This is a collection of essays which document the many reasons the Three Gorges Dam should not be built, the lose of arable land, the dislocation of millions of people, the loss of 5,000 years of art and architecture, etc. Author Dai Qing, an outspoken opponent of the dam since the beginning, is to be highy commended for speaking out while others cower in silence. To put it in Western terms, it is David taking on Goliath, times 10.

There are a lot of detailed figures and facts in some of the essays. They're easily skimmed. But read this book if the subject matters to you and particularly if you're planning to take a cruise through the Three Gorges or have already taken it. While on the cruise, one is told only of the glory and power of the dam, which is to say, given the party line, but one should know the lie behind the line and the potential tragedy that awaits, the tragedy of the River Dragon coming again.

In this third biographical study, Piper gives us three excellent sketches of men who persevered in ministry and righteousness in the face of incredible difficulty. John Newton, the converted slave-trader who penned Amazing Grace, is a model in "habitual tenderness" towards the hurting (most notably the manic-depressive poet William Cowpoer). Charles Simeon is lesser known, but proves to be a powerful demonstration of endurance in the face of almost unrelenting opposition and affliction. His endurance was rooted primarily in his high view of God and his low view of self (what a word for the self-esteem gurus filling America's pulpits today!!). Finally, William Wilberforce, the greatest instrument God used in the abolishment of slavery in Britain, is studied, along with the doctrine which gave him strength and moved him into action (the doctrine is justification by faith). This is a great book and very encouraging. Highly recommended.

This Book is GreaT! it took me less then an hour to learn a song but im a self taught musician (for guitar) It might be difficult for you but it is a very good book

Shad Sentell is a Louisiana redneck made good. Shad and his brother E.M. build a corporate empire of their oil company, Omega Oil. The story opens in 1960 with Shad's nephew Sonny, an LSU student being sent by his father to fetch Shad out of a sanatorium in Shreveport where he has been committed by E.M. What follows is a frequently incredible romp as Sonny and Shad make there way to the Gulf of Mexico where Omega Oil's offshore plateform Okeanos no. 1 is burning. Shad is apparently the only man with any chance of putting out the fire. But Shad is in no hurry. As he progresses south from Shreveport, various narrators fill us in on the checkered history of Shad and the rest of the Sentell clan.

Be warned that Shad is probably not someone you would invite to Sunday dinner. The book contains some raunchy discriptions of Shad's adventures with women. The book is full of literary allusions including a scene out of Don Giovanni in which Sonny plays Leporello to Shad's Don. Sonny, with seduction on his mind, tries to warn the nubile Missy, daughter of Shad's high school sweetheart, away from Shad by showing her Shad's diary, which is actually a record of sexual encounters complete with an elaborate shorthand rating system.

The novel ocillates between Faulkner's Snopes Trilogy and O'Toole's "A Confederacy of Dunces." This story contains some of the most finely wrought redneck characterizations anywhere. The book has something for everyone, it is at times pronograhic, philosophic, melodramatic, contemplative and farsical. It is as though the author, fully capable of serious writing, is incaplable of taking himself seriously for very long. At times the story line threatens to go completely off the rails, particularly toward the end when the whole Sentell Clan is holed up in a French Quarter Hotel that is being shot up by a crazed redneck cockold out to take revenge on Shad with a 12 guage sawed off shot gun. But, it is one of the funniest novels I've every read and I heartily recomend it, warts and all.

This is a thoughtful and scholarly look at the history of the Black Shakespearean actor - a topic that will seem to many people to be thin and inconsequential, but which in reality is rich and varied in a long and eventful history. Illustrated by period photographs and drawings, Hill outlines the beginnings with James Hewlitt and Ira Aldridge in the early 19th century, moves to surprising discoveries such as the native performer Takatanke, up to the late triumph of Orson Welles' Voodoo Macbeth in 1936.

A must for those who admire the depth and passion of such performers as Paul Robeson, Earl Hyman, and James Earl Jones, there is also a videotape available based on this book, information for which can be found... In the tape, Hill's talk is based on this book, published by the University of Massachusetts Press. Professor Hill's brief talk is then brilliantly illuminated by the performances of black actors of today. Each takes a famous scene from Shakespeare and enacts it, introduced with a sense of its context by Professor Hill. Scenes represented are:

Hal Scott - Prologue to Henry V & Puck's Farewell
Charles Dutton - Finale of Othello & the meeting with Anne from Richard III
Lorraine Toussaint - Queen Margaret's disgrace from 2 Henry IV and
Juliet's anticipation from Romeo & Juliet
Earle Hyman - Prospero's Farewell from The Tempest
At the end of the performance, members of the audience pose questions to the panel, giving further insight to the subject.

These shortened versions make Shakepeare's plays worthwhile to read. They clear up all of the old English phrases and metaphors, which can split the reader's mind. I like this, but as for performance, I'd prefer the real Shakespeare language played. The prose dialogues between the two lovers are not as smooth as the poetic lines. But the nature of their words makes up for it. I've seen many Shakepeare's plays on film being shortened and it makes the play sound better. Buy this one!

At http://journyx.com/curt/megadrugs.html you will find data about this book. It is a good book, but it won't tell you what to do. It describes these substances in sometimes boring detail. It doesn't prescribe. It's a fascinating and new field. Proceed with caution and optimism.

This book was given to me by a friend I highly respect. When he gave me a summary of the book, I thought it was a little far fetched. However, as I began to read this first-hand account, my opinion started to change.

Overall the book was an excellent read. Being that it was written in the mid 1850's, the language was a bit different from what we use today. Also, the author spends too much time, in my opinion, describing his journey into the earth. It would have been much better if he devoted more chapters to his experience while being inside for 2 years.

This is a great book for beginning students. I am just starting out in this field and this is my first class in the filed. When I first saw this book I was attracted to the cover and the design. It is a beautiful book and very colorful. This pages are also well presented with color and graphic design. The cover ripped the frist time I opened the book so be carefull with this. Although I'm not a teacher I believe that this book is a good source for education. This book can be used as an everyday clssroom book or as a distance learning text as I'm using it. The publishers have a web site that is full of teacher guides and questions for the students to help them with test and quizes. I believe that this text will become pertanent for educating at the college level.

The second edition of "Solar Engineering..." is a much expanded and updated version of the original, which was already a decent textbook. It covers almost everything there is to know about engineering of solar energy systems, and the presentation is clear and well organized. The division into "basics" and "applications" sections is a very sensible way to get oriented before plunging into the depth of a specific technology, especially since solar thermal applications tend to cover a wide variety of technologies. The gradual and systematic approach makes this book a very good textbook for beginners. The wide scope makes it also a pretty good reference source for practitioners who are looking for a specific bit of information.

The new chapter on photovoltaic cells is a nice touch. While this is not a "thermal process," it is still important for any practitioner of solar thermal to know what's happening in the other corner of the field. A presentation of PV at the level that can be understood by non-physicists is a very welcome addition.

My only complaint is that recent significant developments are not well represented (I guess much of this developed after the book was written, so this complaint is not really aimed at the authors). Topics such as non-imaging concentrators, high-temperature thermal receivers for Brayton cycle, and solar chemistry are either briefly mentioned or absent altogether. The more traditional applications such DHW are of course presented in detail, but their significance to the energy market remains negligible. I would prefer to see more on applications that have the potential to make a major impact. Hopefully this will be included in the next edition...