When I first saw the book, I was transfixed. I must have spent quite a number of hours going through the pages, standing up, the world dissolving around me. My particular favorite is one picture of Gary Oldman lying in a coffin. It captured him perfectly. I don't know much about photography, but the beauty of his works is that it can be understood and loved by anyone - there is a human association within every shot. For a while I was reluctant to buy it - the price was a bit too much for me, but I kept on returning to the bookstore to see it, taking a half an hour bus ride each time at the other side of the city. I grew restless when I didn't take the ritual visit. Eventually I did get it - and I finally feel complete. He captured perfection.

Not much to pay for a book that is this outstanding. The photographs themselves are really beautifully reproduced, very high quality printing supporting how good the photos themselves are. Fascinating layout also. Great photos. This is one of those books that you keep going back to and still enjoy. You will be happy that you got this book.

Albert Watson's images in this book are quite simply some of the best images of Black & White photography in any book! They are technically perfect and arrestingly beautiful. His images are powerful, moving, creative, and always well composed. Furthermore, the printing in this book is one of the best I've ever seen.

If you appriciate masterful black & white images you would probably be happy with this book even if you had paid 5 times what this costs!

This book is truly a must-have for anyone who appriciates great photography

This biography of Dr. Beckman was created to coincide with his 100th birthday last year.

While many will not recognize his name, all have had their lives improved by his many innovative contributions to science, medicine, and education. Chemistry as we know it mostly advanced through the development of instruments that can rapidly, inexpensively, and accurately analyze biological and mineral substances. Our modern manufacturing processes rely on these instruments as do our physicians in isolating and diagnosing diseases. Many of these tests were first accomplished by either Dr. Beckman or the company he founded, Beckman Instruments. His company also played a key role in pioneering critical components and instruments for secret projects such as those for radar and the atomic bomb during World War II.

In parallel, Dr. Beckman played a big role in the development of Cal Tech, as a student, professor, major donor, and trustee. The rise of that institution from being a small school to one of the world's very top universities benefited, in part, from Dr. Beckman's efforts on Cal Tech's behalf over many decades.

Dr. Beckman's company continues to thrive today as Beckman Coulter, and is leading the way to finding new ways to diagnose diseases.

If you are like me, you will enjoy reading about how many important chemical and electronic innovations occurred. Dr. Beckman was often involved. For example, Beckman Instruments was at one time briefly a leader in work developing the first semiconductor technology, before there was a Silicon Valley. It was fascinating to see how the team split off to become Fairchild and later Intel.

Dr. Beckman was very generous with his charity, and has donated hundreds of millions of dollars.

The biography is unusually detailed on both the personal and the scientific side. The book also benefits from having many excellent photographs. I particularly liked the many side bars that made it possible to read in more depth about particular aspects of Dr. Beckman's life. .

Anyone who wants to understand about the challenges of being an inventor-businessperson will enjoy this book. Those who are interested in understanding more about how modern instruments developed will find the book like a history of science. Anyone who wants to learn about being a good example will find Dr. Beckman to be a worthy source of study, as well.

After you finish this book, consider where you have stopped following your curiosity. Then take some more steps in those directions. Like Dr. Beckman, your greatest accomplishments may be ahead of you as you follow your curiosity into the uncharted territory of the next big thing.

Look on life with interest and pursue it with high standards!

An interesting book about an interesting man. In 1997 "USA Today" listed the top 10 charity givers in America, and Arnold Beckman was listed 10th as having given $280 million to charity. A man who does that is worth reading about!

Molecular Biology of the Gene written by James D. Watson is one of the best texts on biology of the molecular level. With ample illustrations this makes a wonderful text for students and those who want to learn more about the primary structures of proteins and the interplay between them.

Molecular genetics is but one part of the whole of biology, the nature of cells and how they divide, but this book makes an attempt to address both in a seemless fashion. Genetic code, the replication of viruses and the control of protein synthesis are all a part of this book.

