This book very clearly presents important information to the reader about procedures needed in medicine. It has helped me immensely on rounds and on call.

This book gives very easy access to problems encountered in surgical settings. It is organized by complaints rather than diseases. Also, it is very esasy to follow. These are it's chapters:

abdominal pain, bowel funktion (constipation and diarrhea), chest pain, drug reactions, dysrhytmias, falls fever, fluids-electrolytes-acid-base-status, gi-bleeding, glucose management and nutrition, hedache, hypertension, hypotension and chock, insomnia, intravascular access,

leg pain, mental changes, nausea, pain management, preop preparation, pronouncing death, postop bleeding, seizures, shortness of breath, syncope, tubes and draines, urine output changes, wounds. It also has some appendices including redaing x-rays and ECGs, antibiotic standard doses and guidlines. And finally a very informative part including proprietary names of common medications (with therapeutic class, indications, actions, side effects, dose and special notes). Fits easilly in to your pocket. Accordingly it is a real treassure I would say.

Do not be misled by the use of the word "flirtation" in this collection's title. It's a metaphor for flexibility and psychic and intellectual playfulness. In his Preface, the author asserts, "Flirtation keeps things in play, and by doing so lets us get to know them in different ways." Phillips, a British child analyst and respected literary critic, has assembled a series of readable, erudite, and sometimes thrilling essays on his customary favorite topics. They are fresh and insightful - as usual from him. He is interested in literature, contemporary and traditional psychoanalytic theory, attachment, depression, the uses and wonders of language, Lacanian musings and principles, and much more. The bibliography itself could form the backbone of a lengthy course of study. The collection is divided into several parts: "The Uses of the Past," "Psychoanalysis Revisited," and "Writing Outside," which includes literary essays on Philip Roth, Isaac Rosenberg, nineteenth century writer John Clare, and Hapsburg Empire-era Austrian Karl Kraus. But it his the essays on, or "flirting" with, a wide variety of psychoanalytic themes which are at the heart of this interesting, intelligent, and useful collection. "Freud and the Uses of Forgetting," "On Love," and "The Telling of Selves" reveal Phillips' ability to range widely - yet with focus, inherent compassion and kindness, and clarity - in the telling of his themes.

An essay on depression, in which he talks with great respect about the work of Lacanian analyst Julie Kristeva, is particularly interesting. Erich Fromm, Freud and his biographer, Jones, are also subjects of essays.

This is a terrific book, full of humane and productive thinking, and ought to be read and reread by anyone with an interest in the uses of psychoanalysis, and the very modern, creative, and original mind of Adam Phillips. Highly recommended.

Divided into ten thematic sections, Boutilier's second book is ripe with savory and inspiring poetry. Covering subjects from politics to relationships to childhood memories, her poems entertain, educate, and nourish with equal craft. Each page satiates the reader, enticing us into a ten-course meal without overpowering the palate. This collection is certain to be nominated for a Lambda Literary Award, so pull up a cozy chair and remember to floss afterwards.

Open City consistently publishes great stories, poems, essays, and artwork. I look forward to each issue, because each one is so different, and because this magazine continues to be vital and relevant, esp. because many literary magazines are so staid and dull....

People gravitate towards rhetoric, forming their opinions based on snippets of information rather than after having a more exhaustive study of the issues. Luckily, Dr. Heribert Adam and Dr. Kogila Moodley don't fall under this category and offer us a well research perspective on the issues. The first three chapters "The Opening of the Apartheid Mind" sets the stage for what will be a more rational and composed examination of the issues in South Africa of the recent past. To be brutally honest, rhetoric is sexy. Rhetoric moves us and unfortunately that limits the scope of our examination and removes agency from the Other - the stereotyped. Leaving one's examination of South Africa on the level of biographies written by self serving individuals leaves one with a one sided view of the issues.

In conjunction with the issues I laid out above, I just want to reflect, for a moment on Nelson Mandela's rhetoric that what occurred in South Africa was a miracle. The common belief is that there is an ontological predisposition to violence in Africa in general and South Africa in particular - that is a very dangerous oversimplification. In as much as there is a propensity to violence anywhere, why should we privilege Africa as the hotbed of violence. Can we see things another way and formulate policies accordingly.

