This is a terrific book. A "must have" to process medical claims.

As a Vice President of Claims with many years of experience in the business, this is the first time I have a experienced such an excellent claims processing manual. It is well organized and extremely easy to utilize. I have found myself and my staff using this book more often than any other reference material presently available. The author has skillfully gathered all of the pertinent information required in claims adjudication and has successfully wrapped it all together in one book. It is about time there is a book available with such complete information.

I can't image working without this book. I am a claims examiner and reference this book constantly. It has been an enormous help to me. My coworkers are constantly trying to borrow it. The author has really put together a knockout book.

What's great here, in addition to stellar photos and high production values (what kind of paper is this?) is the surprising quality of the selection of the people. I like seeing boxers and map makers, basketball players and glass blowers set next to each other.

Wayne Gretzky's retirement from hockey seems a fitting occasion to remark on the phenomenal collection of virtuosos Ken Carbone has gathered together in his new book. The gift of a Virtuoso like Gretzky, and of this book, is the realization that absolute focus and dedication to a passion can lead one beyond oneself. That message resounds like a gong through the handsomely designed pages and expressive photographs of The Virtuoso. The thrill of sharing a Virtuoso's talent is the transcendence it offers, the visceral feeling that one is witnessing, in the Eastern sense, life lived fully in the moment. Inspiration, indeed.

Joseph Campbell's sadly over-used expression "Follow your bliss" is personified in the 40 profiles that fill the pages of The Virtuoso. What a revelation to find that the world possesses such remarkable individuals in places we might least expect to find them. The Virtuoso says much about taking risks, about going as far as you can to arrive at a place that is larger than yourself. Love, and a dash of madness, are at the core of every choice a Virtuoso makes, shaping the lives of these extraordinary talents in the most unimagined ways, and those who come into contact with them. It takes a vision to see the vision in others. Clearly this author has that. Bravo!

Waves of Passion, Inspirations for Love, speaks to your heart and soul about love. As you read the poems,scripture, and comments, you know Roger Mangum has "been there, done that". Regardless of the state of love you are in-searching for love, found love, lost love-you can relate to these poems. This is a book to leave out on the coffee table, because it is inspiring for the young and the old.

Though this is a relatively short work (128 pages), it is "full" from beginning to end. Never before have I read a publication in one sitting such as this one: scripture, poetry, self exploration, advice, heartache and wisdom all set up in a biographical type form centered around love and our need for it.

Roger Mangrum's works coupled with Rich Drennan's art makes for an outstanding adventure into your own heart as you journey these pages. So many have lost love, suffered from broken hearts or are in situations where their love lives could use some sort of remedy. If you fall into any of these categories, this would be just the right prescription in your quest to cure what ails you. Roger Mangrum sums it up best with his definitions of love, "Love is helping each other grow -- fully!" and, "Love is a poem left undone."

Our thoughts are our pens and our minds are our papers -- if we keep our pens moving in the ways which would benefit and inspire our minds, such as Roger has, our lives surely would become more fulfulling.

I found Rogers book to be humerous, sad, and inspiring. The book is about how he found love, lost love, the heartbreak he went through, then to find a way to mend his heart through God's love and the ability to love himself and finally, to find that person we all search for, our sole-mate.

Boy do I like this book! From the front cover with its striking portrait of nodding wild onion (Allium cernuum) to the alien looking bur sedge (Carex grayi var. hispidula) on the back cover and everything in between its luxurious vellum pages. Yes ma’am, yes sir, I like this book. Weeds is a superb collection of some very common weeds cast in an uncommonly flattering light. Sure, it’s apparent that Bjornson occasionally utilizes some special effects magic to enhance their beauty. So what? Even super models need a little touch up treatment from the ole airbrush now and then. These sixty-four outstanding photographs make a clear aesthetic statement: weeds can be beautiful. We all know weeds can be downright ugly. But through the appreciative eye of Bjornson their hidden beauty is revealed. He has made a silk purse out of a sows-thistle, so to speak.

But weeds are not just another pretty face to him. Learning about weeds revealed a cosmic truth to Bjornson. The truth that “one needn’t travel the world to find untamed natural beauty.” These enchanting photographic portraits are gently interspersed with some thought provoking ‘weed’ haiku such as, “Wherever weeds won’t grow let man beware to go” and “Weeds are the strong and persistent creatures who live in weak circumstances”. Bjornson also cheerily refers to these “persistent creatures” as the “free spirits of the natural world”. Free spirits! This is great stuff. Who in their right mind would ever refer to velvet leaf (Abutilon theophrasti), as a free spirit? I dare say not a single Weed Science professor in recent memory.

