....

I believe Mr. Koppel had a tough choice in crafting book - how to tell the story of the company and the personalities involved, while at the same time explain the technology - which is quite fascinating and a topic of its own. To achieve this and not end up with a 1000 page text is a hard thing to do.

However - I wish they had made a choice on covering one topic and doing it justice - in this case the story of the company and the personalities involved. Koppel managed to gloss over ...some (to me) very significant episodes in the history of the firm. Perhaps he was not privy to all the details - but that in itself is a confusing issue as well. It seems he had access to Geoffrey Ballard and Fairoz Rasul - but does mention that Rasul told him that Ballard Power Systems would not assist in the creation of this book. The timing of this statement is not clear - did it happen while the book was being researched or after or before?

This also leads to another problem in the accounts - they are very Geoffrey Ballard centric and as the book explains - Ballard was a powerful personality and therefore (assumption here) prone to being very opinionated. One wonders how much of the other 2 sides of the story ... we are missing.

Furthermore, Ballard was not actively involved in the company when it really made its transformation from R&D focused niche player to commercial entity. That period, to me as a student of organizational behaviour, would have been very rich in detail on how the company managed the change, got the message across, set its strategy, executed at the tactical level, protected its interests, won or lost on the issues, etc. All of that is given a summary passing over "obstacles were overcome ...", "effeciencies were increased...", etc.

That left me sort of hanging. I commend the book for taking on a very rich subject and trying to navigate the highlights. But that tactic left me just short of being really enlightened about either fuel cell technology or growing a small niche business into a viable commercial entity. Thus the mediocre score.

This is a good book about Ballard Fuel Cell Company. It tells the story about taking the fuel-cell technology for electricity production from an oddity used in space to mass-market commercialization. The process is still going on so the book cannot conclude that Ballard has reached their goal, but the book does a good job explaining how Ballard reached their current state.
From a technical point of view one can argue that the author focuses too much on fuel cell development and too little on the necessary hydrogen delivery infrastructure, which is required to operate the fuel cells.
The book is also a good study in growing a start-up company. It shows how the founding entrepreneur pushes the idea forward until the company reaches a size where people with other qualities are needed to run the company. It shows how a company with hardly any products on the market can retain the public interest by carefully manage the information flow. Finally the book shows that it is possible for a relative small company to start development relationships with big multinational companies and still retain most of their independence.

This book is a great case study in management and innovation. It shows once again that a small group of dedicated individuals can compete successfully against much larger competitors.

Fuel cells have long been successful in space craft. Soon you will be able to use them in your vehicles and buildings. Utility power plants typically discard about 60% of the heat energy from fuel. A fuel cell in your home would provide electricity efficiently. Instead of discarding the heat, you could use the fuel cell to heat your water everyday and provide some winter space heating.

A fuel cell in your vehicle will increase fuel efficiency and eliminate the need for oil changes.

About 40 cubic miles of crude oil remain available for more than six billion people, and we are consuming more than one cubic mile each year. By helping to reduce fuel consumption, fuel cells will help us to delay and reduce the severity of the coming shortages of fossil fuels.

This book has very good practice tests for the science sections (although there are a few errors here and there. If you know your stuff, you'll be able to pick them out and they won't phase you. For example, in two places they ask you to name an organic compound, and don't name it correctly in any of the choices!!!) Despite these tiny errors, the practice tests are very good and very helpful....EXCEPT THE VERBAL SECTIONS!!! SKIP THE VERBAL SECTIONS - there are MANY questions which have more than one correct answer in the choices, some questions which have no correct answers and the occasional question which asks for your opinion!!!! you'd never see any question without ONE correct answer on the MCAT and these verbal sections will drive you nuts! I'd still get the book and substitute a different verbal for the ones here.

Like others, I found the verbal sections to be near-useless. However, the science sections more than make up for that shortcoming. They're great practice; just a touch harder than the actual sections on the test in my experience. The book isn't perfect, but it's a good buy and worth using.

