I now enjoy poetry almost as much as mathematics and physics. I credit my appreciation for poetry to the cumulative effects of three Poetic forces: a Publisher plus Perrine plus Palgrave.

I could not resist the attraction of Dover Publications' Thrift Editions of the poetry of Keats, Wordsworth, Burns, Blake, Shelley, Shakespeare, Marvell, Frost, and many other poets. I began to read poetry for leisure and enjoyment.

Perrine's Sound and Sense, an intriguing text on reading poetry, helped me to recognize poetic forms, structure, sounds, and meanings. I began to see the subtleties and beauty of great poetry.

My discovery of the third force, "The Golden Treasury of the Best Songs and Lyrical Poems in the English Language" by Francis Turner Palgrave, was pure serendipity. I had read some lyrical poetry, some odes, elegies, and sonnets, but I had never explored the full scope of English lyrical poetry.

I clearly recall my excitement in my first reading of Palgrave's collection. I am fortunate that my first extended travels into English poetry were guided by a master. I have since become familiar with several other good anthologies, but Palgrave's remains my favorite.

Palgrave's "The Golden Treasury" has remained continuously in print since 1861, with Oxford University Press editions in 1907, 1909, 1929, 1940, 1964 (Section V added), and 1994 (Section VI added). I have the 1994 edition (sixth). The two additions, Sections V and VI, include a sampling of modern poets. This remarkable anthology is now nearly 700 pages. The font size is large and easy to read.

Palgrave's notes for Books I-IV are good, but many readers, like myself, may need a good dictionary for occasional archaic words and unfamiliar references to Greek and Roman mythology. I have found it quite helpful and entertaining to have a copy of Bulfinch's The Age of Fable nearby. I hope you enjoy Palgrave's selections of the finest poets in the English language as much as I did.

John E. McCosker's "The History of Steinhart Aquarium: A Very Fishy Tale" is a bubble of fresh air in these button-down, briefcase-toting times of government regulation and institutional sameness. Although Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco is the focus, McCosker's most interesting tales are about two of the men who preceded him as director, with room given over to himself and to Robert L. Jenkins whose tenure remains a work in progress. What comes through clearly is that public institutions are only as lively as those who manage them, and that Steinhart's iconoclastic directors would not have played second guitarfish to anyone, including each other.

McCosker recounts his twenty-one years on the hot seat with verve and humor (in 1994 he moved to the Research Chair of Aquatic Biology at the California Academy of Sciences, parent organization of Steinhart). In that time he became known to television viewers for his work on the white shark, described numerous new genera and species of marine organisms, dived the world's oceans, searched for the coelacanth, successfully maintained the first white shark in captivity, and navigated skillfully through a labyrinth of city and institutional politics. And all while on the sunny side of fifty.

The precedent, of course, had been set by Alvin Seale, Steinhart's first director. McCosker writes, "He was a colorful adventurer, explorer, naturalist, and soldier of fortune who could have been the archetypal hero of the Raiders of the Lost Ark, were it not for his strong Quaker upbringing." Crusty and independent, Seale oversaw the design and construction of Steinhart in the early 1920s, finally retiring in 1941. Several interim directors kept the seat warm for Earl S. Herald's appointment in 1948. Only slightly less colorful than Seale, Herald held the reins tightly until age fifty-nine, when he was killed in a diving accident off Baja California. Herald was Steinhart's first TV celebrity as host of the weekly program "Science in Action." He was also author of "Living Fishes of the World," arguably the most reader-friendly book on fishes ever published. His was a tough act to follow.

At age 27, McCosker had recently earned a doctorate from Scripps Institution of Oceanography down the coast at La Jolla. Like Herald, his specialty was fish taxonomy and systematics, but ultimately he did it better than Herald - much better. Smart, charismatic, disarming in manner, McCosker settled into the job a few months after Herald's death in 1973 and never looked back. Any concern that his youth and inexperience might be a liability was assuaged quickly.

Unlike Herald, McCosker apparently delegated freely, allowing his curatorial staff wide latitude to work on new exhibits and husbandry problems. While commendable, this approach often leads to tinkering instead of experimentation. For example, public aquariums started transporting sharks by confining them in watertight boxes and bubbling pure oxygen over their gills. McCosker credits a former Steinhart biologist with perfecting this method, which experimental evidence showed even then to be retrogressive. Since the early 1960s physiologists have known that exposing bony fishes and elasmobranchs to hyperoxic water depresses ventilation rate, inducing hypercapnia. As ventilation rate slows, lactic acid accumulates in the tissues. The subsequent acidosis compromises any ability to expel carbon dioxide, halts oxygen uptake, and signals the impending collapse of aerobic metabolism. Survival of a fish or elasmobranch shipped in hyperoxic water scarcely validates Steinhart's technique, demonstrating instead that misapplied logic is not always fatal to the recipient. After all, many patients in the eighteenth-century lived through repeated bleedings by their physicians.

