I bought this slim little book when I was first taking Calculus in High School. It helped me immensely with learning and studying Calculus, and provided a great refresher come test time. Since then, I have sometimes needed a formula, and this manual has again been very useful. Calculus is one of those things you forget if you don't use it, and I was in danger of forgetting it when I took a Physics class which required a basic knowledge of Calculus. Thanks in part to this little book, I was able to brush up on the subject and be prepared for my class, though it has been several years since I first learned Calculus in High School and I have had little occasion to use it since.

This quick review will provide an excellent study guide for anyone, like myself, who doesn't use Calculus in everyday life but still doesn't want to forget it. It has definitely proved to be worth its weight in gold for me!

I've been teaching myself Calculus using this book as one of my main resources for about a couple of months now and I am learning a lot from it. It may not help much if you need English explanations, but it is great if you are trying to find the bare essentials of understanding a concept or the whole Calculus, and not a whole lot of fluff.

Get this useful little book if your learning Calc form the get go. It will hold its own in your Calc I and Calc II classes. A great supplement.

Bought this for our son who is interested in being a firefighter as his father is and his grandfather was. Great story and even though I thought the pictures would be better they were still good. Wish there were more.

Photojournalist Beth Reynolds depicts the life of Carmine Speranza through breathe-taking photographs that ignite the fire inside of you to become a firefighter. The book represents the life and love of Speranza probably better than he could explain it himself. This nationally recognized book is sweeping the nation, and capturing the hearts of all.

If you want to pay a tribute to firefighters, buy this book for the fire station in your neighborhood or for the local library. If you just want a great story and beautiful photography, buy this book for yourself. Frankly, as much as I feel for the families and friends of the firefighters killed in NYC, I've never felt like I knew any of those men and women. Television has done its best to convey the enormity of the tragedy but have left me with a rather two-dimensional image of most firefighters; I know they're heroic but I don't know much more than that. With this book, I feel like I've met a flesh-and-blood fireman.
I'm not sure whether to call this book a documentary with pictures or a book of photographs with text. The photographs could stand on their own as fine art but are the perfect accompaniment with the stories of the life a retired fire chief from Connecticut. There are stories of fires fought, to be sure. But, the best stories are about how Chief Speranza discovered as a child that he wanted to be a firefighter or about what firefighters do when they aren't saving lives or about the friendships that form between men and women who work so closely together. After reading this book, I think I know more about what its like to be a firefighter than I've learned in the last 3 months of non-stop television reporting.
I am a photographer and I bought this book for the beautiful photography but I would recommend it not only to camera lovers but to anyone interested in firefighters, great documentaries, or personal histories. A great read from start to end.

Of Edmund White's novels, Caracole may be the most accessible to the reading public at large. It has a clear and impressive plot and a set of characters as arresting as Dickens'. But as in every White novel, the words and the images they create are foremost.

The author deserves the reader's closest attention. White is the consummate master of language. Much of the imagery is exotic, dreamlike and even nightmarish. Every sense is evoked with startling specificity. You need no cyber-gadgets to experience virtual reality if you absorb this book and let it unfold in your imagination.

White commands the broad range of moods, shifting them with disturbing abruptness or lingering within one to delve into its deepest recesses. Most strikingly conveyed are the wonders, terrors, mysteries and curiosities of youth, the overpowering initiations of body and mind that shatter the realm of childhood. White invents a vocabulary for the inarticulate that is all the more powerful for its metaphorical exactness.

Unlike White's other novels, Caracole is not a first-person narrative. By using the omniscient third person, White is able to probe deeper into the interiors of his characters. This device also allows him more scope for apt epigrammatic observations, particularly about youth, middle age and the relations across that divide.

Those who appreciate the power of the word should experience Caracole and indeed all of White's novels.

