I originally read this book for a college course about the ethics of genetics. It is something every person in the biological or natural sciences should read, but it is also helpful for anyone interested in genetics. It is primarily about the politics and ethics which surround all genetic issues. Cook-Deegan explains the rudiments of genetics in a very easy to understand manner, and then launches into an in-depth examination of the politics of genetics. More goes on behind the scenes of biological science than you would ever believe. In the coming years genetics and the ethical issues surrounding genetics are going to become very important in medicine, pharmaceutical research, and criminal forensics. No longer just a class for science majors, genetics may well enter your life in ways you never expected. Cook-Deegan's book can definately educate as well as entertain.

November, 1997 "The Gene Wars: Science, Politics, and the Human Genome" by Robert Cook-Deegan (W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1994) This is a fascinating book about the politics of the human genome project. Although I was familiar with much of the history of this project, it was good to read an organized, "insider's view". The author worked for the U.S. congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) during the formative years of the project. The book starts out with a description of the horrors of Alzheimer's disease, and then goes on to explain the significance of the human genome project in terms of understanding human disease. With the significance of the work firmly established, the genesis of the human genome project is described - apparently the idea of sequencing the entire DNA sequence for a "single" human being was first realistically proposed by three different groups, working independently of each other, all about the same time (within a few months) during 1985. These groups all realized that the technology was quickly becoming available to achieve such a daunting task. To give you an idea of the difficulty of the task - imagine that you were to start reading the human genome, at one base every second (the genetic information coding for you (and all other animals and plants you see) is written down in a simple "text", just like this article; in the language of DNA, there are only four "letters" - G, A, T, and C) - to read the DNA sequence of a human being would take about 140 years - if you were to read one base a second, 24 hours a day, non-stop. The (frustrating) fact is that you really would not know anything about the person when you were done, except that they most likely had died (and had to pay taxes!) several years before their DNA sequence had been read. Obviously one needs computers to handle this kind of information. The best place for computers was at the National Laboratories in the U.S. Southwest - mainly Lawrence Livermore & Los Alamos National Laboratories. I had always thought that this was why the national labs had got involved in the genome project. To be honest, I had often wondered how the Department of Energy wound up financing the project - I was surprised to learn that in fact that one of the first groups to propose sequencing the human genome was from Los Alamos - in part kind of a "from nuclear bombs to plowshares" type of philosophy. But in fact, there was a bit more of a sinister twist to this plot - the U.S. military was trying to study the effects of the atomic blasts on the Japanese survivors from World War II. Furthermore I know (from personal conversations with scientists at Los Alamos during this time) that the U.S. military was seriously operating under Ronald Reagon's philosophy of fighting and surviving (?) a nuclear war. The result of all of this was that the human genome project was funded initially by the Department of Energy; basically it was a military project to ensure jobs for unemployed bomb makers (according to some of the critics at the time). The first "gene wars" aspect of this has to do with the politics of government funding. Really, the most logical place to fund this research would be the National Institute of Health (NIH), but many people were still feeling the pinch of less money for basic research at the time, and were quite afraid that the human genome project would steal money from basic grants. Furthermore, many scientists observed that, since roughly 98% of the human was "junk" (that is, it