If you've ever been in any branch of military service and have suffered through indoctrination, I salute you. As a former Midshipman (cadet) of the U.S. Naval Academy, I emphatically concur with each and every emotion James Webb conveys through his characters. I was both an ignorant Plebe, and soon thereafter, a "flaming upperclassman." If any enlisted person ever asked me the difference between a good and bad officer, I'd have an answer for this person: It wouldn't matter if this officer (or corporate leader) graduated from Annapolis. For if he/she survived Plebe Summer, you can bet that this officer will not only lead you through fire, but will smother you with compassion to douse the flames, as well.

Reading this book will humble you beyond belief. If you are climbing that ladder of success, you'll want this book next to your Palm Pilot. It will truly improve your relationship with both your employees, as well as your superiors.

I read this book last year and really enjoyed. Now I understand it and appreciate "A Sense of Honor" a great deal more. Why? Because I am a plebe at the U.S. Naval Academy. I'm struggling and having doubts like John Dean. Like Bill Fogarty I may end up leaving because of reasons I cannot truly comprehend. One thing is for sure, "A Sense of Honor" really stirred something inside of me and has helped me comprehend the magnitude of being a midshipmen, regardless of whether or not I graduate (I hope that I do)!

Like one of the other respondents, I read this book when originally released and ALSO re-read it every few years. Although set in a time some decades ago, the characters and themes of the Naval Academy are timeless. It should be "required reading" for anyone contemplating attending the US Naval Academy or for anyone trying to understand their loved one (father, brother, uncle, or now sister) who attended the "boat school". The book is basically a lesson on leadership at one of the preeminent leadership factories of the country by one of it's highly decorated alumni. As alluded to the ending is disturbing, but so is life.

Dr. Gottesfeld, Professor Emeritus & Director of Mental Health for NYC's Health & Hospital Corporation, and private clinician extraordinaire has written the classic work on this subject. More and more I hear his name associated with this subject nationwide. Having been in charge of NYC's 28 hospitals, he is the most savy expert on this important subject. A book too good to miss!

The very best book on the subject by the highly regarded Dr. Harry Gottesfeld. This book is on our shelves and in constant use. Dr. Gottesfeld, a Professor Emeritus in Psychology also formerly Director of Mental Health for NYC's Health & Hospital Corporation is the most respected clinical psychologist in this area.

Dr. Harry Gottesfeld is famous for his insights, thoughtfulness and well reasoned presentations. This book reflects those wonderful qualities, and explains the subject in a straight forward way. He is one of the few really respected experts in the field, having served as Director of Mental Health for the NYC Health & Hospital Corporation, Principal Scientist for the City of New York, aProfessor Emeritus of Psychology at CUNY. He also is well known for his human development and crisis intervention practice in New York City. Buy this book, it is a classic and the best in the field.

This was the most fascinating portrayal of life "behind bars" that I have ever read. A must read and it's also quick and readable . I enjoyed the narrative and description of prison food. You want to buy this book because it will probably give you a lot ot talk about with other people. It's a great conversation piece. It will also make you question the brutality of the federal prison system and understand why recidivism rates are so high. It was like taking an entire class course in one book. It is the kind of book that will make you want to dedicate yourself to studying this subject. A fundamental read if you want to understand the basics of the prison system. If you get arrested or are facing criminal charges this is the book you want to buy.

Behind the Bars is a criminal justice survival manual for the innocently naïve and felonious savvy alike. As Ross and Richards point out, it is just as easy for law-abiding John/Jane Q. average citizen to unwittingly be ensnared in the complex system of criminal justice, as practicing felons. Behind the Bars contains practical advice on how to survive the legal and correctional system. This book is a quick read that will have you running the gambit of emotions from lighthearted humor, to incredulous disbelief, to horrific shock. Above all, the book serves to remind us how vulnerable we are to systematic governmental victimization.

Behind the Bars begins by instructing the criminal justice system novice on the difference between constitutional rights in theory and constitutional rights in practice; the difference between misdemeanors and felonies; and breaks-down, for easy consumption, a convoluted system of incarceration (jails, state prison systems, and federal prison system).

