This is one of the best action books I've read in a while. Devlin is the best. Talk about a creepy killer. I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK HIGHLY TO ANY ACTION FAN. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN.

Retibution, was a great book, if you like action movies, you'll like this book. Its a great book, with action, sex, violence and a mystery worth solving.

This was a wonderful book, combining the drama of a dedicated terrorist out to kill the CEO of a major corporation, with the efforts of an ex-NYC cop who has taken the job as Director of Security for the corporation. The drama rises as the bad guy tries to blow up the CEO at the annual shareholders meeting while the Director of Security races to get high-tech security measures installed in the company HQ. I recommend it highly - and am looking for his other books.

The book is written for practicing statisticians who gave a good command of mathematical aspects of statistics. It presents classical topics in statistics (such as statistical inference, random variables and estimation theory) in a flavor of the author's impressions about bioinformatics. It is an excellent idea to present statistics that way. However I also feel that the authors failed to clearly distinguish statistical theory from its specific implementations. Departure from the typical definition-theorem-proof style of mathematical texts is hard on mathematically literate readers for whom this book was written in the first place. It is painful to try to find needed definitions and provable statements in the text even if formulas are numbered. In addition melanges of rigorous theorems with implementations of their consequences make parts of the book devoted to DNA sequence analysis difficult to read.

The authors appear not to have much personal experience with sequence analysis and their exposition seems to be dominated by suggestions from not very honest or objective colleagues. At least that much can be inferred from the list of references given at the end of the book and the content of sequence-analysis-oriented chapters 5, 6 and section 11.3 of chapter 11. On the other hand, chapters 9 (about BLAST statistics), 13 (about evolutionary models), and 14 (about phylogenetic trees) are excellent. Every practicing bioinformatician should read them as a required reading before doing anything with BLAST or with construction of evolutionary trees.

Chapter 12 about computationally intensive methods is also very well written. However, the authors fail to notify the reader that many of the methods (such as bootstrap) have a really bad reputation among researchers involved in sequence analysis. Perhaps at least one sentence of warning (with references) could be in order.

In summary: The book is a mixed blessing but I would recommend it to statisticians who desire to do some work in bioinformatics. I also believe that chapters 9, 13 and 14 should be read by all practicing bioinformaticians.

This book is a timely introduction to the mathematical statistics used in computational biology and bioinformatics. The authors have done a superb job in the overview of a subject that students of biology and bioinformatics can rely on for study and for reference. The mathematics is done at an advanced undergraduate level, but the authors are pragmatic in their approach, and interlace the discussion with biological applications immediately after the appropriate mathematical background has been developed. It thus seems appropriate to discuss the quality of the presentation with these applications in mind.

Chapter one begins, appropriately, with an introduction to probability theory, with a consideration of discrete probability distributions of one variable beginning the chapter. The Bernoulli, binomial, uniform, geometric, generalized geometric, and Poisson distributions are discussed. The authors point out the use of geometric-like distributions in the BLAST application. The also caution the reader as to the difference between the mean and the average of a random variable. They then move on to consider continuous distributions, discussing briefly the uniform, Normal, exponential, gamma, and beta distributions. Moment-generating functions are also introduced, and they prove a "convexity" theorem for these functions that is important in the BLAST application. The authors also introduce the relative entropy and generalized support statistics, the later also being used in BLAST.

The next chapter is an overview of probability theory in many random variables. The results in chapter one are discussed in this context, and the authors give an interesting application to the sequencing of EST libraries. The authors also point out that the variance of the maximum of a collection random variables is finite as the number of variables increases, a fact that is used quite often in bioinformatics. Transformations of random variables are also discussed, with the goal of showing how these can be used to find the density function of a single random variable, this also being important in BLAST.

The most important subject of the book begins in chapter 3, wherein the authors introduce statistical inference. They begin with a very brief discussion of the differences between the frequentist and Bayesian approaches to statistical inference and then move on to classical hypothesis testing and nonparametric tests. This chapter is of great value to those readers, for example biologists/would-be bioinformaticists who are approaching statistics for the first time.