doesn't code for proteins), it would be a huge waste of money. Indeed, to try and use present or "old technology" to sequence the human genome WOULD be stupid - but the genome project was all about heavily investing in technology to improve speed of sequencing. In the 1960's, it was a very significant achievement to sequence 23 nucleotides (the equivalent of being able to read maybe 3 words in a sentence). In 1977, Fred Sanger (funded by the MRC in England) developed a sequencing technology that made it possible to read the entire sequence of a bacterial virus (about 5400 nucleotides long, or roughly the same as being able to read a short paragraph). This was significant enough to merit a Nobel Prize for a Nobel Prize, shared with two Harvard scientists who also developed a different (slower) method for sequencing. By 1985, this technique had begun to be automated, such that a MACHINE could read the sequence automatically - it now was possible to routinely sequence more than 10,000 nucleotides (this would be like being able to read a full page - with enough work it wouldn't be too difficult to put together an entire chapter). However, in 1985 the human genome project still was a pretty daunting task - at the present rate of sequencing, Jim Watson estimated that it would take about a thousand years to sequence the entire human genome!! So the human genome project was set up to invest heavily in technology - in fact when the program finally was officially launched in October of 1990, it was a 20 year project, with the first 10 years invested mostly into improved methods of sequencing, with most of the actual sequencing of the genome being done in the last few years. In addition, the genomes of smaller organisms was set up as intermediary goal posts along the road. In the past two years, we have already seen the realization of the early goals; the complete sequence for the genomes of more than a dozen bacteria are now available for research and comparison, and the genome of the first "animal" (simple yeast) was published earlier this year (1997). Soon to come will be the first worm (nematode), first plant, and first insect. It will probably be another 4 or 5 years before the first mammalian genomes become available. The human genome project is set up initially to run from 1990 through the year 2010. The annual budget is roughly U.S. $200,000,000 per year (!) - of which about $120,000,000 is given to the NIH, and about $80,000,000 is given to the DOE. At the suggestion of the first Director of the Human Genome project (Jim Watson), about 5% of the budget is invested into "ethical considerations of the human genome sequencing project". As Cook-Deegan points out, there are many ethical considerations to consider - in fact, a large part of the reason Jim Watson resigned as director had to do with his strong objections to the U.S. government policy of trying to patent DNA sequences. Although Cook-Deegan takes a more middle of the road approach, and tries to explain why the government wants to regain money invested in research (which I think this SOUNDS fair enough...), I guess I really tend to agree with Watson. Imagine. You are living a thousand years in the future, and no one speaks English anymore - in fact, through years of neglect, it is almost a forgotten language. Now you learn to read, and find one of Shakespeare's books. Suppose you are the first person to read through part (not all, even) of one of his plays - does this mean that YOU have to right to charge anyone else royalties who wants to read this or use it in the future? This is in fact what was at issue at the "bioearth" summit in Brazil in 1992 - the U.S. did not want to sign an agreement forbidding the patenting of DNA sequences, despite the agreement amongst all the other countries in the world. I personally have no problems with patents - I think they are wonderful, provided they are for something that you have created. But I do have serious problems with patenting DNA sequences - because this is just merely reading a text that someone else (God?) has already written. In summary, this book is a good history of the beginning of the Human Genome project. For me, it was fun to see much fruit of this project in my own research. I think this is an essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what the human genome project is all about, in terms not only of the science, but also the development