Ross and Richards then take a realistic and humanistic approach to providing the "low down and dirty" on the prison experience. Most media sources, when discussing the prison experience, provide an austere or sensationalistic approach to explaining the prison experience, by regurgitating information provided by administrative resources and scholarly work based on distal information. Such resources may lead (and have led) the public in general, and criminal justice students in particular, to wrongly believe that prisons offer a wide array of personal amenities medical/vocational/educational services, and recreational facilities, making it appear that convicted felons are being treated to a taxpayer funded vacation in a modified version of a health spa. Ross and Richards provide the naked truth on the reality of the prison experience, and discuss in detail the difficulties of prison life for both prisoners and guards.

Based on personal experiences, Ross and Richards provide practical first-hand guidance that just might prevent the reader from being caught off-guard by the criminal justice system. As a criminologist and a participant in a prison ministry program, I found Behind the Bars to be insightful and disturbingly realistic, and would be a perfect ancillary text for academic courses on Corrections, Criminology and Introduction to the Criminal Justice System. Thanks to Ross and Richards we now know the rest of the story!

THERE ARE VERY FEW BOOKS WRITTEN WITH STYLE AND HUMOR THAT DISCUSS SURVIVING PRISON. BEHIND BARS IS A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR PERSONS CAUGHT UP IN THE "INCACERATION MACHINE." THIS IS THE BOOK EVERY CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER SHOULD GIVE THEIR CLIENTS. IT WILL HELP EASE THE PAIN AND REMIND THE VICTIMS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM THAT, DESPITE THE WORSE THAT CAN HAPPEN, THEY WILL SURVIVE PRISON. I FOUND THE BOOK TO BE A FAST READ THAT PROVIDES ESSENTIAL INFORMATION KNOWN ONLY BY THOSE THAT HAVE SERVED PRISON TIME. I WILL BUY EXTRA COPIES FOR MY LUNATIC FRINGE FRIENDS.

One River was one of the best books I have read in quite some time. As a Ph.D student in Botany, I was inspired by the accounts of Shultes, Plowman and Davis' journeys to the Amazon seeking tropical plants and learning from the people who have been using them for generations.. Davis has a rare ability to mix technical science writing with a deep knowledge of history, culture, and politics and make it flow into a coherent narrative. Any student of ecology, evolution, (especially of plants) will love this book as will people with an interest in the cultures and history of the Amazon basin.

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Take one vast, timeless rain forest. Season with sacred plants. Add thousands of Indians and one intrepid explorer. Cook at tropical temperature for 12 years. The astonishing and tasty result is Wade Davis' ONE RIVER.

In the late 1930's, Harvard ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes was responsible for major scientific breakthroughs regarding plant hallucinogens in Mexico. His next field assignment, to identify botanical sources of the deadly arrow poison, curare, immersed Schultes in the savage beauty of the Colombian rain forest and its indigenous Indian cultures. Totally captivated, Schultes remained there for the next 12 years.

This true story of Schultes' explorations is compelling, and he's a guide we gladly follow. Quietly heroic, Schultes thinks nothing of paddling thousands of miles down uncharted rivers, navigating white-water rapids that bend his boat in half, stepping on poisonous snakes, and contracting near-fatal tropical diseases. All the Indians he encounters accept him with alacrity, and within a few hours he is often half-naked, painted and feathered, ingesting sacred plants, singing and dancing with his new friends until the dawn. Not exactly what one expects from a politically ultra-conservative Harvard academician.

Like lianas in the jungle, ONE RIVER's many stories intertwine: the travels of Schultes' predecessor, Richard Spruce, whose spirit infused his own; the rise and fall of the ancient Inca Empire; Schultes' crucial impact on the development of wild rubber during the rubber crisis of World War II; adventurous field research on coca, the "divine leaf of immortality," by Schultes' students, author Wade Davis and Timothy Plowman; and the historic role Schultes played in launching the psychedelic revolution of the 60's.

As we wade deeper and deeper into the Amazon, magical efflorescences delight us: a legendary Blue Orchid; "river dolphins"; an ancient Inca city shaped like a puma; the Kogi tribe, who believe the sun weaves existence, like a cloth, on the loom of the earth. And in the shadows we confront the atrocities committed against the Indians on the rubber plantations of El Encanto ("the Enchantment").

