Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Book reviews for "Zaharopoulos,_George_K." sorted by average review score:

Pete's a Pizza
Published in Hardcover by Live Oak Media (2000)
Authors: William Steig and George Guidall
Amazon base price: $25.95
Collectible price: $6.35
Average review score:

A book to treasure.
My wife and I are currently expecting our first baby, so we've been prowling the children's sections of bookstores putting together a little library. Of the books we've bought so far, "Pete's a Pizza" is definitely our favorite. We truly love this book; it's sweet and funny and the illustrations are wonderful. We can't wait to read it to our little one -- and to play "pizza" with her as well!

Good, simple fun.
This book is an easy read with expressive pictures. Pete's father plays a game with him to cheer him up and his mother soon joins in. It is a sweet family moment, where the family uses lots of imagination. At first, I didn't see the charm in this book. But my three year old twins liked it. They started requesting it more and more often. And I enjoyed reading it each time. It is a "feel good" book. (And, for me, the price of the book is worth just hearing my toddlers say "Pete's a Pizza!") Since my children are so delighted with Pete being made into a pizza, and then seeing the "pizza" run away, I think I will have to try making them into a pizza soon.

Family fun in a delightful picture book for children.
Pete's in a bad mood because the rain has spoiled his plans to play ball with his friends. His father decides to cheer him up by making him into a pizza. As his mother looks on dubiously, he proceeds to lay Pete on the table, knead him, stretch him, and twirl him in the air. Mom joins in the fun as he adds the oil (water), flour (talcum powder), tomatoes (checkers!), and cheese (paper). After some teasing and tickling, the pizza is ready to come out of the oven, and the sun, too, is ready to come out. A chase and a hug, and the pizza marches out the door with his football; all is well with the world. Steig's simple illustrations are worth a thousand words; the expressions on the character's faces tell all. What a treat to see such playful, loving parents sharing a game that the author himself used to play with his youngest daughter.


The Frigid Mistress: Life and Exploration in Antarctica
Published in Hardcover by American Literary Press (1999)
Author: George A. Doumani
Amazon base price: $24.95
Used price: $3.85
Collectible price: $35.00
Buy one from zShops for: $3.84
Average review score:

A fascinating story of hardship, accomplishment, endurance.
Dr. Doumani has written the best kind of an adventure tale. It is the story of hardship and scientific accomplishments, of human response to extreme and harsh conditions. But unlike so many adventure tales,the activity was not for self aggrandizement or promotion; it was a product of the need to collect scientific information about an area (Antarctica)of which little was then known. In 1957, at the start of the International Geohysical Year, more than half that frozen continent had never been seen by a human eye. Dr. Doumani takes the reader through several years of Antarctic exploration, but the emphasis is on the human aspect, on the behavior of individuals under stress of the severe climate and isolation in the most inhospitable of continents. This is not nature warm and fuzzy, but nature that will kill the unwary and guards its secrets well. The book is a tribute to the men, and I include the author, who collected the information and did the science while braving the hazards in spite of the toll it often took on their lives and their families. Also it contains descriptions of technology and ligistics utilized some 40 years ago, during a period of intense Antarctic exploration, and of the research and scientific discoveries of that time. I highly recommend this book on two counts: for the scientific discoveries that it describes, and for the human drama necessary to accomplish those discoveries.

A Forbidden, Wondrous Continent
Every so often an author creates a book that propels one through time into a place where we can measure how far we have come and how arduous was the journey. Dr. Doumani has created such a work. Antarctica is a place as foreign to me as the moon or outer space, yet through skillful narrative with wholly human contacts and foibles, this geologist has given us all a vivid texture of a forbidden, wondrous continent. A place that I doubt I shall ever experience first hand but one which I feel has come to life through this book's fascinating story of early exploration. It is scientific without being burdensome, compelling without being pretentious, delightful and funny yet captivating in mystery and danger. Why do we want to have such a book by our side? As Dr. Doumani states: "One conquest was not enough. It never is. It is...a response to a challenge, a decisive test of man's endurance" which will always bind and attract us as long as our curiousity and love of life continue.

