This is the first time I have ever purchased a Farmers almanac, and now I wonder how I ever gardened without one! It is set up in an easy to read format, and is small enought to carry around!

Being America's oldest published periodical, this fact alone assures a potential examiner or reader that it is indeed a worthwhile study. This funny and odd (perhaps one say this, I thought that odd was a good pointer, however, others might disagree over this) book has been read and studied for almost 300 years and gives weather indications for the following year. The supplemental guide to watching the weather is a funny little thing that teaches one how and what to look for whilst one is outside observing the shifting weather patterns. Highly Recommended.

This book tells it all like it is. It leaves nothing out. If you have problems figuring out what the symbols mean, there is a directory that helps you. I recommend the books to friends & family every year - which I perchase every year myself.

This is the first book that I have found that explains VWAP trading from the point of view of a money manager. It provides a mathematical description and decomposition of the VWAP statistic. It then provides an outstanding approach of how to devise a trading strategy to beat VWAP based upon proprietary price movement estimates and ones risk appetite.

Most industry personnel that I have spoke with, i.e., brokers, give convoluted explanations of what VWAP really is just so they can not be held accountable to any performance measure or trading outcome. Optimal Trading Strategies provides a simplistic explanation of VWAP trading and provides a technique to forecast ones result prior to commencement of trading. And just as importantly, it shows how managers can take the advantage back from brokers and win at the VWAP trading game. This is an outstanding reference and one that has been long over-due in the marketplace.

Signed,
A Very Happy Manager

This is the finest resource for Transaction Cost Analysis I have ever seen. The authors give a comprehensive overview of the current trends in the Transaction Cost Analysis arena and discuss advantages and disadvantages of each approach. They then provide realistic and simple measures to evaluate broker-dealer, and trader performance. I have used these techniques to decided upon which brokers to use to execute a trade. The most exciting part of this book to me is that it provides techniques to evaluate both Agency and Principal Bids. Inferior Brokers Beware- Your time is up!

Optimal Trading Strategies provides a complete set of power mathematical tools for professional investors. At the core of this toolbox is a simple optimization formula:

min ç(x)
s.t. R(x)<=R*

OTS assists investors and fund managers in addressing the fundamental problem known as the "Traders dilemma". Trading too aggressively increases costs, while trading too passively increases exposure to risk. This formula calculates the minimum cost [ç] of a trade [x] while ensuring that the risk of the trade [R(x)] will be within an acceptable level of risk [R*] for an investor.

This is a great concept, and OTS makes it powerful with it's collection of precision tools to calculate both cost and risk. Costs are unbundled into nine distinct components. Thorough mathematical formulas are provided for analyzing each component. A key example is the 3 models in chapter 9 designed to calculate market impact of a potential trade. The 3 different approaches help clarify the elusive effects that imbalance, volatility, trading style, and liquidity have on market impact.

There is also a practical discussion of why traders select the popular Volume Weighted Price Strategy (VWAP). It is accompanies by the most complete mathematical analysis of VWAP I've ever seen. Examples with solutions are even included for practice using these newly acquired tools.

The authors of OTS utilize an unprecedented combination of mathematical theory and real world experience to create a powerful framework that focuses investors on maintaining equilibrium between acceptable levels of cost and risk. No professional investors toolkit will be complete without it. Their new dilemma is where to pick up a copy of OTS.

You must have this book in your permanent collection. The beauty of the human spirit is captured by Martha Perske with a divine skill. If this collection of children with disabilities does not touch your heart - check your pulse to see if its still working. This book is for any parent who truly loves their children, for any grandparent who shares the world with other grandparents in their pride of parenting of all Gods children.

Jerry Fink

I admit up front that my review is a bit biased, because Martha and I have been friends for more than 50 years. But this book, showing some of her very early sketches, lets you watch her talent mature, until when you look at the later drawings, you think they must be black and white photographs. Her ability to capture the beauty of these children (and adults) with disabilities is truly a gift from God. Her husband, Bob, captures the essence of Martha in his foreward, and when you read Martha's words about her father, you will begin to understand the depth of this woman. I have many wonderful memories of times spent with Martha and her parents, and know that the love and support she received from them helped her to develop into the woman she became.

