So much of what happened during the political development of Micronesia now come to light as a result of this well researched book. Until now, much of what transpired during the political status negotiations required tedious search in US government archives and the Library of Congress. That is if the documents were declassified. This book is insightful.

So mucy of what happened during the political development of Micronesia now come to light as a result of this well researched book. Until now, much of what transpired during the political status negotiations required tedious search in US government archives or the Library of Congress (if unclassified). Insightful!

I speak as one who has lived in the Northern Mariana Islands for more than thirty years, and who had a role in the events (I was one of those who were interviewed) and who knew and worked with many of the central figures involved in them. Willens and Siemer have written a thoroughly researched and historically accurate work, and one which I enjoyed reading immensely -- as will anyone interested in this corner of the Pacific.

Civilization has grown bored with itself and so in a richly detailed account of a fabled nations collective will, Julien Gracq shows how a people can arrive at a point where destruction is preferable to ongoing decay and stagnation. If you've read Balcony in the Forest you know that Gracq knows something about anticipation and suspense but this is a journey even deeper into the interior of the psyche and is an altogether unique reading experience. Julien Gracq's prose is best read slowly and savoured, he lingers in his descriptions and elaborates each thought with ever richer examples which hone and decorate his meanings. The plot progresses organically and instinctively like a dream unfolding and revealing episode by episode the destructive inclinations of late civilzation consciousness. Dense sensual impressions abound. If French poetry appeals to you as well as the war genre this is your book, though this book far exceeds the normal bounds of war fiction.

Young, rich and idle Aldo longs for something indefinable, something to break the long dreary spell of his ennui. Opting for a post as an observer at a long decaying naval base, Aldo finds a n atmosphere suitable to his solitary, poetic nature. Ruminations abound in impressionable Aldos head. Gracq's prose works its spell on you just as the old fortifications and sea and desert landscapes work their spell on Aldo. Gracq's fabled land is reminiscent of Europe before WWI but the locales remain unspecific to make the experience all the richer, all the more evocative . His words keep you in a heady state of langurous suspense, his theme nothing less than a whole civilizations collective will which in its boredom has decided to invite doom upon itself. A book for true lovers of literature, French poetry,& war fiction though it far exceeds the usual bounds of that genre.

Even in translation you can feel the lyrical intensity and beauty of this novel which creates an atmosphere of tension which no reader will forget easily: Aldo, a young nobleman, has had enough of the decadence of his native Vezzano, a fictitious republic modeled on Venice. He has himself posted to a navy base which was once built to defend Vezzano against Farghestan. The two powers are still officially at war, but nothing has actually happened for 300 years. Now, however, there is a growing tension, not just inside Aldo, who dreams of the unknown Farghestan. People in Vezzano seem to be tired of its eternal stability, they long for action...

Most of the novel's plot takes place near the old navy base, which is surrounded by a desert landscape which is described with mesmerizing intensity. Little incidents are building up towards an explosion which is only hinted at in the book. People waiting for something to happen in a more and more uncanny slience - that may remind the reader of the fact that the book was written before and during World War II. The decadence longing for action, danger and change, however, seems to me reminiscent of World War I. This is not a book of easy historical analogy. It is a unique work of art which stands completely on its own.

I was eight years old. I read the paperback edition of this book every night, cover to cover. The story of the effervescent Plop and the conquering of his fear of the dark is as enduring now as it was when it was first published over 30 years ago.

This version is abridged and illustrated from the one that saw me safely to dreamland as a child. No matter. The spirit is preserved and the illustrations are wonderful. Great for any kid with any phobia. A magical book.

I am now 13 years old, and I still listen to this classic tape when I have nightmares at night. When I was little I used to listen to it every single night. I listened to it so much that I almost broke it. If you are a parent looking for a good childhood book for your child I highly recommend it, from firsthand experience of being a child. Thanks

This classic book has a new version, just out, published by Mammoth. A shortened text and excellent picture book illustrations makes this a great young childrens book, for the newest generation for whom Plop is a national hero. (ISBN 0-7497-4178-3)

This book is a wonderful explanation of the workplace that we all work in. It explains the dynamics of the workplace relationships, focusing on the relationship between management and employees. It gives great tips and examples on how and why these relationships work or don't work. It combines Dr.Ray's practical experience working with companies and his academic background in psychology. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, whether they are in business or any other profession where they have co-workers or a boss. It's a very easy and quick read.

The Performance Culture goes below the surface of our feelings and exposes what we truly believe about ourselves and the way in which we work. It gives root to all the things we learned and intrinsically/instinctively know about what it takes to be the best. It is profound in its simplicity, example after example, step-by-step, to the point that even the most competitive among us can rechannel our natural urgencies.

If you buy only one book this year, make it this one.