A fascinating tale of courage and endurance
Dr. Doumani's book is well-written and a joy to read. As a young man I was excited by reading about Paul Siple, the Boy Scout on Admiral Byrd's expedition to Antarctica several decades ago. Since then I have been fascinated by adventure and scientific pursuit in Antarctica. Dr. Doumani's tales of living and of human interaction under extreme isolation and climatic conditions are as interesting as they are realistic. Imagine crawling into cold sleeping bags on snow and ice in below freezing temperature and welcoming the respite! The author shares his excitement and joy at discovering evidence of plant and animal life hundreds of millions of years old under an ice cap two miles thick. The fossilized plants and animals prove that Africa, South America, Australia, and Antarctica were once joined in a single continent -- Gondwana. I highly recommend this well-written book to young and old men and women. It is simply fascinating and literally out of this world.


Secrets of a Jewish Baker: Authentic Jewish Rye and Other Breads
Published in Hardcover by Crossing Press (1993)
Author: George Greenstein
Amazon base price: $26.95
Average review score:

A must-have baking book!
I love to bake, and this cookbook has wonderful, easy to use recipes. I get many compliments when I make the pizza and the challah. I also have Bernard Clayton's bread cookbook, but Greenstein makes bread-baking so simple and fun! The recipes are very detailed so there's no way that one could make a mistake. If you love to bake breads, you have to put this cookbook on your shelf.

Good beyond belief
It's hard to believe that a book like this exists, since it claims to give all the secrets of Jewish baking to anyone smart enough to read the book. If anything, this is an understatement -- this book will teach you how to make nearly all of the New York-area ethnic breads, cookies, and cakes that I've ever seen.

I've tried about 10 of the recipes -- unusual for me, since I often only get 2 or 3 good recipes from a cookbook -- and every one has been great. The bagels taste like real bagels (not the Bruegger's sort), the black-and-white cookies have the right cake-like texture and not the sugar cookie base most non-New Yorkers use, the challah is definitive, and so on.

The book is an absolute must for anyone stuck out in the middle of nowhere (like I was) without a proper bakery. Even in larger metro areas, local variants on "proper" pizza, rye breads, etc. will drive you to insanity if you don't have this book. If I were to fault the book, it would be on its treatment of sourdough breads -- the recipes rely on added yeast for reliable rising. Still, from croissants and pizza to Kaiser rolls and sour rye, these are fantastic recipes: authentic and able to be made by a relatively inexperienced baker.

At last - really, really crusty bread!
At first glance there isn't much to grab your attention in this book. No glossy colour pictures (in a cookbook, unbelievable) and the recipes look basic (a little yeast, a little water, a little flour...). But you REALLY have to read this book. The details, the tips, the tricks of the trade and the methods that Greenstein explains really do make a difference!

Greenstein has converted the recipes to be made by hand, food processor or mixer. We have a small mixer and simply halved the quantities. I cannot stress enough the surprise at how effective the results were. There was huge "WOW" factor getting the bread out of the oven.

This book has a good range of recipes for breads and things made with yeast. There is an assortment of ethnic recipes and all the favourites from bagels, foccacia, croissants, to scones and muffins. I particularly enjoyed his annecdotes and favourite toppings. Greenstein has also included 12 programmes for "a morning of baking" which set out how to fit together making a variety of breads in a short time.

On the downside, a separate ingredients index would have been useful. For example, after buying rice flour I then had to look through the whole book to find the relevant recipe. The fact that it is so short on pictures is not really a problem as the results speak for themselves.

Please God, when I die let me be Jewish!