I found the narrative to be straight forward and very understandable as the author makes the point in a logical and lucid manor. You will need some schooling in the biological sciences as this is not a book for the novice. This text will give the biologist of the future the rigor, the perspective, and the enthusiasm that will be needed to bridge the gap between the single cell and the complexities of higher organisms.

This is an excellent text.

This book gives a better understanding and representation of recombinant DNA procedures. All topics relevant to Molecular Biology of the Gene has been addressed in a lucid manner with excellent description and illustrations. A lot of progress had been made in this field hence. But this is a must buy for students as well as educators of molecular biology.

One of the most intriguing characters in the history of 16th century Scotland was Francis Stewart, Fifth Earl of Bothwell. Cousin to King James VI and godson of Mary Queen of Scots, Bothwell was a pivotal figure in what the book's cover copy aptly terms "the nightmare politics of his day."

Handsome, charismatic, and wildly popular, Bothwell was both rallying point and poster boy for such disparate groups as the border reivers, bishops of the Kirk, and ambitious Catholic noblemen. Although Bothwell stood uncomfortably near the throne (his father was one of James V's [illegitimate] sons), King James VI was openly fond of his cousin, granting him honors and restoring to him lands and titles lost by his uncle James Hepburn, the fourth Earl of Bothwell (and Mary's third husband.)

Bothwell rewarded his royal cousin's favor with a campaign of terror -- repeated efforts to kidnap James, as well as several strange, almost inexplicable assaults on the king's privacy and peace of mind. The turbulent, fragmented culture and the constantly shifting loyalties of Scotish nobles and clery made it extremely difficult for James to censure Bothwell, much less contain him. Bishops praised Bothwell from the pulpits as the "sanctified scourge of God," castles guardians quietly released him from any attempted imprisonment, and the border reivers, always eager for adventure and plunder, flocked to his banner, providing Bothwell with a personal army that was often far superior to anything the king could muster.

Courted by nearly every faction in Scotland, financed by his marriage to a wealthy widow (and through under-the-table stipends from Queen Elizabeth, who encouraged many of his exploits), Bothwell led a charmed life, albeit a highly complicated one. As Lord Admiral of Scotland, he carried on secret and highly treasonous negotiations with Spain in the uncertain days before the attack of the famous Spanish Armada. He accepted money from England's queen while he plotted to free his royal godmother from an English prison. Such was his popularity and power that he weathered two of the most deadly accusations possible: treason through witchcraft.

When storms waylaid James' expected bride, Anne of Denmark, the king gallantly set sail to meet her in Norway. Their return was hampered by such fierce storms that Danish sailors suspected witchcraft. James, who survived the first of many assassination attempts when he was still in his mother's womb, was a justifiably nervous man, always alert to any threat to his person and position. Back in Scotland, he learned that a conspiracy of witches in North Berwick, alledgedly led by the Earl of Bothwell, had performed dark rites in an attempt to bring about the king's death. A trial resulted, but Bothwell was easily acquitted by this peers (due in no small part to the large band of "toughs" who were much in evidence during the trial.)

This is easily the best, most informative source I've found on the Fifth Earl of Bothwell. The author writes well. The information is organized well, researched throroughly, argued clearly, and presented in an accessible style. This book filled in the gaps left by several intriguing, unanswered questions raised by other histories of the period, including several biographies of King James VI. Few books present the complicated politics of 16th century Scotland so vividly. Some characters cannot be defined by a recitation of their actions; their power comes largely from a personal charisma, and can only be perceived in the context of their times and through the eyes of the people who knew them. Bothwell was such a man, and any attempt to "explain" him is likely to fall well short of the mark. Not even a reliable portrait remains to help our imaginations conjure the "wizard earl." That said, this book exceeded not only my expectations, but my hopes. I came away with a far better understanding, not only of Francis Stewart, but of this fascinating era.

Some readers might be unnerved by the author's implied assumption that malevelent witchcraft not only existed, but actually worked. Skeptics would do well to remember that this book attempts to bring the reader into the mindset of 16th century Scotland. Read in this context, such passages add to the narrative rather that detract from its credibility.

Highly recommented book. It's hard to find a copy, but well worth the effort.

