Yep, I think if I had to take one book on weather for a sailor, then this would be it. I really like the sequence with which he presents his topics, which makes it easy to follow. Loads of examples, weather fax charts, etc., which makes it easy to compare to current stuff and see what's going on out there. I love it.

This is the best weather prediction guide I've seen. Michael Carr makes it easy to understand and interpret weather prediction models and provides plenty of examples so you can make sense of those satellite images available online! Not only that, he applies his extensive blue water sailing experience in helping to identify appropriate tactics for heavy weather avoidance. I wouldn't go to sea without it.

Michael Carr explains weather better than anyone I know. He uncomplicates the theory, makes sense out of the details and variables, and presents this often-too-technical subject in a friendly, easy to understand way. Read this book and the logic of weather falls clearly in place -- through the authors clear descriptions, excellent graphics and extensive resources.

I have read every Elric novel. I own 500 kilos of fantasy paperbacks. This book brought me as much joy, inspiration and satisfaction as any book I have ever read. Elric was the first "evil" hero. Every fantasy writer has taken a peice of elric to produce their characters. Drizt Do'urden is a shadow of Elric. Raistlen is almost an exact copy of Elric. Darth vader's sinister life, dependence on technology/sorcery and eventual noble self sacrifice are in mimicry of Elric. In this book so many authors who wanted to write Elric stories, some who had made great fame and fortune copying Moorcock, were given licence to write as they pleased. Every short story in the book is its authors best work because as they write about their own dark heros in their own novels they are thinking about Elric. My highest praise: I want a sequel.. or two... or ten... a series published monthly untill I am old and grey.

Elric, last Prince of Melnibone. Elric makes you feel that your right there with him and drawing the from the dreaded runsword Stormbringer, all his pain,sorrow,grief you feel it all. This pale,weak being could be any of us, and yet it`s his weakness that gives him the strainth to weld such enormus power and to control the uncontrolable. Elric will make you cry, make you feel that you could defeat the Lords of Chaos your self and forever will you bare some of his burden. Your life will never be the same, the way you look at things such as the ocean will change and you`ll catch yourself try to summon the water element himself. For such a being to exist in your mind alone is enough.

Elric of Melnibone' represents a departure from the era of Tarzan and Conan, giving people a dark prince for a protagonist. This book helps put together a group of stories written for the first time by other authors and show how dynamic Michael Moorcock's Elric really is.

This is, quite honestly, a hefty tome, but no less may be expected when writing about the greatest American physician who ever lived. Bliss presents us with a detailed, well-paced, and engaging biography of Dr. Osler, from his childhood days in Canada to his final years at Oxford. Being both a student of medicine and a Baltimorean (currently), I took a special interest to the chapters devoted to his post as the first chief of medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Unlike the time-honored work by Cushing, Bliss's book is no hagiography; it makes no false overtures about Dr. Osler's iconic grandeur, instead letting the reader discover for himself (or herself) that Dr. Osler was, in fact, as great a man as people say he was. (All that being said, I still value the two-volume Cushing biography, and there is no way I will rid myself of the precious first-edition set I snatched up last year at the Maryland Historical Society bookshop!)

One need not practice Oslerolatry (that is, the veritable worship of Dr. Osler expressed by many of the older faculty at Hopkins and elsewhere) to appreciate this book, though having an interest in medicine and/or medical history may help. Critics often lament that American doctors no longer have any professional integrity, and that taking the Hippocratic Oath is a sham. Read this book, and discover how great the American physician can be...and THEN lament that they don't make them like they used to.

Any attempt to describe the life of such an illustrious personage, as one could imagine must be a rather daunting task. However, Michael Bliss's smooth-flowing rendering of Dr. William Osler's life is made not only manageable, but a sheer joy to read.

Of course this book will be compared with the innumerable number of other writings about William Osler, most notably of course the Cushing version. And Bliss clearly acknowledges the plethora of carefully collected documentations and personal correspondences that Cushing had accumulated in crafting his tale. However, I think this book stands on its own as a unique rendering of Osler mainly because of one simple fact. Bliss has had the luxury of time on his side to not just document the time and lives and the state of Medicine in the late 19th century, but most importantly, he relates it to the current, modern day state of affairs in those areas as well. He has woven a story that encompasses through the life of the great Osler, the tremendous influences of 19th medicine on modern day medicine. Even if one is not in the health-related professions or the biomedical sciences, one cannot miss the fact that this is a book as much about humanism as it is about medicine.