The Biotech Investor's Bible
Published in Hardcover by John Wiley & Sons (30 May, 2001)
Author: George Wolff
Amazon base price: $20.97
List price: $29.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $17.41
Buy one from zShops for: $17.76
Average review score:

Don't invest in Biotechs without reading this book
Like most people, I have read with interest many of the articles written in the last year about new biotech medical breakthrus, human genome project updates and the wild stock market performance of so many of these dynamic companies -- read, but not really understood. I was even tempted to invest in these cutting-edge technologies, but had no idea where to begin to research this specialized field. Until now... The Biotech Investor's Bible was a surprisingly easy and compelling read and loaded with an amazing amount of useful research material and background information. As a non-scientist, I was relieved by how clearly and even entertainingly Mr. Wolff writes about these companies and about the investment process. His enthusiasm is contagious. I found the "8 questions to ask yourself before investing" and the extensive information on how to use the internet to do research on this sector especially helpful. Understanding the difference in the three phases of clinical trials and how and where the results are reported is not only useful information for anyone evaluating investment opportunities, but for anyone wanting to keep abreast of promising new medical treatments. The first half of the book focuses on investment opportunites in this field of the future and the second half more on the science behind the headlines and the biotech companies. To my surprise, while I didn't fully understand everything about the science, I couldn't put the book down. I'm confident I now know more about this field than my financial advisor and look forward to applying what I've learned to diversify my stock portfolio.

Review
At last a book that makes some sense of the biotech sector! The author, George Wolff has a very straightforward approach, starting with the big picture of the industry's development and then getting down to specifics about market behavior such as the reasons for the sector's incredible volatility. Wolff's analysis involves breaking the sector down in Four Tiers. Each behaves somewhat differently with the lowest Tier being both the riskiest and the cheapest to buy into. Tier One encompasses the well-known majors such as Amgen, which are relatively safe but less exciting plays. I think Wolff has set out a framework of understanding that allows investors to discriminate among the companies to find a reasonable balance of growth potential and security. Most of the book is strictly about investment analysis but the second part of it (Book 2) tries to decode the scientific background. I like his analogy, comparing the workings of DNA and cellular machinery to the innards of a computer. It's a clear enough explanation to convince me that I finally understand this abstract stuff. All in all, a good, illuminating read for people like me who are interested in the industry and where it's going. The investment advice is sensible and has a reasonable tone....not a "get rich quick book." I know there's another book on the market that looks strictly at the medical side of the biotech business. I like the fact the Wolff has gone beyond that to look at the ways the industry can affect a lot of other major sectors such as energy, chemicals, textiles and so on. Wolff believes biotech is going to become the biggest industry in the world and now that I see where the industry is headed, I think he's right.

bio bible
Super, hot off the press, biotech investor's guide! Finally, a common sense approach to this complex market. Mr. Wolff uses his successful career background and extensive research in the area of biotechnology. He provides in depth analysis of the companies involved in medical science,as they pertain to gene therapies, patents, and health drugs. He offers detailed strategies needed for investing in this new, volatile market. Whether you are a seasoned investor or a novice, you'll find this book an invaluable resource. A must buy!


The Bridge Never Crossed
Published in Paperback by Science & Humanities Press (1999)
Author: George A. Burk
Amazon base price: $16.95
Average review score:

An incredible story of trial and blessing. Don't miss it!
"A true story of tenacity, discipline, perseverance, and faith. I was challenged to take stock of the blessings in my life and take nothing for granted. This will be a 'must read' book for my two sons. Everyone has heroes, everyone should be a hero, George Burk is one of my heroes." Captain J.D. Schulgen, Garland Fire Department.

MY TRUE HERO
This book was so special to me becuase I have known George Burk for over 5 years. All of us have bad things happen to us. Usually these are short lived. George was in a plane crash that has lingering effects that will be with him always. Yet he is one of the nicest, most genuine people I have ever known. He has a wonderfully positive outlook on life. As I always tell him, he is MY TRUE HERO. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Read the story of a man who went through a tough situation and survived to become a wonderful human being. I have given a copy of this book to many friends and relatives as gifts. A MUST READ!