Any company, regardless of size, should strive to create a culture that encourages and breeds maximum performance from its employees. Dr. Ray's The Performance Culture will clearly define the end goals necessary to create that culture. This book not only gives top level managers a noteworthy goal to shoot for but it also gives them the roadmap for achieving that goal. Dr. Ray not only does a wonderful job formulating complex theories into writing that anyone can comprehend, but he presents these ideas in ways that are easily translated into action. The theories and practices covered in this writing would be welcome additions to any organization and the presentation style of the material makes the read not only beneficial but enjoyable as well.

I am a Dallas native who grew up around the time the Ski Mask Rapist was hunting in North Dallas, so I was very interested to read this book. It was so scary to read about my neighborhood in this book. But the book is great, very readable, and gives a great insight into the mind of Gilbert Escobedo.

Swindle has done an excellent job here of walking the reader through not only the investigation of the rapes committed, but the background and personality of the criminal, Gilbert Escobedo. The fact that Swindle was able to visit and interview Escobedo several times during his incarceration was, I am sure, immensely helpful. I feel that books like these can actually help prevent crime...in this case rape...by arming potential victims with crucial knowledge. The first thing they have to realize--and this is immensely obvious in the book--is that they ARE a potential victim. Escobedo committed upwards of 100 rapes, and even managed to maintain some "normal" relationships on the side...even going so far as to initiate not only an intimate relationship, but also a business relationship with an unsuspecting woman who, coincidentally, was previously one of his victims. She never even knew until he was finally arrested. You really can't make this stuff up.

this book is excellent. it is so detailed and once you start reading it, you can't put it down. it explores the profiles of serial rapists, how the police create profiles, and it gives you the chilling feeling like you are there observing the crime scene.

This book discusses most aspects of network design to an impressive level of detail. No fast answers are given as is appropriate for a design book. The author's approach is such that he immediately commands the readers respect and from what I have seen is only matched by Cormac Long's design book. The only gripe I might have is that I found the style a tad long-winded at times, since I personally prefer books to be as concise as possible.

Delightful might seem like a strange word to describe a technical book, but it's exactly what I mean to say. I find myself being delighted with Howard's unique way of presenting the essence of a network technology. I hear myself say "ah hah, that's what all that incomprehensible text in those other books meant!" Howard uses analogies and real-life examples to ensure that the reader really understands the basics and the details. Great book for learning routing and switching architecture design.

I really like this book. Despite a slight tendancy to ramble, Berkowitz style is very enjoyable, humourous at times, and he explains everything in detail. This is a book geared towrds understanding the concepts of routing and switching, rather than analyzing everything from the manufacturers viewpoint. As a result, you get a firm understanding of the fundamentals. Where appropriate, he does discuss manufacturer specific design/philosphy (e.g. cisco, nortel, etc.), but for the most part it's completely independent of that. Hence, this is useful regardless of what gear you're using. This is a must for every network engineer's library.

Prof.E McSquared's surpasses all of the Calculus books in my opinion, thro I'm still studing it, I was coming along good until to page 97, Exercise: II.3.3, I understand all of it until I got to this (2-1/2E<-3x+5<2+1/2E),which is OK, but than look at this (1/2<-E so,(-1)1/2E>(-1)E or-1/2>-E, too). Then [2-E<2-1/2E<-3+5<2+1/2E<2+E or 2-E<-3(x)+5 <2+E!] He should had used page 96 to explain the latter; will he or someone please try to tell me what is he trying to say, or how I could contact him.

Reviewer Jerry Harper spotted a typo in the 1975 edition
of Prof. McSquared's book and calls for a reply. The answer
to problem II.3.3 on page 205 contains the WRONG statement
(BUT 1/2 e < -e...). PROF. McSquared GOOFED! It should be
1/2 e < e!! This is corrected in the Expanded Intergalactic
Edition NOW reissued and available: ISBN 0971462402.
H. Swann, co-author, for Prof. McSquared

Twenty-six years ago, I had struggled through Calculus twice. The first time I got a D. The second time I raised it to a C. But I was not satisifed. I had always been good at math and I was not going to let it beat me. So, I signed up again. I remember sitting through this stultifying lecture on matrix theory that left me completely baffled and depressed. That afternoon, in a chemistry lab, my new lab partner showed me this photocopied booklet. It was a comic book Calculus book called "Professor E. McSquared's Original and Highly Esoteric Calculus Primer." He said his professor had written it. I asked when his class was and immediately switched sections. Howard Swann turned out to be Prof. McSquared in the flesh -- funny, energetic and the single best teacher of any discipline it has been my pleasure to study under in 22 years of formal education. The best! This book will change the way you look at Calculus. You will laugh and do the problems and, for the first time, you will actually understand what is going on. It will become second nature. The mystery will disappear, the fog will lift, the lock break open, the veil will pass from before your eyes. My classmates and I were among the first to enjoy Prof. McSquared. The book was formally published for the first time the following year, 1974. It is still in print. That has to tell you something. This book will show you that you CAN not only do Calculus but understand it an even enjoy it. Buy it. It will be a gift to you.

