In Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography, Emery and Thomson have drawn together a broad range of information on data analysis methods in a single volume. It is an excellent book for the experienced researcher as well as upper level undergraduates and graduate students. It could either serve as a textbook or as a reference handbook. The focus of the book is on application of methods and not just theoretical description. The material is presented in the same fashion that data is approached, from collection to analysis. Particularly useful is that each chapter provides background for the topics presented; setting a context for understanding the material.

The first chapter reviews the basics of statistical sampling and how various oceanographic data elements are collected. It describes in detail the various methods used for collection and their inherent strengths and weakness. The second chapter moves from collecting the data to processing and data presentation; including calibration, interpolation and a variety of presentation formats. The third chapter presents the standard statistical methods and procedures for error handling. The last two chapters cover the range of methods used for spatial and time series analysis of data. This includes not only long established methods but more recent methodologies, such as wavelet transforms, as well.

A bibliography and set of appendices complement the text, making the book an all encompassing reference work. The authors have created an extensive bibliography that enables readers to follow up with more specific readings. The appendices include units in physical oceanography, a glossary of statistical terms, statistical tables, and non-uniform numbers.

We have no similar books in Physical Oceanography. It puts together the description of many useful techniques (including the modern ones) and it also considers pratical aspects of data collection and analysis. The text is easy to follow. The figures are very clear. Useful references are cited. Other geophysical areas can also benefit from it. Do I need to say something else !

Excellent, excellent, excellent. Shows the beginner and novice what to aspire to in garment making, and shows the experienced sewist how to produce the sophisticated effects that used to be found in better women's wear. Illustrations and photos are helpful and illustrative of the techniques. Instructions are easy to follow, complete and concise. This is just a wonderful book for inspiration and technique. I wish the author would write another book like this.

Wisely focussing on the techniques that make vintage clothing exceptional, Thompson gives detailed practical instructions. I was a novice sewer when I bought this book, and I "glimpsed" the world of altering patterns. The illustrations of vintage fashions are FANTASTIC

Edited and with an informative introduction by Jason Thompson, Description Of Egypt: Notes And Views In Egypt And Nubia Made During The Years 1825-28 is the absorbing nineteenth century account by Edward William Lane (1801-1876) of his travels along the length and breadth of Egypt. It was offered for publication in 1831 but never saw print. The manuscript was sold to the British Library by Lane's widow in 1891 and only now has been published, some 170 years after its completion. With Lane's detailed descriptions of all the ancient monuments and contemporary life that he saw during his journey, Description Of Egypt will proof an invaluable reference for students of Egyptology, Egyptian history, and nineteenth century Egyptian culture.

The re-edition of E.W. Lane's book is one of the most welcomed additions for the bookshelves of anyone interested in ancient and late last-century Egypt. This book, in reality, was originally published after the notes, drawings and photographs made by Lane during his journey to the Nile country between 1825-27, so that it is a mine of information about the pharaonic monuments in general and about Egypt during those years. A clear and finely written preface by the Editor, Dr. J. Thompson introduces the reader to the beautifully printed text and images; it should be noted that many of the latter were made with a camera lucida and count among the first taken with such a system. One should not be afraid by its bulky aspect: you will read from start to end without boring. The shcolarly-minded ones will regret the lack of indexes to such a huge volume: it implies that you must do the work by yourself... Simply fabulous both for the Egyptologists and the Egyptomaniacs.

wonderfull book, full of information and details. i flew in right seat as plane captain/aircrew in Navy JD-1 '51-53 towing targets for Navy
fighters, F4U Corsairs, F9F panther jets and PB4Y-2 Privateer bombers and Navy ships at sea. Greatest time in my life. I have been collecting Invader books, photos and details for a long time and this book is a welcome addition. Sadly none of the 140 JD-1 Navy invaders survived the scrappers torch. But, i have my books and memories.

Having flown and owned an On Mark executive conversion A-26B, I found Scott Thompson's book to be very accurate and informative. A great historical and insightful work about a truly significant aircraft.

