I used this book for a class last year. I found the organization quite horrible. There are 3 main multivariate models that he discusses in the book: Multiple regression, logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards. He ignores ANCOVA, ANOVA and multi-level frequency table (chi-square) methods.

Instead of writing about the 3 main multivariate models above individually he sporadically switches between all 3 models. The TOC is organized as a series of questions and answers. I would have preferred he wrote about each of the 3 topics separately.

Although finding the information you want is difficult, the book is written superbly. He makes it easy to understand difficult concepts such as interactions, model building, collinearity and testing of assumptions. You don't need a math background to understand this book. Aside from the organization of the contents, I loved this book! I would recommend for clinicians who are interested in learning about how multivariate models are created. If you review a lot of manuscripts in medical literature, this is a must read.

This is one of the best books I have ever read about biostatistics. It takes you further -from the usually well known table statistics to the model statistics using a step by step approach. Without covering the overall field, it tries to fortell readers' questions and answers them in the most explicit way. It's a book to understand what is going on around journals and makes your steps easier once you decide to try your way to dive in your numbers.

Straightforward approach to the concepts of multivariate analysis (MA) in medicine. If you don't know anything about MA and wanna understand it in a easy and fast way, this is the book. Katz also helps you to perform your own analysis. However, it's important to point out that a solid basis on statistical methods are needed for choosing the best method in a particular situation. The Cox model is not the solution for all problems!!! No strong math background is needed. This is a book of concepts and not of techniques. At least I can guarantee you'll understand the multivariate analysis published in NEJM and will find out about how common multivariate analyses are inappropriately used in medical journals. A big plus that every physician must read!

I've used this book in some of my Reiki training classes, and though the information is good, it is badly in need of editing. I've also learned, since reading some of Frank Arjava Petter's books, that Mitchell's history of Reiki is not entirely accurate.

It is amateurishly written and edited, though I have found much of the information useful.

Karyn Mitchell's book gives you the basics AND all the details of traditional Reiki in this one concise place.

With Spiritual conscience and clear educational focus, she shares the Reiki experience with you so that you will benefit and gather much information, no matter what your experience level to date has been.

Beginners and Experienced Reiki Practitioners need to read this book and keep it around for reference! I am a Reiki Master and highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about traditional Reiki.

One of the better books on the healing methods of traditional Reiki, written by Master-Teacher Karyn Mitchell, Ph.D., N.D., of the Hawayo Takata-Iris Ichitaro lineage. The author is a Doctor of Naturopathy, a psychologist, and certified teacher of hypnotherapy, as well as a Reiki Practitioner and Master-Teacher of Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki and Tera Mai Reiki.

When my guides called me to take the Reiki training, I didn't even know what it was. They just kept hammering at me to "DO THIS THING". I set out to find out just what Reiki was all about. I read about a dozen books on Reiki, but this one book stood out. It was basic, clearly written, pragmatic yet with recognition of the more esoteric aspects of Reiki. Karyn has written several other books on Reiki, but this was her first and remains the introductory text for her Reiki classes.

I was ecstatic to discover that Master Karyn lives within driving distance of my home in suburban Chicago. I immediately called her and enrolled in the Level 1 training. I subsequently took Levels II and III from her also.

Karyn Mitchell and her husband, Steve, who is also a Reiki Master-Teacher and a Crystal Healing Teacher (certified by "Melody"), can be reached at: Haven Center for Healing & Education 603 Geneva Road, St. Charles, IL 60174 phone: 815-732-7150 email: Mitchell@essex1.com

Namaste!

I have mixed feelings about this novel. On one hand, it has a pretty neat premise: The impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy with Jupiter in 1994 perturbed that planet's orbit imperceptibly, yet just enough to cause gradual climatic change on Earth, and hundreds of years later we are in the grip of a new Ice Age. Cool idea! Yet I'm troubled by the fact that such climate change would necessarily result in the catastrophic setback of science and culture depicted in this book. If the climate change had been accompanied by, for instance, a few good meteor impacts, the tribal existence of the book's protagonists would have been far more plausible. Too many questions are left unanswered here, and "Snowfall" is left begging for a sequel.

