If you find yourself in a situation where the fantastic capabilities of the HP-48G/X are just out of your grasp, and you still need to devote most of your time to class rather than learning how to operate this calculator, then this book is probably for you.

It is lightly documented that the two User Manuals that come with the HP-48GX do assume that you have some level of working knowledge of the terms, and stadards used in advanced HP calculators. It is not necessary to buy this particular book if you are already comfortable with the HP-48G/X and are just striving to learn more about programming or how to answer the question of time.

Jump Start is a good book if you are like me, going to school because you don't know everything already and you certainly don't have all year to figure out how your new calculator works.

The examples the author chose were excellent for my needs. Surely, they won't be for everyone, but as an Electronics Engineering student, what he offered fulfilled the demand I had to gain enough experience on this mini-computer so that I have a positive direction to go toward to learn the specifics of the types of problems I will use it to solve. And clearly that is the authors intent. And that was my goal when I bought this book. I simply needed some guidance.

This book will not teach you Calculus, nor will it teach you all there is to know about the HP-48G/X. What it will do is assume that you are trying to learn the HP-48 series and give you some general problems that are the foundations of many common problems so that you have a broad base of knowledge and a common platform in which to solve them.

One of my favorite examples in the book was that of isolating variables in a complex equation. I needed to know how to do this because frankly, some of the math I do takes like 4 sheets of legal sized paper to write out and I knew there had to be a better way.

The equation he chose as an example has a piece of everything in it and once you learn how to enter in his example, and then isolate whatever variable you want, you have now the power to solve any equation only limited by your ability to enter it into the calculator. And using the powerful Equation Writer, entering in complex equations gave me a sense of security because you can, using the methods covered in this book, actually look at the equation as you entered it, and then convert it to what it looks like in your text book. Probably the HP user manual shows how to do that, but since I could not even figure out how to enter an equation in the first place based on the HP manuals, I will give this author that credit, on my behalf.

Bottomline, if you haven't figured out how to enter an equation, create a subdirectory, move around subdirectories, write basic programs, purge memory, write complex equations, convert anything to practically anything else and solve for any variable....and you WANT to be able to do these things, then you can get that information by reading this book and practicing the examples. If you don't even understand an equation like 2x+3y=4, then you probably won't enjoy this book. It won't teach you anything about understanding math or the problems. It assumes you know why and what you are trying to solve, but it importantly assumes you have no idea how to tell the calculator what you want it to do. In my book, that is a perfect Jump Start.

I give it Five Stars because the author only offers a Jump Start and I certainly got that out of this book.

The Hewlett Packard 48G family of handheld graphic calculators are superb instruments suffering only from a slow processor and what has become famous as a User Guide useful sole to those who already know how to use the calculator. This book will for the most part clarify things so one can use the User Guide although it can do nothing to speed up the calcified and arthritic slowness of this calculators processor.

Unlike some calculators the 48 has NO GUI at all. It also uses the postscript, or RPN, input method which most who deal with maths adore and which befuddles many history majors, dance majors, football players and ilk others. Moreover the 48 dates from the earliest part of the 1990s and has had several O/S tweaks. As a result some of the step by step instructions even in this book may be off a keystroke or two for your particular machine. This volume is, however, a real Missing Manual.

After I bought my first 48 it took 3 weeks of messing with it before I was able to do much more then 2 + 2. That was years ago. Just as beaming parents used to present a slide rule to their young scholar off to engineering school this beaming grand-unki has now presented several plastic packaged H.P. 48g+ each with a copy of this book [that to save from frustration and the English Majors or high school calculator the T.I. 83]

I never got this book fully until I moved to Louisiana- people do take food seriously in the South, and guard barbeque and other recipies as great secrets. My mother-in-law has been trying to get a BBQ recipie for years from one of her friends who refuses to tell her. So this book is a bit educational for people who aren't from the South. Shankman knows her stuff. And if you love the Sam Adams series, you'll love this book. I love the twists in the story- so many Elvis connections!
If you love 'Q', mysteries and Elvis, this is the book for you!(and even if you don't, its still a great book!)

About half way through this funny book, I decided it wasn't a mystery. But then the end took me by complete surprise! Highly recommend for those who like a little comedy with their mysteries...

As one involved with NASA in the heady days of years past, I had heard talk that Princeton Architectural Press planned to bring out a book of Adam Bartos' photographs of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and I have been looking forward to Kosmos for some time.

Kosmos is a sad and poignant portrait--but, alas, an accurate one--of the decline of one of the great technological programs of human history. I don't believe that those who weren't alive at the time can appreciate the reaction of this nation to the launch of Sputnik and the other achievements of the Soviet space program nor can those outside of NASA appreciate the enthusiasm--and gravity--that characterized our efforts to catch the Soviets in the space race.

