From these short stories I got the feeling that William Spencer is good game for taking the place of Ira Levin in popular fiction: Great premises, underdeveloped plot and characters, and plain jane prose.

The man CAN write, I'll admit to that. He drops ingenuous metaphors and literary references. But the stories hardly feel as a whole, just some witty tidbits tied together in a bundle.

Frankly, Spencer sets the trap for himself with his introuction, where he analyzes the state of short fiction as a playground for writers, where stories are used as prose exercises of preciousist writing, with little fun in the tale to tell. He admits by the end that some of his own stories can be held for having the same (un)qualities... but it seems they had a lot more of it than he expected.

So, this is my scorecard:

"The Entomologists at Obala" is, arguably, the most enjoyable of this stories. A minimalist reworking of Romeo and Juliet, with young lovers fighing through family feuds over exotic insect and aracnid species.

"Looking out for Eleanor" is a psychological suspense story, and the lenghtiest story in the book. That may be key to its success, for it allows the characters to develop their traits and the plot to move at a pleasurable pace.

Spencer adds three literary exercises in character description through metaphor: "The Wedding Photographer in Crisis", "Pep Talk" and "Snow". They may need to be read more than once to sink in, because they somehow feel flat.

There are also three tales I could envision featured in "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", exercises in twist ending: "Haunted by the Horror King", "The Return of Count Electric" and "Best Man". Sadly, by the time the twist came I was expecting it, and failed to shock me.

Lastly, there are "Graven Images", "A Child's Christmas in Florida" and "Daughter Doom", tales where several elements are left intentionally obscure, and which I found to be the most disappointing from the whole lot.

As I said, Spencer can write, and this book may keep you entertained as you read it. But you shouldn't be surprised if, like me, you finish it feeling nothing really happend while you were at it.

This guy is really funny and dark at the same time. His style flows and is really easy to read. I don't usually like stuff that's this 'normal' but I plan on reading everything this guy has. By normal I don't mean boring I mean there were no 'fantastic' elements in it like magic or monsters, just people and situations. I thought almost all the stories were very original but the last two were definitely the worst. I think I will like his novels even more than his short stories.

Larsen's /Embryology/ is not a very good embryology book at all: it has little overall organization, lots of pedantic and unclear language, and does not convey much of anything concisely. Reading it is the same as reading a laundry list of terms. If you want to get a good embryology book, this one is **definitely** NOT the one.

I am professor of Embryology and I like this book because it covers all the itens. This is an update book: It covers the molecular aspects of this beautifull science.

This book covers the basics of embryology including outstanding diagrams. In places, it has too much detail, but it is very well written and the illustrations (essential for learning embryology) are beautiful.

I found this book exremely biased, especially on its treatment of ethics and environmentalism, which were extremely collectivistic and altruistic. I felt like I was also overcharged for the text book, for something so vaguely written.

Most textbooks do a very poor job of addressing current issues in a clear, accurate, concise manner. This book, however, is to be commended. I especially found the resource information and discussion cases to be a tremendous benefit. The discussion questions and current event topics encourage the students to explore these issues outside of class, in their businesses and in the community. Business and society is a topic of extreme importance. Unfortunately, it often goes overlooked in so many universities and colleges. Overall, I rank this book as a worthwhile investment and hope the authors continue to explore these important issues in business and education.

The book is a analysis method database which contains a total of about 1700 analyte/method summaries involved in waters and soli waste analysis. The analytical methods were listed according to chemical names or CAS number in order to consult.In this point,it is more reasonable to published in electronic or web edtion. EPA's Air Compendium Methods were not included in the book. Because of continuing updated EPA methods,the book ofen need to be revised.

Lawrence Quirk and William Schoell's "essential" biography of Joan Crawford is short on biographical detail, and much more a study of Crawford's films and performances then her life.And even at that, it's full of inaccuracies. With two authors, you would have thought at least one of them would have done their homework and verified their facts. But there are some glaring mistakes.In their description of THE WOMEN (1939), they state that Mary Haines (Norma Shearer) goes to Nevada for a divorce where she encounters new friend Peggy Dow (Joan Fontaine). But Peggy is part of Mary's circle of friends right from the start of the film, and travels WITH Mary to Nevada. She doesn't encounter her there.The book states Victor Buono's daffy Cockney mother in WHAT EVER HAPPEND TO BABY JANE (1962) was played by Anna Lee. The lovely and beautiful British actress Anna Lee plays the Hudson sisters neighbor, Mrs. Bates. Buono's mother is played by character actress Marjorie Bennett.The book claims Crawford had a low opinion of Janis Paige during the making of THE CARETAKERS (1963), probably because Paige was "the kind of pretty, rising starlet" that she found threatening and not generally professional. But Paige had been starring in movies since 1946 as a Warner Brothers contract actress. She may not have reached Crawford's heights of stardom, but she was an established and professional actress, and far from a rising starlet by 1963.With such obvious errors, it's hard to take this book seriously.