I leave off a "star" only because viewing Kentridge's drawings can not substitute the experience of viewing his films. Indeed, looking the charcoal drawings I wonder at what stage of the sequence it is in. Is this the last step in the drawing? Looking at a drawing outside of its time base can also be a positive. I love searching the surface for smudge marks and erased hands and arms. His drawings end up being a record of movement (something that most single drawings fail to capture). For anyone who doesn't know, by the way, Kentridge animates his charcoal drawings using filmic stop motion techniques. The results are amazing. Anyone interested in drawing and painting, the birth of early film, and South African Politics: here is your artist.

William Kentridge is a white South African born in 1955. He is best known for animations, based on large charcoal paintings, which have as their subject the complexity of living a meaningful life in the warped society of South Africa.

Kentridge makes the films by working on the charcoal paintings, then clicking the film camera one frame at a time. He then walks back to the painting and works on it, before exposing another twenty-fifth of a second.

Kentridge is articulate and interesting and has established himself as a great artist in the tradition of Hogarth, Daumier and the German expressionists. His exhibition, which closed here in Los Angeles last week, was breathtaking. This book is the catalog of that exhibition.

I really liked this series. I especially like how this hard cover collects the entire run of Milligan/Allreds X-Force into one easy to read volume. Peter Milligan and Mike Allreds work is very spectacular! I had sworn off of Marvel books around 8 years ago but I could not resist the work of two of my favorites. Peter Milligans writing is quick, witty and interesting and I love Mike Allreds drawing style. My only gripe about this book was that the last issue of the series/collection was drawn by Duncan Fegredo and his artwork is possibly some of the worst artwork I have ever seen in any book. After reading through this large collection it was a bit of a letdown to have the "FINAL ISSUE" be drawn in such a haphazard way. I am serious. A third grader could have drawn the book more enjoyably than Duncan Fegredo! His "artwork" is a big detraction and to me, held this book back from being 5 stars. That being said I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes irreverant heroes to read.

I can't say im a big fan of Marvel in general and X-titles are usually unapealing to me, but i am a fan of Mike Allred. Based on my love for Mike Allred's own Madman, i decided to give X-Force a chance and bought the hardcover version which collects the tpbs as well as some other extras. I wasnt disapointed, the writing by Peter Milligan is decent, better than 80 percent of whats out there at least, and Mike Allred's drawing style is clean, and uniquely his own. Laura Allred's colors are, as always, astoundingly bright and beautiful.

The story telling in X-Force is fast paced and teeming with satire. All in all, the book manages to be interesting and hold one's attention, but Id recomend you run to your local comic book store and leaf through the first few pages of the first trade paperback to see if this is really your bag, as the book deals with mature subjects and contains tons of graphic death scenes.

H. L. Mencken was born in Baltimore in 1880 and for his developmental years was a "bookworm." He resolved to pursue a more active life as he grew and discovered his niche in journalism. In 1899 he went to work for the Baltimore Morning Herald and found the going difficult at first, but as he persisted he discovered that was where he was most suited and kept the title "newspaperman" the rest of his life. He remained in his home town and continued to live in the home his family had lived in rather than seeking career advancement in larger markets. One of the first essays in this collection is one he wrote about his hometown, "The Baltimore of the Eighties." Another early one describes the local YMCA. His piece on Theodore Dreiser contains a segment on the art of communicating via the written word. A tribute to William Jennings Bryan which was published in the American Mercury in 1925 is included in this collection. Other pieces are on the people, times, circumstances, and issues of the era in which he made his observations. While I do not agree with him on many topics, his work demonstrates the efforts of a skilled writer.

Mencken was a well known editor, book reviewer and writer. The selected essays are interesting and often very funny, but I somehow expected a more comprehensive and well-rounded selection of his writings. The book is certainly entertaining and sometimes insightful - hence a purchase to be considered. However, a better job could have been done in selecting the material for the book - including perhaps a selection of his famous aphorisms.

Please read this book for a refreshing view from a highly intelligent author from the early 20th century...Mencken was *not* a confirmed racist - this tag was applied to him when some of his personal diaries were published and his writings were compared against the current day "PC" language test. If you were to strike up a conversation with any person 90 years ago I would think their speech would shock modern sensibilities on the race issue. In Menckin's case, I encourage you to read about his actions in the race issue - the fact that as an editor he published African-American authors when no other mainstream publications would do so. That he opposed segregation and had many friends he actively and publicly supported that were of a diverse nature religiously and racially.

If you want a good weekend read with bookends from the beginning and the end of the twentieth century, pick up "The Vintage Mencken" and "Eat the Rich" or "Parliament of Whores" from P.J. O'Rourke, the current HL Mencken scholar at the Cato Institute. You will have a refreshing libertarian infusion which will help you withstand the current New Left and Religious Right babble that is so pervasive in the media these days.