And speaking of velvet leaf, Bjornson’s picture of this oh so common character is dazzling. One can almost feel the densely hairy stems. The detail is remarkable. This attention to detail is true of each and every picture. I don’t know how Bjornson achieves his effects but the realism of the photos is gently juxtaposed against his artistic interpretation in a way which conveys their beauty without distortion. His technique lovingly captures their color, form, and texture. Truly, these dramatic and beautiful portraits are almost mystical. But as he says in the intro, “It is a matter of perspective”. Do I rave? Yes, because I really like this book and I would suggest you peruse it with a glass of your favorite beverage, some Bach and a big cushy chair.

Those of you looking for an ID challenge won’t be disappointed. None of the pictures in the main portion of the book are labeled. They are identified in the back of the book by a smaller version of the same picture. The scientific name does accompany the picture. Since Bjornson gathered all of his plants within a few miles of his Chicago studio there are a few that may be unfamiliar to those living in Central Ohio.

This is a unique art book of extraordinary caliber. It is marvelously conceived and executed. Production values are high. It is a first class piece of work in every sense of the word. Brjonson demonstrates that he knows his subject thoroughly and personally. A subject of which he says, “One man sees a weed the same weed to another may be a flower.” You can preview this book by logging on to Bjornson’s website .... I know you won’t be disappointed. By the way, did I say how much like this book?

I plan to give this book to lots and lots of people for Christmas this year. Yes, it's exquisite art, yes, it enriches the reader by connecting her or him to the Earth beneath us, but it's also simply a GORGEOUS book to look through over and over again. The photos here on Amazon, as pretty as they are, simply don't do the book justice. The photographs in the book have a depth and richness that evoke such a mood... A really nice mood. I've given coffee table art books as gifts before, but this'll be the first art book I've given as a gift when I actually have it on my coffee table.

When is Mr. Bjornson going to do another book? Very soon, I hope.

Good art always makes me see the world in a different way. Great art has stopped me dead in my tracks by making the ususal unusual...Chuck Close and Ansel Adams to name a few photographers. Mr. Bjornson has photographically brought what was deeply discounted and made it into something ethereal and precious. This is a great life lesson as well as true art (all for (...)

I am a hypercritcal reader and I love it when I pick up a book I cannot stop reading. I have subsequently ordered all of Mosher's books and cannot wait to read them. Mosher is not a good writer he is a great American writer. He builds character and place like the master he is. Thank you Mr. Mosher.

I'm saddened to see far too many people pigeon-hole Howard Frank Mosher as a 'writer of regional interest' -- maybe only those who live along the Mississippi should read Mark Twain, then. True, Mosher's books all take place in Vermont -- but these are such well-written, absorbing stories, the characters so unforgettable, that any one who appreciates fine literature can thoroughly enjoy them.

This volume collects 6 of Mosher's short stories along with the title novella -- the latter being possibly his most well-known work, having been made into an exceptional film with the amazingly-talented Rip Torn in the role of a lifetime as Noel Lord, Mosher's cantankerous ex-lumberjack. Lord is mentioned in some of the other stories, as well as in some of Mosher's novels -- and other characters make appearances in more than one work as well.

Set in 1927 Vermont, 'Where the rivers flow north' takes the familiar theme of the rugged individualist going up against the evil, unfeeling corporation, and breathes new life into it. Mosher's flowing style, combined with his incredible ability to bring to the printed page all the nuances of his characters' personalities -- warts and all -- give this and all of his works the finishing touches that only a fine craftsman can give. Noel Lord's Native American housekeeper/wife, Bangor, is one of the most memorable characters you'll ever run across. She and Lord have a classic yin-yang relationship that, most likely, neither one would acknowledge. A reader from any part of the nation can get inside these people, can feel and experience everything that happens to them -- and any time we can do that, we can learn and we can grow.

The characters in all of the stories here are, as in all of Mosher's works, vividly drawn -- Alabama Jones, the innocent-but-worldly aspiring carnival performer -- Burl, an old woman lying in a nursing home waiting to die, looking back at her life with a combination of bitterness and longing -- Eban and Walter, brothers, neighbors, at odds in their life over things large and small, but brothers -- a man dying, clinging to life through a kept peacock -- a boy passes through a coming-of-age event, a flood, which changes forever the way he views both his brother and his father -- another man, Henry Coville, makes some painful recollections and decisions as he feels the end of his life approach. Mosher paints them all with the deft brush strokes of an artist who intimately knows his subjects and the landscape in which their lives are played out.