An Excellent and Inspiring Book
George Burk has written an inspiring book recounting his experience as the sole survivor of an airplane crash. I couldn't put it down. His spiritual struggles and insights are extremely moving. He is a true hero and reading his story is compelling.


A Fine and Pleasant Misery/Cassettes
Published in Audio Cassette by Dh Audio (1993)
Authors: Patrick F. McManus and George S. Irving
Amazon base price: $16.99
Average review score:

All right, you can panic now
I can't remember why I picked up "A Fine and Pleasant Misery". Perhaps the very notion of a humor writer for Field and Stream appealed to me.

At any rate, I don't regret it.

My favorite piece may be the Modified Stationary Panic, although every scene at the army surplus store is golden. On the other hand, kid camping is so true to life (yet hysterical) that perhaps it should be required reading for all parents (and kids attempting to sleep outside).

The only caveat, don't read in bed, you'll laugh so hard you may fall out and hurt yourself.

I've never laughed so hard!
My father gave me this book when he thought I needed some cheering up. It was a life changing experience. Now I am on a quest to collect anything he has ever written. Caution to first time McManus readers: When you find your eyes are tearing up and you can't catch your breath, wait a short time before continuing. I nearly passed out from back to back fits of hysterical laughter caused by reading his passages too quickly.

Funniest outdoor book I've ever read!!!
Patrick Mcmanus is an awesome writer! I could hardly put the book down. It was so FUNNY! His way of describing real life outdoor situations is hilarious. He is definitly one of the best outdoor humorists of all time!!!


A Woman After God's Own Heart
Published in Hardcover by Harvest House Publishers, Inc. (2001)
Author: Elizabeth George
Amazon base price: $11.89
List price: $16.99 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $7.50
Buy one from zShops for: $10.49
Average review score:

Desiring To Be What God Wants You To Be
The title of this book really caught my eye. I have always wanted to be what God wants me to be, but I never knew where to begin. Elizabeth George did an excellent job giving practical insights on how to begin to mold you heart after God's own heart. That task is not any easy one to accomplish. As a wife, pastor's wife, and a soon to be mom, I was grateful for all the topics she covered in her book. This book will really help you learn how to put God into the center of every area in your life! It has helped me to get my spiritual life back on track with my loving Heavenly Father! Another plus was that it strengthened my relationship with my husband. We are all taught some pretty unhealthy ways of being a woman, wife, and mother. George did a wonderful job bringing in Scripture along with her insights. I now know the TRUE way to be a Godly woman, wife and mother! I recommend this book to any woman who has the desire to be what God wants her to be! The neat thing about this book is that it is geared to any woman, single or married.

Good Reading For Every Christian Woman
This book had a great impact on my life, especially as a wife and mother. Many times, the things she advocated made me resentful, because they demand that I die to my own will, and treat people the way GOD wants me to treat them, whether they deserve it or not! I loved her way of prioritizing things, reminding us that our husbands and children come before anyone else, and that our families should never doubt how important they are to us. Walking in God's path isn't easy, and it is a relief to hear an author encourage us to take the hard way, instead of the easy way!

BUY THIS BOOK!!!
This is one of those books every Christian woman should read. It is practical, yet extremely insightful on what the Bible has to say about the rolls of the woman. Elizabeth George writes in a manner that is easy to read and absorb. All the women in my family have read it and love it. This is truly a life changing book. BUY IT!!!


Peter Pan
Published in Hardcover by Penguin U S A (1994)
Authors: James Matthew Barrie, Joan Collins, and George Buchanan
Amazon base price: $3.00
Used price: $1.99
Collectible price: $4.24
Average review score:

Peter Pan is a good book for kids and adults alike.
Peter Pan is a good adventure/fantasy that kids and adults can enjoy alike. With much exaggeration, it is something kids can enjoy and read into. It's a page-turning book that once you started you can't stop.

