This is a thorough treatment of London architecture, covering not only iconic landmarks like Buckingham Palace (although they're here too), but as well, buildings from all eras across Greater London. Post-WWII architecture is surprisingly well represented. The region is divided into a grid of 24 squares, each of which is illustrated with a detailed map (except outlying areas), and this grid is used for organizing the book into chapters. In all, over 900 buildings are included, each with a 2 inch x 2 inch photo and a description of three or four sentences. Floor plans are shown for each of Wren's churches and for a handful of other buildings. Appendices have maps showing 'The Great Estates,' London squares in chronological order, and 'The Inns of Court.'

I bought this book on high recommendations from mystery booksellers and found it one of the most captivating books I've ever read. Ms. Woodward possesses a writing style that is both fluid and efficient. Not a word goes wasted here. Going back and forth in perspectives from that of the victims' family member and the memoirs of the alleged murderer, the story peels away the fabric of an ldyllic life in Alabama to reveal a shallow facade shocking in its ugliness. The writing is wonderful and the characters believable. Not since Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent have I been so moved by the emotions of the characters and so absorbed by an irresistibly southern-gothic plot. I can hardly wait to dig into the few other books Ms. Woodward has written, and I hope she has plans to pen many, many more.

Terrific Science Press has published several excellent books that I know of: Teaching Chemistry with Toys (grades K-9), Teaching Physics with Toys (grades K-9), and Exploring Energy with Toys (grades 4-8). I use them all with gusto, and I looked forward to receiving Investigating Solids, Liquids, and Gases with Toys (middle school). I was not disappointed.

The book begins with 13 pages of content review that includes excellent graphics, tables, and graphs. This is followed by an 8 page section on pedagogical strategies. The heart of the book, of course, is the set of 24 activities, evenly distributed between states of matter and changes of state. Each activity is clearly laid out with the following sections: time required, key science topics, student background (if required), national science education standards, additional process skills (for some activities), materials - for getting ready - for the procedure - for the extensions, safety and disposal, getting ready, introducing the activity, procedure, variations and extensions, explanation, assessment suggestions, cross-curricular integration, and handout masters that are worth the price of the book even if you already do some of these activities. Excellent graphics add to this outstanding resource. Nice extras at the end of the book include 6 masters for assessment models and a list of suppliers for materials that might need to be ordered. (Most of the activities use common materials.)

Activities: (1) Properties of Matter (2) BedBugs (3) Mystery Eggs (4) Balloon in a Bottle (5) Burping Bottle (6) Tissue in a Cup (7) Showing That Air Has Mass (8) Marshmallow in a Syringe (9) Moving Molecules (10) Non-Newtonian Fluids (11) Rock Candy Crystals (12) Crystals from Solutions (13) Crystals by Freezing (14) Boiling Water in a Paper Pot (15) Boiling Liquids in a Syringe (16) Boiling Water with Ice (17) Liquid to Gas in a Flick (18) Disappearing Air Freshener (19) A Cool Phase Change (20) Using Dry Ice to Inflate a Balloon (21) The Phase Changes of Carbon Dioxide (22) Balloon-into-a-Flask Challenge (23) Crushing an Aluminum Can (24) Hats Off to the Drinking Bird

One more thing: I also think that many of these activities could be done at the high school level, although you might choose to modify the hand-out questions.

Since Clifford Geertz's classical study of Javanese religion and cultural life (1960), this is probably the best book written on the subject. As the author himself says in the "Acknowledgments," although he has his disagreements with Geert's analysis of Javanese Islam, Geertz's "Religion of Java" was one of the few books that helped him in his research.