Howard Frank Mosher is an immensely talented, always entertaining writer -- he deserves to be widely read, and what a treat is awaiting those who read him for the first time...!

After I found out that my in-laws knew Howard Mosher personally and my husband had him as a teacher and coach in school and hung out with Howard's kids in high school I HAD to read a book written by him. This is the first book I read by Howard and I can't wait to read more. What a great illustration of Vermont in the early 1900's!

"Recommended for visitors who want to research a trip ahead of time and take the book along for repeated reference. An outdoors-oriented guide which includes all the best fishing spots, hiking trails in largely uncharted areas and whitewater rafting. An excellent guide." The Bookwatch

"...intended for the adventure-minded travelers with special affection for the outdoors and nature. Each Adventure Guide packs in outdoor-oriented activities set in different regions. There's something for nearly everyone." Midwest Book Review

"[Adventure Guides] direct you away from the theme parks and into the great outdoors... the information on trekking routes, canoeing, wildlife refuges - even golf courses - is well researched." The Sunday Telegraph

I purchased ALFIE online auctionit took me 3 tries to obtain it.It was well worth the time, moneyand wait. I have John on CD reading it and now to have the bookto go along with is a joy, my children grew up on John's music and they at a young age picked up on his concern for all living things, they have instilled in their children the same love of allthings and to take care not to harmany of God"s beauty he gave us to enjoy, and to pass them along unharmed and unchanged to futuregenerations. Great book read it and remember it.

John Denver always seems know the right words. I read and reread this imaginative pieace of work and felt a true reminder of the meaning of Christmas. Thanks John!

Love the book, Alfie the Christmas Tree. The message is simple, yet encourages all who read it to remember all living things during the Holiday Season. And I quote Mr. Denver,"Say a prayer for the Wind, and the Water, and the Wood, and those that live there too".

I recently reread Chomsky's classic. It's very enlightening to see the parallels as well as the differences between the role America's "intelligencia" played during the Vietnam War and the role they are playing now with just another war "won".

American Power and the New Mandarins, first published in 1967, is a collection of essays by Noam Chomsky about the Vietnam War and related subjects. Originally famous for his contributions to linguistics, Chomsky began writing extensively about U.S. foreign policy during the Vietnam War, and this collection is the first of his many political books. While the subject matter is a bit dated, those who are interested in either the intellectual climate during the Vietnam era or the origins of Chomsky's career as a critic of U.S. policy will find plenty to interest them in this book.

Chomsky's primary goal in American Power and the New Mandarins is not to convince the reader that the Vietnam War was wrong. On this issue, he says that "Anyone who puts a fraction of his mind to the task can construct a case [against the war] that is overwhelming" (9). Rather, his goal is to illustrate the degree to which American intellectuals supported the war, or at least the assumptions behind it. Many people remember the Vietnam War as a time of widespread protest against U.S. policy, with intellectuals and the youth leading the way. Chomsky argues that the war's "opponents" were often not concerned with the moral issues related to the war, but rather with the fact that the war seemed to be unwinnable and was costing too many American lives. The implication is that these intellectuals would not be protesting if the U.S. had crushed the Vietnamese resistance without significant loss of American life (Vietnamese life being irrelevant).

The book is made up of eight essays of varying length, and an introduction and an epilogue.

- In "Objectivity and Liberal Scholarship," Chomsky introduces the concept of the "new mandarins"--those who claim the authority to determine policy based on their allegedly "scientific" understanding of human nature and technology. These "new mandarins" believe that their knowledge gives them the right to restructure society in Vietnam and elsewhere, regardless of the wishes of the local population. In addition, Chomsky argues that many intellectuals tend to accept the status quo and support the basic assumptions of U.S. policy--that Western nations always know best, and force is justified to keep Third World countries from going down the "wrong" path. This essay is not very concise or organized; Chomsky has plenty of evidence to present but it flows out in no particular order. Chomsky devotes nearly 50 pages to criticizing a single historian's book about the Spanish Civil War--an excellent example, in Chomsky's opinion, of "the deep-seated bias of liberal historians," (93) but a cumbersome way to make his point. Still, whatever its organizational shortcomings, this essay presents plenty of evidence to illustrate the biases of liberal intellectuals in favor of American power.

- In "The Revolutionary Pacifism of A. J. Muste: On the Backgrounds of the Pacific War," Chomsky explains the parallels between the Vietnam War and Japanese expansion in China in the 1930's. In both cases, defenders of government policy appealed to "the high moral character of the intervention, the benefits it would bring to the suffering masses" (183). Both America and Japan tried to set up puppet governments to serve their interests, and responded to doubts about their actions by emphasizing the "Communist" threat (196).

