Really, when considering whether or not this book is any good, you've got to consider what you want out of it. If you want a field guide that you can use to easily identify beetles that you find, this really isn't the best choice. If you want a book with lots of nice photos or illustrations, again, this isn't the one you're looking for.
If, on the other hand, you're looking for a book that will give you a slightly more in-depth information on beetles than you generally get in a general insect field guide, then this may be what you're looking for. That's my two cents, anyway.

There are approximately one million species of animals on our planet; about three quarters are insects; and approximately 40% of those are beetles. There are 30,000 kinds of beetle in North America. They are plentiful and varied -- a real joy to observe or collect. This Peterson field guide begins with two chapters on collecting and preserving beetles, and then delves into their identification. An anatomical flow chart on the endpages directs you to the various beetle families, and there you will find a physical description, similar families, and information about numbers, range, habits, collecting methods and examples. There are about 600 line drawings and 65 color plates.

This is a solid field guide, but the meager percentage of color pictures is problematic. Beetles are quite colorful and that should be the most salient identifying characteristic, but neither the black & white drawings nor the often color-free descriptions help in that regard -- a real weakness for a guide to these beautiful insects. I would rather pay more for an all-color guide.

For the price this book is very good, but certainly not complete. For the low price one could not really expect much more information. I recommend it as a guide in purchasing further more expensive books on beetles.

The reviewers leave the impression that the movie White Squall was based on this book. In fact it was based on the 1962 book _The Last Voyage of the Albatross_ by Charles (Chuck) Gieg and Felix Sutton. It is a shame the book wasn't reprinted as it is a great account. If you can find a used copy it is a great coming of age adventure story.

After watching the movie 'White Squall' I was fasinated by the concept that a sailing provided. It sounded like the best of all worlds. That to explore the world, life and attempt the music and rythum of the sea.

Mr. Langford writes about a ship that spoke of all that with a lively narrative of places that we call ports of call. Quite frankly I wish it had been a longer book. For 8 months of sailing he leaves so much out. In my mind I already knew the sad out come but I wanted more. Even the mundane.

I recommend this book for those who watched the movie or even those who did not. It adds depth. I would hope at some point that Captain Sheldon would also write one.

White Squall: The Last Voyage of Albatross, is the true story that was the inspiration for the 1996 movie by the same name staring Jeff Bridges.

For more than three decades Richard Langford's story of the last voyage of the brigantine Albatross laid silently beneath his desk, almost as long at the ship herself has laid beneath the sea. In 1960 Langford answered an ad for an English teaching job on a square-rigged sailing vessel, the brigantine Albatross. Thus began a journey that would change his life.

In his story we meet the real Captain and crew of Albatross and sail with them across the Carribean and Gulf of Mexico, through the Panama Canal and to the Galapagos Islands. The school ship Albatross was crewed by inexperienced teenaged students. Captain Christopher Sheldon, Ph.D. and his wife Alice Sheldon, M.D. started the Ocean Academy believing that the ship and the sea would be better teachers than any school on land. On their return trip home, after almost a year at sea, nature tested what they had learned.

As your turn the pages of this book, you'll long to reach out for a nautical chart to see where Albatross is and where her crew is going. Langford's descriptions of the many islands, coves and beaches along the way will get sand in your shoes as you feel the gentle sea breeze on your face.

Read this book with some vacation time, because when you're done you'll want to explore some of the many ports of call Albatross visited. Like Peter Island near Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands "where we enjoyed our first powder-soft Carribean beach, gin-clear water, light yellow sand and coconut trees that looked as if they had been painted on a wide canvas."

"The Caribbean," Langford writes "is a photographer's paradise. All the colors are deep and rich, and every street corner and beach present a hundred opportunities. Skies are clear, blue and high, and clouds take on shapes that confuse the imagination. Plants shine green and yellow and red. Sunsets and sunrises are beautiful, beyond description, ....

Langford's book takes the reader ashore many times but it is at sea, aboard Albatross that he is truly at home.

Langford writes, "I set aside one section of my journal for a list of the differences between life ashore and life at sea."

"Motion was the basis for many of the differences. At sea, one is never completely still and must learn to sleep while bracing his body in his bunk. Also, one must eat in rhythm with the roll and pitch of the ship .... At sea one walks slowly and carefully, placing a foot when and where the ship allows, .... One learns to move in bent position below decks to avoid banging his head on protruding objects, ...."

"On ship one learns a new language quickly. If he does not, he will be confused and something of a danger to his shipmates .... One cannot simply choose to eat, sleep, dress, start or stop an engine, put up or take down a sail, without considering the weather, the tides, the currents and the winds."

"The ship, not the individual, is primary. One learns to serve the ship, anticipate her needs and fulfil them constantly. If he does not, the ship will not serve him. A ship has no highways or traffic signals to make her progress easy, at the mercy of the crew and the indifferent, uncaring seas, she sails under elemental conditions laid down by nature."

"At sea one lives in a world of few people and the same scenes repeated day after day. Strong affections and stronger animosities can develop quickly. Personal habits of dress, speech and manner that could be ignored on land cannot be ignored on a ship. A ship makes a man tolerant or it drives him mad."