Rich and vibrant, meticulously researched, ONE RIVER is a brilliant amalgam of natural science, history, anthropology, and one hell of an adventure story.

In the same way the Indians trace their lineage from the original Anaconda, or from the Son of the Sun, Wade Davis traces the ethnobotanical lineage of the teacher he reveres and the irreplaceable friend he has lost -- from Richard Spruce to Richard Evans Schultes to Timothy Plowman. Although, modestly, he fails to acknowledge his own position in the sacred lineage, we know better. Thousands of years ago an Inca ruler created a city embodying a puma. And Wade Davis wrote a book that's an Amazonian rain forest.

This is one of the best natural history and history of science an culture books I have ever read. I started this after reading another scintillating science book by David Quammen "Song of the Dodo" which I have since read again with great pleasure but "One River" forms a link between science and culture that was untouched in Quammen's tale of A.R. Wallace. The curious link is that Wallace started his journey's as a collector in the Amazon and covered some of the ground that Davis retraced.

Davis does a marvelous job of melding his and Schultes adventures in interlocking chapters. The tale of the mission to secure a supply of rubber during the war and the subsequent loss of the incredible genetic library that Schultes founded and was subsequently destroyed by bureaucratic bumbling is classic and tragic.

A wonderful read, highly recommended.

It seems to me, as others have said, that the discovery of LSD ranks up there with the top scientific discoveries of the century. The mere fact alone that there exists a substance, 50 micrograms of which, would be sufficient to perhaps reorient your entire life and understanding of the universe, whether or not one ever actually tries it, is well worth remembering on those occasions when we get a little too self-preoccupied. This book documents the history of the reactions of various individuals as they encountered this substance through an amazingly varied set of contexts, and through an intricately woven web of connections. I have a mild annoyance with the book in that the author is relentless in his effort to remain 'above it all' and regards everything with an amused and detached air. It is a puzzling attitude in a way. But the stories he tells are all well-crafted and make compelling reading. His lack of reflection on the ultimate meaning of LSD for our view of what it is to be 'normal' may be quite intentional, but it seems to give the book an unnecessarily superficial orientation which I found a bit strange.

_Storming Heaven_ is a non-ficticious account of the history of the spread of LSD in America and England during the 50's and 60's. It gives detailed accounts of all of the major players in the early days of the synthesization and distribution of this drug. It is not as thoughtful or philosophical as I hoped, and has little to say about the implications and nuances of the actual effects of the drug. However, I came to accept this book for what it is, which is a matter-of-fact description of how this drug progressed from the university offices and laboratories to the streets of San Francisco. This book has much to say about both the east-coast and west-coast acid scenes of the 50's and 60's. In the east, you have Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert, and Alan Watts, and their whole gang of weirdos hanging out in an acid-soaked mansion in Millbrook NY. It is very interesting to read about the(mis)adventures of these three men, all of whom (especially Alan Watts) are gifted and accomplished writers. For those who are fans of their work, _Storming Heaven_ is a must-read if for no other reason than to get some idea of the formative influences of these writers.

The west coast scene, in contrast, was less intellectual and more of a free-for-all. Jay Stevens describes the exploits of Ken Kesey, and the riders of his magic bus. Of course any discussion of Ken Kesey will inevitably lead to a discussion of the Grateful Dead, and the handiwork of their "chemist" mr. Owlsley. Stevens also covers the involvement of the Hell's Angels in this west coast movement. All of this makes for very entertaining, albeit light, reading.

In the spirit of the subject matter, the best word to describe this book is...cool. The author appears to have a genuine desire to objectively explore the history, for better or worse, of LSD and its role in American culture. Stevens does not approach this work being for nor against LSD. He just looks. As a result, this book comes out with flying colors...pun intended.

This book is a diamond in the rough for those who wish to take that same exploratory approach in reading about LSD and the history of this potent and controversial drug. It's not geared for people who are vehemently pro/anti LSD. Preconceived notions should be checked at the door before embarking on this adventure.