It has taken me two months to read Caracole. It deserves every minute. The book deserves the reader¹s closest attention. White is the consummate master of language. Much of the imagery is exotic, dreamlike and even nightmarish. Every sense is evoked with startling specificity. You need no cyber-gadgets to experience virtual reality if you absorb this book and let it unfold in your imagination.Of Edmund White¹s novels, Caracole may be the most accessible to the reading public at large. It has a clear and impressive plot and a set of characters as arresting as Dickens¹. But as in every White novel, the words and the images they create are foremost. The language is hypnotic in its power. White commands the broad range of moods, shifting them with disturbing abruptness or lingering within one to delve into its deepest recesses. Most strikingly conveyed are the wonders, terrors, mysteries and curiosities of youth, the overpowering initiations of body and mind that shatter the realm of childhood. White invents a vocabulary for the inarticulate that is all the more powerful for its metaphorical exactness.Unlike White¹s other novels, Caracole is not a first-person narrative. By using the omniscient third person, White is able to probe deeper into the interiors of his characters. This device also allows him more scope for apt epigrammatic observations, particularly about youth, middle age and the relations across that divide. Caracole has been called White¹s "cross-over" novel. The characters are heterosexual and the plot evolves in large part out of the consequences of their appetites. White describes the female body and the male and female experience as exquisitely as any writer of his stature. Reading Caracole after having read The Farewell Symphony, the last novel of his autobiographical trilogy, however, gives one an entirely different perspective. Some situations and characterizations are virtually identical in each novel though appropriately translated in time, place and gender. This juxtaposition enhances Caracole¹s intrinsic humor and correspondingly deepens its pathos. It also underscores our common humanity, regardless of our orientations.Those who appreciate the power of the word should experience Caracole and try all of Edmund White¹s novels.

Of Edmund White1s novels, Caracole may be the most accessible to the reading public at large. It has a clear and impressive plot and a set of characters as arresting as Dickens. But as in every White novel, the words and the images they create are foremost. I cannot do better than to quote Cynthia Ozick in calling his technique "seduction through language." It has taken me two months to read Caracole. It deserves every minute. The author deserves the reader's closest attention. White is the consummate master of language. Much of the imagery is exotic, dreamlike and even nightmarish. Every sense is evoked with startling specificity. You need no cyber-gadgets to experience virtual reality if you absorb this book and let it unfold in your imagination.White commands the broad range of moods, shifting them with disturbing abruptness or lingering within one to delve into its deepest recesses. Most strikingly conveyed are the wonders, terrors, mysteries and curiosities of youth, the overpowering initiations of body and mind that shatter the realm of childhood. White invents a vocabulary for the inarticulate that is all the more powerful for its metaphorical exactness.Unlike White's other novels, Caracole is not a first-person narrative. By using the omniscient third person, White is able to probe deeper into the interiors of his characters. This device also allows him more scope for apt epigrammatic observations, particularly about youth, middle age and the relations across that divide. Caracole has been called White's "cross-over" novel. The characters are heterosexual and the plot evolves in large part out of the consequences of their appetites. White describes the female body and the male and female experience of straight sex as exquisitely as any writer of his stature. Reading Caracole after having read The Farewell Symphony, the last novel of his autobiographical trilogy, however, gives one a different perspective. Some situations and characterizations are virtually identical in each novel though appropriately translated in time, place and gender. This juxtaposition enhances Caracole's intrinsic humor and correspondingly deepens its pathos. It also underscores our common humanity, regardless of our sexual orientations.I have had the intoxicating adventure of reading all of Edmund White's novels in the past twelve months. (My next stop is his collection of essays and interviews, The Burning Library).Those who appreciate the power of the word should experience Caracole and indeed all of White's novels.

GREAT BOOK! Basiclly all I can say. Better than a How-To book. Its a barrage of many wonderful stories, history, and some awesome pictures of the best carvings I have seen. Keep up the good work Bruce, and BUY THIS BOOK!! EVERYONE!!!! :)

If you have no other book about carousels, this is the one to have. Not only does the book illuminate the history of carousels, dispelling some common myths along the way, but the step-by-step, well illustrated process of carving a carousel is clearly explained in easy to understand terms. As Bruce's identical twin brother I can attest to the heart, mind and artistry that goes into every one of Bruce's creations. Many years ago I received a call from Bruce and he pleaded for my help. I replied that I had no knowledge or skill. Bruce persisted and taught me how to carve carousels using the same steps and techniques described in this book - several of the carousels I have carved are pictured in this book. Perhaps one of your creations will be in his next book!

Although this magnificent book is being marketed as a strictly how-to book, as a lover of carousels I attest to the fact that this book includes more history and delightful anecdotes about carousels, horses, designs and designers than any other book ever. Bruce encourages you to set your imagination free. Also, there is a step by step structure showing Bruce's one of a kind process. Even if you don't carve or don't want to start, it is still enlightening to see how this present day master carver makes lovely masterpieces for carousels and living rooms.