There was an interesting note made in the introduction that: "Reluctant reconciliation is taking shape in South Africa. The ambivalent alliance between the two major contenders for power, the National Party (NP) and the African national Congress (ANC), results from a balance of forces where neither side can defeat the other. It is their mutual weakness, rather than their equal strength, that makes both longtime adversaries embrace negotiations for power-sharing. Like a forced marriage, the working arrangement lacked love but nonetheless is consummated because any alternative course would lead to a worse fate for both sides."

Already this sets the tone that the myth of the South African miracle is false and that the rhetoric surrounding the violence as set up by Mandela is false. A deeper examination of the issues leads us to believe that is will be the realistic self assessments as opposed to slogans and threats of violence that will lead South Africa to a stable transition and to effect a sustained stability - to whatever extent that can be achieved. People, unfortunately, en masse, do not like to hear this, it detracts from the rhetoric that fills the empty chambers of their hearts - therein lies the problem. In this context, it is very difficult to make a distinction between what we can be done and what ought to be done.

It is also interesting to note that whites will be in control for along time to come. The "emancipation" rhetoric want to see the toppling of tyrannical regime and see black freedom. Unfortunately, it is this very type to drum beating that results in violence: "Though strong in symbolic support, the ANC is weak in bureaucratic resources, military capacity, and economic leverage. Real power will therefore remain in the hands of the present establishment; even if Nelson Mandela becomes president of South Africa, the economy, the civil service, and the army will have to rely on white skills, capital, and goodwill for along time to come."

Having outline this, it is clear that a more reasoned and negotiated approach would be prudent. A statement like this one certainly does not bode well for the activists or the communist. Both of their projects will not be eliminated by this realization. However, realpolitik is for the engineers, rhetoric is the fodder for the activist.

The problem of the unassailability was already laid out early in the book, what is now important to do is to deconstruct the notion of Nelson Mandela as messiah and that his political apparatus is beyond criticism. One of the possible cautions for doing so can be construed as paternalistic. An argument could be made that it might be well enough that the ANC has achieved what it has. In this light, it will be making baby steps and will need time to iron out its kinks and be allowed to make mistakes. However, more sinister is the notion that because of his charisma, Mandela and the ANC are beyond any form of criticism - as if to imply "you are either part of the problem or part of the solution."

This merely confirms empirically that a less than critical approach can lead to a less than accurate prediction. Dr. Adam and Dr. Moodley bring to light several angles that ignored by the press and public who wish to see South Africa in terms of black and white rather than shades of gray.

This book is an excellent reference book for any person studying or working in the area of optical communications. It's wording is very clear and to the point and it describes the most important areas of optical communications including semi-conductor laser diodes and L.E.Ds. It also gives excellent references at the end of each section if you require further reading. I would recommend this book to anyone and especially students studying.

This is an excellent resource for the non-radiologist. It gives you an idea of what an acceptable film should look like. It organizes your thoughts on what your looking at and what you should be looking for in your films. The photos are crisp, and to clarify subtle findings, out to the side drawings help highlight the feature of interest (very helpful). I will get a copy for my office this year.

Somehow this wonderful little book got by me. It is a riveting story of two sisters and a brother who live in a small southern town where they grew up. It is about growing up, growing older and growing wiser in the process. It is at the same time sad and happy; and although it has a predictable ending, one pushes to actually reach it. P One wonders why a book of this calibre didn't top the best seller list. So many others not nearly so well written have made it.

First, a disclaimer. I wrote the third essay of this book. Yet even if I hadn't, I would still consider this to be an excellent book and the finest anthology of essays on the spiritual nature of same sex relationships and families. However, it is important to be clear about what it is and what it is not. It is a sampler, and not a systematic presentation of a single integrated "theory," or even a systematic presentation of multiple "theories." A number of different, and even conflicting, takes on our relationships are presented by the various authors. This is also not a scholarly treatise, but it is written to intellectually engage the general reader. It is not fluff. It is collection of thoughtful essays -- some are written from the first person, and all are expressions of the real experiences of a very diverse collection of writers. Some of the pieces may strike a postive chord, and others may offend, depending on the individual reader. Hopefully, all will make the reader think about something new.