"For its crew, the ship becomes the entire world. International affairs are inconsequential. The evening meal, the book one reads, the chair he wants to sit on, ... - these and a hundred other commonplaces become absurdly significant."

"At sea there exist no stores, no markets, no repair shops. One learns to mend and make do or do without. Constant preparation is required, preparation for wind, rain, fog, sun, stormy seas, one never lets down his guard except at his own peril. A ship and her crew are most exposed to danger when her crew feels most secure. .... Albatross and her crew felt secure nearing the end of her voyage, 180 miles west of Key West, Florida when the storm hit her.

Perhaps President John F. Kennedy best described the lure of the sea which captured the imaginations of those who sailed Albatross when he said, "I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, ... in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, .... We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came."

Richard Langford's book will take you back to the sea every time you read it. It will leave you longing to meet the remarkable crew of Albatross and the exotic ports of call they explored on their nine-month voyage.

This book is fine if you want a brief survey into the field, but not very useful for reference into "hardcore" electrical engineering. As it turns out, courses taught in Berkeley (including the freshman course) delve much deeper into the topics dicussed in the book, so buy other reference books if this is required as a textbook.

Also, the labs turned out to be quite challenging for the introductory course and the given level of knowledge, but exploring telephones, sound amplifiers, radios, and such were interesting.

For a casual reader interested in the field, this book will help you get a general idea of RC circuits, MOSFETs, transistors, inductors, and other EE components, but otherwise, you should reconsider.

This book provides a nice overview for not-yet-geekie types, like yours truly. I especially like the analogies of electricity to water flow, which -- as a chemical engineer -- is how I've tried to envision the "juice" for years. The authors do have quite a few chapters off-the-subject of electricity, apparently in an effort to enrich the understanding and skills of the readers. I didn't buy the book for this, but it's somewhat interesting and helpful. At $50 for a paperback, this book is not for the casual reader or Holiday gift-giving.

Man-o-man, I used to love looking at old buildings and would be in awe of the amount of work that went into them. All of the art work, craftsmanship, and downright labor. Well, this book really brings to the forefront through numerous period photos and floor plans. The book actually contains very little wording, but then the photos and floor plans are enough to tell you many things about the structures. Most of the buildings are in New York City and I recently had the opportunity to visit. As I walked along the many streets, I came across buildings that had been built by the architects and it was just awesome to look, of course, only from the outside at the wonderful structure and compare it to the photos and floor plans that are now etched in my mind. I look at the book and discover new things about the works of art that I hadn't known before. Sorry if it sounds a little romantic but when I pass one of the new office buildings or structures, well, I'm just not moved by them. Dave Sanchez

This book explaines the different techniques of photography and how to use a darkroom, it is really interesting and helpful for the begining photographer.

I was assigned to read this book for my Sociology 101 class. However unlike your ordinary textbook, I found this overview of the program known as A Better Chance, quite entertaing. The personal stories keep you intrested, and at the same time you learn the sociologists view of race and class. Overall one of the best "textbooks" I've been assigned.

THis book offers a very solid perspective on one of the more remarkable politicos of our time and why he fell. While White tended to get a bit sentimental about America in his later years, this book is hard-nosed and very interesting and well written.

Essentially, WHite argues that it was not what Nixon did that did him in as much as lying about it. I don't think that that quite covers it, but it puts a lot into perspective. He treats Nixon fairly.

One of White's better books.

Mel Ellis was the first author to really grab my attention. Like most kids I only read the books that were assigned to me by my teachers. For my first independent book review I ended up choosing Flight of the White Wolf. What a book! The story of Russ and his wolf was a neverending adventure. It is the book that the reader won't put down. Mel Ellis had me daydreaming for weeks. This is a book that should be available to every child. Let them live the adventure and give them something that they will enjoy reading.

Excellent writing! Byers throws you in quickly straps you down and sends you on a rollercoaster of mistery and action. Amazing twists and turns as he retains the sense of the scarred lands... also in this book Vlad seeks out the slarecians for the name of that which abides... and lemme tell you you're biting off bits of your lips to see if he will, but that's not all! you find out how flipping cool belsameth is with her trechery and ... well, it's just flipping great well worth the $.

Turn Left at the Black Cow offers Fred Astaire fans some wonderful anecdotes, as the legendary dancer visits his daughter and her husband in Ireland. However, author McKenzie's constant name dropping and continuous negative comments about Fred's second wife wear thin. Worth a look, but feel free to skim.

If you read this for tidbits about Fred Astaire, that's all you get are tidbits. If you read it seeking the feeling of Ireland, there are some nice descriptive moments in the book. Mostly it focuses on the author whose life and celebrity contacts did not make up for my disappointment in the skimpiness on Astaire and Ireland.
I recommend instead titles by Niall Williams or reread Frank McCourt.

I stumbled upon this book searching for books about Fred Astaire and was so glad that I found it. Richard McKenzie has such a good eye for people. I loved the stories about his neighbors in Ireland as well as the unique insight into Fred Astaire. I highly recommend this book.