Chapter 4 introduces concepts that are of upmost importance in probabilistic computational biology, namely Markov chains. The discussion in this chapter sets up the strategies used in the next chapter on analyzing a single DNA sequence and a latter chapter on hidden Markov models. Shotgun sequencing is discussed as a tool to determine the an actual DNA sequence, and the authors discuss the probabilistic issues that arise in the reconstruction of long DNA sequences from shorter sequences. Missing in this chapter is a mathematical analysis of the advantages/disadvantages between shotgun and whole genome sequencing strategies.

Chapter 6 then generalizes the analysis of chapter 5 to multiple DNA and protein sequences. It is here that one begins to talk about alignments between sequences, which bring about some very subtle mathematical problems in computational biology. The computational complexity of the (global) alignment problem entails the use of softer techniques, such as dynamic programming, which is discussed in this chapter. The (local) alignment problem is also discussed in some detail, using the linear gap model. The alignment problem and the issues with scoring for protein sequences are also discussed in detail. The reader first encounters the famous PAM and BLOSUM matrices in this chapter. The authors do not discuss any connections with the protein folding problem, unfortunately.

The next chapter introduces the basic probability theory behind the BLAST algorithm, namely random walks. They do so with emphasis on moment generating functions, which might be a little abstract for the biologist reader.

The authors return to tatistical estimation and hypothesis testing in chapter 8, with maximum liklihood and fixed sample size tests discussed in some detail. Again connecting with the BLAST algorithm, the sequential probability ratio test is treated.

The authors finally get down to the BLAST algorithm in chapter 9, using an older version of the software (1.4). The connection of the algorithm with random walks and how to assign scores is immediately apparent, as is the ability of BLAST to do database queries against a chosen sequence. The algorithm is compared with the sequential analysis discussed in the last chapter.

The authors return to Markov chains in chapter 10, and give some numerical examples. In addition, they treat the important topic of Markov chain Monte Carlo via the Hastings-Metropolis algorithm, Gibbs sampling, and simulated annealing. An application of simulated annealing to the double digest problem is described. The authors also spend a litte time discussing continuous-time Markov chains.

Hidden Markov models are finally discussed in chapter 11. These have been the most effective tools in sequence analysis and the authors give a nice overview of their construction and properties in this chapter. The Pfam package is discussed as a software implementation of HMMs for determining protein domains. Unfortunately, they do not discuss the excellent package HMMER for implementing HMMs in sequence analysis.

Chapter 12 discusses computationally intensive methods in classical inference. One of these methods, the bootstrap procedure, which is used for large sample sizes, is described. Used to estimate confidence intervals in situations where there is not enough information to employ classical methods, the authors detail a method using quantiles to estimate the confidence interval for the standard deviation of the expression intensity of a gene. This is followed by a return to the multiple testing problem of chapter 3 in the context of the data analysis of expression arrays.

I did not read the last two chapters on evolutionary models and phylogenetic tree estimation so I will omit their review.

This is one of the books I have been waiting for. For a population geneticist who wants to learn bioinformatics, most texts are unacceptable: They present heuristic methods in a cookbook fashion, with little reference to what is going on biologically as well as mathematically.

This book is the first exception I know of. It builds, and rests on, solid foundations of genetic stochastic processes and still goes all the way to real-life problems. Let me illustrate this by means of an example, rather than enumerating all the topics in the book.

Chap. 14, entitled `phylogenetic tree estimation' (as opposed to the more common term `phylogenetic tree reconstruction' - not without reason, I presume) builds on, and is firmly interlaced with, Chap. 13 about `evolutionary models', which systematizes the zoo (if not jungle) of substitution models in both discrete and continuous time. On this basis, the overview of tree-building methods makes a lot of sense. Even better, it does not stop here, but presents an application (to real sequence data), followed by a careful analysis of where the various methods agree, and where - and maybe why - they disagree. This way, it clears away some common misconceptions; in particular, it presents a careful analysis of what bootstrap does and what it does not in this context. The chapter closes with a discussion of unresolved problems (like inhomogeneity of substitution rates), and methods and possible pitfalls related to testing of nested and non-nested hypotheses in tree estimation.