That having been said, I still found this novel quite entertaining. I've always been a sucker for post-apocalyptic sci-fi, although there is precious little sci-fi here. Instead Mitchell Smith has painted a rich picture of a tribal community that calls itself the Trappers, living a tooth-and-nail existence just below the Wall Of Ice that engulfed Canada and the northern half of the United States. Having been forced off their land by tribes that have in turn been forced off THEIR land, the remnants of the Trappers must move south to warmer climes and strange human cultures. There are some memorable, well-drawn characters in this tale, most notably Catania, the tribe's doctor and preserver of ancient medical knowledge. Tribal warfare, sickness and death are portrayed unflinchingly here. The book is divided into short, easily digested chapters, each beginning with an excerpt from Catania's journal. Definitely worth a look if you like books of this genre.

Thanks to Amazon.com I found yet another author that I never heard of but writes a novel that sounded very interesting to me. If you like novels in the grand tradition of William Sarabande's FIRST AMERICANS series, or like post-holocaust adventure stories - then this one's for you!
Mitchell Smith's SNOWFALL is a well told tale of an Earth that has gone through another ice age and has taken civilization away, leaving cities such as Chicago, with snowdrifts as high as the tallest skyscrapers. It is never told what exactly happened to the earth, but it is told and hinted to a long, long, time ago as the story is taking place.
The story opens with a band known as the Trappers, a small collection of families that united and hunt the frozen tundra of what once was Colorado,I think. Their only link to the past is old journals and books that have been re-copied over and over thru time and they call copybooks.
The first chapter starts right off with the hunters of the band getting food for their camp when they are attacked by Cree. The Cree are the modern-day equivalent of indians, but most of their bloodline are white, they have just taken to the old indian ways of survival. As the story goes on, the trappers are being forced out of their hunting grounds and being pushed south, along with all the other tribes from the north, like a dominoe effect. Fighting to keep their land, the trapper's, along with an outcast that comes back named Jack, a losing fight ensues and most of the trappers are decimated and Jack finds himself a leader of a band on the run. The band's head doctor of the tribe is a clorful woman named Catania. Catania is much more than a doctor as the reader finds out as the story unfolds. I thought that this book would not have much action and adventure that I'm partial too, but it had it plenty enough along with lots of interesting characters to keep you glued to each page.
The adventures and tragedies that befall the running band of trappers as they flee ever southward is an enjoyable read as the reader see's the changes in the land and it's peoples as the trappers go deeper south. The ending is not what I expected, but it was good nonetheless. It read like an epic movie. I recommend this book to anyone.

The next Ice Age is upon us: imagine the mile-high cliff of ice at your back, with the Rocky Mountains another impenetrable wall of ice to the west, & people from the east, who once occasionally hunted peaceably on the periphery of your territory, are now intent on taking over your traplines & your caves. Where do you go? Into the great, green forest to the South where the snow ends & monsters dwell?

Mitchell Smith has created a whole new future, with particular attention to the anthropological aspects of how we might have made it, what things & thoughts might have survived from the Warm Time.

I particularly enjoyed the fully realized heroines & heroes, those who die & those who survive. They have keen insights & eyesights that we, today in our citified lethargy, have long since discarded. Each person could have walked in today's world & felt a glimmer of recognition for us modern folks & our modern nation, except...

SNOWFALL is a marvelous, richly-textured adventure that allows us a glimpse of what really might happen when our descendants have to grapple with the inevitable change in the Earth's climate. What will happen to Chicago, for instance, when thousands of feet of snow bury the city? What will happen to our store of knowledge, once electricity is no more? What will happen to our society? Who then will be the readers of what books? What will the doctors know? Who will be our leaders? What kinds of relationships will we have?