I was really looking forward to reading this book. But I must say I am disappointed. I believe the author's premise that extraterrestrials likely play a significant role in religious history. I have been a student of the UFO phenomenon for nearly forty years. I also have a graduate degree in biblical and religious studies. So I feel that I am qualified to say that poor scholarship compromises this book's credibility. This work is a collection of information from various sources that the author has interpreted to support his pre-conceived thesis. There is not much in the way of new or original information here. Documentation of source material is lacking for the numerous quotations and case studies cited in this book. This book is filled with inexcusable grammatical and typographical anomalies. The entire first quarter of this book is a tedious list of King James Bible verses quoted out of context. The author used Strong's Concordance to reference certain key words that he thinks are references to UFOs. These verses may or may not refer to UFOs, depending on how you interpret words like "heaven" and "cloud." The veracity of some of the author's case studies regarding anomalous artifacts is questionable according to other works in this genre. What really blew my mind was an entire page devoted to the author's argument that Jesus Christ had short hair and no beard! What does that have to do with UFOs and the history of religion? While there is some "wheat" to be found in this book, I must say that most of it is "chaff." Your money would be better spent on Linda Moulton Howe's "High Strangeness, vol. II."

Wanna know what is the greatest deception? It's this book attempting to be anything more than trite pseudoscience!
Not even that. It's boring.

This book is filled with Bible versus implying flying vehicles coming from the sky and too look up at the sky because this where Christ is supposed to be coming with 20,000 of his flying vehicles. The deception is man will be decieved to think that the return of Christ will be some kind of alien invasion,and that man will be forced and deceived into fighting him, as states in the Bible-"very intersting". This book is filled with so much great informatiion that will shock you about the Elohym(the gods), the Malak( the angles),the Watchers, Enoch and so much more, so much too learn from this book. This a complete book from start to finish about aliens in the Bible. A must read for ufo buffs.

As part of a group read, I picked up a week late"Evelina" from my local library. I wasn't quite sure whatto expect - certainly this would be no Tom Jones, but it wouldn't be Austen either - however what I found was a pleasant epistolary jaunt through a young girl's first season out. A jaunt, which, although begun a week late was quickly finished two weeks early! Customary to 18th century novels, Evelina's history is somewhat romantic, both her guardian and the hero impossibly good (a refreshing novelty, if a little sappy in places. They were apparently active members in the Mutual Admiration Society), and the secondary characters ridiculously vulgar. As Burney's first novel, the work shows some awkwardness in construction, but is otherwise excellent. Readers of modern romances may find the heros a bit formal, and fans of Jane Austen may find the epistlotary form unbelievable, but both they and lovers of historical fiction would do well to invest in this book, which provides an excellent glance into the end of an era, and one charming heroine's attempt to muddle through it. END

Anyone who loves Jane Austen (and don't we all?) will certainly enjoy Fanny Burney's Evelina. Burney is really a precursor of Austen, but has unfortunately been completely overshadowed by the later novelist. In its time (1778) Evelina was a tremendous hit and shy Fanny Burney a celebrated author overnight. She was invited into the literary circle of Samuel Johnson, became a reluctant lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte because of her celebrity and at age 41 married a refugee from the French Revolution, thus becoming Madame D'Arblay (check out her interesting diaries). The subtitle of Evelina (The History of A Young Lady's Entrance into the World) says it all: Evelina is an innocent and naive young girl, who suddenly finds herself in unfamiliar London society, surrounded by suitable and not so suitable suitors and a host of other characters. Lots of misunderstandings and perilous situations block Evelina's road, but don't be surprised to find humour and suspense as well, for the continuing question is of course whether Evelina will survive Society unscathed. Even though the pace of a novel more than 2 centuries old may be a bit slow for some, this is something you get used to soon enough: the novel contains far too much life, fun and social commentary too be dull.

I found Evelina thoroughly enjoyable. Much like a Jane Austen novel in its plot (the heroine faces and overcomes countless difficulties and by doing so matures and moves toward marriage with the hero) Burney's novel has a darker side that Austen doesn't seem to explore. Evelina is often in dire situations in which men make very improper adavances. Because of the manners required of polite young women, she is powerless to extricate herself; yet because she does not extricate herself, her postition as a member of polite society is threatened. The trials and ultimate triumph of Evelina make for a very enjoyable book - one I would strongly recommend.

