Rommel and Carporetto is one of the best books on World War One I have read. Why? First It gives an good description of the battle of Carporetto, the retreat and pursuit and the defense that finally brought the offensive to a halt from both the Italian and Austro-German perspective. Books on Carporetto in English is hard to find. Second The books also gives an account of Rommel's experiences during the battle. This gives an understanding of the tactical aspects of the battle and also provides an understanding how the battle was fought on a personal level. Third, The maps are excellent. The authors makes the Mountinous terrain with its ridges and passes easily understandable. Combined with photographs you really get a feel for the terrain and its limitations. A minor detail, all names referred to are easily found on the maps, which is not always the case with military books.
The combination of these aspects makes "Rommel and Carporetto" i my opinion one of the better WW1 accounts. I would recommend it to all with an interest in WW1 or Military history.

While I agree with John Wilks that side effects and risks of hormonal contraceptives are significantly downplayed, I reading his book didn't tell me anything I didn't know about it already (I have probably read more papers on birth control than he did) and book left me dissapointed and angry. This is mainly because the book is thinly disguised pro-life drivel. Also, his frequent statements "natural fertility is not a disease" made me extremely angry, since I don't think that I would be very healthy if I had a child every year or every two years. Not to mention overpopulation problem. Also, information in the book, although it contains some good points, is presented in scare mongering way and case studies included are calculated to provoke emotional response. Not very scientific in my opinion. Chapters on Depo Provera and Norplants are very short, though side effects and complications of those are usually worse than the pill. "Minor" side effects are not discussed at all for any of the methods. He entirely missed to address the issue of liver problems for pill users. Based on what I know about hormonal contraceptives (and I don't care at all whether they are abortificaent or not) I would never use them, but I don't find John Wilks' book objective and thoroughly researched.

I have made this book required reading for my students when I started teaching Medical Ethics here at the university. Most of my students and colleagues (both groups include nurses, doctors, med. students, P.A.'s, etc.) are astounded by what they learn from this book. It's tragic that almost no one is telling women about the inherent dangers of the Pill. Likewise, I think it is criminal that most "HIV education programs" on college campuses do not include Wilks' information on condoms and spermicides. He shows that counting on latex to save your life or prevent pregnancy is a dangerous illusion. Also, he makes clear that HPV (the most common, communicable and deadly viral STD) is transmitted even when condoms are used "correctly and consistently" (even assuming the latter criteria were actually attainable!). This book can save lives. It is must-reading for health professionals, guidance counselors, teachers, parents. I can't wait for a third edition!

This book contains essential information for anyone who would prescribe, use or research oral contraceptives. As a physician, I have found this book to contain all of the necessary information required to make a truly informed decision about oral contaceptives and other similar medications. This information is either ignored by the general public, but usually buried by the pharmaceutical companies in technical jargon that the average person finds impossible to understand. Mr. Wilks' book cuts through all of this and presents all of the information about these drugs; their risks, side-effects and complications, in an easy to read format that cannot be found anywhere else. Professionals and consumers alike will find this book extremely informative and probably more than a little disturbing, as the truth about these drugs is seldom told.

For those of us who can't read Pushkin in Russian, his prose might be more rewarding than his poetry, where the essence is so difficult to translate. However, Pushkin's "Tales of Belkin" read like the whipped up improvisations of a virtuoso, rather than the carefully crafted Onegin or Godunov. By the end of his Tales, he so tires of his own device that he implores, "Readers will spare me the unnecessary duty of describing the denouement."

That being said, the Belkin stories are delightful. Each story revolves around a mistaken or hidden identity. The narratives are so swiftly paced that they could be considered page-turners if there were more pages to turn.