The Mayo Clinic Family Health Book is like having six resource books in one. Information from Mayo is reliable, easy-to-understand and reviewed by some of the most respected physicians in the world.

Part I: Living Well
Part II: Common Conditions and Concerns Through Life's Stages
Part III: Making Sense of Your Symptoms
Part IV: First Aid and Emergency Care
Visual Guide: Anatomy and Common Disorders (color photos and illustrations)
Part V: Diseases and Disorders
Part VI: Tests and Treatments
Glossary and Resources
Index

Each disease mentioned contains information about key signs and symptoms, a basic description of the disease, illustrations, how the disease is diagnosed, potential consequences, information on treatment, and information on prevention.

The comprehensive index in the third edition is easy to use. For example, information on "scoliosis" can be found on pages 235, 603, 774, 980, and 981. (Page 980 features an illustration.)

There is also a complete listing of resources for more information including addresses, phone numbers and Web sites. I particularly like the section on symptoms. You can just look up a symptom such as "back pain" and learn more about conditions that cause back pain. The book then directs you to the page containing detailed information about that condition.

I'm looking forward to what I hope will be the interactive DVD version of the Mayo Clinic Family Health Book in the future.

What an amazing source of information!! It is a definate must have for new parents. This detailed, yet easy to understand book offers specific chapters by age including newborns. It give prevenative information on health & safety including tooth care, controlling stress and travelng abroad. Of course first aid and diseases and disorders are the bulk of the book. It is well written easy to use and include helpful illustrations and photos. Every household should have one, but certainly families with children, of any age should have this book to refer to.

Having been to Mayo Rochester, I was thrilled to get this book. It is MASSIVE. There is so much good info in here it's hard to know where to start. There are detailed illustrations of all of the body's systems, pictures of various skin disorders, instructions on how to deal with all types of illnesses and symptoms, info on healthy eating and diet, and info on various drugs used to treat a myriad of ailments. This book should be in EVERY home.

Picked up the book and couldn't put it down until I finished it six hours later. Great work by Mr. Graley. He has the technique to keep the reader interested in the book. Great story about the final days in RVN.

It begins in Viet Nam, but it's not a war story -- it's a people story. From cover to cover the author exploits all the emotions. A terrific book. Great reading for everyone.

With so many combat novels and movies available , this author takes you on a journey of a single soldier. A soldier that has his orders to return home.... The story usually ends there! He must now carry out a task he has alone comitted himself. I was captivated by the many different aspects of this soldiers life that the author has made me(the reader) a part of. It was a collage of action , romance and much drama. This is definatly one for the book club!

"A People's History of the United States" forever changed the way I viewed the world and the system I grew up in. Continuing that tradition, "The Zinn Reader..", wakes up a desire in one's soul to rise up and do something about the injustices and hypocrisies that have dominated our past and continued to swallow our present. Professor Zinn write clearly, honestly, and furiously about topics ranging from the distribution of wealth to the ideal uses of scholarship and intellectualism. He lacks no emotion or fury, unlike many other historians. The main challenge Zinn makes it to exercise free thought, and "to be skeptical of someone else's reality." Very few historians, or writers for that matter, dare to look at the world from the perspective of the poor, the disenfranchised, the bombed, the murdered, the jailed, the conquered, the victim, but Zinn does exactly that, and in doing so puts out a masterful collection that not only instructs us in History, but also challenges our humanity and our place in the world.

Worth the money at any price, this is a rousing compilation of articles from one of America's leading historians of the left, whose earlier and epochal *A People's History of the United States* has served as something of a bible to those revisionist historians and activists more interested in unvarnished fact than patriotic myth. This revealing volume demonstrates that same class conscious perspective, this time ranging over topics both historical and contemporary, including insights into Plato, Machiavelli, the morality of war, the civil rights crusade, and the historically neglected Ludlow massacre. The result is an omnivorous selection to say the least, but one that includes plenty of ideational grist to disagree with even for those on the political left, who may find his pacifist leanings not just impracticable but insensitive to neo-colonial oppression. Be that as it may, few chroniclers of America's past so thoroughly demonstrate the bankruptcy of the official record as does Zinn, who unlike the abjectly house-broken Arthur Schlesinger Jr. has thankfully never found a place in the corridors of Repubocrat power which whatever else can be said has proven so materially rewarding for the opportunistic. There is solace however in the realization that were Zinn's historical honesty to replace the usual highschool pablum, even MTV teenagers might discover an identity that preceded them, and realize that there are no rebels without causes, but only victories as yet unwon. Zinn's work is a signpost along the way.