This book have drawings more simple than the next.
There are 12 stories (3 can not drawing on the blackboard).
"Alexander" is a lovely story of a lost friend and found, "Banana cream pie" could be translate by don't attach your dog with sausages. The others stories are: "At the end of the Rainbow", "Cousin Vladimir" ( a family gathering!), "Juanita the
Whale" (a unusual doctor),"The Princess and the critter", "The giant Rabbit story" (a incredible story!), "Trapezoid and parallelogram" (a science-fiction story), "Going to
Maroonawoo" (a difficult travel), "Uncle Bob" (an uncle working
in circus!), "Katie and the Giant", "William and Warble" (a big egg!). A good book, beautiful drawings and also tips,
books to read after, activities around the stories....
We are not bored!

Ce livre a des dessins moins élaborés que le suivant. Il a 12 histoires (3 ne peuvent être dessinées sur le tableau noir). "Alexander" est une charmante histoire d'un ami perdu et retrouvé, "Banana cream pie" pourrait être traduit par on n'attache pas son chien avec des saucisses. Les autres histoires sont "At the end of the Rainbow", "Cousin Vladimir" ( une réunion familiale!), "Juanita the Whale" (un médecin peu ordinaire),"The Princess and the critter", "The giant Rabbit story" (une histoire incroyable!), "Trapezoid and parallelogram" (une histoire de science-fiction), "Going to Maroonawoo" (un voyage difficile), "Uncle Bob" (un oncle qui travaille dans un cirque!), "Katie and the Giant", "William and Warble" (un gros oeuf!) Un bon livre, de beaux dessins et aussi des conseils, des livres à lire après, des activités autour des histoires.... On ne s'ennuie pas!

This is a useful refernce book disguised as easy entertainment. It is loaded with the foods that are fun to eat and good for you at the same time. I heard Dr. Applegate say on the radio that heart disease takes a lifetime to develop and only moments to kill and that over half the deaths that occur every year are from some form of heart disease. So she scared me into buying her book! It has a "Special Risks for Women" section which I made my Mom read. Now she is eating smarter and loves her daily chocolate ration that is OK with Dr A. This book is on my nightstand and before I fall asleep I open the book at any random spot to see which of the 100 foods it opens to and I learn about a new food I had not thought about before or one I am already eating regularly and why it is so good for me. Even though she is from a big University she keeps everything real simple and easy to remember. It definitely changed my life and I feel my Mother and I will live longer because of it. If you read this, thanks Dr. Applegate.

I took Dr. Applegate's nutrition class about ten years ago and she was so cool. She knows everything! She teaches nutrition science to more college students than anyone in the world, over 2,000 a year. I liked her book because I can spend a couple of minutes looking at one or two of her "100 super foods" and learn something fun and neat to know without having to read a whole chapter. (I didn't know avocados and chocolate were good for me.) Her book also showed me how easy all that good/bad cholesterol thing is to understand and how to keep your blood stream loaded with the right stuff. I trust all her tips and tricks about eating right because she is a professor at the University of California. I am giving my parents a copy so they will live longer. I feel more energetic after making one of her power shakes. Her cool smoothie recipes are great on a hot day. And they are extra tasty knowing they are making me healthier. I take her "super food" list with me to the supermarket so I will buy the best foods. The book is easy to read, and a trusty quick reference guide for information that shows you how to live a longer, healthier life.

This "Discussion" was published in Canada for global distribution (by subscription only) in HUMANKIND ADVANCING (Vol.6, No.1, January 1995).