This book does an excellent job of demonstrating the effects of a factory closing in a small southern town. As a former resident of the town (childhood home) and a former worker in the machine room and rubbing room of White's Furniture Factory, I was amazed at the depth of analysis and truthfulness in this book. This book demonstrated how the closing of a factory not only affects the workers, but prior workers, and the entire population of the town. I was surprised to see the pictures that were included that told a story all to themselves. This book is highly recommended for college professors wishing to pursue the effects of a factory closing and other downsizing efforts on a small town's population. A great story line supplemented by outstanding pictures as the authors take the reader through the last years of a 100+ year factory that the entire town centered their lives around. Highly recommended for those interested in the effects of a closing on the local population.

a reasonably balanced view of a factory closing that doesn't make the owner out to be a devil (although some former workers clearly feel that way). Shows the human side of what happens when decisions are made based on the aseptic "bottom line". If anything, the book is not hard enough on the original family, the 1st generation that admirably built the company and the second generation that let it deteriorate (the book details how the 2 family members at the top didn't even talk to one another and used separate entrances to the building! Is it any wonder the financials deteriorated and they had to sell?)

The only thing missing is an interview with the capitalist that closed the plant. If they tried and he refused the book ought to say so, otherwise it seems that at least a few pages could have been devoted to his side of the story.

All in all, though, a great book to read, as a counterbalance for all of us that invest thru our 401Ks and retirement accounts expecting great returns and divorced from how those returns are obtained (and at what cost to some people).

This book, and a traveling exhibit due at Yale this fall and The Smithsonian in early next year, captures the feelings and human aspect of what happens when a family owned furniture factory is closed due to a hostile takeover. The pictures and accompaning text document from an historical and extremely personal perspective the lives of workers in a small town in North Carolina, dependant on each other and the factory, and the devastation that occurs when big city, outside forces make an impersonal decision regarding people 1000 miles away.

The Collected Stories of Colette by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, ed., and with an introduction by, Robert Phelps. Highly recommended.

According to the introduction, this collection represents 100 stories taken from a dozen volumes published during Colette's lifetime. They are categorised as "Early Stories," Backstage at the Music Hall," "Varieties of Human Nature," and "Love." Some, like the Clouk/Chéri stories, appear to be fiction, while many, like "The Rainy Moon" and "Bella-Vista," seem to be taken straight from Colette's varied life and acquaintances.

Whether writing fiction or chronicling fact, whether writing in the third-person omniscient or in the first person, Colette herself is always a character-rarely as an influencer, that is, one whose actions or choices drive the plot. Colette's preferred role is as observer-and it is one for which she is well suited.

An inveterate sensualist and a former music-hall performer, Colette integrates her characters (real and fictional) with everything around them-their clothes (costumes), their abodes, dressing rooms, and haunts (sets), and their neighborhoods and towns (theatres). Much of Colette's writing, no matter how mundane the surface subject, is about art-the art of living and, notably, the art of loving. In "My Goddaughter," the subject tells her godmother how she injured herself with scissors and a curling iron and recounts her mother's reaction. "She said that I had ruined her daughter for her! She said, 'What have you done with my beautiful hair which I tended so patiently? . . . And that cheek, who gave you permission to spoil it! . . . I've taken years, I've spent my days and nights, trembling over this masterpiece. . . ."

Colette is attuned to everything, every sense, every nuance. "A faint fragrance did indeed bring to my nostrils the memory of various scents which are at their strongest in autumn." ("Gibriche") ". . . set in a bracelet, which slithered between her fingers like a cold and supple snake." ("The Bracelet") " . . . the supper of rare fruits, an[d]of ice water sparkling in the thin glasses, as intoxicating as champagne . . ." ("Florie") "Peroxided hair, light-colored eyes, white teeth, something about her of an appetizing but slightly vulgar young washerwoman." ("Gitanette")

Colette does not pretend to be an objective observer of human behaviour; she does not hesitate to express to the reader her weariness with certain individuals or situations, and her stories of her vain, pretentious, overbearing friend Valentine reveal her jaded and waning affection. She knows this woman so well that she sees her almost as Valentine sees herself-a drama queen acting out stories, roles, and games without depth of feeling for them. "What Must We Look Like?" becomes Valentine's driving philosophy, to which Colette responds with "a mild, a kindly pity." In "The Hard Worker," Colette says, "I can see she does not hate him, but I cannot see she loves him either." What Colette sees-and does not see-is to be respected.

