I've seen Shelly in person and have felt her pain. Her poem "The Boxes" is one of the most amazing poems I've ever read. She knows how to put the pain into words.

I have lost two children in the past 6 years, and Shelly writes what I feel. "Get out of the box....Ben and Matthew."

Although I did not fall directly in the target audience ( if there can be such a thing) for this book, having never lost a child, I was greatly moved by reading it.

I had purchased a copy, and read it in one sitting ( highly recommended) on a trans-continental airline flight. My seat mate kept stealing glances over my shoulder, to find out what I was reading that kept me reaching for my handkerchief, and weeping profusely at times.

Subsequently, I have encountered numerous parents who have lost their children in some accident or tragedy, and I never hesitate to recommend this book to them. Shelly Wagner has given us a phenomenal tool for grief counseling. Read it, and see if there is not someone for whom it is appropriate. This volume belongs in the library of every compassionate human being on the planet.

Capt. Chris Siegel Beaufort, NC seagull@myexcel.com

The Andrew Poems by Shelly Wagner take us back to 1984, the drowning of Andrew. Having never written Poetry before, Shelly Wagner grasps us from page one, and doesn't let us go.

I loved this book when I was twelve (the same age as Andrew). It is chock full of verisimilitude and I loved the style, which is conversational without being hackneyed.

When in my twenties, I read Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye." A few pages into it, I said "HEY!" Holden Caulfield's voice is almost exactly the same as Andrew Kellogg's. Barbara Brooks Wallace cannot convince me she was not inspired by Salinger.

Barbra Brooks Wallace has written a book for youth that brings home what it is like to grow up unappreciated and lonely in a new community. Andrew, the book's hero, moves with his family to Washington DC and immediately begins facing all of the troubles a boy in junior high must face: the fears that go along with being the "new kid," bullies, loneliness, a big brother with no time for him unless he is bossing him around, and a kid sister he finds himself having to take care of. Top it off with a mother who has to go away for a while, and it is a wonder Andrew doesn't go crazy! Blessed with smarts and a wry sense of humor, however, Andrew rises to the challenges (even when he doesn't want to) and truly becomes the "big deal."

This book brings back memories of my childhood. It's a story of a boy who moved with his family to Washington D.C. and tells about his struggles with childhood, and getting no respect. It is a very funny book for kids, and was the first book I remember laughing out loud while reading!

My 4 year old daughter loves this book. We too stumbled acrossed it at the library. She saw the cover and insisted we check it out. When I started reading it my daughter she couldn't stop laughing. We have only had it for two days and I've must have read it about twenty times. Now when I give her a bath we recite lines from the book. Wish it was still in print.

I was sorry to see that this wonderful book is out of print. My two-year-old daughter and I were fortunate enough to have stumbled upon it in our local library, and have kind of "adopted" it ever since! It's a gem of a book -- truly humorous both in the plot and the irresistable, subtle details throughout. My daughter relishes the dynamic between the animals who join Andrew in his bath, and she continues to laugh out loud as the hippo tries desperately to get a bite of Andrew's sandwich, already claimed by the rascally frog. An ace of a book!

When my daughter and I first started reading books together this was one she consistently turned to. It became an every-night ritual to read this and laugh out loud at Andrew and his antics. Every parent can identify with poor Andrews parents and every kid can imagine his frustration. A must have for a childs personal library.

I just read this new edition from cover-to-cover in preparation for the dermatology boards and I am very impressed! The new edition is updated not only in therapeutics but also in the latest in genetic defects underlying the genodermatoses that the boards love so much. It concisely covers clinical dermatology in a very readable format. One thing it lacks is an organized chapter on therapeutics.

This edition was long overdue. The previous edition was excellent, and this one adds alot to it. Many updated therapies...several new chapters...a slightly different format...excellent new edition. The only criticism I would have is that there are still no color pictures in it. I would recommend this for all dermatology libraries and would consider it a must for all dermatology residents.

this book is essential for all dermatology residents...the new edition is out now which i highly recommend, being that it now has more chapters and many updated therapies...this is a book you read from cover to cover...

