"Old Age and Death are no longer necessary or acceptable. We are either the last to grow old and die, or the first to stay young and live forever. We choose to be the first to stay young and live forever. Our goal is simple: kill Old Age and Death!" -- from The Immortalist Manifesto

Ben Bova has succeeded in gathering the most recent developments in medical science and technology together with the most credible extrapolations of current trends to write a terrific and much-needed book. He has studied the many diverse and often arcane fields of scientific investigation and somehow created a highly readable yet convincing depiction of where life extension research may lead us. He makes acceptable what used to seem unbelievable.

Immortality is not a long book and does not come across as scholarly or academic. It is clearly intended for the popular reader. And yet, I believe it is one of the most important and valuable books to be written within the last 20 years. If it is widely read and discussed, it will go a long way toward persuading the public that they'd better pay attention and begin preparing for the amazing ways in which our world is about to change.

NOTE: Ben Bova is not a medical doctor, but rather a Ph.D. of the liberal arts. The use of "Dr." before his name was probably his publisher's idea, intended to give the author more legitimacy on this topic. I find it disingenuous and needless. Ben Bova is a successful, respected writer of speculative fiction, and is probably as well qualified to write this book as any medical doctor.

So many of them waste your time talking about the history of futures. They also get bogged down with the mechanics. For someone who has traded before it can be frustrating to go through 100 pages of fluff just to get to the author's point.

Not so with this book. From the introduction on he keeps it brief and to the point. He also spells out his mission of wanting to see the small speculator succeed by giving you concrete tools. He talks of three a "Futures Trading Plan" a "Futures Trading Worksheet" and finally a "Futures Trading Journal".

He gives you ideas on how to modify these three tools to fit your trading style. He also points out that not every futures broker should be a futures broker. I can attest to that.

Even though it's a small book I found it big on information. So I bought "Futures For Small Speculators: Workbook" and I was even further impressed. This book is based on a 8.5" x 11" format and has the three tools mentioned above layed out bare. There is a Futures Trading Plan questionnaire to photocopy and fill out, there is an actual Trading Worksheet to use, and built into the guide is a Futures Trading Journal.

Great stuff here. It will definitely add to how you discipline yourself to trade the markets.

Its major strength is the integrated approach: Sherman Lee organizes the book chronologically and thematically, rather than geographically. Instead of writing a section on Chinese art and a section on Indian art, Lee organizes his material by stage of development (Stone Age pottery) or by cultural movement (Buddhism), for example tracing the development of Buddhist styles in India, the adoption of those styles in China, Japan, and S.E. Asia, and the eventual synthesis of the Indian influences into local styles incorporating indigenous themes. Lee writes eloquently and even passionately about his subject, letting us know which cultures, styles, and artworks he admires. He covers a vast amount of cultures and time periods, easily enough material for dozens of books.

The book does have significant flaws, however. Most frustrating are the black and white photos (presumably a cost-saving measure). Roughly 90% of the images in the book are black and white, and they cannot do justice to most of the subject matter. A second weakness is Lee's writing style, which is sometimes more eloquent than comprehensible. At times I had to reread a section several times in order to figure out what Lee was trying to say. He sometimes seemes to be addressing himself to an audience of art critics who are already familiar with the material, rather than students encountering it for the first time. He will tell us that a particular art work is hieratic in style, or is an example of Daoist style, without explaining why. Also the thematic, rather than chronological, approach means that some topics are fragmented into parts of different chapters. The material on Korea, Southeast Asia, and the Tang Dynasty seemed especially disjointed. The sections on China in particular need more development: Lee provides only a single page of text on the historically pivotal Qin Dynasty, and does only a fair job explaining the influences of Confucianism and Daoism.

One alternative text that deserves consideration is The Art of East Asia, edited by Gabriele Fahr-Becker. Almost of the photographs are in color, and the text is both more comprehensive and more comprehensible than Sherman Lee, in particular the section on China. The text is written by several different authors, one for each region, which has both advantages and disadvantages -- it avoids the fragmentation of Lee's approach, at the expense of integrating it all into one consistent framework. The key disadvantage of The Art of East Asia (compared to Sherman Lee's History of Far Eastern Art) is that it doesn't include India, which contributed some of Asia's most impressive sculptures, and whose religions had tremendous influence on the rest of Asia.