In collaboration with her husband, several wonderful books have been published dealing with the many problems of people with disabilities, both from the viewpoint of their parents and carekeepers, and from the disabled themselves. Enough good things cannot be said about their collaborative efforts. But if you simply appreciate an extraordinary artistic talent, Pencil Portraits is a must.

In October, Martha will be receiving yet another in a long list of honors. She will be honored as an Outstanding Alum of our high school, Topeka High. Certainly not as noteworthy as some of her many other honors, but more special to me.

A pencil.

In my hand it makes numbers and scribbles letters that often even I cannot fathom. In the hand of Martha Perske it creates miracles that can melt even an icy heart. In this new book from Abingdon Press, we see a collection of her artwork depicting persons who have disabilities over a twenty year period beginning in 1971. We see her bring the human essence of all of us into her illustrations with such warmth, joy and compassion that I marvel not only of her self-taught talent, but of her uncanny ability to see in our soul.

How to experience this book? How do you review a book you don't "read", except for the forwards by both Martha and her equally renowned partner and husband, Robert Perske. Do you view the book? Are warmed by it? Enveloped by it? I shared my copy with staff who were not brought up with the Perskes work and some were brought to tears by the unabashed joy radiated in Martha Perske's illustrations. Can a ten-minute read to complete a book touch such nerves? Yes, and her work has for many of us for more than twenty years. The book also shows the growth in her artistic talent during the span covered by the book, from a lighter touch to illustrations of such richness and depth that one can only marvel at her talent. What is unchanging during the 20 year period is her ability to capture the beauty, common humanity, and the shining light even in a person with the most severe disabilities.

I recommend this book to those in disability services who are familiar with Martha Perske's past work and, like me, have been sustained by the humanity in her illustrations when our advocacy might flag from weariness, from budget cuts, from administrative indifference that disadvantage those we serve. Her work is a tonic during those questioning moments. I also recommend this book for those who are not in disability services so they can understand, without a word being spoken, the common humanity within all human beings and the motivation behind our work .

I recommend this book to anyone with a bookshelf, a coffee table or for a friend during gift-giving time. Every member of my Board of Directors will receive one as a gift for their gift, their volunteer service.

###

Ed Goldman is the Executive Director of Solano Work Services, a vocational training and employment agency serving persons who have disabilities in Suisun, California. He has over thirty years experience as an advocate, government official and manager of services.

This is a great book and I would recommend this book to anyone taking a microbiology class either in undergrad or med school. Since most people are visual learners this books is quite valuable. I also used the following book:
Microbiology Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers
ISBN: 0971999635
This book is also available. I found this study guide to be very on target on the type of questions that were on my microbiology class in med school. Definitely get both books.

Don't be fooled by the title, this book in fact will colour up your life. The diagrams are easy to read, and the explanations in each page are wonderful. You will understand difficult concepts with very good cartoons that will be flashing before your eyes, at the test (I loved the explanation about Hb). Don't wait more and buy it. Use it after you've read your big book and the facts will be kept long time in your mind. Wonderful! Hooray for it!

This book is incredible - authors have really latched onto a great teaching technique. The information is excellent, succinct and very complete. The drawings are incredibly detailed and FUN to color (ok I'm 52 and may be in my 2nd childhood, but this is an very effective way to learn a very complex subject.) I am a vet tech student going for a second career (and possible poverty) - classic midlife crisis - and this book is great. In addition to being very informative and intellectually stimulating, it is also relaxing to do the coloring. And, there are things I have learned that I will never forget because my mind immediately recalls me coloring the particular process. Wish there were a similar Anatomy book that concentrated more on veterinary anatomy - the parallel coloring book for Anatomy is very human-centered.

Two criticisms:

1) I think the authors are trying to save you $$$ so they say you only need 10 colored pencils - save yourself frustration and buy the Crayola box of 32 at any art store - only $8.50 or so - and save yourself some grief - there are many plates that need more than 10 colors.

2) There are a few errors in the coloring notes - not too many - but they do exist, so if something seems wrong, just use your common sense.