With a book like this, many readers cheat themselves by assuming that they already know what it's about, because they heard the outline of the story before, and therefore they have no need to really read it. A lot like the way some people treat the Bible, or at least large parts of the Bible. Anyway, I recently re-read this book to one of my daughters, and can report that upon close consideration, this book is really a retrospective Calvinistic explanation for how old Dr. Boekman finds a successor for his surgical practice, following Dr. Boekman's disappointment in his only son, who never liked medicine and who in fact found a reason to run away from Holland to resettle in England to pursue a business career. The rich descriptions of Dutch history and culture form the context for this drama.

Consequently, Dr. Boekman's whole outlook on life, exemplified by his perpetual frown, descends into depression as he humorlessly goes about his surgical practice, all the while increasing his fame which radiates from Amsterdam far out into the provinces, symbolized by the transportation and communication pathway of the frozen canals, over which all ages and classes of people happily skate through what used to be extremely cold winter months in Holland. These canals have not frozen solid on a regular basis for many decades.

These frozen canals in turn exemplify Dr. Boekman's frozen heart, which ultimately gets melted as a result of the importuning of Raff Brinker's son, young Hans, who cajoles old Dr. Boekman into taking a look at old Raff, who has been an invalid since suffering a closed head trauma while working out on the dikes during a fierce storm.

Dr. Boekman ends up surgically unblocking the "brainfreeze" suffered by Raff Brinker, who comes back to life "talking like an Amsterdam lawyer" which is a complete turn around from his invalid state where he appeared to be a distant, angry, barely controllable hulk crouching in his house by the fire, and casting a gloom of social obloquy which tainted not only his children, but his very cottage, in the eyes of most of the other respectable members of Dutch society, as they skated by on their local frozen canal.

By the end of the book, the connection achieved by Hans Brinker between his remote father and the remote surgeon seems to have spread, or networked, and young Hans is a rising surgeon practicing with Dr. Boekman, and happily married, while Dr. Boekman's biological son returns, or is redeemed back from England to practice a bustling business trade also in Amsterdam. The silver skates and the races on the canals are mainly a way for Hans to prove something to himself, that he can set his mind to what he wishes to achieve, and against all odds achieve it. The fact that all of this works to bring reconciliation and happiness back into people who are disconnected and frozen, rather than constituting a sappy, Dickensian series of unlikely coincidences, instead creates more of an echo of predestination than merely a "happy ending."

But then again, this is only one explanation of what we have here in this classic book.

I thought it was a wounderful story for the whole family to read.

Is this the greatest book ever? Maybe, maybe not. Shakespeare had some good ones. Either way, this merits the five stars I've given it. Delve into one of the greatest stories ever told, and learn all about Holland. By the time you're done, you'll want to go ice skating.

So strap on your wooden skates and squeek across the ice of Ole Holland. Who gets the silver skates? Who is the greatest hero? Is hidden fortune just under the peat moss?

Dat hangt er van af . . .

This is an EXCELLENT book, a must have for all Scottish Terrier owners! Cindy Cooke has done a fantastic job of introducing the history of the breed for its readers, incuding outstanding Kennels and the people behind them. The author has covered every aspect of the scottie in this book and I highly reccommend it to any person captivated by this wonderful breed.

With "the new Scottish Terrier," author cindy Cooks continues to contribute to this breed's notariety in this country. These are special dogs, and her love of the breed comes through loud and clear in every chapter.

Non-owners of Scottish Terriers, or those considering "stepping up" to this breed will find a trove of useful information here, beginning with a concise history of the breed, and continuing through the Scottie's inroads and developments in America. Breeders and handlers will likewise find a hoard of useful information, as will "regular folks" who adore the breed.

