This is perhaps one of the classic Japanese-English character dictionaries. It contains practically all thre characters and compounds a serious learner of Japanese would ever encounter. Despite its size, this dictionary is certainly one of the most useful Kanji dictionaries to have, comprehensive yet concise.

Each entry lists the On and Kun pronunciations and meanings of the character, compounds beginning with that character, their pronunciation and meanings. Unfortunately, the pronunciations are given in romaji rather than kana, which any reasonable student of Japanese would be familiar with. Although the characters are listed under their simplified forms, the traditional form, where it differs, is also provided in the entry. As such, the entries are very comprehensive and useful.

This dictionary, however, is very much for the reader and not the writer. It helps little in Japanese composition as no indication of usage is included in the description of the character and its compounds. It is rather for readers to ascertain the meanings of unfamiliar characters and compounds they come across, and for this purpose, it fulfils its aims admirably.

However, one extremely grave fault of the dictionary is the order in which the characters are arranged. Departing from the traditional arrangement under the classical radicals, Nelson has devised, in this edition, a strange algorithmic method classifying characters which makes it difficult indeed to locate characters, particularly for those familiar with the traditional system. The departure from the traditional system also means that readers who learn Nelson's odd system will be unable to use other references using the traditional system effectively. Were it not for this flaw, the dictionary would surely have been given a higher rating. The situation, however, is ameliorated by the fact that cross-references have been included to point readers to the new radical at the appropriate spot for the old radical. The dictionary also contains many useful indices and appendices listing characters according to their pronunciation, describing the method of locating characters, historical and geographical tables, and so forth. The phonetic index, in particular, is very useful for finding a character whose pronunciation one knows but whose exact form once cannot precisely recall.

In short, this is one of the best Japanese-English character dictionaries around, particularly with regard to its content. It is essential for any advanced student of Japanese, and will prove very useful to intermediate students as well. Its size and scope is such that only rarely will you be dissapointed with an entry or lack thereof. Although sadly marred by Nelson's unfortunate arrangement of the characters, a very serious flaw in a character dictionary -- imagine if an English dictionary departed from the traditional alphabetical arrangement of words, and adopted an entirely new syllabic arrangement, or altered the traditional alphabetical order so the vowels came first, or something similarly inexcusable -- the dictionary is would otherwise be a great investment.

Don't buy into those "New Nelson" editions. This is the book you want for your kanji references. Excellent resource.

I believe "The Modern Reader's Japanese - English Character Dictionary" by Andrew Nathaniel Nelson is the best character dictionary available for Japanese readers of intermediate/advanced level. In particular for anybody with a great deal of Japanese reading to do, this dictionary excels.

Some debate has arisen over the construction of the book, since it departs from the "traditional" method of classifying characters and adopts a completely systematic approach.

Traditionally the sub-character, or radical, by which a kanji character is classified is determined by the meaning of the radical and the meaning of the whole kanji, thus if one knows the basic meaning of the radical and can guess the meaning of the kanji by it's context you are able to choose fairly accurately which radical a kanji character is listed under. (Please note this is an inexact science, Japanese themselves are not _always_ able to find a character by this method the first try) Having tried this method, I can say with confidence that although it is possible to find characters with perhaps 70% accuracy for an intermediate level reader in order to find characters with anything approaching 100% accuracy you virtually need to become a scholar in kanji construction and radical meanings. (As was mentioned in a review by Sebastien-Jerome, "the traditional system fixed by the [Chinese] Kangxi dictionary" is the basis of all such dictionaries. Thus if you don't have a knowledge of this system you are in trouble ;-)

