The Compleat Klezmer is the classic book in its field. Many of the tunes in this book represent the standard core repertoire with which any klezmer band should be familiar. The explanatory first chapter is a rich source of information about the music. When I was starting out, this book was my bible and it is still the one I would recommend to any beginner. Musicians should make sure to obtain the spiral bound edition. Those who are not primarily musicians will find the explanatory text and accompanying photographs and notes interesting, though the book is mainly geared toward players.

Like packing a laptop, this 650-page book covers every creature an East Coast nature lover could encounter, from starfish and sharks to rabbits and walruses. Very easy to identify your sighting with numerous color plates and vivid descriptions. Author, Collins, offers own observations and challenges the reader with unexpected wit and wisdom seldom found in nature books. 40 years old and shamefully out-of-print, if you find a copy, hold on to it!

This book is compelling and rivoting account about the insidious, baffling, and destructive power of compulsive gambling. The Joe H. Hodges story takes you to levels of compulsive gambling the reader never dreamed possible. The pyschiatric comments are exceptional and provide valuable insight into the nature of this terrible emotional disease. The book is must reading for recovering compulsive gambler, the gambler who wants to quit but still suffers, and those in the medical and counseling professions who treat the illness. You won't want to put it down.

Many manufacturing technology professors feel unsure about the nature and teaching computer integrated manufacturing (CIM)in their program. James A. Rehg and Henry W. Kraebber are dynamic authors, as they present CIM as a technical and strategic function of an organization. They offer a technical and management-based approach for understanding and implementing CIM in the "world class manufacturing" settings. Unlike other CIM books, Computer Integrated Manufacturing is written from the manufacturing technology professor's point of view with technical expertise. The CIM model used is consistent with the SME Manufacturing Enterprise Wheel developed by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. This books explains the fundamental principles as well as practical applications of computer integrated manufacturing in a clear and effective manner and the illustrations complement the text well.

An excellent yet concise series of commentaries. The author excels at clearly showing Christ in the passages but does not draw conclusions that are not clearly shown in the bible text.

Even English professors often admit they wouldn't read James if they didn't have to. The Spoils of Poynton, however, is an enjoyable and easy read. 20th century readers prefer a plot that flies by and, thus, aren't often interested with the snail paced action of James' psychological dramas. However, James' intricate and subtle method, his ceaseless asides, are well worth working through. "Spoils" is a great introduction to James' work because it displays his talents (particularly, his character interaction is intriguing) with rare brevity (184 p).

This is a thick book, both physically in its size, and in the material it contains. It lists every Greek word in the Septuagint (canonical and apocryphal), followed by the Hebrew words corresponding to the Greek ones, and then every book and verse the word appears in, and the context of each verse! Appendix One has all the Greek proper names. Appendix two gives a complete concordance of the Greek Ecclesiasticus when compared to the Hebrew fragments. Appendix three gives a concordance of the Hexapleric fragments that scholars possess. Appendix four is a newer part (from 1998), and lists Hebrew and Aramaic words and their LXX equivalent. As can be seen, this is one large book (1860 pages). This edition also contains a good introduction, which was added in 1998. The original edition came out in the late 1800s/early 1900s.

The only drawback would be that the English translation of each Greek word is not given. So in other words, to fully appreciate this you would need to know Greek, or else have a good Lexicon handy. Since most folks using this would probably be scholars, or know Greek, this shouldn't be a problem. Overall, a fine and massive work!

General Sibley was in charge of the Confederate Army that invaded New Mexico in 1862. He drank a bit! This bit of Civil War history never makes it into the books. This book is very informative and is very good reading. In "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" this is the Civil War campaign that the film is based around.

First of all, I am surprised no one has bothered to review this book! I used it in a seminar on the American Civil War at the Japanese university where I teach English and history. It was excellent as an introduction to the subject matter it describes. The chapters were not dauntingly long and Thomas's gift for language presented an abundance of ideas and episodes with a striking economy of words. My students, who are not native speakers of English, were very satisfied with the book and had a sense of accomplishment once they got through it. A Japanese language version of Ken Burns's celebrated documentary on the Civil War was helpful in making much of the book understood; but even without that useful aid, Emory Thomas's book offered a gripping narrative of the Confederacy's short and turbulent history. Having read Confederate Nation my students have a firm and intelligent grasp of the single most tumultuous episode of the American experience.

Before I make any comments about the book, I must first declare that my review is highly biased towards Dr. Palais and his work--I had studied under his guidance for several years at the Henry M. Jackson School, University of Washington. The score for the book, which I had rated "5," is based totally on the academic value, i.e. the excellence of scholarship in one of the more obscure, yet, important fields of Korean studies.

Put simply, the book explores the state of 16th century Chosun Dynasty through the eyes of a Neo-Confucian scholar, Yu Hyongwon. The traditional and prevalent views of Yu have been that Yu was the forerunner of Sirhak or "practical learning" school of Korean Neo-Confucianism. However, Palais disputes this long-standing notion of Yu and, rather, asserts that Yu's ideas about statescraft was rather limited in ambition--Yu was searching for ways to revitalize the Choson Dynasty well within the traditions of Confucianism. This key thesis is and will be, for sometime to come, remain a contested issue among students of Korean history.

I believe the contribution of Palais' work lie in his pain-stakingly thorough exploration into Neo-Confucian traditions extant in the 17th century Korea. Fujiya Kawashima of Bowling Green State University notes "the book will remain for decades to come a cornerstone of KOrean Studies and required reading for specialists and students alike who are intersted in Confucian statecraft and institutions in East Asia" in his review of the Palais' work in the Journal of Asian Studies. I could not agree more.

I do have a couple of reservations, however. This book is not a light reading. The sheer length of the book is enormous--totallying 1019 pages. Substance-wise, readers should have a fairly good handle on the history of Chosun Dynasty, (Neo) Confucian traditions, and the debate over Sirhak to fully appreciate Palais' work. It is a truly daulting task to actually read this book from cover to cover, but the reader will be rewarded handsomely for his effort.