If you read only one science-fiction/anthropology book this year, read SNOWFALL! Mitchell Smith has written a superb survivalist saga, that lingers in your mind everafter, wondering. It certainly deserves a sequel, for I would dearly love to know how Catania makes it to the Sierras & the snow-bound warrior/hunters who live there.

This is a very good book if you're looking for the counter-arguments currently keeping women out of combat. Unfortunately, some of Mr. Mitchell's statements - such as where he argues female cadets should not attend the service academies because they don't like history classes as much as male cadets - ring hollow. As a female Air Force reservist, I found the large majority of this book to be unabashedly far-right-wing, illogical, or just plain wrong. However, I still keep it around to refer to whenever I wonder why almost ten percent of all military jobs are closed to me based solely on what hangs between my legs.

The "Rumblings From the Far Right" review at the top of this page represents the kind of knee-jerk dismissal that liberals inevitably whip out when faced with the facts in this book. As a former military officer and Desert Storm veteran, I had a front-row seat during Clinton's imbecilic crusade to transform the Armed Forces into a political chew-toy via "initiatives" such as Women in Combat.

Be prepared to be outraged by what you read in this book.

As a Navy Officer I have seen first hand the effect of women on ships. Ships have become floating brothels. Officer and enlisted fraternization has skyrocekted, and the chain of command has turned their head. My last ship a female officer who was married had ...with over 10 of her enlisted personnel. Now you tell me does this effect the chain of command, and should this be happening in the Navy. Abortions, illegitimate children are the results of placing men and women together on ships. Basically both man and woman have to be held acountable in these situations. It is a problem we will have to deal with, but unfortunately the chain of command was indoctrinated during the Clinton Political Correctness of the 90's. Nothing is going to happen, and it is becoming official policy on ships to allow fraternization as long as it does not affect the ship to much. Good Grief. Liberals have won this one.

The best thing about Meyrink's novels, and particularly about "The Green Face", is that the depth of its meanings goes beyond one single interpretation. It's very true that it deals with tantric love, and also with the "Wandering Jew" legend, but it has other hidden deep significances, like the mystic conception of life as it's taught in the Upanishads, Buddhism or Taoism. There is also a big chain that links Meyrink's images with avant-garde Expresionism; and it finally could be seen as the anticipating view of a totalitarian Europe under Nationalsocialism projecting its shadow in a sombre and sinister Amsterdam, which is the new disguised shape of Prague described by Kafka, and by Meyrink himself in "The Golem". The content of the novel is finally enriched by references to Jewish Cabalistic experience, Egyptian ancient religion and to African Vudu. It's a very complex novel, full of symbols and allegories, difficult to understand but definitely worth the trouble.

This is a tantric story about trust and love. But love in the way known only by tantric people. Is about spiritual path, and how can one rise other if there is love and trust.

Gustav Meyrink's "The Green Face" is an exhilarating vision of apocalypse. First published in 1916, the novel sets its action in the near future of post-war Amsterdam, a city brimming with displaced people and with a stifling atmosphere of unrelenting tension. At this critical time appears an enigmatic being named Chidher Green, the mythical Wandering Jew.

Meyrink reworks and amplifies the legend of the Wandering Jew (a being fated to walk the earth from the days of Christ till the end of time), portraying his Chidher Green as a harbinger of cataclysmic change both for the novel's protagonist, Fortunatus Hauberrisser, and for Amsterdam in general. The story begins with Hauberrisser encountering Chidher Green in a magic shop one day, oblivious to his identity. Soon after, Hauberrisser finds a peculiar chain of old memories and chance encounters erupting around him. As in a house of mirrors, this one image of a bronze-green face suddenly appears around every corner. The face becomes a sort of totem of meditative contemplation (drawing associations with Zen Buddhism). Finally, Hauberrisser and his companions reach a consensus over the phenomenon's significance: If one were to attain a spiritual state in which this face manifested internally, a unique form of transcendence would then be achieved.