OK... So how is this dictionary any different? Andrew N. Nelson was a scholar of the Japanese written system (a missionary to Japan, I believe) and he felt, since there is debate even among Japanese as to the correct organisation of a character dictionary, that a systematic approach to character organisation was the most logical step and provided a good way of finding characters for all the non-scholars. This he proceeded to do. He compiled one of the most comprehensive listings of Kanji and compounds available to non-Japanese at the time (or to date) and then proceeded to place them in the logical order of first radical found in an arbitrary but logically ordered system: is it a radical? no, is it enclosure? no, start from an arbitrary point (he chose the top left or "North-West" corner) and rotate around the character looking for the radical (ie next North, North-East, East etc.) With the end result that, once you learnt his arbitrary system, any person, scholar or no, could find their desired character on the first try. (or in other words with 100% accuracy.) This is a most amazing development, considering even Japanese people with their current dictionaries cannot _always_ find their desired character on the first try. Of course as with any profound paradigm shift many people argued and argue that it is "stepping away from the original system", but there is no one standard for Kanji radical groupings so, on this grounds, Nelson's choice can be only be said to be as arbitrary as any other and surely much more effective.

In all I have been very impressed by the speed with which I can find a character using this dictionary, providing of course you understand the system and know a good percentage of the radicals. Likewise, as has been stated by others, the scope of this dictionary is such that very rarely will you be unable to find your desired character or compound. For any student of Japanese with a lot of reading of Japanese to do this is the only dictionary I can recommend, as I know of absolutely no other that allows you to find your desired character first try _every_time_. For example, if you are trying to read a book, you may have to look up several hundred characters and compounds. This ability to find the character first time every time will save you a lot of time and heartache in the end.

Before buying this dictionary look at your goal in learning Japanese. For scholars of Japanese and its accompanying written system, this dictionary may not be for you, perhaps you would be better off just buying a Japanese Character Dictionary from Japan. But for students, of almost any level, who don't have time to delve into the complexities yet, you can't go past this dictionary. (Don't worry, you can still use other dictionaries... but you will find yourself wishing for Nelson's system ;-) As anybody who has studied languages knows well, achieving fluency is a very difficult thing and staying interested is very important. Pouring over dictionaries is difficult and time-consuming (and really ruins a good book ;), so if you just want to sit down and read a Japanese book, this is for you.

Finally, there is a new version of this dictionary "The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary : Based on the Classic Edition by Andrew N. Nelson" edited by John H. Haig. I know for a fact that this edition tries to revert to a more traditional system of Kanji grouping, and eliminates the original system and also eliminates much of the original speed.

Out of Darkness is a story about Louis Braille. Louis Braille was blind in the year 1812. It happened when he was a little boy. Louis was playing with a knife from his father's tools. He was trying to make holes in a piece a strong leather. The knife slipped and it stabbed his left eye. Louis had to stay in a dark room to help his eye heal. An infection spread from his left eye to his right eye. In 1812 there was no way to control his serious infection. 15 years later Louis Braille invented braille lettering for all blind people. I think that this is a good book for young readers to read because it shows good friendship between people.

This is a great book! This book tells you about a real person name Louis Braille! Louis Braille is the person who invented books for the blind people.Louis invented braille when he was just a little boy.He was blind because he was playing with his father's tools while his father was talking to someone.When Louis was playing with the tool it poked one of his eye and it started bleeding badly.The eye that was poked by a tool had a hole in it.The eye started infecting the other eye.Later on Louis was totally blind.

This fact based biography is one of the best I have encountered for children starting at about grade three. Adults will also enjoy. The book documents the life of Louis Braille. Born and raised in a small town near Paris, Louis suffered a tragic injury at the age of 3, which rendered him blind for life. The story captures the true essence of courage and the triumph of the human spirit; to meet even the most seemingly insurmountable obstacles with dignity, tenacity and unshaken faith. Louis did not give up. Despite many frustrations and setbacks, his attempts at creating and perfecting the Braille system were successful and accepted and distributed world wide. Unfortunately, Louis died in his early forties and was not here to witness the magnitude that his system bestowed on the world of the blind, their families, loved ones and associates. But he did pass away in peace and in the knowledge that his mission had been fufilled. Louis opened a door to the visually impaired, and in this way significantly transformed and enhanced many, many lives by providing this invaluable means of reading, writing, and communicating. Louis Braille was a true hero and will remain so for all time.

