Go-to

I was going to buy this book for my son majoring in math, but the topics are either too mundane or not addressed in a useful way. I must agree with reviewer #1 and hope that a revision is corrected and improved. How about addressing how pi was incorported in pyramid building when the Egyptians did not know about it?

Author presents a novel selection from mathematics and physics, with many linked to scientific calculator experimentation, from which the appropriately equipped reader may learn. Carbon dating, factorial growth, pyramid schemes, and solar system mechanics are among the areas discussed, all in a lively fashion. Though some topics are advanced, many are presented in a suitably elementary fashion. Unfortunately, the book is marred by numerous serious errors, of which a striking example is the following miscasting of Goldbach's famous conjecture: "no one has ever found a number greater than 2 that could not be expressed as the sum of two prime numbers". (Try 11.) Others, such as the treatment of factorials, evidence faulty logic, a tin ear, misuse of common technical terms, and weak pedagogy. Readers encountering the material for the first time may be stimulated, but will also be misled and, likely, confused. A new printing is said to be in the works, so interested readers are advised to await its appearance before considering a purchase.

The previous critics seem to be a little harsh. What makes a popular math book good is to be everything a textbook is not. That is, it should show lots of examples of what math can be used FOR, with little emphasis on pedantic matters (such as rationalizing the denominator). This book fits the bill. It has examples that people would like to USE, such as figuring their loan payments and predicting how tall their child will grow. It also shows some interesting new connections, showing how the gravitaional formula can be used to predict how many phone calls occur between cities. I think that most people who are curious about if there is more to math than what they learned in school, will enjoy this book.

This is more of a pamphlet, and offers useless tipslike:

Restaurants: Yes

Hotels: Reserve in advance

Give me abreak!... END

This thin publication in a protective plastic sleeve will slip easily into a breast pocket or purse, taking up little room and not weighing you down. For it's size it has much useful information for a short stay in Venice. Maps lack street names. So if you are one who likes to explore off the sugested tours you may want to pack an additonal map for security. Useful brief bits of information regarding culture, history,weather, Holidays, "Do's and Don'ts" and more will help the first time traveler. If you don't want to carry the a heavier more detailed tour book on long walks (which you should pack)this little guide will certainly get you by for a few days.

The descriptions of the ports were extremely limited due to the number of ports covered in this book. Since most people who cruise Europe tend to cruise one region, it would make more sense to have more detailed books devoted to specific regions. I bought this same type of book for an Alaskan cruise last year, and it was great, but there are fewer ports in Alaska. It does have some good information, but overall, I was disappointed.

I volunteer in public education for a large fire department and am always looking for good books to read to children. I was very disappointed when I received this book. The story shows "Mickey and Friends" getting the old fire engine ready for a parade, while they brag about things they have done as junior volunteers. The book briefly discusses the difference between a pumper truck and a hook and ladder. No other mention is made of fire apparatus, equipment, or the job of being a firefighter. The books greatest shortcoming is that there is absolutely NO fire safety message in this book.

There is not much to this book--but it is ok. There are a few activities for each of the following categories: sentences, nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, capitalization and punctuation. It appears more like a book to be used at home to reinforce skills rather than lessons for a teacher to use.

The concept for this book was promising: interviews with more than 5,000 men about their most intimate concerns and interests -- a total of 313 questions about everything from favorite cologne to greatest turnoff, from special sexual talents to worst experience with drugs and sex.

Unfortunately, the execution trivializes all this great information. Imagine trying to choose three -- rarely as much as five -- answers to represent everything these 5,000-plus men had to say in response to each of the 313 questions. Do you choose the most representative answer? The wittiest? The funniest? Most thoughtful? Most shocking?

In many cases, it is obvious the authors have chosen one or two of the latter ... but how is a reader to know which answers best represent the majority of the male sex? As a man, I found some of the vitriol and caricaturing of the male sex indulged in by some of the interviewees to be as bad (and inaccurate) as anything I've ever heard a woman say about men. What does this do for us?

The information in this book has all the titillation -- and corresponding weightlessness -- of secrets shared by an utter stranger at a cocktail party. There's no context for the content; it's of no earthly use to the reader beyond a fleeting instant of entertainment. The book is rather like a greatly extended version of a typical women's magazine article for which the reporter has chatted with three to five friends and thereupon uses the conversations either to construct a portrait of the sexes whole cloth, or merely to confirm her own preexisting conception of how the sexes relate and play.

I keep guidebooks on hand for my friends when they visit me in the Bay Area. This is the worst book I've ever mistakenly purchased by far. It's so bad that is as if the author wrote a book about things her Aunt Sally told her about a trip to SF in 1953. Clueless, yet humorous for natives. (She suggests a visit to some annual rodeo out here, and I don't think she meant it for cruising.) Do not for any reason (other than a laugh) buy this book.

This book was very disappointing. I expected to find tips on finding cheap sleeps and cheap eats. There were tips, of course. But when I followed them, I found that they were not cheap at all! I thought the whole lay out of the book was confusing and uninteresting. There are much better alternative travel guides out there than this one. It wasn't worth the money I paid for it!

Although this book does portray chores associated with farming accurately, this Barney book has the worst photography I have seen. Apparently some of the photos were taken very late in the day, by the length of the shadows, which makes the pictures light-deprived. Also, many of the photos are simply extremely dark, even those inside the barn, losing details to muddiness - certainly not a child-friendly picture book.

Factually, the "cow" pictured is really a heifer, and not capable of being milked.

I also think value of the phrase "Aye yie yie!" used by BJ two times is questionable; why not easily read phrases like "Wow", "Gosh", "Golly", "My Goodness", or "Jeepers"?

There are many good books for preschoolers about life on a farm - this is not one of them.

I am absolutely amazed that this book was written to help people deal with the fragile issue of pet loss. From the very first pages, I was shocked at the author's disrespect for animals. What a joke of a book! From giving up her dog to the pound and laughing that they were going to train him as a therapy dog, for irresponsible breeding and standing in front of Kroger giving away unwanted puppies and kittens and expressing exasperation over an unruly dog (the one that went to the dog pound) and describing their next dog, as "a little better". The biggest shock was her description of dominion over animals--staring down a dog so it wouldn't bite her! The book is at the landfill now where it belongs--nothing this author says gave me any kind of healing. If I could I would give it minus 5 stars.

While information in this book is useful, it is not worth the $8.25 you must pay for it (including shipping). The "book" is tiny, about 3" by 2". But, when you are at home packing, you don't need such a small book. The print is also very small. While some items were interesting (how to pack and roll a shirt), the amount of information you receive is not worth the price.