When all is said and done, Fortunatus Hauberrisser does not prove to be one of Meyrink's most memorable characters. However, it is also true that his protagonists are often intended as ciphers. If this novel is Meyrink's "Book of Revelation," then Hauberrisser is certainly his Saint John, valuable largely for his role as privileged witness to the spirit world's mysteries.

Also, the route Hauberrisser must take through the story is Meyrink's familiar path of enlightenment-a moment of sudden spiritual awareness followed by a period of isolation, which at last leads to promises of a mystical marriage. Though this path echoes through Meyrink's other work, it would be a mistake to imagine he is simply repeating himself or relying on a formula here. Meyrink has a very distinct vision of the soul's progress; and it is this intense conviction that again manifests so clearly in "The Green Face."

"At the beginning, when we make our first, hesitant attempts, it is like a mindless groping in the dark, and sometimes we do things that resemble the actions of a madman and for a long time seem to lack all consistency. It is only gradually that the chaos forms into a countenance, in whose varying expressions we can read the will of destiny. At first they are grimaces, but that is the way it is with all great matters."

This is a good resource of clear, easy-to-follow, accurate exercise information and the authors, Carol and Mitchell Krucoff, go out of their way to dispel myths of "feeling the burn" as the only way to exercise. I did, however, feel that the tone of the book could get a little pushy (and maybe some readers need that motivation?) and I found that turning me off to the book. I did appreciate that the illustrations used "real life bodies" but always feel that pictures in books are difficult to decipher, particularly for more complicated moves. I was reading the book for the osteoporosis information and felt there were not as many "cautions" as I would like to see in terms of potentially dangerous moves, etc. Also, having several categories of illness lumped together in the same chapter could lead some readers to confusion about which exercises are specifically geared towards them. Valuable information, especially the first chapter on general principles of exercise, but read carefully.

This informative, well-written, well-organized and easy to use book stands heads above the hundreds of health books on the market today and should be read by everyone who is interested improving their well-being or maintaining their good health. Helpful illustrations, specific exercises and clear instructions for doing them. I love this book!

Healing Moves is a terrific source book for people who want to improve their health and for those who just want to STAY healthy. The information is thorough, the instructions and illustrations are clear...this is stuff you can really put into practice. Check it out!

Gregory likes normal food; eggs, vegetables, fruit, and fish. Normal food, for a normal kid, right? Wrong! You see Gregory isn't exactly normal well not in his family's eyes. To them, normal food is tin cans, boxes, tires, and mostly garbage. Well that is normal food...for a goat. You see, Gregory is a goat and since he likes eggs, vegetables, and fruits his parents think he is sick. But Gregory just wants to eat what he likes. So since Gregory and his parents haven't had dinner together in a while (and mothers like to have dinner with they're kids) they decide to take him to Doctor Ram. Doctor Ram has treated picky eaters before but not like Gregory. Yet, he comes up with a solution. That is to feed Gregory what he wants but to sneak in a little bit of garbage every meal... It is a good moral to the story I think it might teach kids to try stuff before they decide whether or not the like it!

Gregory the Goat has an eating problem. He is a finicky eater. While his family chews contentedly away on good goat stuff-tin cans, empty cartons, used ties and so on, Gregory is busy eating "revolting" food from a goats point of view-fresh vegetables, fruit, salad, soup and so on.

What to do? At their wit's end, Gregory's parents concoct a plan-and the fun begins.

A very imaginative and engaging read, with fun dialog, bright, pleasing illustrations and a quirky sense of humor.