First of all, I have to say that this book provides you with a lot of details about serial communications. It even provides you with a complete library so that you can write the serial communication programming in half an hour.

The bad part is that I found later that Microsoft had included a MSComm control with VB and VC and it makes the library provided by this book useless. I used the library to write my project and it worked. Then I tried MSComm control and found that MSComm control was better than the library provided by this book. MSComm class gives you more control and it's much easier to use. eg: you don't have to worry about the multithreading because MSComm control has done that for you.

So, IMHO, if you are a VC or VB programer and you only want to write some simple Win32 serial port program, you'd better use MSComm control instead of turning to this book.

I bought this book to learn how to program Win32 serial communications. It's obvious that the author knows his stuff. Chapters 3 thru 9 apply to MS-DOS and are not really relevant anymore. Otherwsie the source code is a excellent study in how to write a class library in C++ in addition to multithreading which, by themselves, make the book worth the price.

I used the libraries to write an ActiveX control that has an interface that only a FoxPro programmer would love. My money was well spent.

Although the book requires a lot of reading, it describes the use of the CD's source code in great detail. Included source code is for both DOS applications, DOS programs running as "Terminal" applications under Windows as well as for Windows applications.

Microsoft's MSComm Active X is ok where dialog based Windows applications are desired. But in a Windows 98 application that rapidly sends, receives and checks incoming data without user input, this software is an absolute MUST to have.

The strength of this book, its detailed coverage of the legal process, is spoiled by the implied control (see title) and "successful conclusion" (see introducton). The legal system is a game of chance with much beyond the control of the average person (easy examples: the judge and jury). The odds are improved by money which you probably don't have if you're reading this book. A contingency arrangement is unlikely judging by the book's content devoted to paying a lawyer. The odds are also improved by finding a lawyer who will pursue a case with a vengeance, also unlikely given this book's cautions and the fact that lawyers without contingencies get paid regardless of outcome. This book is one source of information to help you decide whether to get involved in a legal matter; counter to its title, it actually advises against legal action. If the choice is not yours, you may be looking for referrals and pointers from your financial advisor and other individuals who have been through court.

I reviewed this book in June and I feel just as strongly about this book NOW as I did then. In fact, were it not for the helpful information contained in this book, I would not have had the knowledge nor the motivation needed to pursue my lawsuit.

Thanks to the information contained in this book, I have successfully filed a strong civil complaint with damages exceeding [ten] million.

I was able to find a lawyer to take my case on a contingency arrangement that included a nominal retainer fee and a requirement that I cover all court costs.

I cannot imagine my case will actually go to trial, as the evidence against the defendent is quite overwhelming; however, thanks to the knowledge contained in this book, I am confident that I have taken every conceivable means possible to adequately prepare to defend my rights!

If you have been harmed due to someone else' negligence and/or malice, I highly recommend that you purchase this book. It will show you exactly how to defend your rights in a U.S. Court of Law.

I am a first time Plaintiff with a strong civil action that has a high probability of success. Nevertheless, because of the negative connotation attached to "filing a lawsuit", I seriously considered not taking legal action. Thank God I found this book!

If you have been unfairly attacked and/or injured by someone, you are compounding the injury by not taking action to repair the damage. To illustrate, imagine breaking your arm; and deciding not to get a cast, because of the negative connotation attached to "wearing a cast". That would be ludicrous!

If you have been harmed due to someone's negligence and/or malice, you are entitled and maybe even obligated to protect your best interest. Filing a legitimate lawsuit does not make you "opportunistic" or "vindictive"; just like wearing a cast to repair a broken arm, does not make you "opportunistic" or "vindictive", it makes you INTELLIGENT! My grandaddy always told me to "BE INTELLIGENT".

This book shows you the INTELLIGENT way to represent your legitimate interests in a U.S. court of law. Read it, and then by all means... SUE ...

