Book-value

I like Rob Lewis's picture and enjoy his story. his humoristic story is fascinating and unique. if you buy this book, surely you don't regret. I'd like to translate this book into Korean. I also have read other book of rob's. I recommend this book to everyone.

The first part of the book is on "Birds as socio-economic resources" based on an International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP) symposium. The authors are almost apologetic in discussing economic values, emphasizing that birds are also important ethically and culturally. Fern Filion goes as far as listing Abraham Maslow's 5 level hierarchy of human needs. The articles are diverse, from the marketing of a 100,000 bird swallow roost in Canada (estimated to have a social value of 1/2 million dollars), to the use of seabird eggs and young in Tasmania and Jamaica. Hussein Isack presented a fascinating paper on the use of birds by the pastoral Boran nomads in Northern Kenya, which included birds as source of information. Honeyguides may guide them to bee hives, and other species indicate coming rain or danger. Although the Boran, currently avoid birds as food, the tendency to a more sedentary life may change this.

The second part of the book is base on an ICBP workshop of birds as bio-indicators of environmental conditions. These papers emphasize that birds can be bioindicators since they may be higher in the food change and easier to monitor. This seems particularly true of colonial waterbirds and seabirds, where diet or eggshell thickness may detect changes in prey fish populations or presence of toxins in the environment. There is a series of papers also on waterfowls as indicator of pesticides and acidification. I thought Welsh's use of woodpecker numbers and diversity as indication of forest stand condition was intriguing. In Florida, birds are used as sentinels for detecting West Nile Virus.

Dr. Ruth has written a wonderful book about the American family. As she herself states, the very definition of family is a difficult one -- but she wonderfully elucidates the stresses, strains and successes of the modern american family. One can almost hear the little "tee-hee" in her voice as she uses her own life story to buttress her position that government, business and the family members themselves need to put family first -- for to do so enhances each of the aforementioned areas. I especially enjoyed her excursions into Judaism and Jewish values, which offer the world a sorely needed moral foundation by which to live. I only wished that her recommendations for further reading (and net-surfing) had been placed at the end of each chapter. I found their placement in the middle of chapters rather jarring. All in all, I think that this is a marvelous book for parents to read. Share it with someone you love. Jordan Parr

Kellert does a wonderful job of carefully exploring how humans define and perceive nature, respective of their cultural backgrounds, gender, economic status, et. al. His study, one that took a couple of decades to accomplish, provides readers with an abundance of information about bioligical diversity, ideas about biophilia, and ways in which we can lessen our destructive impact on the natural world.

His discussion of the history, effectiveness, and ineffectiveness of the Endangered Species Act (one of the strongest sections of the book)is especially revealing in regard to problems that are encountered yearly in the environmental movement. One of Kellert's main organzing ideas is that we need to stop looking at biological diversity in purely economic terms. His research intimates that this mindset is changing, but it could be way too late.

For anyone who is interested in environmental concerns, Kellert provides a wealth of perspectives to show the complexity of humans' interaction with the natural world. I highly recommend this work for readers who are concerned about the environment and for folks who should be concerned.

Before l discovered this book, l was completely unaware of the term 'WKW' and had no idea that it referred to toys that l once owned as a child. I'm sure most of us at some point in our lives had a set of plastic windup chattering teeth, a walking robot or a hopping frog. If that toy was wound by a short metal rod attached to a small white knob then you to owned a WKW - White Knob Windup. As Mr Birkenes points out in his book, many of these toys were (and in many cases still are) available for a few pence. As such, collecting White Knob Windups is a fairly inexpensive hobby. Inexpensive that is until you discover that there be as many as 15,000 different designs out there. And believe me, if you become hooked you will want every single one! (The White Knob Windup book illustrates around 350 different WKW's).

If you love toys and have a soft spot for the weird, wacky and tacky, then this book is one that wouldn't be out of place on your book shelf. It's perfect for anyone who loves childhood nostalgia, toy design and pop culture icons (and not forgetting the all important 'how much? - l used to have one of those' surprise factor when you see just how valueable some of these 3.5" high plastic toys can be).

This 80 page book is packed with (albeit slightly rough) photos illustrating toys made by some of the big toy names such as Tomy, Galoob, Bandai, Mattel and Russ (to name but a few). There are toys relating to Animals, Vehicles, St.Valentines Day, Robots etc., and even a bunch along the lines of those novelty chattering teeth that l mentioned earlier. Many of these examples however, are for new or fast food toys. And to be honest, some of the price guides are little off the mark and much of the written information can certainly been seen as lacking for someone who claims to have been collecting since the late 70's. Yet, (at least for this reader ) all of the 'could be improved upon bits' are readily forgiven in gratitude for the one thing that this book has proved, and that, for me, is a 'kick start' into a hobby that l am just passionate about, collecting White Knob Windup toys.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Lynda has great insight into today's culture and tips for training character into our children's lives.