Frankly, the faded glory shines through in many of the photographs, and, in the eyes of those caught in the photographs, one still sees glimpses of the spirit, albeit wounded, that drove their space program to its glories. However, in the post-Cold War era, pathos will be the most common reaction of the reader.

The accompanying essay by Svetlana Boym of Harvard University, unlike those gratuitous essays in many photographic books, contributes to the Kosmos and brings some important insights to the reader unfamiliar with the Soviet program. It is beatifully written and is commended to the readers for their edification.

All in all, after much anticipation, Kosmos exceeded my expectations and stirred a wave of memories. Congratulations to PAP for their achievement!

Having been a Soviet/Russian space enthusiast since childhood, I was naturally excited to learn that Princeton Architectural Press was publishing a photonovel entitled "KOSMOS - A Portrait of the Russian Space Age". This is a finely bound collection of 100 photographs taken by renowned photographer, Adam Bartos between June 1995 and April 1999 at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

With great anticipation I opened the book, eager to see new images of Russian space hardware and launch sites. What I found between the covers was much, much more than I expected.

With his keen photographic skills, Adam Bartos is not only able to take us into areas of the cosmodrome rarely seen by western observers, but into the hearts and souls of some of the key personalities which helped to shape the current climate of what was once the worlds greatest space industry. Through the eyes of the photographer you see rooms well worn with age now silent and barren, and faces whose stares echo ghost of the former Soviet Union. Image after image paints a portrait of contrast between the glorious aspirations of the Soviet future past and the dismal realities of the present day russian space program.

Enhancing this somber collection of images is an essay written by Svetlana Boym, Professor of Slavic Languages at Harvard University, which poignantly illustrates the mood of the Russian people as radical political change made way to new realities.

I highly recommend this book, not only to all Russian space enthusiast but also to anyone who has even the slightest interest in the changing climate of the Russian people and how it has affected their once dear space program.

This is an idea book. A book that every time it's read another point of interest is noted. Mr. Adams really loves his herbs and wants to make a successful herb gardener out of each of us. More than that, though, he wants us to expand the way we think of herbs to include common culinary herbs in our landscape.

There are six major chapters that include; creating a Fragrant Garden, a Formal Garden for Beauty, a Beneficial Formal Garden, an Informal Landscape, a Contemporary Landscape, and a Wild Landscape.

Much appreciated is how each chapter introduces the reader to a myriad of herbs including specific named varieties of well known herbs. For instance, instead of just Thyme, many different Thymes are mentioned and discussed and often a photograph of that plant is included. Also, in each chapter are plans for using the herbs and several color photos of the herbs actually being used in the landscape. This realistic view of the plants is a big help when choosing plants for the landscape.

There are also useful, fun tidbits on many other aspects of using herbs including information on Topiary Training, Knot Gardens and Kitchen Gardens. There are recipes too, like Meatballs with Lovage, Oregano, Savory and Basil, that make use of the herbs we grow.

A handy chart at the back of the book lists each plant and many of its physical characteristics such as zone and bloom season. There is also a use chart which lists the landscape use and herbal use of each plant.

It is easy to see why this book was honored by the American Horticultural Society as a Great American Gardening Book.

More and more people are realizing that herbs are special. In the garden they not only provide texture and fragrance, but they are also waterwise. This previously published book, now in paperback, provides the reader with information on more than 600 species and cultivars of herbs. John Adams explains how to use these herbs in a variety of garden types both formal and informal. Through this book I was introduced to new thyme species and prompted to plant a thyme garden.

This book forms the text for a one week residential training course. The course was a life changing event for me, game me confidence in my abilities and changed my whole attitude to the workplace. Instead of trying to get around conflict in the workplace I now have the tools to tackle it head on. Learn about the skill to critique everything you do in a way that is non-threatening and based on fact and not emotion. Everyone in the workplace should read this book.

Most management texts try to deal with how you as an individual can influence how other people behave so that you come out on top. This book goes under the skin of different personality types to show what it is that motivates them in the way they behave. Instead of showing how to "use" people to get what you want, it shows how to get the best out of everyone, yourself included, to get what is best for the Company / family / business whatever you need to improve. Instead of results driven management being the be-all and end-all it is clear that results are only one side of the equation. To be a good manager you need to bring people along with you, not drive them in front of you. This book forms the text for a management training course that can only be said to be revolutionary. I have three university degrees and I would gladly trade the lot for what I learned in the one week course! Everyone who works for a living should read this book.