I read this book several times while my son was doing a book report on it and was favorably impressed. HOWEVER, parents of children of broken homes may wish to pre-read this book; it could leave an impression that divorced fathers who have left the area don't really want contact, or that stepfathers are just-as-good, maybe-better, father replacements.
It is written in "layers," so that on a first reading the reader gets the plot, while on a second reading or further reflection, the reader picks up new details and shades of meaning, including the motivations and feelings of the characters.
Eight-year-old Eli misses his dad, who in reality left Washington state three years prior upon divorce for a new life in Alaska, sending a postcard every year or so. Yet Eli idealizes his dad, imagining that his dad (and his dad's new wife and baby) would love to have Eli drop in on them. As much as Eli idealizes his dad, he detests his stepfather, who is portrayed as a loving father figure.
So Eli decides to bicycle from Washington to Alaska. In one day, taking a sandwich in case he gets hungry on the way.
Just out of town, Eli is crossing the swamp on his bike when Eli falls. There right in front of him is the Swamp Man -- who, according to local child rumor, likes nothing better than torturing children. Yet the Swamp Man, by asking a few indirect questions, and using a ruse to delay Eli, not only figures out why Eli is running, but says the right things to help Eli realize there's no place like home.

Good science book on the subject, very thorough biographies of both Crick and Watson. Text is a little dry, but the occasioanl picture perks it up. Illustrations are in black and white. I would recommend this book to the 7th grade up, and will include a recommendation for the teachers as well.

This book takes you from 0 to 100 in a few chapters. The background, methods and significance of the genome project are explained and illustrated, along with a beautiful reprinting of the landmark scientific paper from the journal Nature.

As a doctor who hasn't worked in genetics, I needed something like this to get me up to speed on this crucial area of modern medical science.

Strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.

You could almost imagine what it was like being in 'Nam - hear the ruffle of the leaves, smell the sweat, feel the dampness of the ground and hear the crickets. Read it alone at night and you could easily imagine Charlies waiting to spring a surprise on you. No regrets getting this book!

This book is the most condensed, accessible discussion of genetic manipulation techniques and methods around. Armed with this, one can move on and understand any other text in the area.

Professor István Hargittai, a Hungarian research chemist, has written a beautiful book about the myths and stories surrounding the Nobel Prizes for physics (P), chemistry (C), and medicine or physiology (M). Starting from the somewhat vague Nobel's Will, written in 1895, he goes on to analyze various aspects of the organization of the Nobel Foundation, national politics associated to the assignment of the prize, and the common characteristics of the winners. Many nobelists have carried out scientific experiments during their childhood while others have followed the steps of a great mentor, in some case himself a winner. Surprising for us is the kind of hardships (i.e., persecutions, illnesses, poverty, etc.) that many nobelists have faced during the initial steps of their scientific careers. Perhaps these hardships acted as catalysts in persuing one's goals. Working either in a stimulating and creative environment (for example, the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge produced a lot of winners) or in a research field different from that of origin may represent additional ingredients for success. A final (12-th) chapter is dedicated to the non-winners, i.e. top level scientists that didn't receive the prize in spite of their fundamental discoveries and contributions to science. Among them we find the russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (Periodic Table of the Elements), the botanist Michael Tsweet (discoverer of chromatography), Oswald Avery (the proposer that DNA, not proteins, is the genetic material), Leo Szilard (physicist and molecular biologist), Arnold Sommerfeld (one of the founders of quantum mechanics), the chemist G.N. Lewis (important contributor to the fields of chemical thermodynamics and the electronic structure of molecules), and Lise Meitner (co-discoverer - with Otto Hahn - of nuclear fission), just to cite some examples. An important name missing here is that of John von Neumann, the Hungarian-born mathematical physichist that, in addition to having been a child prodigy, contributed greatly in the fields of set theory, algebra, quantum mechanics, and computer science. The reader interested in the remaining Nobel Prizes (Literature, Peace, Economics) may complement this book with Burton Feldman's "The Nobel Prize : A History of Genius, Controversy and Prestige".