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Collection of healthcare articles from subject experts including: Electronic Medical Records to improve patient care, Use of Problem Knowledge Couplers, Clinical Decision Support-Making the Transition from hospital to community network, Clinical documentation to improve patient care, Benefits of an electronic clinical information system Automating the Care process, Improving the Quality of Care in a Physician's Office, and Ambulatory Practice CLinical Information Management. ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Robert A. Heinlein, David Drake, John Scalzi, John Ringo, David Weber, Dan Abnett, Joe Haldeman, List of Military Science Fiction Works and Authors, Elizabeth Moon, Robert Buettner, David Sherman, William H. Keith, Jr., Dan Cragg, John G. Hemry. Excerpt:Dan Abnett Dan Abnett (born October 12, 1965) is a British comic book writer and novelist . He studied in St Edmund Hall, Oxford . Primarily Abnett (known for his frequent collaboration with fellow writer Andy Lanning ) has worked for 2000 AD and Marvel Comics (including their UK imprint ) since the early 1990s, although he has also contributed to DC Comics titles. His Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 novels and graphic novels for Games Workshop 's Black Library now run to several dozen titles and have sold over 1,150,000 copies as of May 2008. In 2009 he will release his first original fiction novels through HarperCollins' Angry Robot imprint. Biography Early career As one of the more prolific 2000AD writers, Abnett was responsible for the creation of one of the comic's better known, and longest-running, strips of the last decade, Sinister Dexter . Other original stories include Black Light , Badlands , Atavar , Downlode Tales , Sancho Panzer , Roadkill and Wardog , based on the game of the same name. Abnett has also contributed to some of the comic's major ongoing series, including Judge Dredd , Durham Red and Rogue Trooper . His work for Marvel includes runs on Death's Head 2 , Battletide , Knights of Pendragon (all of which he co-created), The Punisher , War Machine , Annihilation: Nova and various X-Men titles. At DC he is probably best-known for his 2000 relaunch of Legion of Super-Heroes as the limited series Legion Lost and then the ongoing series The Legion . His work for DC is usually co-written with Andy Lannin... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

What the product description does not tell you
..is that the contents of "Military Science Fiction Writers: Robert A. Heinlein, David Drake, John Scalzi, John Ringo, David Weber, Dan Abnett, Joe Haldeman"are all taken straight from Wikipedia. Misleading product description and extremely unethical of the publishers. They've got around 120,000 books listed, all similarly lifted from Wikipedia. Nothing wrong with that, as long as the product description makes it plain. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Great action sequences, technical details, but...
While the obvious knowledge and attention to detail given to the writing of "Rules of Engagement" is admirable, there were several patterns that lessened the enjoyment for the reader.

It's clear the author has ample experience with flying, Navy jargon, and the military life. His careful descriptions allow the reader an interesting glimpse at the day to day life on an aircraft carrier. At the same time, this precision and careful wordcraft enters into the dialog, with not nearly so positive a result. With declaratives like "The colonel is a nice guy, and we had a cordial chat.", the reader finds great difficulty empathizing with and believing in the characters in the book.

Similarly, the expected intimate discussions between the protagonist and his love interest come across as stilted, formal, and difficult to comprehend. While seeing things from a female perspective is technically beyond this reviewer's experience, it seems that the attitude and reactions of said amorous companion occasionally depart farther from reality than could be easily accepted. For example, it seems she (and perhaps the author) is more concerned about our hero's perception of her father than his attitude and intentions toward her.

The least disturbing of these oddities is the slight tendency the author has to telegraph impending disaster. While not tragic, and probably not universally noticable, this reviewer occasionally felt mild disappointment that the surprise had been blunted by some sort of narrative drift that foreshadowed the events.

All that being said, "Rules of Engagement" has many things that can captivate the reader. The combat descriptions are excellent and exciting, and the plot developments keep the story flowing. Also, while the writing tends to be politically heavy-handed, it is not hard to sympathize with the pilots who put their lives at risk for trivial or non-existent strategic gain.

If you find enjoyment in cleverly written dialog and deep character development, you might steer clear of this one. On the other hand, if you like detailed aerial combat descriptions and realistic narrative of Vietnam era tactical operations, you'll find much to enjoy in "Rules of Engagement".

Lousy rip-off of "Flight of the Intruder"
"Rules of Engagement" tells the story of an heroic fighter-driver flying Phantom jets during the Vuetnam air war.Brad Austin, an Annapolis grad and the latest in a long line of loyal US servicemen broke with tradition when he joined the Marines instead of following his fathers into the Navy.Over Vietnam, he chafes at the politically-initiated, and overly restrictive rules of engagement ("ROE"), watching enemy pilots pick off US fliers while shielding themselves behind the ROE.One of the best aviators in the Marines, he flies his way and barely stays within the ROE as he targets an enemy ace responsible for the deaths of many US fliers.Soon fed up, he plots one illegal flight which will clearly go over the line.

