This book is very in depth and yet still finds ways to make the subject interesting. I was amazed at how much was included between this soft cover edition. I was also pleased that the CD was for both PC and Mac formats. The overall flow of the subject matter and presentation ranks this book as one of the best I have purchased. Please let the publisher know that this eternal student has a new faith in the publishing industry again.

As an avid reader of her work I always look for her latest when visiting my homeland of England. Imagine my surprise therefore to find this collection of short stories published in 1994 that I had previously been unaware of. In this collection she continues to examine the role of the post feminist woman in British society in short crafted vignettes of life.

It is however her sharp sense of humor and wicked observations of the absurdities of life that I find most appealing.

Although listed as out of print I found new paperback copies at all of the London bookstores which suggested a reprinting that hopefully will soon be available here in the US. When it is I highly recommend it.

This book is a collection of stories about mostly straight people who had friends or relatives come out. One thing that happens to straight friends and relatives at someone's coming-out is that the gay person is out and the family or friends go into the closet. This book explores how family and friends deal with gayness and how they come out of their closets, too. There is a briefest of brief introductions that summarizes the stories to follow, and there is a fairly extensive resource guide in the back full of addresses and organizations of every kind for information, support, and advice. If you are a straight friend or family member of a gay person, this is a great resource--although I think you might also profit from books such as:

Coming Out of Shame--written for gay and lesbian people but for a straight reader an important and valuable insight into gay and lesbian people's feelings and emotional difficulties coming out

Stranger at the Gate--if you have conflicted religious views, this autobiography is invaluable

In the end, however, this is a great first step to coming to understand and support the gay or lesbian person in your life. Congratulations for considering buying this book!

As a Captain in the Washington State Civil War Association I portray the Company "A" 1st Confederate Engineers commanding officer. We try to make our re-enacments as authentic as possible but information on the Confederate Engineers is very difficult to find as most records were lost when Richmond was evacuated. I have found Mr. Jackson's book to be of immense help in studying the history of the 1st C.E. The information he gives is obviously well researched and is presented in an interesting way so it is enjoyable to read. The use of letters from the participants gives the book a personal touch that I found drew me into the action as though I were actually there in the works at Petersburg while the seige was going on. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the War Between the States.

Ellis' dialogue authentically captures the 'voice' of a wide range of Jamaicans. His poignant stories are populated with sympathetic characters who try to make sense of the often complex class structure and gender relationships of the island. I ached for the young woman who struggles with class prejudice in her confused search for emotional fulfilment. I rooted for the physically challenged school boy trying to achieve a difficult goal, and the gradual suffocation of a young, ambitious girl by her jealous boyfriend in 'Rain' angered me because it reflected a too-often observed reality so well. These stories caused me to think as well as feel, and as a Jamaican, some of the issues hit close to home. An outstanding first collection.

Mel Ellis was the first author to really grab my attention. Like most kids I only read the books that were assigned to me by my teachers. For my first independent book review I ended up choosing Flight of the White Wolf. What a book! The story of Russ and his wolf was a neverending adventure. It is the book that the reader won't put down. Mel Ellis had me daydreaming for weeks. This is a book that should be available to every child. Let them live the adventure and give them something that they will enjoy reading.

This book is a good introduction to the theory of Fourier series, transforms, and optics. It assumes no previous knowledge of Fourier theory. Topics covered include the basics of Fourier series and transforms, the convolution theorem, coherent and incoherent imaging, and diffraction. Several example applications are treated as well, such as the theory of simple stellar and spectral interferometers.

Despite covering all of these topics, this is a short book (185 pages). The writing is clear but not overly mathematical. The book is a good general introduction for a scientist of engineering interested in Fourier optics, but it will not substitute for a more technical and rigorous treatment.

Paul Voyles

This book is great for letting toddlers know what it is like to fly on an airplane, whether it is in preparation for their first flight, reminiscence of previous flights, or just for their imagination.

The illustrations are clear and the story is simple. The text is presented in a very clear and large typeface that beginning readers should find quite easy to sound through. The things that are important to a young child are emphasized, such as finding a seat and getting a meal--and the teddy bear is a prominant character that my son really seems to like.

It may not be a great piece of literature, but it is a very enjoyable little book!

The book under review is the expanded version of "A Short history Guerrilla Warfare" written by the same author way back in 1975.The number of guerrilla operations discussed in the book clearly dictates that author has done lot of research however in order to put every guerrilla operations the author could not do justice to most of it and many a times while describing an oprations or an event the author suddenly goes back in time which gives a discordent note.It is evident that author was very convinced by the success of Chinese and Vietnamese war and thought that peoples war could provide genuine social revolution to oppressed people however the same could not be justified barring for few operations.Besides this the author does provide a very thorough chronology of notable guerrilla wars and would of interset to historians, oppressed lot and of course to those who are engaged in antiguerrilla/counter-insugency operations i.e. military and paramilitary organisations.

The problem with almost all data structures books is - when is someone going to write one which is the ultimate desk reference - nothing is left for the reader to derive. This book falls short also in that aspect. It covers all the necessary topics. Strong, but academic.