Extension Books

This is a solidly good book on Ayurveda. The author describes in a very readable manner all the essential points of Ayurveda including the constitutional types, five tastes, tissues, channels, etc.

A lot of these subjects are not addressed by more mainstream authors, perhaps because they think their audience will be bored. However, I think they are essential to a strong understanding of Ayurveda, and I think any serious student will appreciate them.

Furthermore, the author's style does not cram in too many unnecessary details, so the explanation of each subject is easy to glide through without heavy wading.

All of this is a pretty amazing accomplishment for such a little book -- this is a slim one. For those who have studied very little Ayurveda, this is an excellent starting point.

Perhaps the only interesting addition would be more personal information and case histories -- but this is hardly a surprising lack, since Ms. Heyn is more an herbologist than a doctor.

I think this book will please anyone who wants to learn about Ayurveda, beginner or advanced.

It is the best book about Aurora, that I've read until now, it is really well detailled and really well illustrated. About mythology, it offers the real stories believed by Nordic Nations living above the Arctic Circle. You're interested by Aurora in history and science, so it is THE BOOK to read. You'll like it, I'm sure!

With the liveliness of a stepdance and the simplicity of a Dingle Peninsula landscape, Keane introduces us to the harsh life of the close-knit community of Dirrabeg, a community facing extinction in the mid-1950's. Many of the young have left for England or America, where there are opportunities and chances for secure lives. Those remaining behind love their land and their independence but fear for the future as the bogs get thin, the yields are poor, and the children have little hope of success.

For Donal Hallapy, devoted father of a large family, times are very tough. But Donal is a bodhran player, an expert in the ancient drums of his Celtic forebears, a musician in great demand whenever the once-a-year wrendances take place, all-night singing and dancing hooleys which can be traced back to pagan times. This paganism, the secret nature of the celebrations, the drinking that takes place, and the fact that the church has no control over them has made them anathema to "the clan of the round collar," in the person of Canon Tett, an ultraconservative and downright sadistic priest determined to bring the free spirits of Dirrabeg to bay by ending the fun of the wrendances.

The prose is straightforward and earthy, the dialogue salty and realistic, and the interactions of the characters so natural that one can share the joys and sorrows, the humor and anger, and the frustrations and all-too-brief personal satisfactions. The natural world, which is exquisitely described, even in its harshness, takes on almost human dimensions, influencing the action directly, while providing a vivid canvas upon which the contest between church and village is played out. The humor is broad, almost slapstick, but tempered by an overarching feeling of melancholy and impending doom. Though some may find the clergy to be caricatures and the message a bit too didactic, Keane provides us a rare glimpse of the last days of a now-vanished world. Mary Whipple

Barber does a good job of covering the Hungarian uprising of 1956. He covers events both inside the capital Budapest and the
outlying countryside. Also acknowledged is the internal power struggle between the various Communist factions prior to the uprising. I found the explanation of the politics of Nagy, Gero, and Kadar good. One thing not covered in detail was the Stalinist legacy left by Rakosi. The book should have detailed both Rakosi and Horthy's legacy in Hungary, and why it led to the Revolution.
Book was well written using both what Barber witnessed and other external sources. Probably one of the better summaries of the Hungarian uprising.

This is one of those nice picture books with the summary of the history of Russia at the time of Napeleon's Invasion in 1812. The summary includes a short history of the country up to the time of these wars. Special focus on Alexander I as the Tsar of all Russia is also included in this book. Tolstoy's book is the central theme in this book. Since War and Peace took place in this period, Palmer discribes the actual Russia of this time.
A person can read this book in one to two days. For those people who are interested in Czarist Russia, this is nice book describing the pre industrial Russia of Catherine II, Paul I, and Alexander I. This book does not delve into Russian politics or society too much, so a reader interested in those subjects would need to look elsewhere.

The book is quite interesting and based on real life examples on the sinthesys of chemical processes. An economic approach to the optimal design is presented subdivied in five distinct steps. The HDA process is analyzed in detail showing how to select the optimal economic layout of the plant.

I discovered the books of Sheila O'Flanagan just a month ago, during a trip to Ireland. I bought "He's Got To Go" on a whim; I liked the book so much, I made a special run to Canada for more!

O'Flanagan specializes in female protagonists who are strong, seemingly in control of their successful lives -- and then utterly stunned when love goes awry. Alix Callaghan fits the type to a tee -- a banker at the top of her game, generally out of touch with her feelings, rigidly in charge of her mostly-male office, and living with a man she loves. Trouble is, he wants a family, and a more traditional partner -- and Alix can't be that woman.

The book focuses on Alix's journey from a bewildered, rejected, and ultimately lost person to someone with a bit more balance and perspective in her life. Anyone who's ever been unexpectedly dumped (and utterly unable to cope) will identify with her actions -- spying on her ex and his new love is just one example.

Meanwhile, O'Flanagan weaves in a sub-plot about Alix's father, who walked out on her, her sister and her mother when Alix was just 3. The family dynamics ring true; her domestic, slightly nosy older sister and concerned, and also slightly nosy, mother are believable, sympathetic characters. As is Alix, really: even in 2003, it can be difficult to be a woman in a man's world, constantly striving to prove herself, and shutting down her softer side in the process.

A good read? You bet. And definitely worth the border crossing!

A fine overview of a currently-hot topic (among educators, anyway.) Dr. Campbell-Gibson is concerned mainly with the quality of the instruction available, in terms of learner retention, i.e. do the learners finish their course? She is attempting here to provide a tool for the distance educator to use in creating a learning context which maximizes the learner's chances of success.

As she says in the Introduction, "There's no one to call. . . . If the distance learner is to succeed, we as faculty must do more than provide access to information. We need to truly understand that learner and design environments that facilitate learning, environments that enhance access to and success in higher education."

To this end, the author-editor has assembled a team of many of the top names in the field of distance learning, including an introduction by the much-cited Michael G. Moore of Penn State. The advice and analyses that they offer strike me as the advice of seasoned workers in the field.

Two disadvantages of this book are more reflective of the mechanics of the book than of the information it contains. First, for a book primarily aimed at scholars, there is very little space available for marginal notes. Second, the facts offered in support of the authors' conclusions are not cited in APA style, nor any other for the most part: the bibliography is fine, but there is a distinct lack of in-text citations that limits the book's usefulness.

Against that is the very reasonable price and the book's currency, combined with the expertise of the authors. In addition, the book is unusually coherent for an edited book with multiple authors. They all seem to be on the same page, and there is little duplication between the various author's chapters.

For teachers who are contemplating making use of elearning activities. This is a well presented book and worthwhile. It focuses on distance education learning and tertiary students. It also focuses on what skills are needed by the facilitor to make use of software such as WebCT, Blackboard, Moodle etc. The concepts covered in the text can be easily adapted for high school.

Michel Houellebecq's debut "Whatever" (EXTENSION DU DOMAINE DE LA LUTTE) may not be as great as his latest works, as "Plataform" and "The Elementary Particles", but it already displays the budding talent of a major writer. This novel is sort of a rehearsal for his next books, since here he starts dealing with themes that are dear to him, like the solitude of the contemporary man and the role that sex plays in one's life.

However short "Whatever" is, this book deals with heavy themes. Houellebecq makes everything matter, in his existential journey. In the novel's main idea, the sexual success of a person is related to other factors, such as gender, class and race. Dealing with these material, the writer is not concerned with political-correctness. He wants to tackle the subversive side of the human soul.

"Whatever" is an interesting introduction to Houellebecq's universe. However worth reading this book is, his later novels "Elementary Particles" and the superb "Platform" is where one can find a writer fully developed.