that celebrates the best essays of that year. These essays range in topic from science to law, from art to sociology. Reading this year's edition, I am particularly impressed. Of course, not every essay is for everyone. However, even the essays that have nothing to do with my background I have found to be interesting at the least, compelling and mind-rattling at best. It is worth buying the book for even a few: 'The Art of the Nap,' 'The Trouble with Wilderness' 'Influenza 1918'.

This book walks you through some of the experiences of a pediatric geneticist. Be prepared to "feel" as you read this book, because it will evoke thoughts, feelings and emotions. It makes you realize that for some doctors, thier job is more than a job. For some doctors, thier job is a constant life lesson, and for the rest of us, we can vicariously learn these lessons through the eyes of Dr. Marion.