Stevens looks at LSD from its very beginnings, where characters such as Hoffman, Osmond, and Huxley help pave the way for much of what comes later in the book. As the narrative moves on, familiar names such as Ginsberg, Leary, Burroughs, Kerouac, Alpert, Metzner, Kesey, Cassady, Weil, Watts, and Wolfe, among others, enter and exit the stage like bit actors in this great showcase. If you've ever been enamored with the doings of any of those names, this book weaves a pattern from threads of various legacies in one fascinating tapestry.

As a caveat to the above paragraph, none of those characters is covered in much detail, with the exception of Timothy Leary. This is more a result of Leary's intense involvement with the scene than Stevens' focusing on one extraordinary character. Some of those people (Burroughs, for instance) make very brief but interesting appearances.

In addition to those mentioned, many unknown but intriguing characters fill the pages of this book. More than likely, every one of them will lead you to read on, until another name segues into the narrative. Stevens does a great job researching this story and presenting it to the reader in one piece.

Every time I review a book I do my best to find something which was lacking, no matter how much I enjoyed it. In this particular case, I have a hard time pinpointing anything to find fault with. The only complaint I might have is that it was too short. One imagines that pages and pages of material never made it to press and it's a shame this book had to end where it did. I would have kept reading if it were twice as long.

I do have to cede a point that one other reviewer makes. He comments that the prevalence of 5 star ratings, "reflects the weirdness and coolness of the events portrayed rather than the history itself." I do have to lend some credence to that point and admit that this may be true. However, as this subject matter is relatively new to me, the book still rates 5 stars in terms of an introduction to the subject. As a history on the subject, it's the role of the author to tell the story, and Stevens does that well.

In all, a great read. A fascinating perspective brought to you by someone trying to elucidate the ups and downs of LSD and the movement it helped create. Again, this is not going to be a favorite of the pro-LSD hippie or the anti-drug conservative. But for those of you who want a fairly balanced, comprehensive view of the history of LSD and how it influenced culture in America, I strongly recommend this book.

Very well done.

I found the Eyewitness Guide to be unexpectedly detailed in listing the various sights of the city, though not nearly as much as a more textual guide, e.g., the Fodor's. I'm sure, however, the photography is an element which helps tourists orient themselves quite a bit more easily than the more cumbersome (but more informative) Fodor's. That said, quite a bit of history and explanation is woven into the Eyewitness as well, and it makes up for its relative conciseness with enticing design. The guide is a book which would actually make one want to visit New York, and one which makes navigation within it quite simplified. Furthermore, it seems more portable. Combining quite a bit of information with the visual beauty of a National Geographic guide made this a success.

The guide does seem to be tailored quite a bit toward non-American tourists, with descriptions of how payphones work and of American cuisine. Still, a bit of laughably obvious information to Americans is made up for with such features as two page spreads for relatively unvisited museums and attractions, with isometric diagrams and "must-see" exhibits.

I have been collecting DK's travel guides for a long time and the least I can say about them is that there are absolutely no such travel guides available in bookshops like these ones. They capture all the very best of the cities and countries and allow you to enjoy the most of your travel destination.

Concerning to New York City, DK again manages to do a great job. I doubt there is a better way to explore NY.

I've been in NY three times. At the end of June, I will be there again. How could I get in the plane without DK travel guide???

It's a must buy, believe me. Guarantee your copy right away!!!

I live outside of New York City and rarely visit the city. But after Sept 11th I wanted a guide that I could use to explore the places I've never been to (as well as ones I have been to). The DK Guides are great for the amount of information they provide and this guide is no exception. There is information in this book that even a native New Yorker may not know. The book talks about the history and architecture of buildings that you may otherwise walk by. There are museums that I've never heard of. There are street by street maps of some of Manhattan's great neighborhoods. I have used the book to plan a walking trip from Penn Station to Rockefeller Center and back via Time Square. I am planning many future walking trips with this book. If the book is two heavy to carry, buy two. One for permanent reference and the other to "rip out" the pages of the places you are planning to visit. This guide book is well worth the money.