Okay, I've been collecting Archie comics since I was like 8 or 9 (5-6 years) and I've got to say that I LOVE THESE COMICS! I have about 500 digests and about 100 flat comics. They aren't you normal "superhero" comics or your Garfield type comics that are only a strip long. These stories run about 4-7 pages long each (there are a lot of stories in a digest comic, even more in a double-digest), except the many part ones which can run up to like 20-30 pages. There are also little page joke ones scattered throughout the books. These comics are funny and very enjoyable to read. Some of the characters and problems you can relate to, while others are just plain outragious and funny! The characters are each well planned out. Here are a few:

The five main ones are:

Archie Andrews(of course)-a nice, girl-crazy, well-meaning, but VERY clumsy all around American boy who is in love with two girls (Betty and Veronica)

Betty Cooper- a too nice, typical girl next door girl who loves Archie with all her heart. her best friend and worst rival is Veronica

Veronica Lodge- snotty, daddy's little rich girl whos father is a zillionaire! but underneath it all, she has a heart of gold. she loves Archie some of the time, but also uses him as a puppet.

Reggie Mantle- richer than Archie and Betty, but not a millionaire or anything. he flaunts his new cars and stuff in people's faces. REALLY REALLY conceited and in love with himself (also Veronica) the trickster of the gang

Jughead (real name Forsythe) Jones- eats too much, sleeps too much, really lazy, girl-hater. the best friend of Archie, Jughead is really a real great guy. He may look like a slug, but he's really one of the nicest guys in the world

other characters include:
Moose Mason: very strong, very jealous
Midge Klump: Moose's girlfriend, nice, smart
Dilton Doiley: a genious, but short which causes girl problem
Big Ethel: in love with Jughead
Hiram Lodge: Veronca's father, hates Archie

Waldo Weatherbee: principal of the high school, has the same problems with Archie as Mr. Lodge
and many more, but it would take FOREVER to write them all out!
Put them all together, and you get CHAOS!!!!!!! These comics are prettily drawn (and in color). If you buy one of these, you'll be hooked for life! (Hey, they've been running since the 40s! People MUST like them!) I personally would give them 5000000 stars! Buy them and you won't regret it.

Archie Comics are the best!!!! Okay that doesn't say a lot abou them, but They're sooo funny. Even though Veronica & REggie can be really snobby at times. It's still a really funny comic. It's really just about archie and his friends + his life!!!! You can also get ones that r called betty and veronica which are mainly about them. Either way I think there really good. Just try one! YOu'll luv em!!! [....]
p.s. sorry if this doesn't really describe the comics. it's kinda hard to explain, ya see.

Archie comics are soooooo funny!Buy archie books ARCHIE COMICS R A MUST HAVE.when your'e feeling down they make u feel up!GET THEM NOW

I am a former student of Professor Andrews, both in his chemistry courses and his class on understanding human values. His outstanding personable qualities made learning from him a joy. This book reflects these wonderful attributes in a subject that should be dear to everyone. As one of his teaching assistants for chemistry, I remember discussing triumphs with him and my fellow students (his definition of a triumph was anything you consider to be a triumph). Nearly 20 years later, I still vividly recall this! Professor Andrews first wrote a text titled, "Willing to Love" for his course on problem solving. The book examines love and relationships, integrating it with his personal feelings. Likewise, this book shares such feelings and is a must-read by those wanting to better understand their own self-worth (and more importantly, realize they do have it).

This book is amazing! It has 144 practices that completely transform how you think about your life, other people, loving, and spirituality. It is extremely clear and full of really unique insights. I think both deeply religious people and atheists will be comfortable reading it and will gain from it. Its probing insights will change how you approach all the relationships in your life. I especially liked his inquiry into whether it is more important to be loved or to be loving. I also found his practice of working to love people you don't think you like to be very eye opening!

Very positive coaching within reality. Not too deep, not rightous, just open and honest. I have to constantly order this book as I give it to so many of my friends and I hope I don't get it back, that it's out there being read by many. I re-read this book every other year or so to keep on track with personal growth and to stay a positive influence in the world.

One of my favorite novels. Davies is harsh -- no fluff here -- but his writing is powerful and honest. Read it.

I ordered a copy of B Monkey just a few weeks back. I finally picked it up and couldn't but the darn thing down.It's style and voice, how he gives you Alan's point of view and B's. Heavens I didn't want it to end.