Gregory is a kid just like you and me. He loves carrots, fish, orange juice, lettuce, and ice cream. Oh, and did I mention that Gregory is a goat?
Gregory's parents tried to raise a nice "kid." They feed him tin cans, tires, and bottle caps, but Gregory, the terrible eater, refuses to eat any dinner. In a desperate attempt to find out what's wrong with him, Gregory's parents take him to Dr. Ram, and tells them what to do...
Well naturally, along with every story children's story I have been able to get a hold of, "Gregory, the Terrible Eater," has a very charming moral. Ever had a child who refused to eat his or her dinner, maybe you're looking for a way to delight your child with a pleasing story, or maybe you have a son named "Greg." Either way, I can assure you that you'll love this story written by Mitchell Sharmat.
As far as the pictures go (every child loves stories with pictures in them!) Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey have made the story come to life with brilliant colors and vivid drawings. In conclusion, you have nothing to lose with this adorable tale of Gregory, the Terrible Eater!

I have been a devotee of Hugh Johnson's Pocket Encyclopedias since the 1980's, when I was first introduced to the concept of fine wine. This pocket guide, updated every year to include information on new vineyards and vintages, is a godsend. With so many wines produced today, I need a method to distinguish among the offerings, and this is it. From the cheapest to the most expensive wine, Johnson includes a vast list in a slim, portable volume.

Without snobbery, Johnson discusses grape varieties, food pairings, and the individual character of different wine regions, from France to California to Australia - even to South Africa. While the food recommendations are more guidance than rules, they still provide a solid base for the novice. Connoisseurs will head straight to the easy to read wine listings to discover the best vintages and the characters of individual labels, as well as Johnson's overall starred ratings.

The book is small enough to fit inside a purse or jacket pocket, perfect for taking to a restaurant or wine store. If you are serious about wine, you really do need to buy an updated edition every year. People who have only a casual interest might get away with one every other year.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who appreciates fine wine or who wants to learn more about it. You won't be disappointed.

Like finding the perfect anniversery gift or putting on your snow tires, buying this guide should be one of those things you do each and every year.

Why? Because it will pay for itself the very first trip you make with it to the liquor store. Think I'm exagerating? Then keep reading.

Hugh Johnson is the Roger Ebert of wines. In other words, he knows his subject thouroughly but without ever being snobby or pretentious. He knows you don't find the perfect wine -- whether for cheap pasta, or coq au vin, or to lay down for a decade -- by price. Trying to decide between the 80 buck Cabernet Sauvignon or the simply labelled "red table wine" at ten dollars -- and you've never tasted either? Hugh can tell you the better value. Not to mention which one is just plain better.

With that one purchase, you'll have more than paid for the book.

Hugh has a wonderful sense of humor, and takes great joy in his work -- and it shows.

There is an amazing lot of information in this book. It is very exhaustive and reliable, with a specific focus on Bordeaux wines. The information has proven to be very objective, as opposed to similar info from Parker that you have to decode before use. It also covers a broad range of qualities which is very helpful for the lower reputation areas.
I have been a regular user for ten years and continue buying it about once every three years.

More a book on philosophy and the nature of thought than the problems and trials of language, Mitchell has put together a remarkably thoughtful and well-planned book.

He takes apart bad writing with skill and aplomb, but does so without exposing the bad writers to unnecessary, uneducational humiliation. Some would say he needs to lead with a gentler hand, but I think he does a good job of showing how poor language skills lead to poor thinking ability.

I picked up several books in the past few years trying to ease the pain I feel over the disgusting abuse of the English language I see everywhere around us...This book did not give me the answers I was looking for either. At least it is well written. It is entertaining with some flow and structure, but it ends up as political ranting. Yes I agree. The system is [messed]up, but the problem is somehow more fundamental than students' inability to spell correctly. What I would expect from an analysis of the subject is either to deal with the underlying political and cultural changes that created the [messed]up situation we are in, or a linguistic-cognitive analysis of the way, the mental process by which this [messed]up state manifests itself.
This book came close, but it is not it. Too much politics (yet not enough,) many great examples not explored deep enough. Still, the evidence speaks for itself, the arguments are solid and the conclusions inescapable.
Should you read this book? Most definitely. You can even find it in sharetext format. The source of my disappointment is my expectations, not the quality of this book.
If I want the book I seek, I guess I have to write it.