A SPATIAL VANTAGE POINT -- Discussion of EGOSHELL (a local-to-global leadership textbook) written by R.A.Thompson and L.S.Thompson

Instant advanced knowledge could be provided in spite of widespread illiteracy, the Thompsons believe. They describe "Learning Institutes" similar to exhibitions, in which visitors can select the field of their preference at whatever level of sophistication they choose -- from pre-school levels to those of post-doctoral scholarship. Preference choices will correlate individual gifts and occupations, ensure maximum contributions to our world, and lead to maximum personal satisfaction. Moreover, the learner becomes, wherever possible, part of a three-dimensional reality that involves all of his or her senses. Traveling through the universe in a "spaceship" (while the pictures on the walls and ceiling move) fills the student with the same awe experienced by the astronauts and the same love and respect for our own tiny vulnerable planet. The entire learning experience is, in fact, focused on the transformation of an ego-centered perspective to a spatial one. New terms are coined to redirect our very thought patterns -- such as ecological shell (the mantle of all physical life surrounding our earth), planetary ecoshell (the sum of all unique physically- individual human ecoshells within the ecological shell), planetary egoshell (the egological shell, a mantle of all perceptual experience straddling our earth and the sum of all individual egoshells composed of and implemented by each individual brain and its sensors), and so on. Instead of the present "tree-branch" model of knowledge (specialized linear knowledge that is branching constantly out into more detailed specialization, with hardly any understanding among different specialists), a "shell-like" model is introduced (consisting of a large, interdependent general knowledge core, about inorganic reality (1), surrounded by life (2), and then thought and consciousness (3), with specialized knowledge wrapped only around the outermost layer of the planetary egoshell that allows constant awareness of all shells' interaction with one another). This progression from inorganic matter to life and to consciousness reflects the very path and nature of evolution itself and thus incorporates a basic understanding of it into the foundations of our knowledge. In the authors' own words:

"Neil Armstrong's 'giant leap for all mankind' was not merely a metaphor for movement, not even one of technological advance. It was most of all expressive of a psychological quantum jump to the spatial vantage point, a leap that has provided a spatial contrast for all of our former localized perceptions.

'We observe that those of us who took that 'leap' and became aware of our emerging space-age reality are now challenging many traditional, localized concepts using the contrasts provided by that spatial reality. This alone has pitted the aware against the unaware and, in turn, caused a modern resurgence of the historical lifestyle crisis that has waxed and waned over the wandering course of civilization, much like the tidal phases of the moon.

'Those of us who now understand the space-age reality cannot willingly return to earlier forms of awareness -- lesser realities -- based on superstition or on other inconsistent fantasies." (P.281)

The first reaction to the Thompsons' suggestion, of course, is that the cost would be exorbitant. Besides, would there be no truly free choice at all? Would reality be chosen not by the individual, but by the richest persons and nations on earth -- those able to afford contributions to such "Instant Learning Institutes"? And would only Western-style logical knowledge be taught? The Thompsons' reply is that the price of worldwide instant knowledge would be less than is now expended on weapons by all nations together, that only about 200 such institutes, strategically located and interconnected, would be needed, and that the acquisition of scientific principles and logical thinking by everyone would be of the greatest benefit. It would provide a desperately needed basis for mutual understanding, would expose the insanity of wars, of resource depletion, and of runaway population growth. In short, it would be the fastest and most efficient way to save our planet and our humanity. Then to counter the accusations of utopian fantasy, the Thompsons explain:

"Lest the reader believe that the actions taken to practice egology [planetary individualism balanced with(in) planetary interdependence] would be futile, we need only remember that the world has always seemed fixed in the moments before great changes in human history. Catholic power seemed unassailable in the late fifteenth century -- it was the height of the inquisition -- but only decades away was the upheaval of the Reformation...And who would have thought today's 'world village' possible fifty years ago? Since social reality always precedes human understanding of it, there has, of course, been a disparity between that which our society has become and that which it understands itself to be. It is inevitable, however (so history has shown), that such understanding will emerge -- if we do not reduce ourselves to cinders in the interim."(P.295)

The Thompsons founded an organization to research the possibility of creating a future-oriented, computerized, satellite-interconnected network, Spatialworld Corporation, as well as a non-profit educational arm, Planetary Institute for Egology, to encourage the formation of the equivalent of a planetary brain. (Erika Erdmann, Ph.D., Editor and Publisher, "Humankind Advancing," R.R.1, Lockport, N.S., Canada BOT 1LO)