I first picked up a copy of B Monkey almost a year ago and was wonderfied with this book. The story of Alan Furnace and his beloved 'B. Monkey' (READ MY NAME) is anything but your average paperback love story. Both the story and the language of the book pull no punches. B Monkey is raw and unforgiving with it's truthfulness and candor, yet it reads and feels like the love story it is. If you're sick and tired of the average sap-fest you find in most love stories, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK! You won't be disappointed!

Overview

This book was the textbook used at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the graduate course in Bayesian Decision and Control I during the fall of 2001 and 2002. It strikes a good balance between theory and practical example, making it ideal for a first course in Bayesian theory at an intermediate-advanced graduate level. Its emphasis is on Bayesian modeling and to some degree computation.

Prerequisites

While no Bayesian theory is assumed, it is assumed that the reader has a background in mathematical statistics, probability and continuous multi-variate distributions at a beginning or intermediate graduate level. The mathematics used in the book is basic probability and statistics, elementary calculus and linear algebra.

Intended audience

This book is primarily for graduate students, statisticians and applied researchers who wish to learn Bayesian methods as opposed to the more classical frequentist methods.

Material covered

It covers the fundamentals starting from first principles, single-parameter models, multi-parameter models, large sample inference, hierarchical models, model checking and sensitivity analysis, study design, regression models, generalized linear models, mixture models and models for missing data. In addition it covers posterior simulation and integration using rejection sampling and importance sampling. There is one chapter on Markov chain simulation (MCMC) covering the generalized Metropolis algorithm and the Gibbs sampler.

Over 38 models are covered, 33 detailed examples from a wide range of fields (especially biostatistics). Each of the 18 chapter has a bibliographic note at the end. There are two appendixes: A) a very helpful list of standard probability distributions and B) outline of proofs of asymptotic theorems.

Sixteen of the 18 chapters end with a set of exercises that range from easy to quite difficult. Most of the students in my fall 2001 class used the statistical language R to do the exercises.

The book's emphasis is on applied Bayesian analysis. There are no heavy advanced proofs in the book. While the proofs of the basic algorithms are covered there are no algorithms written in pseudo code...Additional books of related interest

1) Statistical Decision Theory and Bayesian Analysis, James Berger, second edition. Emphasis on decision theory and more difficult to follow than Gelman's book. Covers empirical and hierarchical Bayes analysis. More philosophical challenging than Gelman's book.

2) Monte Carlo Statistical Methods, Robert and Casella. Very mathematically oriented book. Does a good job of covering MCMC.

3) Monte Carlo Methods in Bayesian Computation, Ming-Hui Chen, Qi-Man Shao, Joseph George Ibrahim. An enormous number of algorithms related to MCMC not covered elsewhere. If you need MCMC and need an algorithm to implement MCMC this is the book to read.

4) Monte Carlo Strategies in Scientific Computing, Jun S. Liu. Covers a wide range of scientific disciplines and how Monte Carlo methods can be used to solve real world problems. Includes hot topics such as bioinformatics. Very concise. Well written, but requires effort to understand as so many different topics are covered. This book is my most often borrowed book on Monte Carlo methods. Jun S. Liu is a big gun at Harvard.

5) Probabilistic Networks and Expert Systems. Cowell, Dawid, Lauritzen, Spiegelhalter. Covers the theory and methodology of building Bayesian networks (probabilistic networks).

This is a well written text that is fast becoming a classic reference. It contains a wealth of good applications. It is one of the new books that presents the growing use of Bayesian methods in practice since the advancement of Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach. It includes a whole chapter the Markov chain approach to computation. Other strengths of the book include the chapter on missing data and the chapter that provides expert advice.

Another text in the CRC series Markov Chain Monte Carlo in Practice by Gilks, Richardson and Spiegelhalter provides more detail on these methods along with many applications including some Bayesian ones.

First, I must admit a bias: I frequently work with one of the authors (Gelman), and I think highly of his work and statistical judgment.

