This excellent textbook is less than 300 pages, and yet I didn't feel like I learned any less than someone who read a 1000 page textbook on the same subject. This is a comprehensive, introductory volume that is, surprisingly for a textbook, extremely well written. This book delivered Biogeography to my mind, and my great teacher Dr Patrick Armstrong of Univeristy of Western Australia made it come alive in my head. Everything you need to lead you into the fascinating study of our tangible world is here. Read it!

Tough, sassy, honest..John L. Moore's writing is everything a man could want. In no-nonsense language, Moore creates memorable characters, men clawed from the hard earth they work for a living. In this book, the McColleys face mystery, pain, and death. Two of their own have died or disappeared, and a treasure of gold remains up for grabs. Along the way, we discover the deep scars and broken dreams that reside in each of the character's hearts. These men, when contrasted with their women and their faith, live to tell stories that should not be missed. If you haven't read Moore's novels, now's the time to check them out. He'll hook you with poignant words and settings; he'll leave his story ringing in your heart long after you finish the last page. Somebody needs to let the secret out...Christian fiction has something to offer to men!

I tumbled into this book with no expectations, except that I'd heard of the poet from word of mouth as being something of a legend in the 60s. I was happily surprised to find the poems direct, lush, exciting, and somehow leaping off the page into my consciousness. This is a poet who's not afraid of flying! And he very deftly takes us along with him, into spaces that are both familiar and exotic at the same time. He sounds conversational, he doesn't approach poetry with overweighted intellectual baggage, and he's a believer in God, but in a way that transcends the usual pieties. Since Rumi is now so popular, it's great to find a homegrown American voice that sings in some of the same registers!

While we take blood transfusions for granted now, they rightly seem to us a product of modern science. It was only after the work of Karl Landsteiner, who won the 1930 Nobel Prize for it, that we knew about blood groups and who could swap blood with whom. Transfusions, however, had a history going back to 1490, when Pope Innocent VIII was in deteriorating health and his physician determined that he needed the blood of three healthy boys. No one knows exactly what happened, but the boys died, and the pope did, too. In the increasing rationalism of the seventeenth century, Jean-Baptiste Denis, a French mathematician and astronomer, began to wonder about swapping blood. It is a strange episode of inchoate scientific investigation, related in _Blood and Justice: The 17th Century Parisian Doctor Who Made Blood Transfusion History_ (Wiley) by Pete Moore. The author, a British medical journalist, has looked into the peculiar history of beliefs about blood, and described vividly the scientific environment in which some very unusual experiments were made.

It is important to realize that the approach of looking for evidence to support theories was something quite new when (especially) the English philosopher Francis Bacon advocated it in the early seventeenth century. There were centuries of precedent, supported by the church, of sticking to Aristotle, who did not have much of a record as an experimentalist. The experiments described here involved infusing animals with the blood of other animals, often of different species. Denis was the first one to try transfusion on humans. In 1667, having transfused a couple of patients with sheep's blood, he was called in to see a madman named Mauroy, and it was suspected that his impure blood could be replaced by pure calf's blood and the calf's placidity would overtake the patient's madness. Mauroy died. Denis said he died before he could begin the transfusion, while Mrs. Mauroy said it was soon after the transfusion began. The Parisian faculty of physicians distrusted novelty, and didn't like an upstart making the sort of talk that Denis's successes had won, and arranged to ensure that Denis was tried for murder. Convenient evidence came up that Mrs. Mauroy had used arsenic on her husband; whether or not she was a murderer, Denis certainly wasn't, and he went free. He had hoped that his name would be made by his blood work, but he tended to stick to math and astronomy thereafter. The Catholic Church banned transfusions in 1675.

Transfusion is a good idea, but all those centuries ago, science had not developed sufficiently to make it a good idea. Moore's book is good at setting scenes, and explaining the rationale of the experiments of the time. It is a good instruction on experimentation done just for the sake of seeing what happens, without any real theory as guidance. It is also good in comparing the feelings of the seventeenth century public, who were fearful or enthusiastic about the new treatment, with the feelings of the twenty-first century public, who have fear and enthusiasm for, say, genetically engineered corn, or for cloning. The old worries of "Who has the right to play God?" were present then and now, and representations in the popular press were and are often less than helpful. It is thus that this weird episode of bloodletting has a contemporary resonance.

K.C. Roberts, M.S., C.P., C.C.A. President, American Board of Clinical Autotransfusion, President/CEO, National Transfusion Services The information contained within this book has been valuable to the surgical transfusion programs I consult with. It offers a wonderful balance of traditional transfusion approaches while also doing an excellant job in describing the autologous alternatives for surgical patients that may require bank blood transfusions. The authors have included a section on the "medicallegal aspects of transfusion therapy," which are and will become more and more a problem for any clinician that transfuses blood components. With FDA regulations escalting there will be more need for such information. The last section titled "Special Concerns" includes some very good selections pertaining to the management of anemia, as well as section on general transfusion management, and the specialties of OB/GYN and "Massive Transfusion." If this book is revised I would like t

Since I read Wraith: the Oblivion, I have been in love with the dark romanticism and drama of the Restless Dead. Most to my pleasure, the Book of Legions has maintained a feeling not different from that of the rest of the publishing line for Wraith: the Oblivion. In the Book of Legions you will find all you wanted to know about the Legions and the obscure machinations of the Deathlords. It presents information on the organization and history of the armies of the dead, new powers rising in the shadows of Stygia, insight into the secret agendas of the Deathlords and facts on the current political situation of the Underworld. Without a doubt, the Book of Legions is an excellent sourcebook for Wraith: the Oblivion and an essential complement for Ends of Empire. Whether you want to play a member of one of the Legions, or only want to use the conflicts and power struggle among the Deathlords as a background for your chronicle, the Book of Legions is a great asset for any storyteller or player who enjoys playing a part in the unfolding events set in the world of the Restless Dead.

Reading this book puts one right on the ship with Mr. Grey, to wittness all the splendor and action that goes with deep-sea fishing. His descriptive writing technique is easy to understand, and beautifully captures in detail the beauty of the Tahitian waters, islands and people. Accompanied by spectacular photos, you can easily slip back to another time and place, when the fish were teaming and the islands pristine. On a side note, the references and brutality to sharks slightly disturbed me, for Mr. Grey claims to be a naturalist, how can he despise any living creature? I chalk it up to another era of outdated thinking, and today we know that sharks have a vital role in the oceans. All in all, I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to reading more of Mr. Grey's writing.

Wonderful book! Well written! Gives insight to the emotions of hatred and betrayal toward the Borg.

Wonderful Book for Children! Written by the same author as the Also Wonderful 1980's book and tape series "Teddy Ruxpin" if you have young kids grab it up! And If you have kids of any age, pick up some Teddy Ruxpin items as well. The illustrations are wonderful as well.

I found this book 30 years ago and have read the treasured paperback edition about 15 times.

John Moore takes you back to a pre war small rural English village and introduces you to the inhabitants in such a way that you feel you are part of the community. The writing flows and it easy to follow. The book once read, need re-reading every couple of years. It is like visiting old friends. The Colonel, Mr Chorlton, the Hermit, the inhabitants of the pubs etc etc. Of all the books John Moore has written on English country life this is the best.

It is like an old friend to me.