A Little Scary!
This isn't like the Disney movie! I loved this book but at the same time I was shocked by the violence of the fighting between Hook and the Lost Boys and the Indians. I don't think I'll be reading this one to my nephews and neices, not until I have edited out the violent bits. It wasn't that In-Your-Face violence of the Hollywood movies, it was more insinuated and there was definetly a menacing atmosphere surrounding Wendy's, Peter's and Michael's adventures in Never Never Land. I do recommend it though, just not for easily frightened youngsters. This is definetly in need of a PG rating on the cover. PARENTS: This is no Disney Peter Pan!

My daughter loves this Peter Pan.
My 10 year old daughter found this book in the school library. She read it one weekend and has checked it out several times. The classic story along with the beautiful illustrations by Eric Kincaid have made this one of her favorite books. When I surprised her with her own copy that I had found on Amazon she was thrilled and commented on it's excellent condition.


Take It Like a Man: The Autobiography of Boy George
Published in Hardcover by HarperCollins (1995)
Authors: Boy George, Spencer Bright, and George O'Dowd
Amazon base price: $25.00
Used price: $7.69
Collectible price: $12.71
Buy one from zShops for: $15.00
Average review score:

BEST BIO I EVER READ.,
LOVED BOY GEORGE AND CULTURE CLUB SINCE THE EARLY 80'S READING THIS BOOK, GAVE ME MORE RESPECT FOR BOY GEORGE THE PERSON, HE TELLS OF HIS UPS AND DOWNS, WHAT THE MUSIC BUSINESS IS REALLY ABOUT, HOW CONTROLING IT REALLY IS., AND SOME OF HIS FRIENDS ARE CHARACTERS, IM GLAD TO SEE A BOOK WRITTEN WITH SUCH HONESTY, I LOVE YOU GEORGE CAN'T WAIT FOR THE MOVIE., KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK,

The BEST book I have
I was a teen-ager in the 80's that loved the music and everything that went with it. I had no idea about the life of Boy George. I DID NOT put this book down. I only read biographies and this is the best. He has a great sense of humor considering what he has been through, and at times I had tears in my eyes from laughing(at the expense of Marilyn). It is a long book but you may want to read it again...I did. Boy George had courage and held nothing back telling us about his life,good and bad. It makes you feel sad to know he went through such events as close friends all around him dieing and to feel good about him facing the fact he had to change his life or he would not be here now. I could go on and on and I wish there had been 300 more pages. I am a big fan now and wish he would write another book with more of his "bitchy" humor.

Fame....it's a real drag!...
After reading this book, I came away thinking fame isn't all it's cracked up to be. Boy George's life seemed more interesting and exciting before the onset of fame! Maybe that's because George lived by his wits during his teen years, often living in "squats" with other punks during the late 70's. The chapters describing these years have a certain edge that the later chapters lack. There is drama in all the chapters, never fear! After George became famous he got fat turning to comfort food whenever Jon Moss rejected him, THEN he got really skinny turning to heroin after the final bust-up with Moss. All the little and big dramas are told with the wit we expect of Boy George. Even with all the trials and tribulations of drug addiction, the way George runs his mouth cracks me up. ...


How to Solve It
Published in Paperback by Princeton Univ Pr (01 November, 1971)
Authors: George Polya and Gyorgy Polya
Amazon base price: $13.27
List price: $18.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $5.46
Collectible price: $9.46
Buy one from zShops for: $9.89
Average review score:

Getting to Eureka
How does a teacher go about teaching? It is a hard trick. Written and published in the '40s, and then again subsequently Polya's "How to Solve It" is an attempt to describe the general paths to the student's Eureka! moments. As such it is also of interest to those who go about the task of discovery, and you must constantly rethink their strategies, in the face of a stubborn unknown.