How many times can you call a collection of political essays a page turner? Well, how many Howard Zinn books are there?

This is a really comprehensive collection of Zinn's work, and makes a nice compliment to his quintessential "People's History of the US." It picks up on the same subject matter, but in Zinn's voice as an observer to the great political struggles of this century. It is, of course, typical, liberal, activist-minded Zinn, but I view this as a good thing -- he has a great deal of perspective as both an academic and an activist.

As for my favorite parts...I was interested and impressed to read of Zinn's activism during the Civil Rights Movement. This is a great first-hand account from someone who was along for the ride. I also enjoy his discussion of pacifism in the context of WWII, which is a difficult and delicate subject to tackle. I respect that he attempts to explain his anti-war beliefs with respect to this "good war."

I have found this book useful in very practical ways as well. I used some essays as texts in the activist internship class I taught, and I also referenced the list of important and influential books Zinn includes in an appendix.

When I was diagnosed with cancer three years ago and spent a lot of time researching the disease and its treatment, "Healthcare Online" was exactly the kind of book I needed but didn't have. It's clear and easy-to-use, though quite sophsticated in its research assistance, and very, very helpful in providing ways to separate out the valid information from the misleading or phony stuff. In the areas I researched intensively, it lists all the sources I eventually found for myself, plus some very useful sites I never discovered. I often counsel newly-diagnosed individuals with my disease and now will pass on this book as a gold mine for their own inquiries.

The web is like the Tower of Babble - jammed with information but difficult to sort out. This book is an invaluable guide to the many, often confusing, sources of online health information. Buy it. Use it. Profit from it.

Healthcare for Dummies validates the Internet as a research tool. It provides qualified healthcare sources with which to help ourselves, our families and friends.
I needed immediate information to help my mother cope with my Father who has Alzheimer's. I not only found organizations with information on Alzheimer's, but sources for my Mother (the caregiver) to contact for guidance and assistance.
Healthcare is rarely one issue. This guide can assist in the search for information on conditions, treatments as well as insurance and life stage issues -- all available on the Internet.

Had I not seen Waterdance first, this book would have been a number 1 for photography of dancers. I'm a fan of the human body, and this book shows it beautifully. While excellent, it leaves me wishing for that something more, that something that exists in Waterdance. I'm thrilled to see that Schatz has continued the water photography in Pool of Light - can't wait for it to be delivered. - Sam Hunter

Howard Schatz book of dancers photographed in the studio is a high energy look at their subtle grace. Schatz clearly was influenced by the wonderful work of Lois Greenfeild. In fact, many other photographers work comes to mind when viewing this book! But that does not diminish the overall appeal of his work. As enjoyable as his last book "Waterdance" but displayed in a larger format with top quality reproduction. My favorite photography book of 1997.

Passion and Line is one of my very favorite books and I have thousands of books. It inspires me. It motivates me. It is the zenith of what the human body can be. I get chills each time I view this thrilling book. The hard work, the incredible discipline of the dancers is exquisitly captured by Howard Schultz. Bravo to the Artist Schultz and bravo to his subject dancers.

I bought this book for my brother for his birthday years ago. I borrowed it from him and haven't given it back yet. If you were raised in rural Minnesota, Iowa or Wisconsin, this book will remind you of home. The piece about hot dishes and tacos (pronounced TAH-co) really cracked me up. We still laugh about the Minnesota good-byes that resemble the ritual still practiced in Wisconsin today. You, the visitor, have to mention that it is time to go at least three times (with intermittent periods of conversation) before you actually take leave or you are considered a bit rude.

So vastly entertaining, words just escape me. If you get it you will laugh til you cry. boo hoo hoo boo hoo hoo.

A great view into the cultural "oddities" of Minnesotans (odd to non-MNs that is). I've worn my copy out - can anyone help me find a new one? I show this video to my 6th grade students every year.