The book is written in an informal style without being imprecise, which makes it pleasant reading. It is particularly suitable for teaching at a high level. This is enhanced by realistic (and even real-life) examples that furnish the text, as well as carefully chosen exercises at the end of each chapter.

Certainly, this first edition of `Statistical Methods in Bioinformatics' cannot be the last word in this fast-moving field. But it is an excellent guide into the `right' direction.

An interesting book in that it gives a number of diverse viewpoints. The POWs come from a variety of backgrounds and have different strengths, weaknesses, faults, and redeeming qualities. The number of POWs giving accounts makes it a little difficult to follow until you are well into the book. Human nature, good and bad, manifests itself not only in the treatment meted out by the captors, but in the actions and reactions of the POWs. Some handle themselves admirably and unselfishly while others who were unable to handle the oppressive conditions fall apart and go so far as to betray their fellow POWs and attempt to join the NVA. These individuals attempt to justify their actions through intellectualization but one gets the impression that they know, at some level, that they have betrayed the other POWs and their country. I would give this book 3 1/2 stars. The main drawback is that the individual stories are necessarily limited in scope and we do not delve deeply enough into each man's thoughts.

Zalin Grant does a masterful job of merging the interviews of the different POW's. The reader is able to take advantage of a wide array of viewpoints on their situation as prisoners. I found myself trying to decide which prisoner was the good guy and which was the bad guy. There was more animosity between some of the prisoners than their was between them and their captors! Anyone who drools over the prospect of learning more about POW life needs to add this tale to their respective library and enjoy!

This is one of the greatest books that I have read on the Vietnam War subject, and I have read many; its limited scope notwithstanding. Ostensibly, this book is the graphic of the experiences of a discrete number of men kept captive by the VC/NVA command. However, due to the complex subtleties of the book's structure, it becomes a bit more than this, especially because it encompasses a wider array of U.S. prisoners, and also Europeans, and South Vietnamese soldiers and mercenaries. The author has chosen to extract excerpts of interviews that he must have given to those men who volunteered to speak with him. The largest part of the book is given over to a group held in high mountain jungle camps in South Vietnam, and then of their march North to Hanoi and finally of theirs and others experiences in the so-called Hanoi Hilton. We are privileged to experience the lives of these men through their own eyes. We witness brutality, humiliation, bravery, cowardice, fear, humour, death, disease, insanity, depravity and, yes, love and friendship; both internecine and between the prisoners and their 'enemies.' The Vietnam War was, for the United States, a complex situation to say the least. The POW experience there does a wonderful job of conveying the complexities and difficulties this war posed for our society. Suffice it to say that one is left with a sense of awe for the strength and forbearance of these 'survivors' (but for one of the men, Theodore Guy, whose understandably disturbing and distorted views are explored a bit later in the book). One of the most beautiful aspects of this book is the testimonials that various POW's give to explain and ameliorate the weaknesses and 'failings' of their fellow prisoners. I was also struck by the underlying humility with which the prisoners spoke of their own experiences, some of which involved personal valor and heroism that all but one of the prisoners left unsaid, only to have their secrets unveiled by a different prisoner. I say that there is one stand out voice here that is filled with anger, hatred and braggadocio and that voice is Mr. Guy's. It stands in stark contrast to the testimony of the other prisoners, and one can't help but think that the author intentionally included this point of view. Guy was the senior officer in the so-called Hanoi Hilton for much of the time he was imprisoned and was unrepentantly gung ho during his tenure there. He set up lines of communication between the prisoners in order to help give strength to his fellow Americans and to enforce his policies of resistance to the enemy and to maintain this united front. He is embittered by the fact that a small contingent of the Americans there, members of the so-called Peace Committee, were cooperating with the enemy by making tapes and writing letters that condemned the American participation in the war. He even went so far as to attempt to stir up a firestorm after he returned home by going to the press with allegations of treason against some of these now-returned prisoners. Oh, and he also gets a few kicks in against his wife's activities while he was held prisoner. What makes this unadulterated venom such a bad reflection upon Guy's character is that, while he despises these men for their weaknesses, he admits himself that he was guilty of doing very similar things, but of course he only does them after he has reached the end of his mental and physical limits. It is an unfortunate truth that self-centered people are simply incapable of comprehending that different people are well, different. To wit, every man has his breaking point, his was simply different than those he condemns. Furthermore, he alone, in the telling of his initial capture incident tells of gung ho die hard heroic battle in the face of overwhelming odds. It strikes one as darned odd that nobody else, even men who describe fighting to the end, try to make themselves look like heroes. Anyway, you as the reader will be the judge of whether Guy's contrapuntal account strikes you as being somehow self-serving and inappropriate. Oh, there are two other accounts in the book that are equally disturbing. The first is of an American fellow who went over to the Vietcong. One wonders what that guy was thinking, tellingly, the prisoners who knew him best offer very interesting insights into his motivations and character without being accusatory. There is another account from one of the fellows that Guy hated most, John Young who was the 'chief' collaborator in the 'Hanoi Hilton.' He activities seem to have been disliked by every one, even those who were sympathetic to the so-called Peace Committee. I suppose that it goes to show that there just may be one in every crowd, and also that it is precisely for this that we should avoid placing our fellow countrymen into situations that can expose these fatal character flaws if at all possible. Our nation lost a lot of currency in waging war in Southeast Asia, let us hope that we are not on the brink of doing the same now in the Middle East.