I was required to use this book as a secondary text for a class on early Asian Cultures at NYU. Along with the material presented in class, this book provided great insight into basics of the Asian culture.

This rather heavy book is perfectly organized chronologically and geographically. It provides great graphical supplement to the study of early Asian art. Many artifacts are portrayed, most with detailed description of their history and origin.

I enjoyed my class greatly and this book provided great help to understanding Asian art. If you are a person who prefers visual aids rather than tons of text and would like to learn the basics of Asian art, I highly recommend this book. The photographs are excellent, and more often then not, actually motivate you to reading the descriptions of the portrayed objects. This book will not make you an expert on Asian art, but you'll be able to schmooze your way through at pretentious cocktail parties without any effort.

The typical Dungeons and Dragons-related novel has one pace to it: breakneck. I've wondered more than once if one of the writing guidelines for new TSR authors is Poe's old maxim that all novels should be written as if they are to be read in one sitting. (This, of course, is why Poe wrote only one novel.) I've read a lot of D&D-themed novels, and very few break that mold. The most recent to cross my desk is David Cook's King Pinch.

Pinch is a thief of indeterminate birth who leads a band of merry men (and one overly merry woman) down a road of small-time crookery-- that is, until a member of Pinch's past life shows up and takes him and his companions back to Ankhapur, the city of Pinch's birth, with promises of a nebulous job that will put enough money in their bank accounts to keep them comfortable for life, and threats of their heads on pikes if they don't come.

The book starts off in an almost leisurely way, with Cook taking some time to develop Pinch's character before getting into the action. While that's never a bad thing, it does jar in the greater scheme of things. The pace does pick up as the novel goes on, but I wonder if most series readers who focus on TSR novels won't abandon this one given its initial slow pace. More fool them, however, because the reader of swords-and-sorcery fantasy will find much to enjoy once it gets going. ***

Where the Knight's Tale was primarily a story about chivalry, love, and spirituality, The Two Noble Kinsmen is very much about psychology and human emotions. Like other plays that Shakespeare wrote, this one shows how conflicting emotions create problems when we cannot master ourselves. In this case, the two loving cousins, Palamon and Arcite, fall out over having been overwhelmed by love for the appearance of Emilia, Duke Theseus's sister. The play explores many ways that their fatal passion for Emilia might be quenched or diverted into more useful paths. The dilemma can only be resolved by the removal of one of them. This places Emilia in an awkward situation where she will wed one, but at the cost of the life of the other. She finds them both attractive, and is deeply uncomfortable with their mutual passion for her. In a parallel subplot, the jailer's daughter similarly falls in love with Palamon, putting her father's life and her own in jeopardy. Overcome with unrequited love, she becomes mad from realizing what she has done. Only by entering into her delusions is she able to reach out to others.

What most impressed me from reading this play is how much better Shakespeare was as a writer than either Chaucer or Fletcher. You can tell the parts that Shakespeare wrote because the language is so compact, so powerful, and so filled with relevant imagery. The tension is unremitting and makes you squirm.

By contrast, the Knight's Tale is one of the dullest stories you could possibly hope to read and admire for its virtuosity without experiencing much enjoyment. Although the same plot is developed, few emotions will be aroused in you. When Fletcher is writing in this play, the development is slow, the content lacks much emotion, and you find yourself reaching for a blue pencil to strike major sections as unnecessary.

In fact, this play would not be worth reading except for the exquisite development of the dilemmas that are created for Emilia. Her pain will be your pain, and you will want to escape from it as much as she does. In these sections, you will find some of Shakespeare's greatest writing.

I also was moved by the way several scenes explored the duality of cousinly friendship and affection occurring at the same time that lethal passions of love and jealousy are loose.

Although this play will probably not be among your 50 favorites, you will probably find that it will sharpen your appetite for and appreciation of Shakespeare's best works.

I also listened to Arkangel recording, and recommend it. The performances are fine, the voices are easy to distinguish, the music is magnificent, the singing adds to the mood nicely, and you will find your engagement in the play's action powerfully increased over reading the play.

When do you lose control over your emotions? What does it cost you? How could you regain control before harm is done?

May you find peaceful, positive solutions to all of your dilemmas!