I was enjoying my new set of flashcards until I realized that many of the signs shown are not found in an ASL dictionary as the proper sign. So while the concept of learning via flashcards is fun and encouraging, I feel the need to cross-reference every word in case I'm learning the wrong sign. I will, however, give part 2 and 3 a chance!

One of the other reviewers complained about the signs not being accurate. Of course they're accurate. However, ASL like all languages is dialectal. Just as we use a different word in one part of the country for something in another part of the country, so, too, with signing. Some signs in California are different than New York. You can't always trust the ASL dictionary (just as you might not always be able to trust a flash card). Look around and see what people are using.

Great resource! I'll certainly buy the others.

These cards present you with a nice array of basic signs which can be communicated in one or two photos. Photograhs of handshapes are a nice change over the drawing you usually find in a signing dictionary. The cards are large enough to view well and can be laid in a row to form a sentence. Younger children find them intriguing and fun and they make it easy for adults to pick up some of the basics quickly. I would recommend purchasing all three sets (Exambusters Sign Language, More Sign Language and Even More Sign Language). Together they will supply you with about 600 different signs grouped by category. (food, occupation, people, home, etc.)

I was greatly surprised by this book. It is probably the best of the comics, and focuses on the survival of Hicks and Newt. I heard other reviewers say that the comics were better than the last two movies, and I must agree. ... The story focuses on the survivors of the Aliens mission, Hicks and Newt. After their arrival on Earth, they were seperated and unable to communicate with each other. But when an Alien Hiveworld is found the goverment needs Hicks expertise and drag him along. But not before he rescues Newt(who is much older due to the elapsed time spent on earth) and takes her with him. After barely escaping the alien mission, Newt and Hicks realize that the aliens are setting up a bigger hiveworld, a hiveworld on the planet earth.

Written before Alien3, this book is not in line with the films after Aliens. It is far better than any of them. The story is the best I have read in a graphic novel. Only one word need describe it-epic. We do not have cheesy INDEPENDANCE DAY type theatrics, we have a panorama of love, ambition, strife and perdition. The aliens' invasion of Earth is brilliantly portrayed, as is the subsequent collapse of civilization. We have human civilization and savagery juxtaposed clearly. Philosophy and terror go hand in hand in this extraordinary book. The most emotionally moving title in this series. This should have been ALIEN3. It has all the poeticism and emotional depth of that brilliant movie, while it dispenses with the plotting infelicities and sketchy characterization. Compared to ALIEN RESURRECTION, the latest title in the movie saga, this book is a prime piece of science-fiction. Ironically that movie was more like a cheesy comicbook, while this book is like an excellent movie. Comparisons th Kubrick's SPACE ODYSSEY 2001 would indeed be justified when talking of this book. The illustrations are beautiful, with special attention on the faces of the characters. One final note: this was rereleasd under the title OUTBREAK with changes made to fit it in with ALIEN3.

What can I say; an absolute classic tour de force, Paul Verheiden is Mr. 'Aliens.' for those who are in the know this is the where it all begins; the first book in the excellent Aliens graphic novel series, and it's an absolute stormer! It hits on so many levels, not just the obvious sci - fi horror of killer bugs that are born by bursting out of your stomach and grow to the size of men but also the meaning - and nature of life - what it means to be human (is a clone a human?), our psychology, the origin of the aliens, their psychology and social organisation, mankind's place in the universe, the problems of our planet, and more. Verheiden goes deep into what the aliens stand for, what they mean, their implications for us, as well as the obligatory comparisons between man and alien. He shows us that he knows aliens more than the filmmakers did. If ever there was a case study of how to take a concept and run with it, then this is it. Verheiden sensibly cuts out Alien 3 continuity: the two characters who survived Aliens along with Ripley (the girl Newt and the soldier Hicks) but were pronounced dead at the beginning of Alien 3 are central characters in this book. The book's underlying premise is the downward tendency of human nature when confronted with challenges and problems beyond our ken and normal frame of reference. We see twisted people trying to use the alien menace for their own ends: depravity that includes twisted scientific experiments, bio-weaponry and focuses for cult worship, with the resultant excesses of human suffering and dying. Indeed, it is humanity's collective weaknesses and baser desires that let the monsters in; that let them get a foothold on the planet (hence the title 'outbreak'), that causes earth's infestation as the aliens' - despite not possessing 'intelligence' - exploit our human failings. All too late do we realise that the aliens are a cancer, a cancer that has infected our earth and made it unliveable. Thus the scattered remnants of humanity have to flee, for earth is lost. A quite superb plot that leaves you speechless. A gripping, complex and ultimately tragic sci-fi horror saga from the one and only Paul Verheiden, who saw the potential in the Aliens phenomena and went into creative overdrive, giving us a timeless scince-fiction classic. Who cares about film sequels when the comics are this good?