Some stories, such as "The Sick Child," are vivid and imaginative and reveal Colette's amazing ability to think and dream like a gifted child. "The Advice," with its mundane beginning and premise and twisted, horrifying ending would enhance any collection of gothic or mystery tales. Other stories, like "Gibriche," several of the other music-hall stories, and "Bella-Vista," tackle topics that even today remain controversial. "Bella-Vista," in which Colette's moods seem to wane with every familiarity achieved with her hostesses, offers an ending that is heavily foreshadowed throughout but is surprising and gruesome nonetheless.

Most of the stories, whether fiction or nonfiction, seem to come from life in one way or another. The quantity of stories and the quality of the collection reveal the incredible scope of experience of Colette, the dry, often weary yet obsessive observer, interpreter, and chronicler of human nature. As Judith Thurman says in her introduction to Colette's work, The Pure and the Impure, "This great ode to emptiness was written by a woman who felt full." As well she should.

Diane L. Schirf, 27 May 2003.

Ok. You've read the Claudine novels, and Cheri and the Return of Cheri. Now what? There are other novels (The Vagabond, Gigi, My Mother's House) but there are these short stories that are "must-reads."

Colette was one of France's most distinguished writers. Though not a writer of massive books like Victor Hugo or Proust, or of psychological novels like Zola or Flaubert, she caught that French essence of individuality and quirkiness and the golden age of La Belle Epoque before World War One changed France forever. Her books are pure joy as are these short stories. If you have NOT read Colette, you are in for a treat. (And don't neglect Claudine or Cheri. )

If you're looking for a refreshing deviation from the mean of women writers, then Colette is it. Her stories offer a pleasurable clearing of the literary palate.

As a social historian and african-american writer I enthralled when I read the NY Times Book Review of Kathryn Talalay's bio of phillippa Schuyler. Schuyler made her mark as a musical child prodigy and later, as an adult, a celebrated composer-pianist. Schuyler's life as an international performer in one sense mirrors that of another but more recognized "tragic mulatoo", Dorthy Dandridge. And her last career as a grounbreaking war correspondent in South Vietnam is particularly entriguing. Overall, Talalay's book is marvelous but the high brow and sordid realities of Schuyler's life are especially deserving of a major made-for-cable TV treatment. Similiarly to what recently afforded Dandridge. That way Talalay's thought provoking examination of Schuyler's achievements could be made accessible to a greater number of african-americans and others alike.

I am very glad I read this book but the story made me very sad for you see, Philippa was my first cousin, once removed. Daniel Calhoun Cogdell, was her grandfather and my great grandfather. I was 30 years old when Philippa died and I would love to have known her. The family never discussed Josephine Cogdell, Philippa's mother, except to say she was eccentric and died young. How sad they missed out on so much and so did I for I did not know she even existed. Yes, very sad indeed.

I read this book after purchasing it from an Oxford catalog. I'd wanted to buy it since I read the NY Times review. I absolutely loved it. I applaud the scholarship and research of the biographer, but also the humane description of a very complex character. I'd never heard of Phillippa Schuyler, before I read the book review. Although she had many flaws, including her ambiguity about her blackness, she still had a remarkable life and is one of my "sheroes". Her story intrigues me and I want to know more about her father and his writing. Her life ended tragically, but she lived it fully. I am saddened that she so hated her African heritage that she thought the only way she could succeed was to pass herself off as anything but black. I also purchased a copy to send my sister, who is a classical music buff. This is another example of the history of African-Americans being "lost, stolen, or strayed". Every school child should know about Phillippa, as well as the many other gift and talented African-Americans. I am sorry she didn't claim her heritage. I claim her.