I just finished reading this "essential" biography and am so disappointed. To me, one of the authors seems to feel a saintliness toward Joan while the other goes from liking her films to trying to like her films. As I read this book, I felt like Quirk and Schoell were trying to convince me about aspects of Crawford's personality and events in her life and believe about them as they do. The job of a biographer is to write an objective narrative of someone's life. It is enjoyable reading but unfulfilling given the subject. One annoyance is encountering the phrase "chewing up the scenery" way too often. Then, there's the bombshell finale chapter in which Christina is put in the pan and roasted. The writing is almost like Faye as Joan - out of control!

I have been a Crawford fan all my life and am fascinated watching her in films, looking at her photographs and reading about her. If only someone in modern times would...could write an accurate objective biography that delves more into the woman, what she was about, what made her tick and NOT try to make her a saint or crucify her. Joan Crawford truly was one of the most fascinating personalities of the Twentieth Century. She deserves that much.

So, I guess we'll have to stick with JOAN CRAWFORD, A BIOGRAPHY by Bob Thomas or JOAN CRAWFORD: THE LAST WORD by Fred Guiles in the meantime. These two biographies are really good, and I highly recommend them.

While I enjoyed this book's thorough discussions of Crawford's films, I found much to be annoyed by. The authors portray Crawford as nearly a saint--and while I know she was capable of great kindness, I don't believe her motives were ALWAYS pure, and the one-sidedness of this book makes it difficult to swallow. EVERY SINGLE TIME the authors bring up a dispute or spat or negative information from a Crawford rival, they dismiss that person as jealous or washed up or a has-been. Similarly, they dismiss her "jealous" daughter's claims of child abuse as some kind of good old-fashioned "discipline." I don't claim to know whether Mommie Dearest contains a shred of truth or not, but this book does nothing to prove it as inaccurate as they claim. The main source of information here is Lawrence Quirk's own conversations with Joan in her elder years, and let's face it, anybody who's ever read Joan's "My Way of Life" knows that truth-telling is not her forte.

A more balanced biography is Fred Lawrence Guiles's The Last Word (1995). Guiles, at least, is not afraid to discuss unpleasant incidents in Crawford's life from several different viewpoints, and he refrains from opinionizing whenever the truth is unclear.

I purchased this book for an undergraduate psych course, "Psychology & the Law". As I have a BA in psychology, I've read quite a few psychology textbooks in the past few years, and this might possibly be the worst of the bunch.

Generally, the book is somewhat disorganized and the chapters don't really seem to flow together. The text gives the feeling that the reader is jumping from topic to topic without any sense of cohesion between the chapters. The authors try to bind the sections together with the running theme of dilemmas in the legal system, but this strategy just strikes me as contrived, especially since some of the so-called dilemmas are rather commonsensical. Also, the authors' writing style is lacking, and I find myself with many questions after reading the chapter - certain topics just aren't explained very well, or very efficiently, for that matter.

Overall, I think the textbook is adequate for teaching the material but I'm convinced that it can't be the best choice out there. As a fellow reviewer mentioned, the text mentions nothing in regards to rehab of criminals, which seems like a huge oversight (after all, isn't rehabilitation half the battle?). So please, PLEASE, if you're a professor who's considering using this text to teach your class - DON'T!

I bought this book for a course entitled Psychology and the Law, which I am taking as an elective course, and not as part of my areas of concentration. Although I am a Sociology and Women's Studies major, you don't need to be a feminist (or even a sociologist for that matter), to see where this book is lacking vital information on the criminal justice system, and on rehabilitation techniques used in North America.

As a Canadian student, I did find this book useful, although it is primarily focused on the American model of criminal justice. The basic theories and ideologies are pretty much the same for both Canada and the United States, so in that respect, the information is still valuable. Some Chapters of interest to sociologists, law students and forensic psychologists alike are entitled "Lawyers: Socialization, Training and Ethics" , "Theories of Crime" , "Forensic Assesment I & II" , "Jury Trials I & II" , "Psychology of Victims" , "The Rights of Special Groups" and "Punnishment and Sentencing". What seems to be lacking in these chapters, upon quick glance, is that there are no questions at the end, just a quick summary and a list of key terms. Personally, I find I perform better on an exam when there are questions left unanswered at the end of a chapter (gets the ol' wheels in my noggin' turning away ...), but for whatever reason, there isn't any. Also, the glossary doesn't contain all the the 'key terms' at the end of a chapter so sometimes you have to use another psychological or legal dictionary to find the definitions.