As Geertz did in the late 1950s, Woodward too divides the Javanese religious landscape into certain groups or variants, but along rather different lines. Woodward suggests the division between "normative Islam" and "Islam Jawa" (Javanese Islam). The normative Muslims can according to Woodward be divided into kaum muda, the "young group" influenced by the Middle Eastern reformist movements, and kaum tua, the "old group" who participates in the ritual and mystical aspects of Islam Jawa. In Woodward's view, the Islamic law (shari'ah) together with the Qur'an and the hadith form the core of normative Islam in Java, while the adherents of Islam Jawa confine themselves to perform certain life crisis rituals in accordance with the shari'ah while saying that other aspects of this law-centered piety are optional. Both normative Islam and Islam Jawa are in Woodward's view purely Islamic traditions, and this together with his observance that these categories often fade into each other and incorporate space for personal and regional variation are his major contributions to the study of religion in Java. As he says: "Islam is the predominant force in the religious beliefs and rites of central Javanese, and... it shapes the character of social interaction and daily life in all segments of Javanese society."

Woodward's approach to Javanese religion is very appealing; he compares his ethnographic data with the Islamic textual tradition as well as with ethnographic reports from other parts of the Muslim world. By doing this he sees that the Javanese Islam not is permeated with pre-Islamic customs and beliefs; on the contrary he sees that the Javanese religion is a purely Islamic one. His knowledge about the Qur'an and the hadith makes it possible for him to find that Javanese religious practices and beliefs are firmly grounded in a textual Islamic tradition. Woodward's contribution to the study of Javanese religion is extremely valuable. Not only does he show that Javanese religiosity is firmly grounded in an Islamic tradition, but he also situates the Javanese Islam in a wider Islamic perspective, i.e., he shows that Javanese Islam has an important place in the Muslim world.

This book should be of definite interest for students of Javanse/Indonesian religious and cultural life, but also for students and scholars of Islamic civilization, and even for anthropologists.

Review: I think this book is a very well written adventure novel about a boy who was kidnapped by an odd old prospector. He was forced to journey down the Yukon River so the old man could steal Johnny's father's gold. During this voyage they run into obstacles such as bears and snag piles. A snag pile is a cluster of driftwood that has floated down river and formed into a pile.

I would recommend this book to people who like action and suspense.
My favourite part of the book was when the grizzly and Bill, the eccentric old prospector, got in a fight! I also liked how Bill taught Johnny how to be a woodsman. Johnny learned how to snare rabbits, make a raft and bleed animals to be eaten.

I didn't like how the story ended so quickly. I would have liked it if the book finished letting the reader know if Johnny gave the reward to Bill. I also wanted to know if Bill died or not.

These Maigret stories are full cast productions by the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) from the mid-1970's. Dramatized by Frederick Spoerly, " Maigret and the Reluctant Witness" also includes "Maigret Hesitates" and "Maigret in Society." Fans of Georges Simenon's Chief Inspector Maigret can join Maigret aided by Sgt. Lukor and Inspector LaPlant as he conducts his investigation. Enjoyable listening from a world famous mystery writer.

This is the best biography of Chesnut to date. Muhlenfeld draws from all of Chesnut's writing, not just her famous Civil War diaries, to build a picture of a woman and a writer.

I wish I had this book as a guide when I started teaching EFL, there are basic lesson planning ideas, discussions of important issues and overall classroom goals and focus to think about so that you don't get bogged down with the less important factors.
It is written clearly, easy to understand without the use of difficult terms or vocabulary (like many teacher training books).
The thing I like most about Tessa Woodward's style, however, is the sense you get going through the book that she is a real teacher too- she knows what she is talking about and is completely down to earth.

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There are too many books that talk about MRI Physics. The physics is important but isn't helpful for the daily work being an MRI technician. The technique to acqire good images, simple anatomy of the body section, a small part of pathology and how it shows on an image, they are all in this book, and demonstration for the pulse sequences and how to deal with you patients.....
I always think that a technician should has his or her specialty, not being a robot , just does what the doctors want him (or her) to do. There is no such book in my cuontry, don't even mention the translation. Reading the originals is hard, but worthy. It makes me feel more confident and have the ability to help people.