I am a middle school teacher and I used this book in my classroom to supplement the text the students already have and they absolutely loved it! Not to mention the students got a kick out of the title of this book. I would highly recommend this book to anybody who wants to know ANYTHING about genes or heredity. It is easy enough for a child to understand, but interesting enough for a person of any age. Great book!

An enjoyable read. Great at explaining the very involved world of genetics. You'll come away amazed by what you've learned about what really goes on in your cells, what problems arise when genes go wrong, and how it all fits together to make us possible.

It was either this workbook or summer school for my 8-year-old last year. She completed more than half the book over the summer and finished up third grade with a bang. Needless to say, we will continue with this series this summer. Comprehensive Curriculum for Grade 3 is in our cart. It's great to have such a complete book to review all subjects over the summer. All children should have the chance to stay on top of their studies. Thank you...

Although there have been some negitive reviews of the other grade levels in this series, I have personally found this book to be very through and helpful to my 9 year old. I thought the set up of a certain number of pages per day was convenient, and just the right amount to keep his interest. The colors and pictures are great, and the price is right! I especially like the teaching suggestions in the back of the book - giving you the option of doing as little or as much as YOU feel comfortable doing on any given subject with your child. I fully intend to continue using this series as long as I can.

Vincent Henry has written a book that is a valuable contribution to the understanding of Compstat.

Compstat was a 1996 winner of the Innovation in Government and has been listed as one of the major contributing factors to the "turn around" of police productivity in the New York Police Department in the mid-1990s.

Compstat has been the subject of several rumors, half truths and outright distortions. In a book whose audience is primarily college level students of policing and police management, Henry methodically explains the organizational context in which Compstat developed, actual implementation tactics and strategies used and assesses the future utility of the Compstat process in a variety of private and public settings.

Henry clearly establishes that Compstat is more than a "dog and pony show" or a staff meeting supplemented with computer graphics and statistical analysis. Rather it is one of several tools necessary to produce effective results in modern policing, " Compstat must be seen as one facet of a comprehensive and carefully orchestrated array of management strategies and practices".

This book is handicapped to an extent by the several audiences it serves simultaneously. First, nine of the ten chapters close with "Questions for Debate and Discussion", which serves the academic audience well but is bothersome to the general readers. Second, the use of sidebars tends to dilute the impact of the author's primary discussion at several points. However, the tenth chapter "The Compstat Paradigm: Summary of Basic Principles and Precepts" is one of the best short summaries of Compstat to be found anywhere in print. Those seven pages make the cost of the book worth very cent.

The New York City Police Department has achieved great reductions in crime through the Compstat process. Major crimes have declined 66%, and homicides are down 77% since 1993. These statistics translate into thousands of lives saved and significantly improved quality of life for all the people of New York. Those who argue that factors other than the police were responsible for this decline ignore the significant institutional changes in the NYPD and its method of policing.

It was not simply hiring thousands of cops and putting them on the street, it was a matter of changing the way those cops worked. This involved not only technological change, such as the use of computer pin mapping, but also managerial and cultural change within the NYPD. The result was a more analytical and focused NYPD, a more responsive and flexible department, better able to serve the people of New York. Compstat was driving force behind those changes.

Vincent Henry is a friend and coworker of mine for ten years, since I was a student in his class at CW Post College. While he has academic credentials, he also has the experience and perspective of a street cop. He was well placed to observe significant developments in the NYPD and its strategies over the years. He has an in-depth knowledge of the history of the agency and the personalities involved in the development of Compstat. This background provides insight into the subtleties and nuances of Compstat (and the NYPD as a whole) that an outsider may miss. The Compstat Paradigm is not only a description of the development of Compstat, but also a history of the NYPD over the last two decades. This historical context increases understanding of the political and personal forces that influenced the development of Compstat.

I have attended dozens of Compstat sessions as both an observer and a participant. I have read other books on Compstat, including NYPD Battles Crime by Eli Silverman and Managing Police Operations: Implementing the NYPD Crime Control Model Using Compstat by Phyllis Parshall McDonald. The Compstat Paradigm is the most comprehensive and thorough description of Compstat available, and provides the best overview of what the Compstat process is, how it developed, and how it works in the New York City Police Department.

Dr. Kituku has created a work of deep understanding for adults and children. The lessons he illustrates are enjoyable on their surface and deep in their meaning. Whether it is the wit of the hare, the wisdom within "The old man and the boy," or the lessons on humility, greed and laziness, the learning is both traditional and current. This is a work to be read aloud, to your children and to yourself. As Dr. Kituku learned his lessons from the elders of his family in Africa, our children can learn from us, and us from them. Buy it, read it, read it again and share it with the children.