Biography, like history is riddled with biases, especially if it is about people and events that have revolutionazied mankind. This is particularly so in regards to William Osler, whose life and work have been immortalized, and a man who had acheived a legendary status even during his own life time. Bliss's work is as unbiased as it could possibly be given the already intrinsic biases about his subject. In this sense, this book is also unique from the previous biographies of Osler.

Overall, this is a most enjoyable read. This is definitely a "page-flipper" that takes you into the life, struggles, and triumps not only of Osler, but in a sense, of the entire human race.

I was not an unbiased reader when I picked this up -a graduating medical student about to begin a medical residency. There is a minimum of technical medicine in this biography -it reads more like a novel, filled with Osler's own writing. Bliss poured through his technical papers, his speaches, letters and medical jokes (published under the pseudoname Eagerton Y Davis) and gives us a taste of what an incredible man he must have been. Full of energy, a mind constantly at work, yet a tender-hearted soul who was a pioneer in the art of medicine, of making the doctor-patient relationship warm and empathetic in an era when this was unpopular. Bliss reveals that this is a person we should remember and who's example we all should take to heart: diligent work, a positive attitude, and concern for humanity made manifest each day in one's daily living. Read this book!

Tuning appropriately dedicates _Fuzzy Bones_ to "Anubis, the guide from the first life to the second life" - this is, after all, the first book about the Fuzzies of Zarathustra to be written by anyone other than their creator, H. Beam Piper. At the time _Fuzzy Bones_ first saw the light of day - December, 1981 - Piper had published two Fuzzy novels, _Little Fuzzy_ and _Fuzzy Sapiens_; in the nature of things, _Fuzzy Bones_ contains massive spoilers for both of them, since it picks up a continuing cast of characters at a turning point in Zarathustran history.

However, _Fuzzy Bones_ is *NOT* in sync with Piper's 3rd Fuzzy novel, because Piper's tragic death in 1964 left his estate in such a mess that the manuscript of _Fuzzies and Other People_ wasn't located and published until 1984, 3 years after _Fuzzy Bones_. Consequently, Tuning's projected results for the trial of Diamond's kidnappers and the ultimate fate of Hugo Ingermann, the sleazy lawyer who controls the Zarathustran underworld (mainly Mallorysport, its only full-fledged city) differ from Piper's actual resolution.

Since Ingermann is a major character in _Fuzzy Bones_, that portion of the plot makes this an alternate history of Piper's Zarathustra instead of a seamless continuation. Apart from that - something Tuning couldn't have foreseen - he's done well in taking up Piper's mantle, and the flavor of his writing is close enough to Piper's to satisfy a craving for a new Piper story. At 47 chapters, it's about twice as long as any single Piper Fuzzy novel, but there's no makeweight.

Tuning picks up 6 months after the end of _Fuzzy Sapiens_, starting with the 3 first-class passengers aboard _City of Asgard_ in the wake of the immigration boom triggered by the Pendarvis Decisions of _Little Fuzzy_. None of the 3 is a typical colonist, if there is such a thing, and each is a hook providing a window on a different section of Zarathustra, in addition to the regular cast inherited from earlier books. Master Gunnie Philip Helton's en route to Xerxes to see that the naval base is up to scratch in case of further civil unrest, given the changeover in colonial government and the sudden influx of immigrants - many of whom will wind up broke and desperate on finding that the loss of the Company charter hasn't paved the streets of Mallorysport with gold, even though much of the planet is now technically public domain. The Rev (Helton pegs him as an ex-marine) has been sent by his immediate boss to a) get him as far away as possible and b) to set up the first soup kitchen/mission on Zarathustra. Any planet settled for 25 years is bound to have a slum, immigration boom or no. (In Mallorysport, it's Junktown, and mostly owned by Hugo Ingermann.) The last of the 3 first-class passengers is also travelling for "business" reasons - Christiana Stone, taking up the oldest profession after being callously abandoned by her fiancee when she asked for help for her father.