WHY THIS IS THE WORST BOOK ON THE VN AIR WAR: I gave this novel the benefit of the doubt, even though it quickly proved itself to be no better than an over-glorified and under-inspired rip-off of the far superior "Flight of the Intruder".The more enjoyable characters and irony of that other book made it the best novel of its genre."Rules" drops the ball where "Intruder" got it right, taking a heavy-handed stand on the ROE (they deserve their bad rap, but Steve Coonts wasn't afraid to see the issue from both sides), while not going into great depth about the mechanics of his hero's machine of choice - the F-4.Next to Jake Grafton, Brad Austin is as lively as an action figure - Weber unwilling to give him any of the flaws or introspectionthat made Jake Grafton so believable; Austin's back-seater remains a captive passenger and nowhere near the equal of "Tiger" Cole.Even the promising idea of having Austin romance the daughter of an anti-war fixture goes nowhere. (I kept waiting for the unhappy dad to tell Austin how he disapproves of his daughter's dating a guy who may get shot down, leaving the poor girl to wonder for years whether he was dead or rotting in a tiger-cage.)Instead, Weber loads us down with details that don't do anything to substantiate the plot. Austin is a maverick of his family because he chose to fly for the Marines instead of the Navy, a plot twist that's supposed to establish him as a rebel, even though it has him flying the same planes from Navy ships like a Naval Aviator, and facing much of the same challenges.Even the climactic flight, the one that will break the rules, is a cheat.While books like these don't mind chiding wartime planners for choosing a strategy that has nothing to do with winning the war, "Rules" easily settles on an epic dogfight against the shadowy Communist ace, one whose result won't have the least effect down on the ground where the war was grinding its way through an entire generation of 19 year olders.Coonts at least chose a target his characters felt was attached to the war's larger purpose (the Communist party HQ), didn't mind using a plane a whole lot less sexy than the F-4's in "Rules", and granted his characters sufficient self-doubt to question the wisdom of their actions.Also, there's something a tad dishonest about a book that fights against the insane restrictions of ROE, yet never has its main character get anywhere near having to answer for breaking them.If you must read a Weber novel, read the sequel: "Target of Opportunity", also an uninspired novel, but one with amore original plot.

Another winner !
I have now read all the Joe Weber novels but one (Honorable Enemies) which I start next.Rules of Engagement was just was well written as all his other books.Growing up in that era, for me, it was interesting to understand what was happening "behind the scenes" of the VietNam war.Great characters, great plots, and some interesting twists are all typical Joe Weber.Keep up the good work.

We Want More Brad Austin Stories!!
Wow what a book!! Exciting!! Puts you right in the cockpit of a Navy F-4. I love these books that tell the story of Naval Aviators. A great adventure and an epic of Naval Aviation. Mr Weber should keep with this Brad Austin character and the flying in his next book. I have Targets of Opportunityalready but we want more!!

OUTSTANDING ADRENALINE PUMPING ACTION
THIS BOOK HAS EVERYTHING IN IT NESSCESSARY TO GET YOUR HEART POUNDING AND YOUR ADRENALINE FLOWING. THE HERO BRAD AUSTIN IS ENRAGED AT NOT BEING ABLE TO SAVE HIS FREINDS FROM ENEMY CAPTURE AFTER BEING SHOT DOWN IN VIETNAM. HE THEN BREAKSTHE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT AND GOES AFTER THE PILOT WHODID IT.THE ENSUING POLITICAL REPERCUSIONS AREAS INTRIGUING AND EXCITINGAS THE ARIEL COMBAT ACTION.THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE WHO EVENMILDLY ENJOYS THIS TYPE OF STORY. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A Bittersweet Assimilation Into National Culture
Eugen Weber's Peasants into Frenchmen identified the years between 1880 and 1910 when fundamental changes were the fastest and most significant in rural France.The advent of roads, schools and military service turned peasants into Frenchmen by revolutionizing the peasants' core beliefs.The book explores the effects of urbanization on the peasants as they confronted `new expectations and new frustrations when they were not met; desires that became needs; the fading of the ages-old resignation and passivity.'

Rural particularism was `the strongest in the most sufficient region' - usually south and southwest France.These communities strove to `preserve the economy of household and community' since for them, `agriculture was a way of life, not a profit-making enterprise like farmers.'They distrusted the educated and `scotched official initiatives' by means such as refusing to transition to money economy and `making most basic consumer goods difficult to buy.'For the peasants, most were illiterate and spoke patois and not French.Concept of France as a nation had to be learned.