This entertaining and insightful book brings home truth and experience to all who read it. As children read these stories their imaginations takes off to the untamed land of Africa. Deep in the jungle where they have traveled many jewels are uncovered. The children lock them deep in their hearts and journey back to their homes. They come back with wisdom that can not be bought for any price but can only appear after an experience of one's soul.

The wisdom that comes from this book will help children navigate through this difficult land we call America. The course has been set by many. They need to have all the skills in hand to make it a sucessful journey through drugs, sex, violence, and many more obstacles the culture has put in front of our precious children.

As parents and leaders we must take every opportunity available to help our children through life. I believe that Dr. Kituku's insightful stories can help us achieve this goal.

Remember, that it takes a village to raise a child!

This path-breaking book applies rigorous and invaluable economic analysis to major natural resource and environmental policy issues in Malaysia under the New Economic Policy decades of the 1970s and 1980s-a period of profound socio-economic changes, rapid depletion of natural resources, and the emergence of serious air and water pollution problems.

It examines the interrelationship among natural resources, environmental quality, and economic development. This scholarly work addresses, from an economic perspective, a broad set of natural resource and environmental issues in Malaysia and places it in a historical context.

This book would be of particular interest to resource and environmental economists, and development economists, i.e. anyone seeking a thorough understanding of the economic underpinnings of natural resource and environmental management policy in fast-growing, resource-abundant Malaysia. It represents a reference volume to facilitate further research on Malaysian natural resource and environmental policy issues.

Dr Jeffrey R. Vincent is a Fellow at the Harvard Institute for International Development. Formerly director of the Centre for Environmental Studies at Malaysia's Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Dr Rozali Mohamed Ali is currently executive director of Commerce Asset Holdings Berhad.

The book does a fine job of compiling evidence and results. The book is clearly written and organized. The book is a welcome additon to the study of Malaysia and to study of environment and development in general. The fisheries section, the sector I know from first-hand experience, is well done and includes original material.

November 4, 1943. Tonkawa, Oklahoma. More than 200 German prisoners of war jammed into the mess hall of their American POW camp. Before the evening was over, one of them, Corporal Johannes Kunzeaccused of treason-would lie in a pool of his own blood, savagely beaten to death by his fellow prisoners.

Within three months, five men present in the mess hall would be accused, tried, and sentenced to death for the murder of Johannes Kunze-a sentence carried out in July, 1945, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Here, for the first time, the remarkable true story behind these events is revealed: the stark conditions in the POW camps; the tactics used by military intelligence to tempt informants and turn the prisoners against each other; the one-sided legal battle dominated by a sharp young military prosecutor, Lieutenant Colonel Leon Jaworski (of future Watergate fame); and the passions and politics of war which insured that for Kunze and his accused killers, there could be no mercy.

A powerful and controversial account of crime and punishment, EXTREME JUSTICE demonstrates how-beyond innocence or guilt-the search for justice can be lost in the desire for blood-revenge.

This book perfectly lays out the picture of world war II prisoner of war camps. From the mistreatment of prisoners by fellow inmates, to the final justice handed out by their captors. This book is highly recommended.

I went to school and played high school football with Dr. Ruhl. He sent me this book out of the blue as we had not seen each other for many years. Strangely enough, it arrived at a difficult time for me. I took an afternoon off and read the book. This is not a panagyric or metaphysical homage though the inspiration for "finding each other" was communion with Jesus. Instead, the spiritual messages the author and his wife experienced were simple truths, basic guidelines that have illuminated a path the couple have since taken, an illumination, one suspects, would ever after guide them whenever that path came to a fork and another choice had to be made. The author's honesty, self-examination and acceptance of responsibility in the hardships he and his wife faced, make the book an informative read and one that enables the reader to easily identify with the situations, be they arguements, interaction with kids, job interviews and, even, happiness. Dr. Ruhl (Vinnie to me) was a helluva lineman and saved me from a lot of sacks but he's an even better writer.

For those who believe that marriages can't be saved after tragedy, this book proves not only that they can be, but that life can be even better through the power of a committed relationship with God. A truly remarkable story and one that the reader will never forget. Awe inspiring. I feel very fortunate to have read this.

The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story is an excellent historical and technical document of the ABC Computer. It traces the ENIAC lineage directly to the ABC and J.V.Atansoff. If there are any Atanasoff skeptics out there, this book is the definitive prescription to win their minds. A must have book for the personal library.

This book tells the story of Dr. John Vincent Atanasoff (a Bulgarian name; Dr. Atanasoff was native born in Hamilton, New York, 1903. He is credited by court decision in 1973 with the invention of the computer. The case in dispute was between Honeywell and Sperry Rand for claims of the computer invention. If either party have prevailed, the winner might have had patent rights. IBM was worried and introduced JV (as he was called) who showed that he had invented the computer at Iowa State in 1938 when he was in the mathematics department (JV was a 1930 PhD in physics from the University of Wisconsin). The computer invented belonged to JV and his assistant, Charles Berry (hence the name ABC = Atanasoff Berry Computer). There were several versions built, some in 1939 and in 1940.