Polya's consideration of the Various Approaches to problem solving hangs on several key structural bands that take the forms of a teacher's questions: Do you know any related problem? Do you know an analogous problem? [Parallelograms are considered.] Here is a problem related to yours and solved before. Can you use it? Should you introduce some auxiliary element in order to make its use possible?

These ring true to this recently mustered parental pedantic.

Polya's actual treatise is just 30 pages; the associated 'dictionary' definitions section is quite extended, actually, making up some 200 pages. He describes going back to first principles in problem solving. January 1, 2003 is a day perhaps to remember such back tracking is sometimes in order.

Do You Want Your Kid to Be a Robot?
In fact, do you want to be a robot? I talked to a woman who took a whole semester in computer science and came out learning nothing. She told me this. My love affair with Real Math started with this book in a library. I was reading a book which had a bunch of interviews with the most successful programmers in the world. One was Czech and I do not remember his name. But he was asked the following question. "What in your opinion is the biggest mistake that programmers are doing in their educations or their work today?" He answered, "It's simple. They don't know how to solve problems. At our company, we have some simple books that tell you how to do this. The best is Polya's 'How to Solve It'. It has a little diagram in the back that completely runs you through a series of questions on solving math problems. But even in schools, they don't take this approach. Everything is by rote and repetition! You solve a problem and YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU SOLVED! We have a lot of these little books." The late Isaac Asimov wrote a beautiful little book called "The Realm of Algebra". It's out of print. But he explains the entire realm of algebra in something like 150 pages. The best book I've ever seen about math. Math can be fun. Programming can be fun. But only if you ask Polya's questions in the back of this book. "What do I have to do to make this problem complete?" "What is missing from this problem?" "What could I add to make this problem solved?" A two page diagram in the back. And everybody knows that programming is just "crummy mathematics". BUY THE BOOK! BUY THE BOOK! BUY THE BOOK!. 2 pages in the end of this book and at least 50% of your math/programming problems are down the drain. Buy the books for your son if you are a Betty Crocker. Or your daughter. Or they will end up in the "Valley of the Dead". Solving problems in school for years and years and simply not knowing what they did! Good luck. Oh yes. One last thing. BUY THE BOOK!

Indispensable for anyone who solves problems professionally.

How to Solve It is the most significant contribution to heuristic since Descartes' Discourse on Method. The title is accurate enough, but the subtitle is far too modest: the examples are drawn mostly from elementary math, but the method applies to nearly every problem one might encounter. (Microsoft, for instance, used to and may still give this book to all of its new programmers.) Polya divides the problem-solving process into four stages--Understanding the Problem, Devising a Plan, Carrying out the Plan, and Looking Back--and supplies for each stage a series of questions that the solver cycles through until the problem is solved. The questions--what is the unknown? what are the data? what is the condition? is the condition sufficient? redundant? contradictory? could you restate the problem? is there a related problem that has been solved before?--have become classics; as a computer programmer I ask them on the job every day.

The book is short, 250 large-print pages in the paperback. Its style is clear, brilliant and does not lack in humor. Here is Polya's description of the traditional mathematics professor: "He usually appears in public with a lost umbrella in each hand. He prefers to face the blackboard and turn his back on the class. He writes A; he says B; he means C; but it should be D." Behind the humor, though, lurks a serious complaint about mathematical pedagogy. Fifty years ago, when Polya was writing, and today still, mathematics was presented to the student, under the tyranny of Euclid, as a magnificent but frozen edifice, a series of inexorable deductions. Even the student who could follow the deductions was left with no idea how they were arrived at. How to Solve It was the first and best attempt to demystify math, by concentrating on the process, not the result. Polya himself taught mathematics at Stanford for many years, and one can only envy his students. But the next best thing is to read his book.


Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Reviews are from readers at Amazon.com. To add a review, follow the Amazon buy link above.