Excellent book, the three tests were very much like the real MCAT, although some questions are a little off-the-wall overall, the book is excellent, definitely worth getting.

A MUST HAVE book

Ever driven down Highway 84 and been amazed by the scenery of the Columbia River?
Ever curious about how the Columbia became the Columbia?
Ever seen a giant bolder in the Willamette Valley and wondered how it got there.
Can you imagine the sea level four hundred feet above Portland?
You think you know, but you have no idea.
Until you read this book! (Or hear about it from a friend.)

This book excellently explains why the eastern half of the State of Washington and the lower Columbia valley are so curiously carved. It also shows how a truly observant scientist works, even though his vindication may be slow in coming. While some persons might wish for more color photographs, I believe the black and white format, particularly in the Grand Coulee region, better shows the power and scope of the floods that carved these otherworldly channels from bare lava rock. The drawing of a typical Bretz flood has to be seen firsthand to be believed. Another exemplary book on the geology of the West. Don't see Grand Coulee or the Columbia Gorge without reading this book.

I've lived in the Walla Walla River Basin for a little over a year. After reading this book, the surrounding area became more alive. This book tells of fascinating events that took place several thousand years ago that created many of the local landmarks. It makes my travels more interesting and personal as I recognize features described in this book. If your a highly educated geologists searching for some real meat, this book is not for you. For the rest of us, this book is written in easy to understand terms. If you live in the Northwest, it's a must read.

When I was browsing on Amazon, I was surprised to see that this book (In Europe it is called 'The Pimlico History of Western Philosophy, edited by Richard H. Popkin and effectively written by -indeed- a 'small army of connaisseurs') had an average rating of 4.5 stars. To me the largest part of the book is utterly unreadable. Many sections seem like an endless row of quotations connected by lines of interpretative thought from each expert. No doubt that these people are experts in their field, but their capacity to transmit the basic ideas as intended by the philosophers discussed (or at least the interpretations of those ideas), is very poor. Nor do the discussions stimulate philosophical thought in the reader himself. Probably this might not be the purpose of this book, but in my personal opinion every history of philosophy should encourage the interested layman to contemplate on the big questions concerning metaphysics, ontology, epistemology and ethics. Or as Storig formulates it very well in his excellent 'Kleine Weltgeschichte der Philospie':

What can we do? What should we do? What may we believe?

If you are looking for the answers to these questions, do not read this book. The remark Popkin makes in the introduction of this book concerning 'History of Western Philosophy' by Bertrand Russell is really cheap: "Russell wrote his book hastily out of financial desperation while jobless in N.Y.C. at the beginning of WW II. Since Russell was a scholar of very few topics he covered, and uninterested or hostile to others, his opus is most engaging as Russelliana but hardly as history of philosophy". And further: "This work (Popkin's) is not intended to compete with this classic (Russell's)". Well, I read both and the conclusion is easily made. Pimlico doesn't come even close to Russell's. Indeed Bertrand Russell treats the history of philosophy in a very personal style and frankly ventilates his opinion on the great minds of western philosophy. But he does this in such a way, that it is still possible to get a clear picture of the original ideas unbiased by Russell's opinions. Also Russell's book does stimulate the educated reader to think and judge for himself. And, frankly, - but this is my personal opinion - although I do not agree with Russell's judgement in a number of cases, his statement that the philosophic ideas of some great men like Berkeley - who denied the existence of matter; material objects exist only through being perceived - are to be classified as insanity, despite the sometimes ingenuous arguments Berkeley made to support this view.

I would like to spare one section from Pimlico's from my harsh criticism. That is the one written by Avrum Stroll on 'Twentieth Century Analytic Philosphy'. The eleven chapters he wrote give a very accessible introduction to this difficult subject, although I feel he could have spent more words on the Tractatus in the Wittgenstein chapter. Stroll's contribution prevents the rating from dropping to one star.