Yes, the book is useful. It is not fantastic, beautifully written, crucial to success, or even 100% accurate. This book, with all of its typos, feels as though it has not been proofread more than once. Some of its tables have incorrect values or are poorly organized.

But it is useful.

The book is accurate about 90% of the time, and the quests are well outlined - though I certainly don't believe the quests are difficult enough to require this guide. The primary use of the game is in its tables (when they are accurate), and in their explanations of the actual mechanics behind the game (such as how the game chooses which quests are included in a particular single-player game).

Though all of the information in this guide can be found with a moderate amount of replay, this guide makes it available immediately. I would not use it as a strategy guide, I would use it as a quick reference to keep open while you are hunting for something in particular.

To be fair, I don't believe Diablo requires a strategy guide at all. The game is fairly straight-forward, with none of the mind-boggling complexity of some real RPGs (i.e. Final Fantasy).

I got this book a very long time ago and I still find myself pulling it out to check on things. This book lists all the types of weapons, their damage ranges, requirments, every helmet, every piece of armor, every shield, their armor class ranges, and requirments as well as every magical prefix and suffix and what each does. You'll also get a full list of the spells as well as a 1/2 page to 1 1/2 page description of the spell. Also listed are all the quests in the game. Before long I got a level 50 warrior and a level 50 sorcerer with mainly the help from this book plus 15% skill and 85% luck on my part. All in all, this is a great book and even if you think you've mastered the game, this book is worth the price of admission.

This is definitely the best Diablo guide available. Unlike some of the others, the information is complete and accurate. This guide lists the information necessary to complete every side quest in the game, and then some. Also, it gives a complete list of all the prefixes and suffixes for the magical items. At the end, you can find stats on all the enemies and shrines in the game. This guide is definitely worth buying.

This is a reprinting (no updates) of a text published in 1928. It contains Christian (New Testament) "apocrypha and pseudepigrapha" (hereafter NTAP) -- books which some considered to be scripture in the past, but which were not included in the canonical Bible as used by mainstream Christians today.

This book (available in several different printings, sometimes bound with "The Lost Books of Eden") is the most economical way
to get acquainted with this material. It includes some simple critical notes describing the origins of these texts are included. If you have a larger budget, the current standard edition (available through AMAZON.COM) is Schneemelcher's "New Testament Apocrypha."

The original publication dates are important here, because biblical archaeology and textual studies have progressed substantially in the past seventy years. For example, this book predates the discovery of the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, and accordingly does not include it.

The NTAP is the source of many Christian traditions. For instance, many believe that Mary's mother was Saint Anne. The only written source for this information is the "Protovangelion", in the NTAP.

On the other hand, The "Infancy Gospel", included in this book, claims to tell stories of the early days of Jesus's life. I think any committed Christian reading the "Infancy Gospel" would understand why the Church Fathers believed it was not Inspired and therefore did not include it in the canonical Bible. It presents Jesus as divine, yet also having the personality of a five-year-old boy. For example, one of his playmates maltreats him, so: "When the Lord Jesus was coming home in the evening with Joseph, he met a boy who ran so hard against him, that he threw him down; To whom the Lord Jesus said `As thou hast thrown me down, so shalt thou fall, nor ever rise.' And that moment the boy fell down and died." (I infancy, Ch. XIX, vv. 22-24)

This book contains 26 literary works from the early Christian Church. These "books" were extant in the early Church, but when the New Testament was officially organized into Canon Scripture (officially accepted books), these were among those left behind. This book was originally published in 1890, reprinted in 1926, and again in 1979.

As one might expect with any collection of stories, this one is a mixed bag of good and bad stories. Some of these works are long and tedious, while some are short and don't seem to contain anything new. However, all of them allow a fascinating glimpse into the thoughts of various factions within the early Church.

Personally, I enjoyed The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Seneca, with Seneca's to Paul, and the Epistles of Clement. I highly enjoyed this book and recommend it to you.