- "The Logic of Withdrawal" discusses the political strength of the NLF (Vietcong) and the continuing resistance of the United States to any political settlement that might allow the Vietnamese a fair choice between the NLF and other alternatives. Chomsky ridicules the idea that an NLF political victory could pose any threat to America's survival, comparing this to the Nazis' claim that "a Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy was threatening the survival of Germany" (249).

- "The Bitter Heritage" is Chomsky's review of Arthur Schlesinger's book of the same name. Schlesinger expresses the "liberal" view that the United States had made a tactical error by fighting a costly war, but that American motives were pure. Chomsky argues that this view represents the extreme limit of mainstream opposition to the war in the United States. The view that "the United States has no unilateral right to determine by force the course of development of the nations of the Third World" (297) is not considered to be "responsible criticism" (296).

- In "Some Thoughts on Intellectuals and the Schools" and "The Responsibility of Intellectuals," Chomsky continues his criticism of intellectuals who endorse the irresponsible use of American power.

- "On Resistance" and "Supplement to 'On Resistance'" are Chomsky's statements about how to protest the war. Chomsky argues that resistance should remain nonviolent, not only because of moral considerations, but also because violence "will surely fail, will simply frighten and alienate some who can be reached, and will further encourage the ideologists and administrators of repression" (374-5). Chomsky endorses the refusal to be drafted as an ideal means of resistance, since it directly impedes the government's ability to carry out its policies and can be used to make a visible statement as well.

If you are a Chomsky fan, you will probably enjoy this book; his writing style and basic outlook have remained consistent over the decades. He has written plenty of books and essays about more recent events, however, so if you are interested in American power in general rather than Vietnam in particular, you might want to check the newer ones out first.

During the Vietnam war the United States used its enormous military power to try to install in South Vietnam a minority government of U.S. choice, with its military operations based on the knowledge that the people there were the enemy. This country killed millions and left Vietnam (and the rest of Indochina) devastated. A Wall Street Journal report in 1997 estimated that perhaps 500,000 children in Vietnam suffer from serious birth defects resulting from the U.S. use of chemical weapons there. Seems fairly reasonable to protest against this, surely?... This was and is a groundbreaking book, and ....

I read this book (in conjunction with other texts) for a graduate section of a Social Policies class, and was impressed with the ease both authors transformed the abstract and dry into something exciting and inspiring.

No, social policy is not the most glamorous field for college students to enter, and unarguably the American system's shrinkage is going to pose severe problems in the next couple of years, but emotional and moral rewards of doing what is right make this venture worth it. Alternately, the authors balance this view with pragmatic political approaches that equip the reader with introductory strategies to hold off or even staunch further erosion of American social policy.

The book by itself is enjoyable, but advanced classes should use the American Welfare State as a supplementary text for historical background.

I took an undergraduate social policy course last semester and we used the Karger/Stoesz text. They do an excellent job at presenting such a broad subject matter in this introductory book. In addition, the authors make an earnest effort to accurately discuss both sides (conservative and liberal) of the social issues covered.

As a student I eagerly read the text each week, having found it both informative and engaging. Most of the chapters were enlightening, especially the ones that dealt with problems and issues that receive poor media coverage and therefore are not popular topics in today's political elections. For example, Chapter 5, Poverty in America, shined light on this oft-overlooked problem.

I highly recommend "American Social Welfare Policy: A Pluralist Perspective" to anyone looking for a great book that delivers a solid, high-level introduction to America's social policies.

I've been reading Karger and Stoesz for years. This is a good, relevant edition to understanding social welfare policy. However, the 4th edition leaves out the historical perspectives; readers will want to refer to earlier editions or supplemental sources for historical content.

Compared to his early, tortured writing this collection of later pieces is warm and funny. Not to say that Cioran has dropped his nihilistic stance, but a laconic, slightly more personal and witty voice predominates. My favourite book from Cioran.

Suspicious words are necessarily those that would try to qualify Cioran's life and works. Contradiction in the act of writing and thinking is one of Cioran's accepted facts.

His name should be futility, what an elegant, lush and ethical futility.

I miss you Emil... so much!

Each has his own ratio of universal fear embodying soul and mind. We cannot escape otherwise but deepening ourselves in it as much as each of us can. Thus, the fear gets tired of itself and this is what Cioran teaches us. Never avoiding the fear. Face it!