The Columbia History of Western Philosophy narrates western philosophy in a more collective way than traditional histories of philosophy, and, for related reasons, its editor, Richard H Popkin, has called upon a diverse group of specialists to edit the chapters.

This is both Politically Correct and academically conventional, but it means that the Columbia history is not a good introduction to philosophy for the general reader: instead it is an excellent reference book for someone already versed in philosophy.

In former days, the history of philosophy was biographical, and focused on the thought of the major dead white males. .... Throughout his book, Popkin's authors provide this Politically Correct equal time and the general reader already well-versed in philosophy can learn much. But Popkin, in the selfsame interests of Political Correctness, fails to have his team judge, and for that matter, the judgements of a team are almost guaranteed to be a least common denominator. The sophisticated and academic reader can be left with more questions than answers, but the general reader is, I think, ultimately confused: did Plato mean what Plato said or was Plato messing with our minds? Should Spinoza have gotten married and settled down? Was Theodore Adorno a schnook or a good guy? ....

The Columbia History is destined to become a classic. Richard Popkin assembled a small army of experts to write this history. The result is a text that is useful not only to the scholar, but to the general reader and student as well. Although a book like this suffers the danger that it will be simply a collection of unrelated essays on each philosopher or school of philosophy, Popkin provides notes that connect the separate articles. The thorough bibliography and index make this book particularly useful. Every student of philosophy should own a copy. Highly recommended.

I loved the photos,and having travelled the province found it thrilling to recognize sites personally visiting. Leighton has captured the essence of the diversity to be found in his part of the world. I fly fish,so found the Cariboo section intriging!

Douglas Leighton is the bestselling photographer in the Canadian Rockies. I work for Doug's publisher, and I just wanted to let other readers know that this is a pictorial book (a "coffee table book") and is certainly not intended to be a guidebook. It features gorgeous photos of the entire province of BC, with accompanying text.

Doug Leighton is the bestselling photographer in the Canadian Rockies. I work for Doug's publisher, and I just wanted to let other readers know that this is a pictorial book (a "coffee table book") and is certainly not intended to be a guidebook. It features gorgeous photos of the entire province of BC along with short commentaries accompanying the photos.

I have had this book for many years and done may of the hikes. It is a great source for the start of the trail but beyond that, you're pretty much on your own.

There are no maps, just had drawn scribbles that seldomly represent the terrain. Be careful to look for the indication of North as it is never to the top of the page as it should.

I just did one of the hikes yesterday, Deaks Bluffs Trail. The book is right on until after the third "Y" in the beggining of the trail but after that, you are totally on your own.

Instead of factual directions or prominate features, the author(s) get way too wordy verging on poetic. Sweet but it doesn't help you in the back country.

Anyone considering this book must realize that the trails contained in this book are serious back country and we pull many people off these mountains banged up, hypothermic and on occassion, dead. I feel that is by and large due to books like this put you in the high country but don't prepare you for whats in store. It doesn't suggest kit or proper clothing. A lovely mountian trail that gets clouded in often means you can't see fifteen feet ahead of you. Visual references are quite important to the less experienced.

It is my opinion that the author(s) should stick to writing "walks" books where the conseqences are less severe.

Excellent hiking guide. Exact, blow-by-blow details for hikes within a weekend of Vancouver. These hikes all have trails. For off-trail hikes, where one navigates through the forest and alpine with a topographic map, compass, and altimeter, and for descriptions of climbing routes, use the book by Bruce Fairley (which is essentially an update of Dick Culbert's "Hiking Guide to Southwest BC"). Culbert's guide is out of print and badly out of date, but IMO a better, more concise guidebook. For instructions on HOW to hike and climb, try "The Complete Walker III" by Colin Fletcher, and on how to climb try "Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills".

I have worn out 3 copies of this book over the year. Very good selection of hikes within a days drive of Vancouver. Good directions to trail heads and acurate time estimates for hike completion.