It's a good read, and a bargain at its current price. If you're a Scottie Lover, or even considering this breed, you owe it to yourself to check this out.

We loved this book!! This book talked about the history, breed traits, care and grooming of the scottish terrier. We would recommend this book to everyone that is interested in the scottie!!!

I thought that this book would have tons of lists of tips and give lots of legal, but perhaps edgey advice, but it fell short. I didn't find it easy to read through, I didn't find lots of lists and tips, I like books like this to make it easier.

I am sure the advice is sound, but what I found here didn't seem to live up to what the cover implied.

I found this book a bit loose, and am looking for a more thorough description of financial management practices unique to an S-Corp. I have been looking for a definitive description of S-Corp accounting practices and concrete tax saving advice. My S-Corp. started last April, from a 3-month old sole proprietorship with all the requisite Federal and State designations. If anyone knows of a book particular to S-Corps, it would be much appreciated. In conclusion, I have found this book helpful, yet not as specific or thorough as I had hoped.

I own a company and needed to learn about the basics of tax reduction. I found this book to be useful in just the basics. Because it concentrated on many topics, I believe it wasn't able to focus on many items that would have been useful to me. However, it was well written and easy to read, and I give it five stars because it gave me many broad questions to ask my tax consultant.

but I can't say that I learned too much from this book other than how not to proceed with an international adoption. She seemed to have approached the adoption from a purely emotional standpoint, with very little objectivity. She and her husband were the worst guests in a foreign country that I've read about in awhile, and I truly hope that their son is not suffering the effects of his parents' self-centeredness.

All of that said, I give this book three stars for its great writing style; it really was a good read. Also, this is one of the only books on the market dealing specifically with Russian adoption, and I appreciate the author's attempt to fill some of that void. If you are interested in reading one of the best books I've read on contemporary Russia, post-Soviet era, read The Fire Escape is Locked for Your Safety by Molly Baier. It's an American lawyer's account of her trip across Russia, from the Ukraine to Vladivostok, and includes some hilarious interviews with different Russians.

Having read every word of The Russian Word for Snow, I want to thank the author for putting her journey as an adoptive parent into words. It is one of the few books by an adoptive parent whose quest for a child led her to Russia, the birthplace of hundreds of thousands of children who need homes, and also the place where we found our own son. Ms. Newman offers her personal story from making the decision to adopt, to bringing her son home and beginning the attachment process. She should be commended for her honest and sincere efforts to tell us how she felt at every step of the way. As an adoptive mother of a child who came home with us at approximately the same age as Ms. Newman's son, I found her memoir reassuring. She offers adoptive parents a glimpse into the future they hope for by showing us how the attachment between her and her son developed, despite the harrowing circumstances they all endured to bring him home and become a family. Reviewers who don't appreciate this wonderful book ought to have their heads examined.

I just had to comment on this book, not only because I loved it, but because it has been so widely criticized by other adoptive parents of Russian orphans. I, too, adopted a boy from Russia, and I could relate so well to most of what Ms. Newman wrote here. We entered Russia during a rather tumultuous time for international adoptions. When the Minister of Education failed to show up for our court hearing, I went through the heart wrenching anxiety that we would be sent back home without our baby - another failure after 3 years of trying to conceive. Tensions mounted between my husband and I and feelings of anger and frustration arose against the Russian people who didn't seem to care that we spent our last dime to adopt a child they didn't want. Of course we had a happy ending, and our little boy is the absolute joy of our lives. We are planning our second adoption from Russia this year and are anticipating returning to Russia to take in more of their culture and history. I think people who scorn this book fail to see that Ms. Newman and her husband persevered when most people would have given up so they could have THIS boy. They also forget the anxiety the couple must have felt that they may never have the boy that they loved, especially with political unrest brewing in the background. To Janis Cooke Newman, I say Bravo for your candor and honesty! I think you and your husband are heroes for "sticking it out" in what seemed like a hopeless situation. Your love for your son is immense.