Having grown up in an evangelical protestant home, I recently began to look into the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church to expand my understanding of christianity. At the outset of this search, I found ON BEING CATHOLIC, a thought provoking and entertaining account of the core doctrines of Catholicism. Thomas Howard's literary style is engaging and at times, actually melodic. He expresses his genuine love for the church in a manner more reminisent of a love poem than a dry elaboration of doctrine and dogma. Having converted to Roman Catholicism from a similar protestant background as myself, his depictions of the rituals and traditions woven throughout the Roman liturgy created a deep hunger to incorporate these elements in my devotional life. It is rare to find a book that stirs the heart as well as feeds the mind as greatly as ON BEING CATHOLIC. In the tradition of CS Lewis and GK Chesterton, Howard has produced a work that makes faith a life encompassing adventure rather than an emotional leap into darkness.I would recommend his book to any person seeking to better understand what it means to believe in a world that has lost its faith.

Howard was a shining star among Protestant Evangelicals until his conversion to Catholicism in the 1980s (described in his earlier book, _Evangelical is Not Enough_). This decision shocked his former compatriots, some of whom attacked him rather severely for it. Howard had already written several books on Christianity--some dealing with his hero, C.S. Lewis--and has continued to write books discussing aspects of the Catholic faith. This work is a beautiful and illuminating description of what it means to be Catholic, written by one who spent much of his life outside the Church. As a result, it has much within its pages that will benefit Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Howard's gift for making complicated issues clear has led some to call him "America's answer to C.S. Lewis."

Howard's approach to Catholicism is deeply rooted in his former life as a Protestant Evangelical, and indeed, he still has a great love and respect for that period of his spiritual development. This is by no means an anti-Evangelical book. Howard often prefaces each chapter by outlining the objections that Protestants hold regarding each topic, which allows him to illustrate Catholic beliefs with greater clarity while still retaining what is good about the Evangelical approach. The fact that he once shared these objections gives added weight and authority to his discussion and shows how deeply Catholicism has been misunderstood by many Christians. Howard's tone is always optimistic, always passionate, and always informative. He brings to this book a clear love for Christianity in general and for the Catholic faith in particular that readers of any faith will likely find contagious. Catholics will come away with a greater understanding of the beauty and grandeur of their ancient faith, while non-Catholics will learn what Catholicism is really all about. Each of its most important traditions is carefully explained and summarized, and Howard does not assume that the reader is already informed on the subject. The chapters on the Mass (in which Howard walks the reader through it) are particularly good, as are his wonderful chapters on man's religious nature and on the importance and meaning of the Crucifix.

If you have heard a lot of bad things about the Catholic faith but want to find out more for yourself, this book is an excellent place to start. Howard is a clear, insightful and penetrating writer of great learning who believes very strongly in his subject, and his enthusiasm is evident on every page. He brings with him all the excitement and wonder of a convert who has discovered for the first time the Catholic faith as it really is, finding that it is a far different thing from what he had always heard and assumed. This is a gloriously lucid and informative elaboration of what it means to be part of Christ's Church.

As a cradle Catholic in the tumultuous and exciting process of re-discovering my own Catholic faith, Thomas Howard's book is an absolute treasure! I read this book with alternating tears of gratitude and tingles of awe, and whenever I put it down I had to pick it up again within minutes to get more. At first I was inclined to scoff at the comparisons of Howard with C.S. Lewis, but I found they are quite accurate. Howard has the passion, elequence and grace of Lewis combined with a love for the Catholic faith (but with no antagonism for non-Catholic questions or (mis)understandings). The review by David Thomas was spot-on when he compared this book to a love poem. I mean it quite sincerely when I say that every Catholic, and every person interested in the Catholic faith, would do themselves a great service by reading this fabulous and inspiring book.

I sometimes wonder whether these books are used for less than platonic purposes (although, knowing Plato's morals, I'm never sure how to use that word). I truly hope Howard Roffman's work is purchased purely for aeschetic enjoyable, rather than well..you know.

Three is a tribute to Roffman's contributions to the continuing study of the male nude. Using Black and White photography to capture the playful, emotional, passionate nature to three romantically entwined individuals, Roffman offers the world a look into a very interesting relationship. A relationship which I am uncertain that I could emotionally withstand. Nonetheless, these three are going against the societal tides in an expression of love that is truly unique.

The history behind the relationship was not throughout the book which might have made it even more interesting. The storyline might also have been beneficially fleshed out. One does wish to know a bit more about these individuals. It was well worth the money; I do heartily recommend it to you.