The court decision was that as there was a prior invention (the ABC) which had not been patented by anyone, no one could patent the computer comcept. I am delighted that that was the decision and told JV that several times (I lived near him, his home was New Market Maryland and I was in Frederick Maryland) until he died about 10 years. He was always grouchy about my view but did concede (mostly by remaining silent) that the speed of computer advances was because there was no patent restriction in effect.

ENIAC owed much to Dr. Atanasoff as Mauchly saw the ABC in visits to Iowa State. Some visits were for several days ("for the better part of a week" was JV's court testimony). Programming and program languages were not part of JV contribution. Dr. Mauchly's own testimony as reproduced in the book shows he grudgedly agreed that he owed ideas and examples to others.

The original case was filed in 1968 as Honeywell v. Sperry Rand and Illinois Scientific Developments. Among the almost 100 issues pushed by Honeywell and the ENIAC, the judge, Earl R. Larsen, ruled "Eckert and Mauchly did not themselves first invent the automatic electronic digital computer, but instead derived that subject matter from one Dr. John Vincent Atanasoff". Other equally strong language was used to assert that JV and Berry held nothing back concerning the machine's theory, design, construction, use or operation; that Mauchly went to Ames Iowa and had correspondence with Atanasoff.

Judge Larsen's decision was not appealed by anyone. A blessing to us all.

Dr. Atanasoff did not realize until late in life that he had done something tremedous. He retired wealthy but not from his computer invention.

"First Fig and Other Poems" is an excellent collection of work by United States poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950). This volume is an unabridged republication of the contents of two of her books: the 1922 edition of "A Few Figs from Thistles: Poems and Sonnets," and "Second April" (1921). The book also contains a 5-page biographical introduction.

These poems reveal a remarkable poetic voice: playful, bold, quirky, passionate, and sometimes melancholy. She often writes of romantic love from a woman's perspective. I read Millay (as exemplified by this book) as a sort of poetic "soul sister" to 19th century giant Emily Dickinson: they both share an irreverent spirit and a sensuous appreciation of the natural world.

Millay was a master of traditional poetic forms; this volume contains several sonnets, as well as other poems in various patterns of meter and rhyme. Millay's genius is that she brings to these traditional forms a charm, wit, and freshness. Many of her poems incorporate classical and literary references: to Apollo, Sappho, Helen, Homer, Guinevere, etc.

I especially like the several poems which evoke the sea and the coastline with stunning language. Consider these lines from "Exiled": "Wanting the sticky, salty sweetness / of the strong wind and shattered spray; / Wanting the loud sound and the soft sound / Of the big surf that breaks all day."

Overall, this is a diverse and enjoyable gathering of poems. Another great standout is the fantasy-flavored "The Singing-Woman from the Wood's Edge," the first-person account of a being whose "mother was a leprechaun, whose father was a friar." I should also mention "Recuerdo," from whose lines I took the title of this review. Edna St. Vincent Millay is a remarkable poet, and I highly recommend "First Fig and Other Poems."

All 67 poems from "Second April" (1921) and "A Few Figs from Thistles" (1922) are collected in this book. You'll find cynical poems but also beautiful poems about nature. Edna St.Vincent Millay's gem like poems are worth to discover and you'll certainly enjoy them. Although they were created in the Jazz Age they are timeless and express feelings and thoughts that are common to us. Very recommendable collection!

This book, page for page, may be Kierkegaard's best ever. This is a rather slim volume, but is packed with Kierkegaard's most profound and life-changing philosophy. Compared to his other works (almost all of which I highly, HIGHLY recommend) this book comes across as one of the most potent and dense. Therefore, I would recommend this one first and foremost to a reader who is pressed for time and is intimidated by the sheer length of Kierkegaard's other works. If you have not devoted every minute of your spare time to reading every page of every book ever written by Kierkegaard, my first question, of course, is WHY NOT?!?!? What are you thinking??? Get with the program!!! I am willing to forgive you, however, if you could just find time in your busy schedule to read this one slim pamphlet. It is the "Reader's Digest" condensed Kierkegaard for realistic 50-hour-a-week men, and it could radically change your life for the better. Profound, uplifting, loving, hopeful, and positive, I recommend this book to all readers.

Kierkegaard exposes what it means to be a Christian. And be warned. It is impossible to read the book and walk away. A spiritual mirror is setup for those who dare to look. Individual's life including Scripture study is the core of this book.