This is my first taste of Edgar Award winner Ms. Wright's fiction and, if this book is any indication of her talent, then I am certainly going to seek out her other novels. Her spare yet descriptive prose perfectly evokes the gothic tone of the deeds that connect the various characters. The surprises come not in the plot but in the motives and backgrounds of the characters. If there is any criticism, it is that she holds back too much, so that some scenes don't have quite the impact that they should, but this is a minor peeve. I read this right after reading McGrath's SPIDER, and the two novels share a vague similarity in tone and subject matter. Worth checking out.

Since you know who committed the murder and why (as described in the editorial review and very early in the book) there is neither a mystery or very little suspense here. But like her other books in the series, Wright focuses more on character study and the relationships among those affected by the murder rather than lay out a typical who-dunit.

I frankly found the main character, Zoe Strachan, to be the most fascinating feature of the book because her gross inner imperfections contrasted sharply with her outward stunning beauty. The one fault I find with this book, however, is that Zoe is perceived by others and perhaps Wright herself as evil, when in fact many of her actions are driven by acute mental illness. The former has you rooting for the character's demise; the latter has you hoping she gets treatment.

All-in-all, a very good read.

this was an excellent book. i enjoyed reading this book so much. it was supsense full if you like mystery books you'll enjoy reading this.

Islam is a triumphalist theocratic tradition. The American Constitution provides for a secular state where government and religion are separate. The Koran endorses wife beating which is illegal in the United State. The Koran also endorses polygamy, similarly illegal in the United States. Traditional Islam called for the separation of the sexes based on the hadith in which Mohammed states that "when a man and a woman are alone together, the third person present is the Devil"
Question, how can a believing Muslim agree to support the Constitution of the United States when the Islam requires theocracy. Question how can a believing Muslim live among non-believers who are considered unclean?
Food for thought.

Compared to the literature on Muslims in Europe or China (two other regions with significant Muslim minorities) the literature on Muslims in the United States is very flimsy indeed. In addition to lacking the theoretical sophistication of the literature on other regions, the available works on Muslims in the United States tends to be highly polemical. On the one hand are those authors like Daniel Pipes for whom the radical fringe represents the totality of Muslim experience. Smith represents the other side of this polemic, and her work is primarily a defense of Muslim's place in the American fabric.

This is not to say that Smith's work is without merit. For readers with no background in Islam, she gives a fairly readable overview of the basic tenets of Islam and some of the tensions within the Muslim community in the United States. She is particularly good in her coverage of the development of Islam amongst African Americans and the relationship between Islamic practice and American identity politics.

For anyone with more than a passing knowledge of these issues, however, Smith's treatment will seem overly simple and far too defensive. Her work is remarkably uninformed by the study of Islam in other societies and makes no reference to scholarly debates regarding Islam in the United States. Her work shows a strong bias towards what she understands to be Orthodox practice and a corresponding disdain for synchretist movements. She mentions tensions within the Islamic community, but fails to give the reader enough details to understand the relative importance of the positions she mentions. In the end, Smith's work is readable, but not particularly enlightening. It could only be recommended to the reader with the absolute minimum of background on the subject.

I wish I could offer a suggestion for a better monograph on the subject. Unfortunately, I don't know of any. Probably the best direction to take would be to explore the large number of scholarly articles in academic journals and in compiled works, such as Haddad & Smith's Muslim Minorities in the West: Visible & Invisible.

I am half-way through the hardcover edition of Islam in America, and am surprised at the depth of knowledge Smith reveals of Islam and Muslims.

I have read other books by other scholars and have found their perspectives sometimes colored by their political or spiritual beliefs. Too often is there an association of the religion with extremist groups, a subtle attempt to link the faith of the majority with the extremist fervor of a few. To the author's credit, she draws the line that distinguishes one from the other, pointing out that Islam - and those who sincerely practice it - rejects all forms of racism.

With Smith, there is a complete honesty in her analysis. She espouses no cause, but she certainly has revealed a remarkable knowledge of the history of Islam in the United States as well as of Islamic practices. I have no idea of her religion, but from the way she has written she could even be a liberal, analytical and very observant Muslim.