With 'Call Each River Jordan,' (the third episode of the "Abel Jones series"), Parry explores the Civil War in the Deep South. It begins with a harrowing account of the battle of Shiloh then proceeds deeper into Dixie, as the hero investigates a massacre of slaves. Parry's elegant prose is one of the greatest pleasures of this book and of the series, but I'm also struck by the greater complexity of the characters in this volume. It's also beatifully paced, with a finely judged accumulation of momentum. Some of the scenes, such as Parry's account of a horse race (in the voice of protagonist Abel Jones) are superb.

The three books (so far) taken in sum add up to a major statement about the war. Newcomers to the series need not read them in order, but having read one would probably want to read the others.

This is the best novel so far in a consistently wonderful series. Parry's remarkable, soldier's eye view of the battle of Shiloh is easily the most realistic, stunning picture of Civil War (or any) combat I have encountered. But this book is about much more than just that tragic battle. It's a dark (yet sunlit), riveting journey into the South of 1862, an honest, fair and complex portrait of slavery, and as beautifully-written as any novel I have read by a living American writer. The prose is musical, poetic, yet clear as clean glass, and the characters, from the wonderful Abel Jones to the Pickwickian Barnaby B. Barnaby make this an unusual novel at a time when characterization of the first order seems out of style in contemporary literature. I could ramble on about how much I loved this book--for which I was waiting anxiously--but I'll end by saying that, yes, it is a page-turner mystery--but the real mystery is how anyone could capture a lost world so beautifully and heartbreakingly on the page. Very strongly recommended for all who love good fiction, historical, mystery, or in any other genre!

This excellent book begins with a depiction of some of the most exciting, interesting and well-written Civil War battle scenes I have ever read. For that first chapter alone, the book is worth reading, but it is more than a battle book. Once again, the author has woven a tightly bound mystery into the Civil War era, and placed the intrepid Abel Jones right in the middle of it. This time, he goes into the Confederate lines to help find out why runaway slaves are being massacred. It's quite an exciting story, and the plot is moving forward even when you don't realize it. The writing is uniformly excellent, as usual, and all of the scenes are important, in addition to the depiction of actual historical characters. This is developing into a tremendous series, and I look forward to the next book, when I assume our hero will be overseas.

*The Truth Seeker* is the third novel in the O'Malley series by Dee Henderson (though readers should technically start with *Danger in the Shadows* first). Henderson in a short time has written and published several novels that are sure to please fans of Christian fiction!

In *The Truth Seeker*, Lisa O'Malley and Quinn Diamond are thrown together in an investigation of a lifetime. Lisa, a forensic examiner, is working the scene at a house fire/possible murder, when she is injured severely and forced to accept the willing help of both her family and Quinn. Quinn becomes a valuable part of Lisa's life by supporting her through her recovery and investigating a series of murders that may be related to his own father's shooting death twenty years earlier. Falling in love with each other is an inevitability.

As Lisa and Quinn work around the clock to find out the truth, the other six O'Malleys continue watching over Jennifer as she plans her wedding and continues cancer treatment. And as Lisa struggles with her own past and inability to believe in Christ's resurrection, Quinn prays that Lisa will follow three of her siblings in becoming a believer.

Once again, Dee has demonstrated a fine talent for writing Christian romance and suspense. This is definitely a must read!

I would agree with all of the people who say that they love these books. Dee Henderson is an awesome writer. I think the thing that I like most about these books is that they all just roll into the next book in the series. I have read other books that are part of a series and it seems that some of the facts change from book to book. Henderson keeps her characters consistant in all of the books and since the O'Malley's are a family you get to not only follow the romance and suspense of a sibling, but also enjoy the other family members that you have grown to love in the other books in the series.

I have loved all of Dee Henderson's books so far and you will notice that most of those that did not care for her books admitted that they did not usually read fiction books, or that they did not usually read romance books. I think that is one of the things that makes her books unique. They have a story that does not rely on romance alone. I enjoy suspense books and romance books and usually bounce between the two, this is a wonderful blend of the two.