Charles Grant is the best writer you never heard of. Black Oak #2, although it is a bit perplexing at times, has its moments. Grant uses his classic Oxrun Station charm to give the novel some muscel. Dark-winged women stalk from the sky in exhilirating suspense. Only question I have is where did the entities come from?

If Charles Grant dies soon I'm going to kill him! Words cannot explain just how addictive this series of books is going to become for me. Its like watching the X-files back when its was going from good to great. There is a lot more than meets the eye in the mystery of this small town, someone (or THING? ) is playing with Ethan Proctor, does it have to do with the murder in Atlantic City? Or the disappearance of that girl so many years ago? One thing is for certain, we are going to have to wait a little while longer to find out. So when is the next one, I cannot wait!

With Black Oak, award-winning author Charles Grant is clearly creating something that works better as a series than a bunch of individual novels. While not a serialized novel like King's Green Mile, readers will get more out of The Hush of Dark Wings if they've read the previous volume (and presumably still more when the next installment comes out). It should come as no surprise that the reader is coming in on an ongoing story; the book is clearly labeled #2 on the cover and spine, and "Episode Two" inside. Having said that, while The Hush of Dark Wings does pick up on elements from Genesis, and parts of this book appear to carry over into the next installment, the main story does begin and end in this volume. Additionally, the story opens with a "Previously in Black Oak" recap of the important events from Genesis (a lesson more series should learn), and ends with a "Next, in Black Oak" teaser, letting us know that the author knows he didn't explain everything, and that's by choice, not sloppiness.

While The Hush of Dark Wings has the same overall tone as the first book, the plot is considerably less complex. At one point, the characters even realize how little time has passed over the course of the story. The book serves primarily as an introduction for (presumably) new regular Vivian Chambers. We also learn more about how the mysterious Ethan Proctor works and how he thinks, if not much more about his background. The paranormal mystery is weird and creepy, with some particularly vivid and graphic scenes. Graphic, that is, in the Charles Grant sense, where he gives the reader just enough information that you imagine something truly gruesome, without being spoon-fed all the gory details.

It's easy to make comparisons to X-Files, and I'm sure this series, like Chet Williamson's Searchers trilogy, owes its existence to that TV series' popularity. What makes Black Oak distinct is its varied cast of characters. Grant manages to create vivid personalities who come to life in front of the reader. I find myself looking forward to the next installment, not only to find out what happens next, but also to spend more time with these people and learn more about them. The Black Oak books may be quick reads, but they're a lot of fun, and may be one of the best TV series in print.

I've enjoyed this series....it's fun and amusing. It's not great plotting (a little baroque and over-blown), but the characters carried me through. Worth a look.

This was my first reading of a Grant Michaels mystery, but I'm ready for more! His hero, hair dresser Stan Kraychick, is known as Vannos when he works at Snips, but when he's out catching murderers, he's just plain good! Great characters, enough tension to keep me reading, and guessing who killed who!