Another critical area that is lacking in this book, is any research from a feminist perspective. There is a paragraph here and there regarding 'feminist jurisprudence' and a brief mention of Carol Gilligan's conception of women's moral development, which, by the way, has paved the way for many rehabilitative programs not only in North America but world-wide. There is no mention of this ANYWHERE in the book, even though empirical evedince has proven that rehabilitative techniques of this nature are for more successful in preventing criminals from repeat offences. Also, many of the theories of crime are outdated (a good number of them are biological theories) and there are NO theories of female criminality what-so-ever. The critiques feminists have made of these male-dominated theoreis are not listed. Apparently women just don't break the law!

All in all, it's a good read if you're a student in the field, but remember to think objectively and keep an open mind. It does take a kind of male-oriented pro-punnishment type angle but it you can look past these details and remind yourself that this is only one point of view, it does provide alot of information. To top it all off, the examples used to demonstrate the points in the book are all fairly recent, like the O.J. Simpson trials, debates on censorship on the internet as well as debates on doctor-assisted suicide. It's a book I plan to keep on my shelf throughout my studies, but not one I can really say was "remarkable" or "accurate". I'll likely reach for this book when I need a more traditional opinion for a gender studies assignment with regard to the law ... it only emphasizes one side of the story.

Sweetwater and Gunslinger are the cllsigns of the crew of an F-14 fighter which was, when this book came out, the US Navy's top interceptor. While two-man aircews should be enough to generate the structure around which can be built a great aviation novel (like "Flight of the Intruder"), it's wasted here as we watch the two engage in the sort of antics popularized in Top Gun while the top brass watches powerless, and aged admirals watch wishing they could be young nuggets again. Much of the novel is episodic, and not written very well, following the boys as their aircraft carrier charts the expected hostile waters, but we never feel as is we are actually there. The airplanes aren't fully realized, nor are the struggles of becoming a proficient aviator made out well enough to describe the charachters and why their superiors tolerate them. Ditch this book for anything else by Coonts.

Althoug I enjoyed this book it was more of a collection of short stories with a connecting theme than a real novel. The main charachter "Sweetwater" is not featured quite as much as the title suggests and many of the other charachters are not described enough to give you a clear picture of them. I laughed at several spots an d at the end wasnt too dissapointed.....

I bought this on the strength of an Amazon.com review and I must say I'm sorry I did. Lucky I bought a ... copy. Neither story caught/held my interest; none of the characters seemed fresh or interesting & the storylines were tired out, too. Same old, same old in my opinion. Cathy Williams' story was more boring than Kim Lawrence's.

This book has two different stories from two good authors. Both stories deal with secretaries and their boss's. The first story is titled "Baby and the Boss" by Kim Lawrence. Nia has a strictly professional relationship with her boss Jake Prentice. Their professional start's to become personal when Jake finds himself left with a baby to care for, so he turns to Nia. He then starts to realize that Nia could be so much more then just his secretary.
The second story is titled "Assignment: Seduction" by Cathy Williams. Robert has respected his secretary Mellisa's need to have a strict "only professional relationship" but that soon starts to change when they on an assignment at the Caribbean. Both of these stories are good but my personal favorite is the "Assignment: Seduction"

This has some good discussion of general pneumatic principles, but it is focused on how pneumatics were used in 1919. It does not appear to have been updated to reflect current uses of pneumatics, or the current implementation practices. If you are looking for a book with current applications, I would look elsewhere.

Overall, it is easy book to read but you could really tell that each chapter was written by a different person. Some chapters are good but others are really poor. The end of the chapter tests were way too easy compared to the actual test. It has an incredible number of mistakes and typos especially in the calculation of subnet masking. I went round in circles and wasted so much time trying to figure out why I could never get a question correct. I think this book has a second edition that I hope is better. Avoid this book and you will be a much happier person.

OK! I know there are a lot of mistakes...especially for the beginner like me...I am really confused by this book because of its unnecessary mistakes...but, I really like the chapter 2...it's very easy to understand the ARP...IP or ICMP..However, I got confused on the chapter 5 with the wrong route table...Man, I hope it would be better when it come to the second edition!

I am using this book to upgrade my TCP/IP 3.5 to TCP/IP 4.0. I am already a CNE, NCIP, and MCSE. I'm working towards my MCSE+I. This book is a first print (or close to) of a TECHNICAL book. It will have errors! On New Riders' web site, they have a page with corrections which you can print out. I used these corrections as I went through the book. The CONTENT of this book is great and on target. I give four stars because I know from my past education, experience and my knowledge of what is expected on the exam that is book is key! Minus one star for the errors which DON'T affect the content due to the corrections page, but hopefully will be gone in the next print. MCP Magazine also did ratings on the best TCP/IP study book and THIS BOOK WON!