Terry C. Johnston makes the Indian Wars come to life in his novels, injecting a human element and action into stodgy historical fact. He's done it again in this first volume of his projected trilogy covering the Nez Perce war. While this is included in his Plainsman series, regular readers may be disappointed that his hero Seamus Donegan is nowhere to be found in this first novel. And this is what puts Terry at the top of the heap among historical novelists--he refuses to inject his character in a story where realistically he cannot be. When we last saw Seamus, he was still involved in the Lakota/Cheyenne wars down in Wyoming and Montana. It would be physically impossible, and a transparent writer's ploy to put him in Idaho for the sake of keeping Seamus the focus. Too many writers have their main character involved in every frontier fracas possible. But Terry sticks to history melded to crackling good adventure. "Cries From the Earth" sheds light on the long-ignored start of the Nez Perce conflict, and doesn't sugarcoat the facts. There is NO political correctness in this volume, my friend. Terry stays true to the times and the attitudes and foibles of all the participants of this shameful chapter in our history. If you think you know all about the Nez Perce conflict, think again. Terry C. Johnston has read all the histories, talked to all the experts, and he has read between the lines of these volumes and words. He has a practiced knowledge of the frontier, and reaches conclusions based on common sense that others have lacked. Read "Cries From the Earth" and learn, friends. And be entertained as well. A master Storyteller has written!

Once again, Terry takes into the bloody jaws of hell with his wonderful mix of storytelling and history. Well reasearched, this book, like his others carries us into the shoes of the soldier, Nez Perce, and the civilian alike during this start of the Nez Perce War. There is no author that can keep pace with Terry, the best novelist of our time. Cries from the Earth makes little known places come to life with great significance. This book is absolutely wonderful.

So many of us use US 95 and drive down the White Bird Pass and only take a second glance at the monument and what has transpired. Terry Johnston has taken a somewhat unknown battle and if all of his fans take the time to read the novel and assorted readings, I think you will find US 95 a busy tourist area.

I hike in the Salmon river country since 1972. Every year I head down White Bird Pass and quickly look at the monument and drive on.

I am looking forward this year to one week in this area to walk the hills and drink in the atmosphere that Terry has done again. Looking forward to the second book.

helen luke is dead now but i wish she wasn't. this
is the best book i ever found about dante. if dante's
comedy seems a mystery to you, if it seems hard to
reach, or if it seems like it has nothing to say to us
now, you need this book. helen luke used dante's poetry
to write a magnificent jungian deconstruction of growth
and love. it makes everything simple. it is magnificent.
i was interested to see that she liked dorothy sayers'
translations (of all the dante translations that there
are) the best. if you have this book, you don't need
any other growth book, you don't need any other literary
analysis of the comedy. she knew dante very well.

This marvellous book opens up Danteland for the contemporary reader. Helen Luke's masterful guidance on the paths of Dante's three-tiered cosmos not only helps us to reenter and relish the Divine Comedy - the towering literary achievement of the medieval imagination - but to use it to enter deeper levels of reality through meditation and active imagination. I have based deeply moving group meditations on this, along the lines of those decribed in my own book "Dreamgates", and we have found that Dante's gates can actually take us into imaginal realms that people appear to inhabit after physical death. As the life dreamer she was, Helen Luke reminds us of the way the radiant guide keeps calling the seeker through dreams, which are so often ignored or forgotten until the BIG moment of spiritual trial and eventual initiation. I would recommend using the middle section of the book in tandem with W.S.Merwin's excellent recent translation of the "Purgatorio", which is more readable than the older versions quoted by Ms. Luke.

The moment I saw the references to Charles Williams and Dorothy L. Sayers I was hooked. Culturely familiar with, but never having studied, Dante's poem, I had always understood it as an allegory of life after death. Wrong! The intersections between Dante's journey as portrayed by Helen Luke and portions of my spiritual journey were intense, meaningful, detailed -- and totally unexpected. The reality of the passage through Hell and Purgatory in this life points to the hope of a portion of the feast to come also in this life. It is not an easy read, but I found myself unable to put it down -- except when the power of a passage would so resonate in me I had to pause to mark it and reflect on it.

THIS BOOK IS A GREAT SUMMER READ. IT KEEPS THE READER ON THE EDGE OF HIS SEAT.

This book is refreshing. It doesn't need a lot of violence to keep you entertained. It flows really well and keeps you guessing. The characters are believable as well.

I truly enjoyed reading about Amanda and her adventures. I hope everyone will experience the same level of suspense I felt when I read "Deadly Demise."