My qualifications: I used to live 4km from Hameln ("Hamelin", Anglicized), Germany! It's near Hanover, if you're looking on a map. Regardless, I was happy to find this treasure. This is the most vividly illustrated version I've seen.The illustrations are splendid, & the book is nice & large. After seeing ANATOLY IVANOV's illustrations, other versions just don't do the story justice. The text is printed in what i would decribe as "default" calligraphic italic, adding to its charm, if not its "authenticity". I give it a big 5 RATS!

This book would be a wonderful treasure for the pictures alone. Kate Greenaway, noted children's illustrator, has created a magical world of beautiful children, innocent faces, and romantic, nostalgic costumes. The colors on these pages are breathtaking, and the details (although Greenaway is always faulted for not drawing hands and feet well) are superb. This story is not for very young children, as it contains some troublesome themes. For the older child, perhaps 7+, the story might provoke some interesting post-read family discussions about honesty, trust, and the actual state of the children at the end of the tale. This is even a beautiful book to give to adults, as the messages about human nature can be appreciated on a deeper level.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin is a very different children's classic. Few other children's picture books tell a story in Victorian poetry. The book isn't just original; it is excellent. I have always enjoyed Robert Browning's poetry, and this is no exception. I was surprised at how easy it was to read this book compared to some of Browning's other verse, and it was pleasing to read, especially considering that this is focused toward children. I loved all of the poetic techniques used by Browning. His iambic tetrameter in couplets works very well for young readers, and I loved his use of anaphora and internal rhyme. The story is, of course, brilliant. It is the usual folk tale that every child has heard and needs to hear. It teaches its lesson, and Browning's version is even more entertaining than other versions. Also, the illustrations by Kate Greenway are fabulous. It is impossible to imagine this story in Browning's Victorian verse without Greenway's Victorian artistry. This is a true children's classic, it should definately last for years to come, and it makes and excellent buy for children or for libraries.

This hardback text is one of the best database API books that I have in my collection. It is well laid-out and it has examples.

This book is laid out in the order statements are used, with the necessary create and destroy statements together. It starts with connecting to the database, moves to statement execution, and rounds out with retrieving your results. There are of course necessary chapters on creating tables and dealing with transactions.

Each ODBC API call is accompanied with a list of appropriate parameters, return values, and errors.

ODBC Database API's are used in layers:

To Setup: Allocate Environment, Allocate Connection, Connect, ...

To Shutdown, reverse everything: ... Disconnect, Deallocate Connection, Deallocate Environment.

With the ODBC API you are given a whole lot of notes? But how do you combine those notes to write a symphony? This is the only book on the market which really shows you how. It consists of a detailed ODBC reference and highly useful sample code that shows how to take the API calls and make an application out of them.

The calls are grouped in logical sequences, each call is thoroughly described, and then an example of a program that uses that call (and other calls) is given.

The writing is extremely clear. The presentation is excellent. The book is extremely well organized.

It does not assume any prior knowledge of ODBC though it assumes you know how to program C.

C is the only language used in the book. The use of ODBC in other languages such as Visual Basic is not discussed.

Though this book is old; I cannot recommend it too highly. I've used it before and I'll use it again.

I had a situation come up where I needed to access an Oracle 7 stored procedure that returned output parameters and no results set. The Microsoft Visual C++ CRecordset classes don't handle that situation very well. The only solution was to drop down into ODBC API calls. I struggled until I found this book. It takes a lot of the mystery out of an extremely complex API. It pretty much rides around in my backpack everywhere I go now!

A must for all Asatru Folk who need to learn Old English. The smart idea the writer has is to skip the Latin transations and to only use poems written in Old English, this way you learn the words as well as the grammer. Wyatt Kaldenberg

When I bought this book I only expected to get a smattering of OE. but was delightfully surprised to find that this text, in conjunction with Robinson's Old English and its Closest Relatives (which you should read first if you're a monolingual English speaker)brings the world of old Germanic language and culture into a sharper focus. After reading some texts in Old English, I started to branch out into Old Icelandic and even Gothic (truly Exciting!). I feel that Old English is an essential study for anyone interested in Germanic language. It serves as a good, solid base by which languages like Gothic and Old Norse are more easily and quickly understood.