This book's biggest strength is its introduction of most of the important ideas in Bayesian statistics through well-chosen examples. These are examples are not contrived: many of them came up in research by the authors over the past several years. Most examples follow a logical progression that was probably used in the original research: a simple model is fit to data; then areas of model mis-fit are sought, and a revised model is used to address them. This brings up another strength of the book: the discussion and treatment of measures of model fit (and sensitivity of inferences) is lucid and enlightening.

Some readers may wish the computational methods were spelled out more fully: this book will help you choose an appropriate statistical model, and the ways to look for serious violations of it, but it will take a bit of work to convert the ideas into computational algorithms. This is not to say that the computational methods aren't discussed, merely that many of the details are left to the reader. The reader expecting pseudo-code programs will be disappointed.

All in all, I recommend this book for anyone who applies statistical models to data, whether those models are Bayesian or not. I especially recommend it for researchers who are curious about Bayesian methods but do not see the point of them---Chapter 5, and particularly section 5.5 (an example chosen from educational testing), beautifully addresses this issue.

Do not wish to use too many words. I can just say that this book was of great help to me. Though dabbling with PHP, I learnt a lot from the book, since it has dealt with lot of basic knowledge of databases. Was just the right one for a student like me who had very little knowledge of the databases. Kudos to the authors!!

I just got a copy of this book last week, and this was exactly the content that i was in search of - Getting upto speed with PHP and databases, to build robust database driven web applications.
Infact, this book manages to provide solutions to the large number of problems that newbie PHP programmers post on sites like phpbeginners.com,php.net and phpbuilder.
The approach to presenting a database agnostic solution, through the use of the most recommended PEAR::DB abstraction layer (i even found documentation about PEAR::DB, that i had spent ages figuring out for myself) sets this book in a class of its own.
The typos and grammar stand out at places, but who cares when you have gotten what you wanted.
I highly recommend this book to the BEGINNING/NEWBIE PHP Programmer.

This book aims to teach the skills necessary to develop any size web application with PHP, backed by a database. They start off with the now de facto PHP introduction and then jump head first into database fundamentals. Nearly half of this book is devoted to teaching database layout, design, and use. This is long over due in the PHP community. Too many PHP developers are creating database enabled applications that have absolutely no prior experience with databases! This book covers everything from elementary topics, such as table creation, selects, inserts, and deletes, to advanced database usage with joins, stored procedures, triggers, and cursors. While they did cover indexing, I feel that it was a bit lacking and could have used a more in depth exploration.

One pleasant surprise was that no one particular database is favored; in fact use of the database abstraction layer in PEAR is encouraged for code portability. I am encouraged by the use of PEAR in this book, as it can only help to bring the community together in its use and promote PEAR as a standard of sorts. The PEAR database abstraction layer is picked apart so that you may understand exactly how it works and be that much more efficient with using it.

At the end of this book, it offers two chapters dedicated to designing and implementing applications using a native XML database. The first of the two chapters concentrates on the fundamentals of native XML databases; what they are and how they work. The second chapter then presents a case study using Xindice.

I found this book to be very thorough and well put together. Cheers to Wrox for another fine book!

From print media and journals to business and general interest publications, the authors have searched for the best business accounts from the past year, providing vignettes and accounts primarily nonfiction in content, but telling of business goals, individuals, and strategies. A diverse, well-represented collection.

Great anthology from a wide variety of sources (the usual financial journals plus some interesting exotic publications (Mother Jones?)). Not a clunker in the lot. Buy this one and its 2001 predecessor and you will be fascinated. Hope this series continues for many years...

What a simple, yet compelling, concept. Scour all of the business magazines (mostly major ones, though), and pick the best 27 articles of the prior year, independent of field of interest. Then lay them out with no extra fluff, letting the original work be the star attraction. Such is the concept behind this book, which was both a quick read and difficult to put down.

With stories ranging from the rise, fall and re-rise of fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger to a joyous piece on Ron Popeil of quirky gadget-maker (and those accompanying infomercials) Ronco fame to an amazing tome on emerging "digital paper" technology that has to be read to be fully appreciated, this book covered a myriad of topics that I probably would not have gone out of my way to track down, but having read about them in this book, my appetite to read on has only been whetted.

If you are looking to expand your horizons beyond the two or three topics that currently represent your comfort zone, this book is an easy and enjoyable way to dip your toes in the water.

Strongly recommended.