Smith's understanding of Islam and the Muslim community in America is so intimate and impressive that I have been corralling my wife and reading paragraphs and pages out aloud to her! My children are still too young to read the book by themselves, but it is already adding to our dinner-time discussions of what it means to be Muslim in America.

I borrowed the hardcover book from our local library - it was a surprising find in small-town America - and obviously intend to buy one to keep and re-read.

The chapters dealing with Colombia's early history are fascinating but the later chapters, dealing with more recent events, seem to expose some of the author's own bias. Jenny Pearce's "Colombia: Inside the Labyrinth" provides a harder hitting analysis of modern Colombian politics. Bushnell's book is still worth reading for its analysis of the early centuries in Colombia -- the influence of which is being felt to this day.

This book is an adequate introduction to Colombia for those people who currently only think that Colombia is a country full of cocaine dealers, vicious killers and leftist guerillas. This book is successful in putting these stereotypes in their proper places.

My biggest complaint with this book is that it is a history of presidents, wars and important people; i.e., a traditional style of history.

In order to dig deeper into the background behind the current situation in Colombia, I suggest people visit Human Rights Watch and pick up some of their reports on the human rights situation in Colombia. They are very enlightening, especially on the role of the US in Colombia's violence.

Anyone attempting to decipher the complexities of the Colombian crisis must start with this text. It is comprehensive and objective.

This is perhaps the worst piece of politically-correct, falsely historical literature the CanLit factories have ever produced. The narrator of the novel implies that the entire book is just her trying to make the past all goody-goody so she can live a happy care-free life, and as a result the book reads like a 14yr-old gossiping about the Backstreet Boys. If you want to read good Chinese literature, read something else, Six Records Of A Floating Life or something. If you want to read a bland, tasteless, stereotypical novel with flat, uninteresting, stupid and weak characters, read Disappearing Moon Cafe. A book that is not Chinese-Canadian literature so much as it is an example as to just how easily books that play to the racial stereotype can find a publisher. I am from a Chinese family that's been in Vancouver for over a hundred years, and the "Chinese-Canadian" experience detailed in this book bears no relations whatsoever to actuality. The only redeeming quality of this novel, for me, is that there's a chapter set in a building my family used to own. For immortalizing this brick forever in the great genre of poor literature, I commend Sky Lee. This book is the foul stench upon which Chinese literature floats, and should not have any more time wasted on it.

Though I wouldn't call Disappearing Moon Cafe the BEST book ever, I would hardly go as far as to call it the worst. Comparing it to works such as Six Records of a Floating Life is, furthermore, problematic; the distinctions between Chinese literature and Chinese-Canadian literature are far too vast to place in the same category.
I would recommend this book to anyone, though it is definitely a very slanted view of the Chinese-Canadian experience. It does draw out certain important points, however: the divisions between the Chinese immigrant and other races, the effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the role of identity, and both family and interracial relationships. It is DEFINITELY a very intriguing read.

As a student of the first Chinese Canadian history course offered in any Canadian university (University of Alberta), I found Sky Lee's Disappearing Moon Cafe one of the most profound and intellectually stimulating novels I have come across in my life. Though a background in the history of Chinese Canadians is by no means a pre-requisite to this novel, I believe Lee has thoroughly researched the social and political climate of the Chinese in Canada during the time in which her novel is set. Indeed, Lee's ability to integrate factual history with fiction in her narrative is quite remarkable. That she utilizes the theorized union between the Chinese and Aboriginal peoples to both begin and complete her narrative speaks to her creativity and willigness to move beyond simple facts.

I would recommend this novel to any individual seeking to extend their understanding of the Chinese Canadian experience and especially to those local born Chinese who, like myself, are searching for a cultural identity that combines both our cultural roots in Canada and in China. This novel is poignant, reflective and completely deserving of our attention.