Following are two nationally-published reviews:

SCIENCE BOOKS & FILMS American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (Volume 24, Number 1 -- September/October 1988)

100 Philosophy

THOMPSON, ROBERT A., AND LOUISE S. THOMPSON. Egoshell: Planetary Individualism Balanced within Planetary Interdependence. Buffalo, NY; Prometheus, 1987. 369pp. 87-61609. ISBN 0-87975-365-X. Glossary; Index.

C-T, GA * This book has two theses: the earth and each individual living on it are shells within shells, and the scientific unity of the world should lead to political and economic unity. The authors argue that the tree-branch model of knowledge and society, which subordinates part to part, should be replaced with a spherical shell-like metaphor -- a core of reality surrounded by one shell that is consistent with reality and another (outer) shell that is inconsistent with reality (i.e. as known to date). The shell model balances individualism and interdependence. The authors use astronomy, physics, and ecology to argue for a reorganization of knowledge and of nations into a unified whole. They concentrate on the implications of a spatial perspective -- the perspective gained from seeing earth from an orbiting vehicle or from the moon -- that allows us to conceive of the earth as a whole with no political or economic boundaries. This book is especially suited for courses in technology and society because its social vision of a united world is tied intimately to a scientific vision of the world. Although the range of scientific evidence is broad and although the book is (spatially) unconventionally organized, general audiences will be able to follow the argument because the authors make their case so clearly. -- Marlin Thomas, St. Francis College, Brooklyn NY

****** ****** ******

JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC LITERATURE (March 1988, Volume XXVI, Number 1)

THOMPSON, ROBERT A. and THOMPSON, LOUISE S. Egoshell: Planetary individualism balanced within planetary interdependence. Buffalo, NY; Prometheus Books, 1987. Pp. 369. ISBN 0-87975-X. JEL 88-0317

Searches for the social benefit of the Space Age. Suggests that a "social layer, essentially parallel to nature's ecology, the egological shell is...necessary to form one interdependent planetary society." Introduced by an epilogue and foreword, proposing a yet-to-be created means for dispensing spatial awareness -- (for) an all inclusive understanding of our spatial world. Contends that individualized and interdependent enlightenment can be achieved by disseminating the world's knowledge in a new way. Book 1 describes the egoshell, discussing the launching of a space age enlightenment, the lifestyle crisis, and the emerging planetary citizen. Book 2 presents the "knowledge core." Argues that nature provides a common pattern, based on its own spherical, shell-like structure, on which to refocus our institutions and help resolve the (impending) lifestyle crisis. Thompson is head of Spatialworld Corporation. Glossary; index.

Writing a "book" review on a play that one has not read may seem a bit presumptuous. However, my wife and I saw the US premier of this play at Houston's Stages Theater a few weeks ago and can attest that it is some of the finest entertainment we have seen in many a day. I hope that many people will read it, that college English classes will study it, and, most importantly, that numerous theater groups will stage it.

Historical. Hilarious. Poignant. An exhaustive list of appropriate adjectives would exceed Amazon's page limitations.

The play has a large cast of memorable characters including a semi-blind theater seamstress and a bear. The scene is a barn in England in 1601, and Queen Elizabeth seeks diversion from the impending beheading of her lover in the company of William Shakespeare and his band of actors. The dialogue is both scholarly and witty, with many echoes from Shakespeare's plays.

But the driving force for the drama is the point/counterpoint exchanges between "King" Elizabeth, who feels compelled to shirk her womanly feelings for the good of her country and the actor Ned, a 17th century drag-Queen. More than that I will not tell.

See it if you can, but, until it plays in your area, read the book.