I enjoyed looking at Howard Roffman's photographs in THREE. I've often wondered whether threesomes actually work--apparently so (I wonder whether the guys are still together?).

Roffman documents three men/lover's lives. The photographs are visually pleasing and very erotic. This is a unique collection that certainly merits review. Roffman's photographs captures the male form in various stages of passion, as well as in mundane moments; each definitely tells a story of the men and leaves the viewer to conjure up stories to fill in the narrative blanks (no pun intended).

I highly recommend THREE. It's a wonderful coffeetable book...:)

Starring in Howard Roffman's photo book "Three" are three young men: John, Gary and Kris. They live together in a quite unconventional relationship in London. Roffman's photos show scenes from their everyday life - tender moments and even sexually heated situations. But Roffman's models do not remain "just models". With each picture the three protagonists get more and more lively. And each of them tells his own life story.

H.P lovecraft writes great horror stories and this is no exception he's probably one of the great horror story writers along with the likes of Poe. This book is made up of creative writing and conjours up distorted images in your head from the suspense that builds up to the climax toward the end. H.P Lovecraft's books tend to focus on the Horror/Fantasy genre and is the kind of horror material that involves creatures of a new breed and not so much a typical thriller story for example. The doom that came to sarnath definatley wipes the floor with alot of the modern horror stories that you see around and is an intense, shaded, wonderful, gripping book.

This is a wonderful collection of some of Lovecraft's lesser known works, the majority of which come from his earlier writings. It is actually a pretty eclectic sampling of styles. One finds traditional horror, dream-enshrouded tales of unknown vistas, short "prose poems," collaborations with other writers, and even a science fiction story. While none of these stories can claim a place in the Cthulhu Mythos, several do presage its beginnings and offer glimpses of the universe of the Great Old Ones. "Nyarlathotep" introduces us to that dark god, "The Festival" refers to mouldy tomes such as the Necronomicon of the mad Arab Abdul Alhezred and offers us a glimpse of pagan practices, Polaris speaks of the Pnakotic manuscripts, and "The Nameless City" takes us deep underneath the desert sands to a forgotten abode of ancient, nonhuman creatures. Many of the tales take us to Dunsanian dream worlds where beauty and unearthly horror are separated by a veil of nothingness. "In the Walls of Eryx," cowritten with Kenneth Sterling, is very interesting in that it represents Lovecraft's only real foray into science fiction, a more than successful foray in my opinion. The only story I find less than first-rate is the tale "Imprisoned With the Pharoahs," a work ghost-written for Harry Houdini--passed off as a true story of the great magician's visit to Giza's pyramids; Houdini's presence as the protagonist makes the story seem forced and does not allow me to fully appreciate the elements of horror Lovecraft injects into the tale.

Lovecraft is, to some degree, an acquired taste, and for that reason I would not recommend this book for first-time readers. Any fan of Lovecraft will delight in these tales and mentally take note of every element that relates to the whole of his fiction, but the Lovecraft initiate may well become frustrated with the Dunsanian elements of many of these stories and may not fully appreciate the remarkable craftsmanship of the author; furthermore, the collaborations in this collection are clearly not Lovecraft's greatest works. Those looking for "horror" may well be disappointed, as will those seeking an introduction to the Cthulhu Mythos. While these stories can surely inspire delight and devotion among new Lovecraft readers, it is my feeling that they can be fully appreciated and understood only by those who are already familiar with Lovecraft's greater body of work.

I find it funny that there's a unicorn logo on the front cover of my copy of this book, saying that this work is Adult Fantasy. About the only thing Adult about H.P. Lovecraft is that he uses big words like "cacodaemoniacal". Although most of the works in this collection are fantasy, that doesn't mean that there isn't any horror to be had, either. Some of the stories in this excellent collection will give you more chills than the Sixth Sense ever did. Here's a brief synopsis of some of the stories in this book: THE OTHER GODS--One of my favorite fantasy pieces. It deals with mankind driving the gods up mountains. BEYOND THE WALL OF SLEEP--A primitive man from the mountains is put in an institution, where the main character discovers something extraordinary about the fellow. EX OBLIVIONE--Travel to a wonderful dream-world with a bronze gate that leads somewhere seemingly special. FROM BEYOND--This story reminded me much of The Sixth Sense. Lovecraft was never one for dialogue, but he did really well in this story. THE CATS OF ULTHAR--An elderly couple is suspected of cat-killing, but a boy passing through has thoughts of revenge. HONORABLE MENTIONS: The Tree, The Tomb, Polaris, What the Moon Brings, Hypnos, Nathicana, The Festival, The Nameless City, The Quest of Iranon, The Crawling Chaos, and In the Walls of Eryx. As you can see, you get lots of bang for your buck, so to speak. The stories are categorized, but they do not appear in chronological order--a partial chronology is included at the back. This is probably the best Lovecraft book I've read since The Best of H.P. Lovecraft. Both books are worth getting.