What a treasure trove of information is to be found in the three volumes of this biographical account of the life of the most important individual in the political fight against the British empire for American liberty.

The author (Wells) does a splendid job of weaving firsthand knowledge of his Grandfather (Adams) with historical fact. To say that Wells didn't lean toward the opinions of his Grandfather would be less than honest. However, after recently reading the story/biography of Samuel Adams written by Harlow, I am very glad I read Wells' account first.

Adams was truly one of the last Puritans in his time and to allege anything about him beyond true Christian patriotism is completely false.

In reading this book you will join the ranks of Joseph Warren, John Hancock and Josiah Quincy as they battle the most virulent British Administrations ever cast against our founding fathers as they battled for our God-given rights. Wells puts you at the scene of the massacre of March 5th and the backroom meetings of the Caucus club. You can almost see the fire in the fireplace that warms them as they steer a course toward independence.

If you are a student of history and a patriot I highly recommend reading all three volumes.

Signed,

Determinatus

THIS BOOK WAS REALLY AWESOME. MORE PEOPLE SHOULD BUY IT. BUT THERE ARENT ENOUGH PICTURES

It's me again. I just wanted to rectify the names of the scholars from whose translations of The Holy Quran, this book by Camille Adams Helminski is based. The names of those scholars are Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Asad.

Camille Helminski has done a wonderful job bringing this book to the world especially when so many misconceptions exist between Islam and other major religions.

Drawn on the english translations of Yusuf Ali and Asad Ali, the author has favoured us by compiling an absolutely valuable collection of the most common verses from The Holy Quran.

Sister Camille is a big fan of the famous Sufi poet Jallaluddin Rumi. Her introduction on the text is yet another major icebreaker.

Congratulations.

Adams captivates the reader's attention from the first page to the last! His understanding of time/space theories is immense, and his craftsmanship as an author compel the reader to become involved in the story. He has made a reality what I thought to be only theory.

I applaud Adams on his exploration of both space and mind!

You've nothing to lose but your loose change. Hahahahahahahaaaaaaaa ...

I was in the process of immigrating to Canada and this book was among the two most helpful ones. The other one was "Culture Shock! Canada". After reading them I had a pretty good idea what Canadian culture is like - things that you won't normally see on CNN. Both books are highly recommended.

This guide is clear, precise and well-researched. I read it for its content on Canada (written by S. Catto) and admired the crisp, clean prose. The information is presented in a straight-forward manner and quite valuable if you are thinking of making a move to a place where you don't know how everything works. For this purpose, I would highly recommend this book. Instead of going through a wasteful and laborious process of learning things about a new place via trial and error, this book does it efficiently for you.

Living with the Unexpected is an interesting attempt to examine the continuing volcanic emergency on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, which began in 1995, within the twin contexts of the latest developments in the social theory of disasters and sustainable development. Anja Possekel was awarded a doctorate from the University of Hamburg in 1998, and Living with the Unexpected represents a development of ideas contained in her thesis.

Following an introductory section, in Chapter 2 the author provides a fine and detailed overview of hazard theory. Some of the material has a familiar ring as the author discusses issues such as: the distinction between hazards and disasters and differing approaches to hazard research. Here a well-known cast list of authors makes an appearance as the author contrasts the approaches adopted by the 'founding fathers' of hazard research (e.g. Burton, Kates and White), with more recent development associated with such authors as Hewitt, Susman, Blaikie, Mitchell and Palm. Since much of this material is probably well known to potential readers, much more severe editing could have been carried out, without any sacrifice in clarity. A welcome innovation is that the author also and for the first time in context of volcanic hazards, examines recent developments in complexity and uncertainty theory and links these to a discussion of chaos. For the present reviewer, this section provided an excellent primer to these increasing prominent themes in disaster theory and of itself would justify library purchase of this volume. Chapter 3, which is devoted to strategic planning in disaster zones, also has a theoretical hue. Again the quality of the reviewing is exemplary and, what is particularly noteworthy, is the careful discussion of both the potentials and possible pitfalls of scenario planning. The latter as many practising hazard analysts can attest are often forgotten.