In 1601, Queen Elizabeth I was forced by duty to condemn to death a man widely believed to be her former lover. On the night before the execution, she demanded that William Shakespeare's acting troup, The Lord Chamberlain's Men, perform a play to distract her from the heartbreak that would occur in the morning. This much is truth. Timothy Findley takes these historical facts, blends in a few "what if's?" and creates a powerhouse play about men, women, fantasy, death, and ultimately, love.

After a performance of Much Ado About Nothing, Queen Elizabeth goes backstage to talk with the actors, and finds them all mourning the iminent death of the Beatrice of the evening, their terminally ill leading "lady," Ned. Ned has lived all his life as a woman, and does not know how to face his upcoming death with the courage of a man. Elizabeth, by contrast, has had to destroy her feminine side in order to rule England successfully. Realising this, the two strike a bargain: Ned will teach Elizabeth how to be a woman, if she can teach him how to be a man. What follows is a heartbreaking journey of self-discovery in which Elizabeth learns how to mourn, Ned learns how to die with grace and how to live with love, and William Shakespeare finds the greatest play never written.

This is an excellent choice for any Shakespeare fan, and for any lover of theatre. Powerful, enlightening, heartbreaking and uplifting, Elizabeth Rex is an exquisite journey for the heart, with beautiful dialogue, strong characters, and fascinating arguments. A must-read.

I think this is the best of the Eloise books. I read it as a child and still remember the picture of her walking down the street using baguettes as skis. What a coquine! I think the more French you know the funnier the book is--partly because many pages have a hilarious hash of French and English words. My 7-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter also loved it, although they might just have picked up on my mood. I just couldn't stop laughing. I'm not sure whether Kay Thompson's text or Hilary Knight's illustrations are the best part. A real romp through the streets of Paris.

A fantastic visit to the most superb city in the world, conducted by the world's most superb six year old! You simply must read this book, as all the other Eloise books, perfect for children and precocious adults alike.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book -- the characters were well-defined -- and what a sense of humor! I hated to see the book end.

Ten minutes before the processional, groom Mark O'Grady decides that he can't get married -- again. This time it was because his bride-to-be was addicted to cellular technology. Before that one was a shopaholic, another nags, another only exhibits interest in ancient languages, and the first of the jilted fiancées hates camping. None of his friends except Sam, the best man, will show up for the ceremony anymore. His mother even refuses the invitations!

Mark really does want to get married; it's divorce he's trying to avoid. So he takes Sam's advice about looking for his next bride. He places an ad in Texas Men. Sam reasons that Mark keeps getting engaged to the wrong women because they are beautiful, so naturally he has sex with them. Except under his wild exterior, Mark is really an old fashioned kind of guy. He thinks that once he's had sex with a woman, he has to marry her. So this time they place the ad, sort through the responses, and Mark corresponds with the prospective lady -- for a long time.

Six months later, after a three-month correspondence, Charlie McPherson eagerly plans to meet Mark. She has decided to change her image, however, going for the siren look. She's tired of the low maintenance, wholesome image she ordinarily portrays. This time she intends to experience unbridled passion and searing ecstasy. Since that's exactly opposite of what Sam encourages in Mark, events promise to get very interesting!

Falling in love was never so much fun! Especially when a rapid courtship leads to a wedding proposal, and the ladies in purple T-shirts arrive to warn Charlie of Mark's nefarious past. With DOA for Damn O'Grady's Ass plastered across their T-shirts and the date of the termination of the wedding plans, these ladies mean business. They have formed a support group, meeting once a month to "talk, drink wine, eat take-out, play Uno, trash Mark." So the question remains if Charlie is at last the woman Mark's looking for, or if she's the next member of the DOA support group!

EVERY WOMAN'S FANTASY demonstrates the sensual, exquisite pleasure of meeting one's soul mate, degenerating into every woman's nightmare when the DOA arrive! Hysterically addictive and divine, EVERY WOMAN'S FANTASY fulfills every romance reader's most serious demands, including madcap fun, a tender love story, and the perfect ending. Very highly recommended!