Grant Michaels knows how to write the murder mystery. His "Nancy Drew" character, Stan is someone you can admire and respect, even if you don't normally go for the hair dresser type (whatever that is). Stan breaks down the stereotypes and does a fair job at determining the facts. Of course, solving the mystery and staying alive are mostly a matter of luck. For anyone who is a murder mystery fan, I'd recommend it. Since this is a gay novel there is one fairly explicit sexual situation but it's well done and very well placed and the book wouldn't be the same without it.

This volume (as well as the series in general), is somewhat helpful for application of the text, but it certainly should not be used in isolation. I found this one to be rather shallow in that it gives little time to the historical situation in the text. A better commentary that includes extra focus on application, but without diminishing original meaning and history, is the NIV Application Commentary on Luke by Darrell Bock.

This commentary is the third one written on Luke by the same author. It focuses on contemperary application of Luke's message. One might need another (more detailed) commentary to determine the original meaning of the text. Those with necessary training in the Biblical Greek should consult his two-volume commentary published by Baker.

This is a great resource for preparing sermons on Luke, or even for just reading along while you read Luke in your own home. It's easy to read, and gives valuable insights. I'm glad I bought it.

This book was a bit of a disappointment because it does not include a lot of standard information I have seen in earlier books on clans and tartans. For instance, there is no listing of septs and other family names that are associated with some of the Highland clans. Furthermore, most people of Scottish heritage are what is referred to as "clanless Scots". But, ALL the clans at least come from a District and it would be nice to have information on the District tartans (and photos). That is also lacking. Yes, there are some nice photos of surrounding landmarks and a color swatch of each of the main highland tartans. Plus a bit of history for each of the 140 clans, but it is basic information available from several other sources.

Surprised to find a swatch of Barclay hunting tartan used on the back cover, I quickly flipped to the Barclay section. I was pleased to again find Barclay hunting used, rather than the normal yellow Barclay tartan. The write up of the historical information was accurate UNTIL I got to the end which stated that the current chief lives in Essex. Sure enough, when I checked the address listing, our current secretary in Richmond Virginia's address is correct, BUT, the other address is Colchester in Essex. This has not been our chief's address for over 10 years. I wonder how the author picked one current address and not the other. In addition neither address identifies to whom you would be sending information at the address given. In the midst of a visually appealing and otherwise nice book, this error and lack of detail was most disappointing.

This really is a wonderful book. I've been reading through it in the bookstore and need to pick up my own copy now. It goes into tons of clans' tartans, with a photo swatch of each one. It also has a small history for each clan and it's tartan. It also connects famous people to the clans, such as General Douglas MacArthur. It's not a very in depth book about the clans, but gives a wonderful into to each of them.

The above I wrote before I purchased the book. Now that I own it, it's even better. Even the very beginning of the book with its snippet of Scottish history is wonderful and whets the reader's appetite to learn more about Scotland.

This book is, like most other books on India, a Eurocentric view of the subject. It's shortcomings have been well documented by Dilip Chakrabarti, the archaeology professor at Cambridge University, in his seminal book COLONIAL INDOLOGY.

This is a heavy tome on a very confusing subject. I was introduced to it in my Civ. class at the UofC. Considering the fact that the imperialist dogs have been the only ones to write an Indian history, much of it is jumbled and false. Kulke and Rothermund do an admirable job of presenting a fairly accurate history. Reads like a text book but nevertheless very readable.

This book is mercifully brief on the deconstruction of literary sources that South Asian area studies are prone to and (again quoting the on-target cover copy) "emphasises and analyses the structural pattern of Indian history." I wish it was longer than 335 pages.

The first 2/3 of the book covers the pre-British period -- a good fraction. While relating more of the military viscitudes than I would like, there is some consideration of social, religious, and economic issues as well as ruling strategies. And the focus on 'great empires' is less than in most Indian histories, which is good since India has spent much more time disunited than united.

Kulke and Rothermund break with the Hindu/Islamic/British periodization of Indian history, breaking periods before the Guptas and before the Mughals. All in all, it is a substantial improvement over Romila Thapar's effort, and a huge improvement over Stanley Wolpert's book.