Some have accused Proust of being "long-winded." However, he suffered acutely from shortness of breath but not shortness of breadth. Proust preferred to work on a large canvas. Having read the first four volumes of "In Search of Lost Time," I am even more convinced that Proust is a literary talent of the highest order. He is a writer of immense sensibility in the true sense of the word. His perception and memory and intelligence permeate his writing. Like Balzac, whom he admired, Proust focused his sensibility upon high society in Paris in his heyday. He continually discoursed about the the manners of the circles in which he moved and sheds light, as did Balzac, on the complexities of the strata and protocol and behavior of his social peers. One is able to get a close look at this realm in which he was considered a literary luminary and rightly so, after winning France's greatest literary prize at such an early age. Like Balzac he built his volumes in a "serial" fashion by ending each in dramatic fashion: the characters reappear from volume to volume. And one learns about their health, their misfortunes, their affairs often through the hearsay of other characters, as it happens in real life. Despite the despicable ways that the characters often treat each other, Proust speaks within the tapestry of the "human comedy" as the humble voice of reason. "When you reach my age you will see that society is a paltry thing, and you will be sorry that you put so much importance to these trifles," a judge observes. But for Proust society was his life and his legacy is partly at least the light that he sheds upon his own human comedy. The beauty of the language is breathtaking --the language is utterly lyrical and once one surrenders to the pulse and flow of his long sentence syntax, one finds the transforming genius of his art. I am eager to begin Volume 5 -- the man is a bonafide genius. He deals with sensitive subjects in good taste and with sage discretion -- Proust communicates with his readers as he probably did in society: honestly, articulately and with the best of all manners. He didn't live long enough to read the publication of half the volumes of his greatest masterpiece: Volume 4 was the last he lived to see published. What an absolute pity!

In this, the fourth volume of Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" (a.k.a. "Remembrance of Things Past"), the narrator is suddenly exposed to a new level of worldly knowledge, a knowledge that the previous volumes foreshadowed but never openly discussed. The volume begins at the apex of society, more or less where the previous volume ends (i.e., a reception at one of the fashionable Guermantes). We are then taken on a somewhat bumpy ride down from that peak, to the lesser salon of the Verdurins (previously seen through Swann's eyes in vol. 1) and the narrator's less-than-admirable conduct toward Albertine. Along the way, as the narrator becomes more of an actor in, and less of an observer of, the world, Proust's style likewise becomes, at times, more traditionally novelistic. Yet it retains the unique insight, precision, and vitality that make reading Proust a life-changing experience.

This book is rich with some of the most fascinating observations on love in general and homosexual love specifically. The flower metaphor at the starting of the book is particularly clever. Proust has more of a sense of humour than usual in this volume. Around the middle of the book this is especially evident; there is more sarcasm, irony, and wit throughout than in other volumes. I found myself highlighting many passages as I was reading, and oftentimes just one sentence of Proust's work is enough material to write a whole book on! His observations are so loaded and so true that they can be stretched out a long way before they've been used up. I find myself constantly in awe while reading In Search Of Lost Time; Proust was so gifted in so many ways that it's a privilege to read his writings! I can't think of anyone besides Shakespeare who comes close to Proust in his understanding of all apsects of human nature.

I believe that after THE GOSPEL, This is THE most important truth that anyone can ever hear. In fact, I often describe it as "THE GOSPEL FOR CHRISTIANS." If believers really embrace this extremely motivation truth, their lives will never be the same again.

Since reading "This Was Your Life?" in 1999, there is not a day that I do not think about living for THAT DAY instead of just TODAY. I have now bought over 400 copies of the book and about 20 copies of the video series.

I have distibuted these copies resulting in overwhelmingly positive and grateful responses. Most people have had similar reactions to mine and have in turn ordered more books to give to the believers they knonw. There is just no way to measure the far-reaching impact this book will have on eternity.

This book should be read by every follower of Christ. It motivates the reader toward significant change. I wish I had this guide much earlier in my Christian walk. I would not have wasted so many years seeking man's approval and praise. I am now focused on working for Christ's honor and glory.

The authors guide the reader through a personal soul-searching exercise that peels away all self-deception until the individual's true core is exposed. Then, they guide the reader to an uplifting knowledge of how to truly follow Christ. The book is filled with practical instruction on how to change.

I have already given away ten copies to friends. After reading it, several have said to me, "This is exactly what I have been looking for!"