Christiana's basically a good egg, just young and naive - she has to grow up rapidly after trying to make a living in Mallorysport without knuckling under to Ivan Bowlby's control of prostitution. (We don't actually *see* Christiana doing anything "on-stage"; there aren't any explicit sex scenes in the story, although there's one mutual seduction.) After learning of her father's death within a month of her arrival on Zarathustra, Christiana has sense enough to ask the Rev for advice, and gets temp work at the Charterless Zarathustra Company. Not that the CZC is so breezy about security clearances as to take someone they can't background check in less than the year's turnaround-time it takes to communicate with Earth; she's just hired to help arrange the wedding of CEO Victor Grego's current Fuzzy-Sitter-in-Chief, Sandra. After Grego meets Christiana at the reception - explaining basic genetics to the Fuzzies, who want to know why she's strawberry-blonde but Sandra's red-haired, having noticed that humans vary much more in looks than Fuzzies do - Grego, in his usual "scientific selection" process, hires his new Fuzzy-Sitter-in-Chief on the spot. Quite typically, he overrides his security chief's protests about background checks...not knowing that he's hired a blackmail risk.

The "Fuzzy bones" of the title relate to the many anomalies Piper quite deliberately not only introduced in the Fuzzies' background, but (metaphorically) flagged with flashing red lights. Why are the Fuzzies present on only one continent on Zarathustra, and why have they left so few traces in the fossil record? They're not only considered super-sane and stable, but possibly *more* intelligent than humans - but they have only low-paleolithic technology. Why do they have a critical need for trace amounts of titanium in their diet - something *very* scarce on Zarathustra?

At the same time the Fuzzyologists are working on a better understanding of Fuzzies, their diet-related fertility problems, culture, and language, Colonial Governor Ben Rainsford has to cope with a Constitutional Convention whose foot-dragging has held up electing a legislature - without a legislature, the new Class-IV government can't levy taxes, and they've been running on the CZC's goodwill for nearly a year now. (He'd dearly like to shoot a couple of the worst of the delegates so that the survivors would get a grip.) The longer they stall, the worse the unemployment problem and lack of support systems among the immigrants in Mallorysport will get, and Zarathustra has some pretty grim examples in Federation history of what happens when a planet's economy and government collapse together. And always there's Hugo Ingermann in the background, pulling strings in the criminal underworld and looking to come out on top.

I recommend reading Little Fuzzy and The Other Human Race (consolidated in Fuzzy Papers, or available singly if you can find them) first. They are written by H Beam Piper, and followed nicely by Mr Tuning.
The series is good for all ages, and gives us perspective and food for thought on making room for all species.

Recently, I acquired a copy of The Complete Fuzzy and was confused. The story simply was not as I remembered it, from first reading the Fuzzy books years ago. The reason, of course, is that I had read every Fuzzy book I could get my hands on. Fuzzy Bones had completed the story so well that it had become an integral part of H. Beam Piper's universe -- to the extent that I was unaware Piper hadn't written it! This really is a "true" Fuzzy book, regardless of who wrote it.

An excellent, full color and clearly laid out guide to nearly every drug on the market today, illegal, recreational, and medicinal. Lots of photographs, quotes from people who have used the drugs, side effects, addiction and safety information, charts and graphs. This book was a help to me both for researching a book I was writing and for looking up the drugs my 89-year-old grandmother is taking for her pain.

I highly recommend this book.

Note: I have not seen the newest edition - I borrowed the former (3rd) edition of this book (published 1997)...but it's SO good I'm contemplating the purchase of my own copy...but it's a GREAT book...I have paged through countless books of this and other types - this one is vastly superior to anyting else I've seen. It is complete and honest. Quite admirably, it is executed without a pro or anti-drug agenda, it is (in my opinion) a truly unbiased and informative work on the subject of psychoactive chemicals. It covers their history, use, effects, abuse, dependence, tolerance, and withdrawl.
The '97 edition was very well organized. It included all the right details - a skillful balance between completeness, efficiency in conveying the necessary details, and ease of reading (agreeably medium density material). It is a comprehensive work, suitable for both browsing and reference.

I haven't seen the newest, 4th edition (year 2000), but the 1997 edition was bettered in every way, by the inclusion of anonymous, convincing, informative accounts of recovering addicts. Those really shed light on the drug experience, lifestyle, highs and lows alike...it is very easy reading - Dr. Inaba (and his colleagues) have written an excellent work: informative, comprehensive, accessible, and entertaining (with tasteful humor).
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about psychoactive drugs and their many facets; whether you're trying to understand your teenager, experimenting yourself, or self-educating as a policy-analysis primer... this is the book for you.