Originally published in 1926, the 1979 edition of this work purports to illustrate religious works "not included" by the compilers of the New Testament. It is an interesting read, with each book prefaced by scholarly opinions of how legitimate the material is. Some books directly echo the accepted New Testament, such as the book 'Infancy' and 'Mary'; others have the same title, such as 'Ephesians', with some of the same ideas as found in the New Testament. Others, such as the books dealing with Pontius Pilate, seem to contain historical inaccuracies (such as who exactly the Roman emperor was at the time), which lead to doubt about authenticity (although it is interesting to read). I would recommend this book, although it is dense, and the print is NOT reader-friendly, as a companion piece to other 'apocryphal' literature, but a newer edition might be more instructive.

For the most part, the story line of the book carries the reader along. There are parts when the fishing gets really exciting. However, I hate it when authors talk about boredom. When they write that their character is bored, I get bored reading it, and that's not fun. I thought the display of Mikey's trust and love towards his step father was touching, but I guess I felt betrayed at how the ending played out. I know that it's impossible to ask for perfect hero action out of Bill, and that's fine that he wasn't a hero, but the scene where Mikey confronts Bill is so unbelievable, it makes the entire book seem unbelievable. I put it down thinking I had wasted my time on a story that was pulling the wool over my eyes, and that doesn't make me feel good about myself. Rather disappointing.

This is the best book any one can read because it is filled with adventure and when you read this book, it really feels like you are in the ocean fighting and trying to pull up all the fish. This has got to be the best book i have ever read in my life. This is not only about fishing, it is about what a 13 year old boy is going through.

This is a great read! I would have never thought I could get caught up in the excitement of "landing the big one!" In this young adult book by Graham Salisbury, that is exactly what happened. Graham's description of events drew me into the drama of the moment, and I could almost feel the
salt air misting on me. Excellent!

Lord Of The Deep is a great action and adventure story, but it is more than that as well.

Mikey is growing up and on an outing with his father Bill, who charters his fishing boat, Mikey tastes young love ,stirring new emotions and feelings inside of him. Already struggling with new feelings, Bill makes a decision that goes against the rules after the catch of a 'big ' one, Mikey does not approve of Bill's decision and is troubled over it. He learns not all things in life are black and white.Not all decisions are made on what is correct.

Perhaps some readers will feel that this story should have had a different ending then the one it did. However, I believe the author wanted to show that what we feel are right decisions are not always made by the ones that we think the highest of.
Growing up is not easy and pretending that adults will always practice what they preach is often a fairy-tale, as hard as we might try; decisions may be based on reasons unknown to others. Right or wrong!

I liked Lord of The Deep. It was a fast pace, quick read. Kept my attention from beginning to end,and that is what a good book is all about!

I recommend it.

Shirley Johnson/Reviewer

I read an earlier edition of the book back in the mid 90s. At the time, that was the first serious book on relational database theory I read. I thought the earlier edition was a great introduction to the topic. It was a tough "college textbook" read, but well worth it.

I would no longer recommend the latest version as an introductory text. One gripe is Date's introduction of his own language "Tutorial-D" to explain and illustrate concepts. There is no one place in the book you can go to for a comprehensive description of Tutorial-D. Instead, snippets of it are peppered throughout the text. Another gripe: he can be long-winded and pedantic, and he uses phrases like "mutatis mutandi." I understand he is a man with a mission to be exacting and precise. But somehow, he seems to have overdone it in this edition.

The latest edition has many new chapters on object-relational, temporal databases, logic databases, and decision support systems. These are very convenient overviews, as always, filtered through Date's unerring and zealous devotion to the underlying relational theory.

I think if you already understand relational theory and you are a practitioner in the field, this is still a comprehensive "must have book." But if you are starting out, you will want a kinder-and-gentler introduction. The "love-it-or-hate-it" reviews seems to support this viewpoint.

I rated it 4 stars because (1) it is a classic (2) it is comprehensive (3) it is a reference work that any serious practitioner will want and (4) it has extensive and well-annotated references at the end of each chapter.

I withheld the 5th star for the gripes I mentioned above.

I received the fourth edition from my father way back when I was in school. Yes it is hard to read if you don't want to take the time to understand the mathematics and don't want to learn the theory. But 13 years later this is still the book to read if you really want to understand the foundation of relational databases. Don't read this book first if you're learning about relational databases. Read it when you have the time to devote to understanding the concepts and theory. If you understand the theory this book presents, you can and will be able to see and solve problems in your designs that others cannot.

All theoretical technical books are meant for you to fundamentally and intuitively understand the subject so you can solve problems and performance issues that sometimes even the vendors can't. If you don't have those problems or you have someone else solve them for you, then don't buy this book. Otherwise consider this book as a must have for relational database design.

If you are into DB theory, and you want to gain a strong understanding of it, this is one of the best avenues to get you there. There's not one single thing about this book that isn't totally great. Everything, everything about it is first rate.