This is the only book for Anglo-Saxon that I know of, besides some editions of Beowulf, which has PARALLEL TEXTS for all of the readings. This is a huge help and will save you a whole lotta knock-shloggin' (looking words up), so you can study Old English kicked back with your feet up. Plus, the translations are nice and literal, and where they can't be literal, the translator gives the word-for-word meaning in parentheses.

Another nice thing is that, unlike most all other Old English readers, none of the selections here are translations of Latin works (and so not influenced by annoying Latin syntax), but all original Anglo-Saxon compositions, including some of the most important works: Caedmon's Hymn, The Battle of Brunanburg, The Battle of Maldon, The Dream of the Rood, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Wife's Lament, The Whale, selections from The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Alfred vs. the Vikings--hooray!), and others.

Mr. Diamond says that this book "is intended to make learning Old English as easy as possible", and he does a great service by publishing it. True, there are no lessons or exercises, but if you've been studying your German or your Icelandic then you'll have no problem with the very to-the-point treatments of grammar, Umlaut, metrics, etc. (If, on the other hand, you haven't been working on your modern German, then what the heck are you already jumping to Old English for?!)

This book, good also for review, will get you reading Anglo-Saxon texts very soon if not immediately, and the mix in them of a hardy Germanic character and a very familiar Englishness is pure pleasure.

(P.S. If you want a really helpful edition of Beowulf, get George Jack's (OUP), and if you want a nice overview of all Old Germanic, try Robinson's Old English and its Closest Relatives.)

Alvin Karpis is the only man to survive earning the sobriquet "public enemy #1". After a whirlwind time as one of the most infamous outlaws in the lawless days of the1930s, Karpis was captured alive and sent to Alcatraz. His twenty-five years in America's first super-prison is the subject of this memoir.

Built as the government's answer to the 1930's wave of kidnappings and bank-robberies, Alcatraz was to be an escape-proof prison housing only the elite of the criminal world. It was certainly proof that 'crime doesn't pay' especially for the American taxpayers.

Karpis' memoires of his life on the rock showcase his amazing memory and are full of his experieces with the infamous residents of the super-prision. He either has a photograpich memory or his ghost-writer did a great deal of research.

While this is an interesting and informative book, rest assured that Karpis spends a great deal of time making sure that he always presents himself in the most favorable light even if the truth has to suffer.

"ON THE ROCK" by Robert Livesey is a Five-Star book. This true story is told by Public Enemy Number One Alvin Karpis, to Livesey. Karpis decribes his 33 years behind bars, 26 of which were spent in Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. In 1934, only four men ever held the title Public Enemy Number One, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson and Alvin Karpis. Karpis was the only one who survived the era. This is his story and he told it how it happened. ...Great Book!

alvin karpis the man who documents his life in alcatraz,describes how he survived being held captive on the rock for 25 years.all the fights he had to fight just to survive.how so many prisoners attempted to escape but failed.they either got shot or drowned.one of the surprises was that karpis knew al capone.and how capone went crazy when he got infectefd and died of syphillis.its a tough book about struggle on the rock and its a good one.wish you luck finding it.

Solomon/Higgins "A Passion for Wisdom" is a small but rich book outlining the history of philosophical ideas, including Chinese, Buddhist, Native American, Arab and other cultures. It is a useful reference and witty in writing style which encourages one's own philosophical or investigative studies. Philosophy is openness to the world. We are excited, yet disturbed. We need to be better listeners to be more open.

I recommend reading "A Passion for Wisdom" first and then a more in-depth study by reading Solomon/Higgins "A Short History of Philosophy" second. Other book recommendations following Solomon/Higgins: Durant's "The Story of Philosophy," T.Z. Lavine's "From Socrates to Sartre," and perhaps Russell's "A History of Western Philosophy."

I am an engineering professor and have spent the last 30 years trying to compensate for my weak liberal arts education.

Robert Solomon has been a godsend in terms of providing clear, insightful teachings on philosophy. He's written overviews as well as some very nice books and tapes (The Teaching Company) focused on existentialism.

