I didn't know Chekov was considered a master of the short story until I read Janet Malcolm's pieces about him in The New Yorker. So I started with this book, which contains some of his earliest stories. Each story is amazing and in them you can see him progressing into his own unique style. This is a great book to start with if you're reading Chekov for the first time.

As expected, this book from America's greatest writer is fun and funny. It's actually three books, put together in a facsimile edition by Oxford. The first books, _The Stolen White Elephant, etc._ is a collection of Clemens' humorous short stories and speeches. Though these do not get into the same serious criticism of society as _Huck Finn_ or _Connecticut Yankee_, they do have a biting tone and make the reader laugh. Despite the title, the only of these tales with any detectives is the title story. The second book, _Tom Sawyer, Detective_, follows Tom and Huck on a third adventure. Huck tells the story, and though the accent isn't done as thoroughly as in the prequel, the novel is funny and...well, funny! The last novel, _A Double-Barreled Detective Story_, makes fun of the whole detective genre.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who who missed Tom, Huck and Hank Morgan, and to anyone looking for a good laugh.

While some published reviews on this book (which began as a series of lectures) are cautiously mixed, presumably on account of the book's lack of a philosophical perspective on modernism, my own is a rave (simply look elsewhere for a philosophical perspective--anyway, such books are easier to find) . For anyone who loves poetry, especially poetry in its more sophisticated forms (as opposed to the all-too usual sloppiness of slam poetry), this book offers the opportunity to have a dialogue with a brilliant poet and critic. For anyone who approaches poetry with trepidation, this book may be enough to convert you. Fenton's ability to excel at both poetry and criticism is all too rare in today's climate of popular culture; moreover, he writes for a broad audience. Just as he did in Leonardo's Nephew, he brings the characters he discusses vividly to life (reminding me, always, of the best hagiographers), always taking a broad approach which never attempts to separate the poet from his/her work, and always working hands-on with the poetry itself. Sometimes, this leads him to extremely provocative territory (as with Plath). His is a captive audience. In summary, this is an engaging, witty book rich with insight.

If you enjoy this book, or are interested in it, I would also recommend reading Bruce Bawer's Prophets and Professors.

As I read this book, I realized how difficult it must have been to write. It explores such a new territory of philosophy in a true scientific fashion. Its arguments are vitally important to the average person today. If we have one day of our time to donate to alleviate suffering, do we? If we have $100 of our money to donate to alleviate pain, do we? And who do we donate our time and money to? Does the average person read stories of hunger and starvation in other countries, or do we tend to turn our attention to the divorces of movie stars? The Western world likes to pride itself on moral responsibility, and some have what is referred to as 'compassion fatigue'. Jamie Mayerfeld wants to measure the degree of suffering of each individual, as possibly an effort to ensure that our own compassion is divided accordingly.

This book is a technical read for those who will attempt it, but it is worth the effort of those who care enough to wonder if their compassion is truly being delivered to the one person most in need.

This is *the* reference for symmetric functions and related topics. The second edition is greatly expanded, including (among other things) valuable material on Macdonald polynomials (though the author modestly does not refer to them by this term). The exposition is clean and to the point, as we have come to expect of Macdonald. The only defect of the book is that it can be hard to find things in it. The index is much too short, and much of the material is presented in long lists of disconnected "examples" that are very hard to search through quickly.

This is a complete review of almost all syndromes affecting the face, with complete information about the most important conditions and very good references until june 2001. Congratulations to the authors for their great effort to put together a lot of information very useful to phisicians, dentists and many other specialists.

I started my study of the Spanish language when I was 14, but my teachers mainly focused on written Spanish. I needed something that would help me improve my listening comprehension and speaking ability. I saw this course and decided to try it. I left the book at home and took the first CD with me in the car. (I didn't want to look at the transcript.) I let the CD run its course and I was surprised at my listening comprehension! There were pronunciation drills, listening exercises, lively dialogues, and chapter summaries. I especially enjoyed the story included near the end of every chapter. It gave me an opportunity to listen to real Spanish and to have a little fun with it. The book contained grammar explanations and exercises, written exercises, tests, vocabulary lists, and transcripts of some of the dialogues on the CDs.

This course would be a good investment for a beginner, or for anyone who wants a review of the Spanish language. The recordings on the CD are excellent and the exercises in the book are well-constructed. The course offers so much at a great price!

it is very nice to lear within the period mantioned and even one of the best book i ever found in the net.

An exceptonally thoughtful analysis of television and how it influences opinions and attitudes. As you read this book, you'll get some insight into the ways you are being subtly manipulated every day. Lots to think about!

Rowe is one of the best computer science writers today and this book is in keeping with his usually high standards. He draws together the worlds of computer science, biology, and mathematics to present clearly understandable and meaningful models. Any reader with a reasonable background in these fields (decent college freshman courses in programming, calculus, and general biology should suffice, though I'd say that as far as the math goes, some exposure to differential equations would be very helpful) will be able to understand and learn from this material...