Much has been written about the 1995 eruption of Montserrat, but much of this literature is located in specialised journals and unpublished reports. Anja Possekel is to be congratulated for compiling and editing this material so effectively. Entitled, Montserrat - A Complex System, Chapter 4 first examines Montserrat before the volcanic crisis using notions of certainty and uncertainty as a framework, the author goes on to look at the severe impact of the disaster on the island and, in Chapter 5, outlines various strategies for reconstruction and recovery. A real and welcome innovation of Possekel's work is that her discussion does not conclude at this point, but continues and examines recovery scenarios through a number of workshops attended by both local citizens and decision makers. The author concludes (page 262), that in the context of Montserrat 'resilience is the normative goal of sustainability, whilst sustainability is the process that eventually leads to resilience'. More specifically what us required is a scenario to: 'reduce vulnerability; improve the quality of life, especially with reference to the environment, education, economy and social health care; encourage the partnership between .... individuals, the private sector, NGOs and governments; (and to) blend planning and management'. The author suggest a scenario to achieve these goals, which is acceptable to local people.

Unlike many academic texts, I enjoyed reading Living with the Unexpected and, indeed, read most of it in one session. Although probably too expensive for purchase by any but the most affluent academic, Anja Possekel's book is an essential library purchase for institutions of higher education and government departments. It is a ground breaking work of applied scholarship and is highly recommended.

This carefully written, 287-page hardback book illustrated with many photographs, maps, and charts - a factual book which will appeal particularly to those with a professional, academic, or personal interest in Montserrat's economy, geography, and future development, as well as to people who may be involved in preparation for other potential disasters elsewhere. I don't think it is possible to find a better comprehensive summary of Montserrat's current situation anywhere.

It opens with three chapters which set the stage, rather than being focused on Montserrat specifically. These are of more interest to professional geographers, social scientists, or economists. First, it places Montserrat in the context of the United Nations' International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. The second chapter outlines the theoretical basis of the study, discussing the principle of sustainable development, the nature of complexity and uncertainty, the uses of systems theory, and the tasks of hazard management and hazard planning. Chapter 3 discusses strategic planning in general, and the use of the scenarios in this - the heading to this chapter quotes Pericles: "It is less important to foresee the future than to be prepared for it" - a dictum which would serve everyone well who lives in areas at risk of hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes, and floods!

The fourth chapter gets into the meat of the subject of Montserrat, starting with a comprehensive description of Montserrat. It quotes Davy (John Davy from 1854? The reference is not included in the bibliography):

"No island in these seas is bolder in its general aspect, more picturesque and I think I might add without exaggeration, more beautiful in the detail of its scenery - indeed might be tempted to say considering its fortunes, that it has the fatal gift of beauty".

The settlement, geological, and ecological maps of Montserrat are excellent, and the summary of Montserrat's history from pre-Columbian times, through a detailed description of the recovery from Hugo, up to the present, is very informative - it includes details and histories of the social, demographic, economic and political structure of Montserrat which are summarized better than I have ever seen elsewhere (where else can you find a diagram of the political structure of Montserrat, with the names and village of origin of every senior civil servant and the location of the 23 departments under the four ministries?). This chapter, like much of the book, also reports the findings of surveys and interviews conducted with a substantial number of people in Montserrat.

The chapter gives a blow-by-blow (or should I say flow-by-flow?) account of each stage of the volcanic crisis, with reproductions of every one of the series of risk zone maps produced by the MVO, together with an account of the economic, social, and political upheavals, and several photographs by the author, Doug Darby, David Lea and others. For anyone who wants a review and summary of the events, this must be the best account yet, and it combines on-island and off-island sources in a very useful way - with quotations from interviews with ordinary people, lyrics by Arrow, Cupid, and Rachel Collis, poems, and charts to boot!

Chapter 5 sets the scene for the author's "scenarios" methodology in hazard management, and Chapter 6 starts by describing a "dry run" of this methodology using a group in Hamburg, before it gets down to the nitty-gritty, exploring the different development scenarios envisioned for Montserrat by a varied group of Montserratians who were convened for the purpose. The scenarios included such varied vision as Montserrat as "the small Caribbean Jaguar", "Business as usual" (if only that were possible! It is accompanied by a drawing of taxi drivers playing dominoes by the War Memorial) and "Sustainable Development". Political scenarios, including independence or closer integration with the UK are also explored.

I'm not a geographer, an economist, or a planner, so I don't feel equipped to pass judgement on this book in any way. I'm left with the feeling that there are some great techniques and great ideas out there, but that the powers that be in Montserrat - and indeed the people as a whole - are just going to "muddle through", and that without deciding on even one of the possible scenarios or road maps outlined in this book, Montserrat will just flounder, economically, politically, socially, and environmentally. If a country does not know where it wants to go, it is unlikely to get there, and I see no sign that there has been much thought to where the country wants to do, all the platitudes of the Strategic Development Plan notwithstanding. A book of this sort does not have the immediacy or focus of something as specific as the Wadge report, but that makes it no less important, but I think it will be relegated to the same dusty shelf as the Wadge report was, and with the same kind of consequences.