A truely enjoyable read. One would have to search long and hard for a reason to dislike this book. Purposely straight forward, this book weaves the tale and paints the portrait of Big Jim Cane and portions of his life using broad strokes, occassionally pulling out the finer brush for more detail. Further, the book leaves the reader full of the promise of more tales to come. Having been born and raised in small town KY, this book was very easy to relate to, as I have known several of the charcters in some form or another in my life. For the reader reared in another setting, this is the kind of book that fully embraces the reader, bringing you into the world presented with ease, familiarity, and with an absence of jet lag. Also, the charcters are universal. From Cane Bottom to Brooklyn, you KNOW these people or someone like them. Welcome to the Eastern KY / West VA region of not so long ago. The Conversion of Big Jim Cane is your passport to yesterday.

I read this book before my interview with Vinson & Elkins, and I found it rather helpful. In fact, several partners mentioned in the book are still working at V&E.

The author gives a detailed overview of V&E's firms, especially focusing in on law in the Lone Star State. After reading it, you gain a better perspective of Texas law firms, as well as the atmosphere at V&E. A well-written book!

I really appreciate forensic mysteries and Aaron Elkins has developed Gideon Oliver in a believable manner. I will admit that the forensic part of this mystery is pretty minimal, so if that is what you're after you might want to start with Gideon Oliver in ICY CLUTCHES. All in all, Dead Men's Hearts is an enjoyable, light mystery.

This book gives a lot of ideas on possible causes of depression. It is a good starting point for looking at possible ways of curing depression. It is a wonderful book to use to start a discussion with a therapist or doctor.

For whatever reason, some of the most daring, experimental writing in the field of art history is now coming out of Chicago. Barbara Maria Stafford (who teaches at the University of Chicago) is one of the chief innovators, as is the author of this book, who teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Purely in terms of output, Elkins is phenomenal. In the past five years, he has published eight important books (all of which, without exception, are worth looking into): The Poetics of Perspective (1995); The Object Stares Back: On the Nature of Seeing (1996); On Pictures and the Words That Fail Them (1998); On Beautiful, Dry and Distant Texts: Art History as Writing (1998); What Painting Is: How to Think About Oil Painting, Using the Language of Alchemy (1998); Why Are Our Pictures Puzzles?: On the Modern Origins of Pictorial Complexity (1999); Pictures of the Body: Pain and Metamorphosis (1999), and this title, which is the latest. How is this even possible? The answer in part is that all of his books, while each is unique, are more or less about the same range of issues: They are all about "art history on the edge," about aspects of art and design that defy categorization and that easily fall through the cracks in doctoral research programs. Like Gyorgy Kepes (The New Landscape in Science and Art) and E.H. Gombrich (Art and Illusion), whom Elkins must surely be influenced by, he almost always argues (by example, if not by the actual words that he writes) that art historians should look beyond their traditional subject areas and focus as much on the images in science, technology, commerce, medicine, music and archaeology. (Copyright by Roy R. Behrens from Ballast Quarterly Review, Vol 15 No 3, Spring 2000)

What a fun novel! Great plot-building, great international intrigue. Sort of reminds me of Margaret Truman's "Murder at the National Gallery."

I received this book from my home church upon my college graduation and have definitely used a lot since then. I am currently a Director of Youth + Family Ministries and have used this book many times in talking with youth and adults...the devotions are beautifully written and are "real"...not over anyone's heads...I recommend this book for ANYONE, but especially if you are looking that perfect gift for your favorite high school or college graduate!

A royal little boy (aren't they all) would like to hear the loudest noise in the world. The agreement is that all of the people in all of the world will scream at the top of their lungs to amuse this little prince. There's a trick ending that you and your child will enjoy - especially you.

This illustrated book explains the process of hypnosis to elementary school-aged children. It helps dispell the fear and misconceptions that a child or young adolescent might have about hypnosis. It discusses the ways that a child might use hypnosis to help himself with physical pain or emotional distress.

The illustrations are by a 15-year-old who used hypnotherapy to deal with the effects of a chronic disease. The illustrator does a good job of showing hypnotic imagery from a child's perspective.

SAMe, sometimes known as "Sam Sulfate" is used for detoxification, depression, osteoarthritis, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, liver disease, and fibromyalgia.

SAMe, which stands for S-adenosylmethionine, is found in "every living cell" taking part in biological reactions in the body. SAMe was discovered in 1952 in Italy and is currently generating interest for therapeutic uses.
SAMe has proven to be superior to tricyclic antidepresssants and placebo when used to treat depression.

POSITIVE: This book is interesting and educational. There is a lot of information to be gleaned from its pages. Rita Elkins cites scientific studies from around the world from the United States to London, Denmark, New Zealand, Italy, and Germany. All of the experimental investigations gave promising reports on the beneficial and health-giving properties of SAMe. Ms. Elkins seems to be very knowledgeable on the subject matter.

NEGATIVE: There are a lot of typographical errors in the book. I won't list them all--they are too numerous. One example is found on page 24:

"Itn addition, many heart medications are
thought to cause depression which also
responds to SAMe therapy."

The author is listed as Rita Elkins M. H.. No where in the book does it say what M. H. stands for. I always thought M. H. meant Mental Health, but mental health is not a title. Her writing style is somewhat dry.

RECOMMENDATIONS: The book SAMe is packed full of valuable information about the uses and scientific studies of SAMe. I recommend this book to any one who wants to learn more about SAMe and the breakthrough research on this substance. It's an excellent resource. I only marked it a 4 star instead of a 5 because of the typos not on the content.