But McCosker's accomplishment here transcends minor criticisms. Few scientists can produce prose so crisp and light or flesh out their characters with such style and ease. And the stories he recounts bring the old institution to life, warts and all. The salt-saturated walls indeed can talk. In digressions set apart from the main story, McCosker discusses such subjects as the brine shrimp and its first use as fish food by the Steinhart staff, the history of public aquariums, and how Steinhart produces its species labels. Throughout, his text is accompanied by excellent period photographs.

Histories of zoological institutions are seldom interesting, which makes McCosker's effort clearly exceptional. I rate it with the best of its genre, notably "Gathering of Animals: An Unconventional History of the New York Zoological Society" by William Bridges and Christopher Lever's "They Dined on Eland: The Story of the Acclimatisation Societies." The pioneers who built such worthy organizations stood tall and fearlessly spoke their minds. Those who occupy their places today would do well to read about them.

This book blew my hair back as I was reading it.

It turned my parochial understanding of Christianity on it's head and soothed the cynicism I held in my heart toward Christianity.

If you're already a member of the choir, familiar with Rohr and more modern and adult theology, there's nothing I can say to you.

If, however, you're out of the loop like I was this book will change the terrain for you.

There is a lot of language that seemed rather technical or in the vein of Catholic jargon. However, the notions he introduces of what true faith is, the question of being in or out of the system, the system of the church, seeing the universe as sacred, the great chain of being.

These are rich, ancient and vital topics exposed in a new, refreshing and adult way.

Rohr gives us permission, implores us, actually, to put away our crayons and step into an adult understanding of and responsibility for our faith.

I think this book has changed the course of my life.

If you have been called as an "intercessor," long for revival, or have a passion to see the lost saved, you should read John Hyde's biography. Easily read in an hour, this compelling little book can change your life forever.

a wonderful, very well-written biography at the caliber of Flashbacks, by Timothy Leary. It is similarly designed, which is also nice.

This book provides great insights and highly interesting forays that lend respect to a man so worth it.

Lilly was a visionary, a true genius at the cutting edge of science. His influence in the world of human-dolphin communication, environmentalism, physics, psychology and philosophy shall be felt for the duration of this troubled species.

Lilly gave us such hope and wisdom through which, in addition to enhancing our communications with higher mammals, taught us how to relate to one another and our very selves.

I highly recommend the purchase of this sorely underappreciated book and then go tell all your friends. They will thank you in immense ways.

A magical rememberance of our past! Very well written. I highly recommend this book.

There are two things which make this book different. First, the food is a brilliant example of the new style of 'fusion' food of which John Torode, as I understand it, was one of the pioneers. And second, it is beautifully written by Sarah Francis: witty, informative, enticing and clear. I buy a lot of cookbooks and I would rate this one easily in my top 5. The other great thing is that these recipes actually work, which is a major plus for a cookbook, and far from the norm. Torode combines classic ingredients from east and west to create fantastic dishes which seem completely unforced, and yet wonderfully original. One last note, the photos are beautiful, and give a vivd sense of Torode's food. A couple of months ago, the book won the James Beard award.

Dick Francis puts you in the midst of the action. Close your eyes and you are there, smelling the sweat, feeling the adrenalin and the rush of the wind as you hurtle over the fences onto the next adventure. Reading Dick Francis ensures the reader always comes away with a new found knowledge, whether it be photography, veterinary science, painting,skiing, .the list is endless. Once read, you will be chomping at the bit in anticipation of his next masterpiece.

I love these authors! This work was my first introduction to Nemeck and Coombs. Not only is it an excellent introduction to the tenets of St. John of the Cross, it also provides tremendous insight into addiction and attachment, both of which are prevelant in the human condition. Although he lived in the 16c, John of the Cross offers much to contempary Christians interested in being freed from the bondage to self. I highly recommend this, and all books by Nemeck and Coombs.

Like the title says, this is the book (or collection thereof) that started the best (IMHO) comic book series ever. This shows how the GenX kids got together, and it depicts their first adventure together, sadly however, there is one who will not stay with them for very long. A MUST READ for any comic book fan!