This is a wonderful book! It's an urgent warning and a compelling call to understand our accountability for our lives. It is thoroughly referenced, comprehensive, and slyly humorous. This slim volume powerfully guides the reader into searching personal reflections and into a deeper relationship with God. Rick Howard is Pastor of Peninsula Christian Center in Redwood City, California. The Judgment Seat of Christ is Rick's lifetime message which he has given in 80 countries around the world. Jamie Lash is Director of Student Development at a Christian university in Dallas, Texas. He leads seminars and writes on Christian growth. Jamie is perhaps best known in the Washington, D.C. area for his popular "Victory Seminar" program wihch was heard on WCTN radio. In 1987, Jamie saw Rick Howard's video on The Judgement Seat of Christ. He says it was the most powerful lesson he had ever heard. He contacted Rick to see if he had written a book on the topic. That conversation led to a collaboration of the two men. Heavenly rewards is a neglected subject and many believers know little of what the Bible teaches about it. But just imagine meeting the King of Kings and Lord of All with every thing you ever said, or did, or even thought, exposed in His glorious light! This Was Your Life explores what scripture tells us of the hereafter while guiding us to a more abundant life here and now. The 15 short chapters have titles such as "Encountering the Christ of Revelation," "Stay Out of His Chair," "Olympic Motivation," and "Seizing the Time." Each chapter is unique and nourishment for the spirit. The discussion questions included make this gem of a book an excellent choice for a family or study group to read together. If you long to hear Jesus say, :"Well done, good and faithful servant" -- this book is for you. If you plan to read only one spiritual book this year, This Was Your Life should be the one to read and reread.

In 1890, Fragrant Lotus is a young Chinese girl who loves her grandmother very much. But one day her grandmother decides it is time that she bind her granddaughter's feet, a tradition going back a thousand years, and Fragrant Lotus' life changes forever.

Though having bound feet is exceedingly painful, her grandmother does an extremely good job and through the beauty of her feet, Fragrant Lotus is able to move up through society and gain wealth, power, and prestige normally out of reach for the lower-class. However, the Communist revolution is coming.

Where once Fragrant Lotus was the epitome of female beauty, in the 20th Century, footbinding becomes a symbol of the "old" China...a China that the government wants to escape. Fragrant Lotus continues to 'stand up' for footbinding, but it is a losing battle.

In this book of fiction, the author draws comparisons between the bound feet of Chinese women and the "bound" minds of modern China after the Communist revolution. Readers of Chinese fiction, literary fiction, historical fiction, and those interested in Chinese history will devour this novel.

What a treat it is to stumble upon a master storyteller! Feng Jicai tells this story with brilliant wit and intelligence. Kudos to the translator as well. He uses historical references to fill the reader in on the tradition of foot binding, as well as weaves a creative plot. The book focuses on Fragrant Lotus, a girl who has her feet bound in the golden lotus style, and her father-in-law, who collects daughters-in-law to serve his foot fetish. He and his other "lotus loving" friends have contests and long debates in their quest for the perfect bound feet. Fragrant Lotus eventually reigns supreme in the family by virtue of her stylish feet, but Jicai uses an ironic twist at the end of the book to ask the reader an underlying political question-- why the people of China have participated in things that caused them to suffer, such foot binding and the Cultural Revolution, and why social change often comes about with cruelty. This question is all the more touching because Feng Jicai's family was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution.

Subtitled "a novel of foot binding", this book was first published in China in 1986 by the enormously popular Chinese writer, Feng Jicai and translated into English in 1994.

Told as a "once upon a time" story, the writer skillfully combines myth, reason and a compelling tale while bringing the reader into the world of the "three-inch golden lotus", the tiny bound feet of Chinese women.

Everything I have ever wondered about this fascinating custom is right here in this book. From the agonies inflicted upon young girls whose childhood includes broken bones and searing pain to the high esteem these tiny feet bring them as adults, it's all here, including the group of men who erotically adore them.

Set in the early part of the 20th century, Fragrant Lotus has her feet bound by her grandmother as an act of love and tradition. Later, her small feet catch the eyes of a wealthy man who makes her the bride of his oldest son. The women of the family all compete in family "foot contests" at which "lotus loving" friends of her father-in-law spend hours debating the fine points of the history of foot binding and its many nuances.

Through the years, Fragrant Lotus becomes the head of the family and comes face to face with the changing movement to outlaw foot binding.

At only 229 pages, this book is a great read on many levels. The writer really captures the world he has set out to describe, does a excellent job of characterization and keeps the tension high with his minute descriptions of the foot contests. He also has a way of making this all into a satirical tall tale as the concepts of truth and reality are constantly explored. Deceptively simple, this story has a far deeper meaning as a metaphor for the cultural revolution as standards of beauty change.

Highly recommended.