Note: this book does not include information on the preparation of any "drugs", it is strictly an educational reference, not a drug user's guide.

It is a 10/10...

This book was used as textbook in my addiction studies courses at Oxnard Community College, instructed by Bill Shilley. It is an excellent source of information. I bought it again to update info from the second edition I have.

David Griebner offers wonderful short stories that are almost Zenlike, but are rooted in Christian faith. His stories, like koans, take us on the road of discovery to gain a sense of the self within, the sense of self that lives beneath the many artifices that we construct.

His stories are short, quiet, meant to be read slowly, and especially, to be read one at a time. Do not read this little volume in one sitting, though certainly that is possible. Rather, read one story, chew it, savor it, and understand how it connects with your life's journey.

Griebner's stories evoke in me Dag Hammarskjold's words of gratitude:
"For all that has been--Thanks!
To all that shall be--Yes" (*Markings*, p. 95)

This book is a great book for christans. It has many inperational stories for all ages.

David takes us away from our everyday cares with a set of stories which show the depth of love being offered to us by God. Wonderful reading for spiritual growth.

The last of the four Sherlock Holmes novels, and one of the two best. It contains more detection in its first section than The Hound of the Baskervilles, with Holmes (off-stage for much of The Hound) actively investigating the murder at Birlstone, and drawing his ever-fascinating deductions from raincoats and dumb-bells; indeed it is the only pure detective story among the four, with the reader given every opportunity to solve the crime. Although the solution is justly famous, it is but a variation on "The Norwood Builder," at much greater length. The second half of the tale concerns the doings of the Pinkerton agent Birdy Edwardes in the eponymous Valley, terrorised by the Freemasons, a gripping and powerful account which is perhaps of greater interest than the detection.

'The Valley of Fear'. A real page turner but what makes it most memorable for me is not that Holmes is at his best, but Conan Doyle is. After reading this book I recommend you to read this book because it was a suspense story. The whole story moves around Mcginty who was a big criminal in the valley of vermisa also called the valley of fear. There was only one person who could face to that criminal and his name was Jack McMurdo. He behaved as a gangster and he had taken many risks in his life and he was not afraid to take more risks. Don't miss 'The Valley of Fear'. It's terrifying, exciting, and best of all, real.

I have read all of the Holmes tales many times, and I think this one reigns supreme. I believe that was also Doyle's opinion. It is the finest detective story I have ever read, masterfully composed. The Vermissa Valley section builds to the most shocking moment I've ever experienced in literature.

It's the most complet guide of parrots and raptors publicated in the world.

This has been a great book for reference. It is very organized. I wrote a report about a Scarlet Macaw and it was a big help. I hope bird-lovers everywhere read this book!

My mother bought me this book for my tenth birthday and my appreciation of it has grown each year as I am now twenty. As a child I enjoyed it's fantastic illustrations and as an adult I've used it as a reference in my college research papers. I recomend it highly to anyone of any age with a love for parrots.

Pat Williams really blends everything from Jordan's life, his life and quotes from alomst every sports legend and even quotes from people who are not a sportsmen. This book really projects the success of Jordan's life as a whole, from the values instilled in him and his own character. It also stresses the most, Jordan's mental strength and capacity [which I admire the most], his ability to withstand immense amounts of mental pressure, soaking up the challenge and relishing every form of competition on and off the court. The quotes inside are really good and applicable and they also explain what made Jordan and other atheletes who are considered legends in their own field of work. It combines the whole of Jordan's life, mostly off court, with snippets of Jordan's life on court, how he felt during the time he had to take a game-winning shot or before a crucial match. Pat Williams really stretched himself in getting all the information compiled into this book. All the values in the book really will push you to work harder and as long as you will be willing to live by these values. For those hard-core basketball fans out there, it is the greatest book written as far as I have read, (I have read alot of books, probably more than a 40 year old person has) in terms of values and things you could do to help yourself improve on and off the court. In terms of statistics of Jordan, how many points he had a game, rebounds, stuff like that, you won't get it here but it has great, applicable values which are more than useful. As I close, I would like to end off with what Jordan said, " The tougher you are on yourself, the easier life will be on you."