I had been looking forward to this book's release for a few months now, and I was not disappointed. Dee Henderson is quickly becoming one of those authors whose books you just buy because you know that they will be good. In this book, she keeps up the pace of her first 2 O'Malley books--meaning once you start the first chapter, you will not want to put it down. We first got a glimpse of Lisa and Quinn in her last book, and watching their relationship unfold in this book is great. However, what I especially liked was all of the details we get about Lisa's job working for the state crime lab. If you are at all interested in Forensics, you will enjoy this read. Of course, I would be remiss not to mention the spiritual aspect of this novel (what truly sets Dee's writing apart from other books), as Lisa deals with the Resurrection. It definitely gives her character depth. If you have yet to pick up a Dee Henderson novel, you are missing out. I highly recommend the Truth Seeker, and I can't wait for the next installment.

This is a good learning guide and I think it will be all I need to get my first Ham Radio license. In addition, it has a lot of technical info that is useful in setting up a ham radio station.

My only criticism is that the book has too much information (often repeated) on the social and hobby aspects of ham radio. Not that I don't appreciate this trivia and fun info, it's just that it is mixed in with the technical data that you need to pass the FCC test. As a result, I think you need to study and retain a lot more information.

I am a senior engineer for network security operations. My dad is an amateur radio operator, and my grandfather was as well. I read the 4th edition of "Now You're Talking!" to learn the basics of ham radio and prepare for the Technician license.

Over several weeks I carefully studied chapters 1-10, stopping to answer the questions in chapter 12 when directed. I used the book as a source to make a few notecards on operating frequencies and general electrical engineering principles. The day of the exam, I reviewed the questions in chapter 12 as a whole, and ensured I could answer each correctly.

Without a doubt, this book will prepare you for the Technician exam. If you analyze the questions asked on the exam, they are all fully covered in the text of chapters 1-10. Furthermore, the authors are master educators who present clear explanations for every concept. I found myself with a better understanding of many aspects of radio theory after reading this book, which is more important than simply passing a test!

The only aspect of the book which confused me was the discussion of Technician privileges on page 1-11. The text states "As a Technician, you can use a wide range of frequency bands -- all amateur bands above 30 MHz, in fact." On the same page, Table 1-1 shows Technician licenses provide "All amateur privileges above 50.0 MHz." Table 1-2 on the next page states "Operators with Technician class licenses and above may operate on all bands above 50 MHz." Which is correct, 30 MHz or 50 MHz?

Regardless, I give the 4th edition of "Now You're Talking!" my highest recommendation. At $19 it's a bargain, and it was my sole reference. I earned a perfect score this morning after studying this book, and I look forward to joining the amateur radio community on the air.

This book is exactly right for someone who wants to become a ham radio operator. This book does two things. It is a self study course that will allow you to pass the Technician level FCC test. It is also a general introduction to all of ham radio, covering the highlights of all that can be done in amateur radio. It has just the right level of sophistication to give a good understanding of all facets of amateur radio but does not get into such extreme detail that it is overwhelming. The technical level is just right as well.

I used an earlier version of this text to study for my amateur radio license (KD4TTC). Even though I studied for the Technician license I was able to pass the written portion of the test for the General license class. However, to get to know Morse code, needed for working the frequencies that will get around the whole globe, you will need to find a way to practice receiving Morse code. While this book won't teach you Morse, you will learn from the book how to go about learning it if you want to. (As an aside, I was not interested in international communications back then, so I skipped that aspect of the hobby. I will be learning Morse this year and will upgrade. There is plenty to do with amateur radio without Morse code, so don't let any disinterest or fear of Morse stop you from becomming a Ham. The book explains all this).

I have not yet come across any aspect of ham radio that was not described at least in overview in this book. I may not know details of lots of aspects of all that is ham radio, but I have not come across anything in Ham radio that I was not introduced to in this book.

You can expect that after reading this book you will be able to pass the Technician license exam, you might even be able to pass the General license written portion, you will have learned how to learn Morse, you will be able to decide what equipment you will need and where to find it, you will be able to set up your station and safely operate it, you will know correct and responsible operating procedures, and you will learn about all the different types of communications you can do so you will pick the most enjoyable aspects of the hobby for yourself.

I have given this book to friends so they can become hams. It works well for that purpose. I came here to buy a copy for yet another potential ham and found myself writing this long review. I am not really that avid of an amateur operator, but I am really enthusiastic about this book because it was such a fun and painless way to learn what I needed to know to get into ham radio.

Buy the book.