The Underground Grammarian picks up where Edwin Newman left off, lampooning abuses and abusers of the language. But he does more than ridicule; he delves into the reasons for the abuse. While his target is primarily the educational establishment, his insights apply more broadly.

Mr. Mitchell also reminds us of the power and beauty of the language, when used well.

It is a good read, although it can be infuriating.

Let me start by saying that I am a big fan of Mitchell, and I really enjoyed CERMONIAL TIME. This lead me to look forward to the arrival of WALKING... and at one level I was not disappointed. AS in all his work Mitchell is adept at weaving together diverse strands of history, culture, and place and to get us thinking about the landscape in new ways. His taste in friends (or at least his way of introducing us to his friends) however seems somewhat flawed. While his other books are more solitary ruminations on ideas and areas, in WALKING he brings along two annoying Yuppies, who would serve as comic relief if any was needed. One is an incredibly PC Indian Wannabe, the other is the sort of Birder that gets some of us reaching for the shotgun, between them they serve only to distract the reader from what would otherwise be a pleasant cross-country ramble through a landscape made all the more interesting by Mitchell's knowledge of both recent history and geological "deep time". Overall Mitchell is at his best when he talks about the dead or the non-human, he can be downright cruel in his descriptions of the living people that he encounters as he approaches Concord. For all that I can sympathize with Mitchell's obvious concern for the rampant development that he must deal with I am not sure that this sort of meaness towards folks who may well be Fellow Travellers (in several senses of the word) does the story much good. In spite of my criticism this is probably a stroll worth taking though you may want to stuff two of your companions into a cedar swamp!

These 300 pages describe both a physical journey, lasting but a day, overlaid with historical, architectural, artistic, anthropological, and literary musings of a richly cultivated mind. He writes, for example, upon viewing a stark landscape, "...I made the connection...This hollow...looks very much like the fourteenth-century Tuscan forest as envisioned by nineteenth-century French illustrator Gustave Dore."

Making connections is Mitchell's forte. The narrative of a tramp through woods and sloughs brings to Mitchell's fertile imagination scenes enacted in the places they pass. He seamlessly inter-weaves the fascinating story of King Philip's War, described as "one of the first anti-imperialist efforts ... the first American revolution" alongside the war between the colonists and British regulars, "essentially a civil war."

Rather than re-hash Thoreau's meditations in "Walden," Mitchell shares his own stream-of-consciousness, touching on "The Epic of Gilgamesh" and "The Wizard of Oz," "The Inferno" and some of Melville's "chief harpooners." Additionally, he offers an in-depth account of the way that nineteenth-century landscape painters changed the view of society toward their environment, suggesting that "It is doubtful that the preservation of a wilderness park would even have been considered if the painters hadn't been there first." Indeed, his descriptions are painterly, but he also succeeds in carefully bringing his companions and those they meet on the way to believable life.

The book is divided into 18 chapters, fifteen of them given names of places traversed in each of the miles walked. These names, such as "Nonset Brook" and "Nagog" are less likely to register with the reader than the connections these places evoke in the mind of the author. Who can recall, for instance, that the etymology of "Key West" is to be found in "Mile 10: Thoreau Country?" Hopefully, an index in a later edition will make it easier for the reader to re-discover favorite passages.

The readers join Mitchell and his friends as they walk through an historical and artistic region of our nation. We discuss the history, nature, the people and the sights as we meet others along the walk. We walk along with Thoreau as well as Mitchell's fascinating friends. There are few books that I've enjoyed as much as this friendly hike. Mitchell is one of best of the current nature writers because he becomes a participant with the reader in enjoying nature and history.