I have a Ph.D. in oceanography and have taught it in colleges. I was looking at this book for clues on writing oceanography for kids. I didn't read every word but in my skimming I found two pretty bad errors. The book says gives theocean off Chile as an example of a region with very little life (WRONG! there's upwelling of nutrient-rich water there and it's an example of a region with a lot of life) and that chemosynthetic bacteria at hydrothermal vents make oxygen (NO! it's energy). The book is fun but for readers who don't know a lot of oceanography, beware.

Bill Nye The Science Guy has a winner, again. This one is the Big Blue Ocean. There are twelve easy to do experiments for children to do. How big is the ocean? That is the first question. It is answered very informatively, then it is followed by a great experiment to cement the concept for hands on learners. The whole book is formatted the same way with informational side bars added. Good third and fourth grade material.

If your kids (and you!) love Bill Nye on TV, they'll also enjoy him in print form. Here Bill is up to his usual antics--but it's all serious science. This fun and accurate introduction to a number of aquatic concepts is likely to "hook" kids--so be prepared to follow this book up with one that goes into more depth!

There are only specious connections to U2's music in this book. Don't be fooled by the nice cover.

This work aims to trace and muse on the experience of being Irish as reflected in the work of U2. As such, it is not an easy-read band bio, and is written at let's say college level. However, the long interviews, especially of Bono, cover material that is just not found anywhere else; U2's remarks here have an uncensored, just-between-Irishmen feel that is rare.

The book, as hard as it is to find, is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in U2's Irishness, in their literary/cultural connections, or in their spiritual history -- it's full of amazing insights on all three. Generalist fans of the band should, of course, look elsewhere.

This book is an accessible biographical work. It doesn't get bogged down too much in the details which is good for people who have short attention spans (like me).

I liked it. I've read it a few times.

If you're a short fiction fan, don't miss John Dufresne's "The Way That Water Enters Stone." My yellowed Plume reissue copy came to me in the most accidental of ways, and it was years before I ended up reading it, even so. But since then, I've read all of the stories twice and a few, such as "A Long Line of Dreamers" and "The Slow Death of the B Movie" three and four times.

These stories are good in the way all good stories are good--memorable characters, inventive yet (mostly) believable situations, anchored but not overdrawn places, and superb writing. Yet this doesn't say anything about Dufresne's fine work here. There's everything here from a 43 page story about a man cursed, according to those in the local parish, with a genetic blight which ultimately he cannot escape ("The Fontana Gene"), to a 5 page story about the razing of a beloved tomato garden ("The Surveyors"), and so much in between. Some stories are set in Louisiana, others in Massachusetts and one in Florida. They are not grouped geographically, so you have to be aware of the leaps from story to story, yet many of these characters seem of a piece, or as if they knew each other. They are united in their aloneness, and how easily they let slip away the person or thing that might have saved them.

The reason for the "Dubliners" comparison is this. In the way that it depicts Ireland as dark but sparked occasionally by remarkable people, so does Dufresne here depict America. He writes from America's dusty corners--Louisiana parishes soaked thoroughly in Catholocism and despair, Massachusetts after the tourist season ends, with the cold coming on and things closing up, and Belle Glade, Florida, about as bleak a place as anyone could find. Yet some of the characters in these stories, like those in "Dubliners," find ways to live against their circumstances and in spite of their locales. A few of the stories are rough in places, but the easier ones apply salve in between to keep you steady. All in all, worth the scrapes.

I picked up this book and was flooded with memories of my years in Worcester, MA. John, thank you for the terrific read. I enjoyed your stories and the details (Alice and the Hat Diner, for example). Glad for your success. I am recommending this book to friends.

Dusfresne certainly has a way with titles; this book caught my eye as I was buying my books for school this semester. I paged through it and couldn't help reading the title story because I was so intrigued. What I found is a refreshing cllection of short stories about love and loss that is remarkably free of the tired cliches that are so common in love stories today. These stories are not only sympathetic but also profoundly thought-provoking. Dusfresne is one of my favorite new authors. His writing is real: sympathetic, poignant and about real issues that we all can relate to.

I purchased this book to help me learn more about Word 2000 after it came with a new computer that I purchased. While helpful in teaching me different features of the program, the amount of typographical and spelling errors contained within was really inexcusable. After reading through most of it, I began to wonder if the author had even bothered to skim the chapter on the Spellcheck feature himself. All in all, I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about Word 2000, but if a badly proofread book is a pet peeve of yours, you might want to go to another volume to get your information.

Owners of Microsoft Word 2000 will find this packed with information on how to efficiently utilize the program, from creating professional documents and injecting multimedia and graphics to using templates for web pages, resumes and letters. An easy, essential guide for any newcomer to Word 2000.

An immense compendium of the pristine paddling spots left in New York State. The authors looked for lakes with one goal in mind: find places where the water has not been spoiled by development, pollution, or powerboats. Unquestionably, they succeeded. The book describes over 100 trips across the state, with an expectedly high concentration in the Adirondack Mountains. For each trip, the authors describe launch locations, scenery, notable areas on the lake, and any interesting wildlife seen during their paddle. Many of the lakes are a bit small for a full day trip, but if one only has a few hours to paddle, these are certainly places to go. The authors did a good job of including sites from across the entire state, and tried to include a number of lakes near New York City. Unfortunately, the authors almost ignored flat river paddling, but a few calm rivers and streams did make their way into the book. Overall, if you are a New Yorker who loves getting away from it all, this is one book to have.