If you're looking for a book that doesn't test you one whit, something you can easily consume on the beach and forget about on the car ride home, this is your book. Jaffe's trio of characters are all underwritten and his attempt to create a dynamic family that shatters under the weight of its "sins" fails in every attempt. His characters are transparent non-entities not because he spends so little time with any of them. He tries to give the reader each character's point-of-view rather than focusing on one character and how growing up with a mother who ran an abortion clinic (at some indeterminate moment in time) shaped his/her life. Instead, Jaffe skips through the lives of these characters as if they were little more than points on a classroom agenda intended to illustrate what happens to people over time, but he spends none of his writing on what happens to any of the characters and why they react the way they do. The writing is passable, even if Jaffe tends to use some "odd" words too frequently. The story moves along briskly enough, but, if you're looking for something with depth, this is not your story.

Michael Grant Jaffe's honorable and thought-provoking "Skateaway" treats the theme of growing up in unusual family circumstances with sensitivty, compassion and anger. The three Boone children, Clem, Garrett and Samantha, yearn for a normal, invisible childhood. Instead, they are compelled to confront the invasive abuse of anti-abortion protestors who regularly disrupt their home life out of anger at the childrens' mother, Mercer, who provides abotion services to the blue-collar town of Lukin, Ohio, in addition to serving as a conscientious OB/GYN. If that weren't enough, the children's unstable father, Kendall, slowly and inexorably slips into insanity. Thus, the three children never experience the delight of family tranquility or the stablity of relative anonymity.

Jaffe's significant talents find best expression when exploring the psychological consequences of growing up in an environment which permits neither ease or coherence. Despite learning, at an early age, the notion of social responsibility, the children "had rubbed against things too sharp for the hands of the young. They'd been spittoons for words of terrific cruelty, they'd felt the sting of noses turned bloody. Awfulness that usually began in defense of things they didn't completely understand: their mother's work or their father's mind."

In addition, the author skillfully interweaves Mercer's anxieties about the ramifications of her life's work on her children's safety. "...This is what worried Mercer most: someday, intelligently, one or more of her children might come to the decision that their mother had placed them all in trouble's way for a belief they did not share." Kendall's increased instablity further isolates the Boones from a neighborhood steeped in hypocrisy and isolated anger. Jaffe's subtle depiction of the Boones' neighbors is superb. Lukin seethes with intolerance, disdain and fear at the Boones, a family that simply does not fit in with the truncated hopes of a working-class community. After Kendall's institutionalization, the neighborhood heaves a sigh of relief, however guiltily, that at least one detriment to community stability has been removed.

As the children age, their realizations mature. Garrett "accepted the parallels in his parents' lives: one needing protection from others, one needing only protection from himself." Not until young adulthood does Clem have a serious conversation with her mother about Mercer's decision to provide abortions, and the mother's measured response is one of the most eloquent defenses of the right to choice imaginable. "'I'd imagine no one wishes there weren't a need for abortions more than the doctors who perform them...But I can't just hide my eyes and hope it'll disappear. The only satisfaction - if that's even the word - I can take from doing abortions is knowing I gave the patients the best medical care I was capable of. A proficient set of hands.'"

"Skateaway" is not without its flaws. Written in three distinctive parts -- childhood, adolescence and adulthood -- the novel never fully coheres. Jaffe also has difficulty with the narrative; constant flashbacks tend to interfere with understanding rather than enchance it. The writing tends to be uneven as well; some pages have lyrical beauty while others are mundane. Nevertheless, the strengths of the novel far outweigh the weaknesses. A devastating conclusion reaffirms the undercurrent of fear swirling in "Skateaway." Jaffe poses very troubling questions and does not flinch in attempting to provide thoughtful and compelling answers. His characters' unique personalities and utterly believable means of responding to their unusual home circumstances elevate the importance of this novel.

I AM NOT A MAJOR BOOK READER, BUT DO ENJOY BOOKS LIKE THIS. FOUND IT TO FLOW WELL. LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE FROM THE AUTHOR