Only book with detailed parts and specification numbers for all Bonnevilles. Great listing by year displaying differences and colors. Needs index and narrative past 1976.

Good book overall, many pictures of Trimph legends, pictures of most 650 twin-carb models for every year, very detailled specs. Only drawbacks are black-and-white photos only and no index, but things are easy to find; also, the two-page major part number appendix is a picture of a hand-drawn chart and is difficult to read in spots. You need this book if you have to tell the difference between the U.S. east coast and west coast 1964 T120C 'TT' models, for instance. (West coast had 17T gearbox sprocket and a black seat with white piping.) Or, you need this book if you like Bonnies...

This work is essential in restoring any Bonneville. It contains charts of part number changes over each year of the models life. Tim Yeatma

The author states at the end of his book that he is a millionaire and that he got that way by following his own advise. I guess that means he was heavy into index mutual funds since that is what his kit promotes. I'd be willing to bet that he's no longer the proud owner of a million-dollar portfolio after the dive the markets have taken since this book was published.

To his credit, he advises to begin to shift assets and build a bond ladder when you get within ten years of your retirement date. If he, himself, was eleven years out, he will probably have to move his planned retirement date well out into the future.

Pushing the stock market is an easy book to write. Discounting real estate, as the author does, is also a trend among the current crop of market pushers, but I think it does a disservice to their readers to advise people to rent rather than buy your principal residence or to not invest in equity by prepaying your mortgage.

No one I know has built wealth via the stock market. On the other hand, I personally know several who did so investing in residential real estate. And while the market has gone south for the last two years, real estate is still steady as a rock.

Rental real estate is real work, but so is the daily grind of earning the money to invest in the market. Common sense sweat-equity investing is still the most certain road to financial independence.

I invest in the market but my wealth is accumulating in real estate.

Although the title of this book is rather trite the content is not. Nelson does a great job of weighing the various pros and cons of common financial decisions. (I recently took his advice and began putting a small 'windfall' into my 403b account - doubling the monthly amount taken out of my salary. And just like he stated with taxes being reduced my paycheck was NOT reduced to the extent that I thought it would be. I also learned much about adjusted mortgage rates. Although sometimes Nelson's advice is controversial he lays it out in a logical and convincing format. I particularly enjoyed the dicussion about what retirement is and isn't. It's a simple cliche', but money doesn't buy happiness -- it just helps to deal with certain stressors better! By the way the CD-ROM is great. Very practical tools for strategizing scenarios with your money. Buy this book!!

I really like this book - it is complete and easy to read. The concepts described are straightforward and organized so the book can be read over many sittings, if desired, without losing the big picture. The emphasis is "bit-by-bit" saving and investing ideas combined with interest compounding to build wealth.

"Reluctant Warrior"
Heino R. Erichsen
ISBN 10-57168-514-6
2001

For the most part this is a very readable book. It traces Heino Erichsen's story from capture in North Africa as an eighteen year old German soldier through prison camps in the United States, to repatriation to Germany, and ultimately to return to the United States.