I would in fact prefer to award this 3.5 stars, but the Amazon system seems to compel one to choose between 3 and 4, and I think 4 is too generous. To begin with the text, there is no doubt that this is not the best Shakespeare to buy. It is to a large extent based on the Oxford Shakespeare, which - quite rightly, in my view - has attracted a lot of criticism for some of its peculiarities. Thus, for example, Oxford prints TWO versions of *King Lear*, the quarto text and that of the folio. Norton rightly takes issue with this, and produces the kind of conflated text that most readers would want, but adds the other two AS WELL (so we are offered THREE versions!). This kind of thing is, in truth, academic self-indulgence - it shows an undue respect for academic concerns which to most readers are not of the slightest interest. There is a similar tendency to pay scant regard to what most readers really want and need in the Introduction: that tells us a good deal about Shakespeare's time, and the material is interesting, but it is not often shown to be relevant, or necessary, to an understanding of what Shakespeare writes. The explanatory annotation accompanying the texts is not bad, but often inferior to that of comparable editions, notably Bevington's. The introductions to individual plays are usually stimulating, but not necessarily convincing. Thus Greenblatt on the one hand says about Macbeth's murder of Duncan, "That he does so without adequate motivation, that he murders a man toward whom he should be grateful and protective, deepens the mystery ..." (p. 2558), yet adds a few lines later: "Macbeth and Lady Macbeth act on ambition ...". Precisely, that IS Macbeth's motivation for the murder, as Macbeth himself points out unequivocally in 1.7.25-7 - there is, therefore, absolutely nothing mysterious about his motivation. The edition does, however, offer a number of good references to other writings about Shakespeare. All in all, I do consider 3.5 stars is a fair "grade", in seeking to assess this for the benefit of the majority of readers looking for a complete Shakespeare to buy; but I consider David Bevington's by far the best edition of the complete works, then the Riverside, and only then this one - though, with its annotations, it is certainly more useful than the Oxford edition on which it is based. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University, South Australia

I confess that after examining 5-6 of the top-selling complete Shakespeares I tried not to like the Norton. There are less expensive editions, there are editions with glossy pages and colored photographs, there are editions that are half the weight and bulk of this leviathan, which is far more Shakespeare than the average reader--perhaps, even scholar, for that matter--would ever require. But despite its bulk and unwieldyness, its 3500 (!) thin, flimsy pages, its sheer excess, I couldn't ignore its advantages. The small print enables the publishers to squeeze in contextual materials--in the introduction and appendixes--that in themselves amount to an encyclopedic companion to Shakespeare's works; the introductions to the plays are written not in "textbook prose" but in an engaging style worthy of their subject; and perhaps, best of all, this is the only edition that places the glosses right alongside the "strange" Elizabethan word instead of in the footnotes. You can read the plays without experiencing vertigo of the eye. So this is the edition, though you may wish to go with the smaller, bound portions that Norton publishes of the same edition--especially if you can't afford the cost of a personal valet to carry this tome from home to office. On the other hand, the complete edition is excellent for doing crunches and other aerobic exercises--activities many of us who read the Bard are abt to ignore.

As a fervent admirer of Shakespeare, this complete collection, comprising excellent introductions to each play and helpful textual notes as well as informative writings on the history of both England and the art of acting that shaped Shakespeare's writing, was like a dream come true. While before I had to walk around trying to find a good edition of the play I wanted to read, now I can open the Norton Shakespeare and read without being afraid of not understanding words or missing the point of the play. This book's obvious drawbacks are its heft and, as mentioned, its delicate pages, but these are easily outweighed by the abovementioned advantages! Buy it and read!