This particular book (written with his major collaborator Kathleen Higgins) is not a typical superficial survey. Rather, it is a distillation of their catholic knowledge gained through years of study and teaching philosophy. A real tour de force filled with the insights and connections that only great teachers can give. I highly recommend it for students of all ages.

The authors are gifted with an objective detachment from their subject so that every philosopher discussed seems to be their favorite...until they move on to the next.

The absence of polemics makes for a light reading in an otherwise onerous subject.

This is the best introduction to philosophy that one could hope to begin from.

Sincere thanks to the authors!

If you're looking for a great Sci-Fi read that will take you out of this world, than you should read this great book by Robert A. Heinlein called, "The Past Through Tomorrow, The Future History Stories." It's such an intricate book full of short stories that interlace nicely with eachother. Heinlein is one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. If you want to read more books by him, you should check out Stranger in a Strange Land as well. Boy, are both books great.

The Past Through Tomorrow contains all 21 stories, novellas, and novels of Heinlein's Future History series. The four books making up the series (The Man Who Sold the Moon, The Green Hills of Earth, Revolt in 2100, and Methuselah's Children) used to be a little hard to find in the pre-Internet days, making this collection an absolute boon to Heinlein readers. In addition to the convenience of having everything in one volume, this book also includes two stories that are not to be found in my copies of the originating books: "Searchlight" and "The Menace From Earth." These are rather lightweight stories, but they are quite entertaining.

It was actually Joseph W. Campbell, Heinlein's editor at Amazing Science-Fiction, who came up with the term Future History; Heinlein did have some of the stories mapped out on a timeline, but he never intended to make this a series in any real sense of the word. Up until the final selection, these stories are largely independent of one another. With Methuselah's Children, however, Heinlein traces the tale's antecedents to his very first story "Life-Line," incorporates a few characters from other assorted stories, and casts a web of continuity over the whole package. Even still, this is only "a" future history, not "the" future history. Aspects of Heinlein's science indeed worked its way into the real world over time, but one would be wrong to label this body of work as some type of prophetic endeavor on the author's part.

The contents of this collection basically offer the reader the cream of the crop of Heinlein's early fiction. Among the stories deserving special mention here are the novella "The Man Who Sold the Moon," featuring one of Heinlein's most unforgettable protagonists, "-We Also Walk Dogs," the story of a company able to perform small miracles to meet the needs of its clients, "If This Goes On-," a tale of the repressive theocracy that followed in the wake of evangelist Nehemiah Scudder usurpation of power, and the novel Methuselah's Children which brings the vision of these stories all together. I have only one criticism of this fine collection: no special mention is made of the century-long gap between "Logic of Empire" and "If This Goes On-." The fall of American democracy at the usurping hands of Scudder is a story that Heinlein never told, so the reader may be shocked to find a forward-looking free America suddenly transformed into an anachronistic, brutal autocratic regime at the start of the latter of these two stories. In my copy of Revolt in 2100, Heinlein includes a postscript concerning the stories never written-this does much to explain the striking transition that defines the "missing century" of this Future History, and it's a shame that this postscript did not find its way into this omnibus collection.

The Past Through Tomorrow serves as a wonderfully useful map to the writing of Robert A. Heinlein. Not only does it contain the most important of his early short stories, it also sets the stage and provides the background material for Heinlein's later novels featuring the likes of the remarkable Lazarus Long.

This collection starts with Heinlein's first-ever published story (Life-Line), and continues through the next several years of his writing. These stories, of course, make up his famous Future History series. There is one novel among them (Methuselah's Children; the book's standout piece, and the debut of Lazarus Long), a couple of novellas (The Man Who Sold The Moon, "-If This Goes On"), and numerous short to medium-length stories. Unlike his longer later novels, in these works his agenda is not being an idealogue, but rather exploiting one small central idea, or even simply writing a good story. To be sure, there are several stories of lesser quality here, but there are also many classics (the ones I've already mentioned, plus The Roads Must Roll, Blowups Happen, Logic of Empire, Coventry, and others.) If all you know of Heinlein is his later "message" novels like Starship Troopers and Stranger In A Strange Land, then do yourself a favor and pick up this immaculate collection of his early fiction.