For the novice, such as myself, this is a good book to get you started on exploring the canoeing areas of New York. They review the area, the water, and the wildlife. It is not an exhaustive list and many areas we found were seasonal, but that wasn't mentioned in the book. I hope they write another updated and more exhaustive review in the future.

Excellent book, I recommend this to anyone. I use this book for canoe trip planning with my family. Detailed information is given here. As usual it is another fine book by AMC.

Author has written a comprehensive account of U boat campaign in both world wars.The book opens with Germany imposing a naval blockade of British Isles.Suddenly Britain was engulfed by a crisis of stunning dimensions andAdmiralty in London despaired.Had no idea how to combat menace.But the serious nature of the threat aroused latent dynamism of the British.Flurry of inventions ensued such as hydrophones,depth charges,underwater location devices.The most important being the emergence of the of convoy.Convoy helped English to penetrate the German blockade.German campaign foundered because naval command failed to evolve suitable tactics to negate the success of allied convoy system.
Sadly during interwar years the Admiralty became complacent about ASW .Meanwhile Nazis came to power in Germany.Hitler was determined to reverse the outcome of World War I.Simultaneously the U boat arm had a new competent ,dynamic leader Adm Karl Doenitz who honed U boats into a formidable offensive weapon and hurled it to assail Britain's sea line of communications.As a antidote to the convoy Doenitz evolved the tactics of wolfpack.U boats were spread out across probable path of convoy.When a convoy was sighted sub sent a sighting report to shore-based HQs while continuing to shadow the convoy.HQs in turn directed other U boats lurking in the vicinity towards the convoy. U boats now coming from different directions converging towards target thus formed a pack.This constituted an effective tactical riposte to the convoy: concentration of defending force vis a vis corresponding concentration of attacking forces.Advances in the field of W/T made this manoeuvre feasible.

Despite the novelty of the system often convoys sneaked through U boat cordon.A fact which symbolises the im mensity of the ocean.Thus Adm Doenitz tactical problem was intercepting convoys.It was precisely here that radio intelligence came in.Radio intelligence helped the U boat command pin-point the position of the convoys. Immedietly U boats were put across its track.From early 1942 many of pack attacks came to be guided by Sigint.
But during the early phase of the war attacks took palace in and around British isles where bulk of shipping London's overseas empire converged.Pack attacks launched on the surface during nights caught British defences napping.Since Asdic could not detect surfaced U boat.However since U boats mostly operated on the surface it gave scope for radar detection.As author says the outcome of the campaign was influenced by technical innovations.Most important being ASV III radar fitted into coastal command aircraft which started patrolling sealanes. Radar robbed U boats of its invisibility and pack attacks became difficult whenever convoys came under the range of aircover.Often U boat had to submerge thus losing contact with the convoy. From autumn 1942 onwards most of the escort groups had one vessel which carried automatic high frequency direction finder FH4 which can intercept the first contact signal of U boat.Then a destroyer homed in onthe bearing forcing U boat to submerge and lose contact with convoy.Mention should also be made of role played by OIC of Admiralty in foiling pack attacks.Author has rightly dubbed it as nerve centre of anti U boat war.British penetration of German naval enigma cipher made posible evasive routing of convoys.In short ,Doenitz U boat packs were mastered by superior technology :combination of airpower ,radar, HF-DF cryptanalysis,improved depth charges better escorting techniques etc.By May 1943 U boats were defeated but struggle for establishing technological dominance continued as Doenitz again planned to hurl his favourite weapon against AngloAmerican supply lines after making them invisible to Allied air and surface escorts.Snorkelled U boats which appeared by Jan 1944to a great extent helped evade radar detection .By early 1945 submarines emerged . This marked the beginning of a new era since it rendered all Allied ASW techniques obsolete.Author has termed the phenomenon as'unappealing lanscape of square one'.To sum up,cosidering the level of technology prevalent at that time war against U boats was immensely complex ,sophisticated campaign.This book impecabbly researched,and I CONSIDER IT BEST AVAILABLE ON THE SUBJECT.Erudite and lavisly detailed;brimming with statistics on U boat war also contain tables on U boat losses.

This book covers a wide range of topics in only a few pages. In fact it is pretty good for the beginner, and perfectly suitable for the advanced aquarist. You can learn how to get started and maintain your aquarium, as well as the basics about fish physiological mechanisms. And just when I was thinking this was just another first-step manual, I found a magnificent perspective of fish diseases, with helpful pictures, and detailed data on how to prevent, diagnose and cure a wide range of freshwater and saltwater fish diseases. But that's not all... In the end, I was quite amazed to find an appendix with lots of useful checklists and quarantine procedures in Fish Health Management. So, if you really care for your fish health, this book is a very good choice!

A wonderful pictorial of the windjammer's life! The black and white pictures show the beauty and the harshness of life aboard a tall ship, in great detail. The large size of the book is needed and appropriate for the photographs. Each photo is accompanied with an excerpt of Alan Villiers writing. Though not written for the pictures, the editors did an excellent job associating snippets of Villiers' writing with his photos. This is an excellent book to linger over on those rainy days that keep you from being out on the water, sailing yourself.

I think this is an excellent first book. The descriptions of the farming community are fresh and first-rate. I also like the fact that Agent Sir is a rookie. Too many protagonists in modern crime procedurals are sensitive, slick, omniscient Dagliesh-types. (Let's face it...there's only one P.D. James!) Cheers to Mr. Waters and here's hoping he puts out another book soon!