Erichsen's book initially interested me because in the town where I grew up in central Texas there had been a German prisoner of war camp. Mr. Erichsen's book answered my questions about life in those camps. The initial prison camp to which he was sent was Camp Hearne, Texas. The town was so depleted of agricultural labor that when the prisoners arrived at the camp, according to Erichsen, who spoke English, they were greeted with "Hi y'all, come on in." As it turned out three-fourths of the prisoners were NCO's, who were exempted from work by the Geneva Convention. Accordingly, later, the locals dubbed the camp, "The Fritz Ritz".

During Erichsen's stay, Nazis murdered an English-speaking prisoner, who had translated for the camp's commanding officer. The translator was thought to be too friendly to the Americans. Erichsen wrote that his American captors failed to distinguish between the Nazis and the non-political types who made up most of the German army. This oversight led to incidents such as the translator's murder.

This book also discloses the fact, unknown at least to me, that after the war the German prisoners in the U.S. were not returned directly to Germany. Instead they had to serve one to two year terms in England, Scotland, Belgium, and France working on farms, in mines, or repairing war damages to make up for the manpower losses that those countries had suffered. Erichsen captured in 1943 did not make it back to his hometown of Kiel in north Germany until 1948. He writes that over 58 percent of the buildings had been destroyed. The city was barely recognizable.

After a while, Erichsen was able to get a job as a translator for a British government organization. Outside of work, Erichsen wrote of the postwar period in Germany, it was difficult to have a social life of any kind because the men of his age had lost their contemporaries and the young women had lost their innocence. Surviving consumed the thoughts of women his age, he wrote. After six years, he returned to the United States with his new family.

Life in the U.S. was not an immediate success for Erichsen. He had given up an excellent job in Germany. After weeks of interviews, he learned that his references and education counted for nothing. He was a foreigner with an accent. Eventually, he got work. Later, his wife left him. He married again. He and his second wife went on to found an international adoption agency, which placed hundreds of orphans. This became his life's work and his way of coping with his wartime experiences.

Although "Reluctant Warrior" lacks the dramatic power of books such as "Destined to Witness" and "German Boy", two other books by Germans about their wartime experiences, it is nonetheless an interesting book. Its coverage of the lives of German prisoners in American POW camps provides an original insight into a somewhat forgotten aspect of our history.

Among other things, this story is an enlightening view of an Axis "enemy" in WW 2. But not at all like the fearsome German soldier propagandized by Adolph Hitler, U.S. movies and documentaries, nor by our own Armed Services during that war. It is also a classic view of what the German people experienced through that long war.
As for the soldier, you see the human side of a German boy, raised in a middle class family, whose parents secretly opposed the war and Hitler's grand schemes. Frail as a lad, required to participate as a member of the Hitler Youth Program, and schooled for office work, Heino was inept as a soldier before he became a member of the Afrikan Korps under Field Marshall Rommel in February 1943. His story could easily have been the life of a similar American youth, except for location, culture, and circumstance of war.
For Heino Erichsen, that circumstance included being captured and shipped to the United States as a Prisoner of War. On reflection, it was perhaps a more fortunate fate for him than for some of his American counterparts interned as POWs in Germany - but not a good thing at best.
What he made of his life, despite the war, the onus of being a POW, and many other obstacles in his path, is a tribute to Erichsen's self discipline, work ethic, faith in his God, and a good wife - a combination manifest in his many good works worldwide since immigrating and becoming an American citizen.
I interviewed Heino and Jean after reading a story about them in the local paper. I was so impressed by both of them that I purchased The Reluctant Warrior for my own library. After reading it, I was even more impressed with what they have made of their life, and I strongly recommend their book to you. It is interesting, educational, and quite revealing.

This book is full of insights into what German life was like before, during and just after WWII. I have lived Germany for the better part of the last 25 years and it opened my eyes to what really went on during this time. There are events that we were never taught in history class. There are very personal and emotional accounts of events in a world that most of us can't even imagine. My only complaint is that the book started to fall apart on the third reading.