"How To Be Like Mike" is the best book I've ever read it offers so much insight on the life of Micheal Jordan.I always knew alot about M.J. but now I know a lot more.The best parts are the little stories about games and conversasions he had with coaches,players,and other people "How To Be Like Mike" is a classic for anyone striving for sucess.

You don't have to be a basketball fan to love HOW TO BE LIKE
MIKE: LIFE LESSONS ABOUT BASKETBALL'S BEST by Pat
Williams with Michael Weinreb . . . it is an inspiring book, relevant
to just about anybody . . . parents as well as their children will
enjoy it; so will employers and their employees.

Williams, one of the country's top motivational speakers and senior
vice president of the Orlando Magic, conducted over 1,500 interviews
with those who know Michael Jordan best . . . he then boiled down
what they said into the habits that are needed to succeed . . . these
include such things as focus, passion, perseverance, teamwork,
and leadership.

I particularly liked the many examples taken from the lives of
Jordan, the author and many other unique people . . . in addition,
there were thought-provoking quotes sprinkled throughout the
book.

There were so many memorable passages that it is difficult
to choose just a few to highlight here . . . but among them
were the following:
[on how Williams is perceived]
I am known to those around me as a rather enthusiastic
person--a notion that most probably consider a vast understatement.
Throughout the course of my career in the front office in both
minor-league baseball and the NBA, my energy has led me to some
rather odd precipes. Wrestling bears, for instance. Or overseeing
the most disappointing trained pig act in the history of Philadelphia's
sports. Or donning a sweaty mascot's suit. All for the sake of
entertainment.

Some might call me crazy. I call it a surplus of joy. And I just
happen to believe you should have enough of a surplus to fill a
Wall-Mart.

It's something I learned from my mentor, a one-legged baseball
executive named Bill Veeck, who earned a measure of fame for
having the courage and ingenuity to let a midget bat during a
major-league baseball game. Veeck was the sort of man who
slept two hours a night, whose head exploded with ideas. He
was flush with energy. He relished interaction, and he savored
the small pleasures of his life in baseball. And of his life outside
of baseball. When Bill died in 1986, sports columnist Thomas
Boswell wrote: "Cause of death--life."

[on attaining success]
A magazine called NATION'S BUSINESS once surveyed its
readers, attempting to extract the top ten businesspeople
America had poured forth in its first two hundred years. The list
included the names you'd expect: Edison, Henry Ford, Alexander

Graham Bell. But what's interesting is that while each of the ten
choices were involved in highly competitive businesses--often
cited as a cause of health problems--they lived ripely to an
average age of eighty-seven.

Another survey polled 241 executives on the traits that most helped
workers to become a success. More than 80 percent listed
"enthusiasm." Second, at 63 percent, was a "can-do attitude."

[Jordan in discussion with Bobby Knight at the Olympics]
The uSA led Spain by twenty-seven points at half-time, and
Knight leaned over to Jordan and shouted at him, as a ploy
to avoid a second-half slump. "When are you going to set
some screens?"

Jordan smiled, "Coach," he said, "didn't I read some place you
said I was the quickest player you ever coached?"

"Yeah," Knight said. "What's that got to do with it?"

"Coach, I set those screens faster than you could see them."

As usual with Dummies books, this one is a good foundation for using the subject matter, and fun to read. However, too much time is spent on the differences between MAC OS whatever and OS X. Some of us didn't have a MAC before OS X and we don't care about the differences. We are coming from Windows and we want to know all we can about the MAC OS X and the UNIX underpinnings. That is what makes OS X exciting. I like this book, and found it very useful for specific questions that were not too complex, but there is too much about programs out there that cost too much that you can buy as add ons. I want to know how to use the OS and the features it came with more than what to spend even more money purchasing. Still, this book is very good and easier for many people than some of the other books out there.

This book is perfect for every Mac owner who wants guidance with the Mac's Jaguar OS. The authors keep things light, even entertaining and there's nothing missing. Check out the index pages and you'll see what I mean.

Make sure you try out the tips, they're the best part of the book!

I think this book will answer the questions and dole out the tips that anyone needs when they first run Jaguar. Read it from end to end like I did and the gurus might even learn a thing or 2. At last I am enjoying the iLife programs that I got with my system and things are running just like I like them in preferences. Invest the time to read it all and you'll appreciate this book like I do.