The Freycinet Plan to link isolated regions by roads and railroad helped percolate industrialization into rural areas and gravely undermined particularism.`Viable and accessible roads and rails opened possibilities' such as increased fluidity of the workforce and crops and other industrial goods.The plan extinguished many small, local enterprises, destroyed entire industries (river trade, carters and bargemen) and availed new technologies to the peasants. The dogged adherence to thatched roofs finally gave way to mass-produced tiles.The local economies that `throve in isolation' withered - the local tanneries giving way to the espadrilles industry, textile mills cotton drove out flax and putting women and children out of work.However, the rate of changes differed between regions and `the shift to money economy only began slowly after 1870s.'

The other part of ideological revolution took place at school and compulsory military service with both affixing the concept of France as a nation.Francois Guizot's law on school under the July Monarch educated many of the teachers of the 1880s.Coinciding with the Freycinet Plan, Jules Ferry in 1881 developed upon Guizot's foundation by waiving all fees and tuition charges in elementary school and made enrollment compulsory.The growing interaction with urban centers and more catholic personal experiences gradually convinced the `people the usefulness of education.'Schools indoctrinated patriotism and national identity in children by way of songs and literature.Military reform and compulsory service similarly inculcated national consciousness and elevated French as the primary medium for communication. The Great War simply ushered an even more complete and quicker assimilation.

The peasant ideological transformation marked a new preference for material comfort and `exhaustion of beliefs.'Wet nurses accustomed to Paris came back home with new expectations for food and accommodation - pork consumption, modish home furnishings.More bittersweet was the twin impact of mechanization and government suppression rendering traditional festivals meaningless.Fetes and feasts, such as the autumn arrachages, marking the end of backbreaking haying, threshing and harvesting were `abandoned or became hollow rituals.'Fear of linking `political protest or subversive activity' to popular traditional rejoicing brought government clampdowns and clerical complicity from cockfighting to bloody affrays like the struggle for the saint's banner in the Breton pardon of Saint Herve.Government-sponsored holidays, such as Bastille Day, eventually won over local ones as peasants began to relegate celebrations such as the May Queens, Epiphany to children, marking the fading of beliefs and mysticism.Curiously, urban culture after `succeeded in suppressing popular rituals' reinvented popular cults, such as Carnival, with `publicity floats and artificial distractions' - no longer fetes, just shows.

The transformation of peasants was a piecemeal colonization from the urban centers, by usurping traditional economic lifeline, and then introducing the urban national consciousness that elevated homogenization and diminished regionalism.Weber sharply depicts the effects of modernity on the peasants and charted their swift and occasionally bittersweet ideological transformation to conform with the national ethos.

Backwardness vs Modernity
While he offers all sorts information about rural life, Eugen Weber homogenizes rural French culture, which was not all as bleak and backward as he suggests.In fact, each region of rural France had its own political, cultural, and economic dynamics, rich traditions, and internal conflicts.Economic modernization and prosperity came to small town and rural areas of France before the 1880s (which were in fact a time of agricultural downturn), and there were rich as well as poor Frenchmen outside the metropole.The problem is that Weber uses his own familiar modern categories to explain rural 19th-century French life; and he finds these categories in the observations of bourgeois city-dwellers.He is not wrong that language, shared experiences (like military service), and collective frameworks (from common education) are essential to national consciousness; but he does not do justice to the starting material of non-Parisian France.

Peasants into Frenchmen
This is a masterfully compiled study of the emergence of nationalism and national identity in nineteenth century France.Painstakingly researched and beautifully writen, Weber has done a near-perfect job of tracking the processes of modernization that helped pave the way for France becoming one of the most culturally cohesive nations in Europe.

For students of nationalism, French history, sociology
Wonderful reading, but this is a lengthy book. . .adressing so many important aspects about French peasant society.It was written in a time when advanced students were expected to know French, so it may present some difficulty to those without the knowledge or a dictionary handy, assuming one wants to understand the quotations, samples of poetry, song, or colloquial dialogue.It is not of major consequence to understand the book, but it might be a little annoying to someone without an intimate grasp of French.

Since there are great content reviews already, I will not add anything more than the tips above.Overall, this is a book rich in facts and will certainly prove a welcome addition to the library of any advanced student or scholar in this subject area.

Outstanding Social History
This superb book traces the modernization of rural France in the last quarter of the 19th century.The book is divided into 3 parts; descriptions of traditional rural France, analysis of the agents of change, and discussion of how changes took place.This book is about both material changes and the parallel changes in psychology that were part of and the result of modernization in France.The emphasis is not primarily on economic statistics but on the day to day life and psychology of rural France.This book provides real insight into the mentality of French peasants and how this mentality was transformed from parochial self-conceptions and accompanying insular social organization to conceptions of French nationality and conscious membership in French society.For example, in the mid-19th century, a large number of Frenchmen did not speak French but rather a variety of regional languages.Expansion of the national economy, mandatory primary education, and other forces would eventually destroy local languages and produce a more homogenous French speaking nation.Weber demonstrates convincingly that this process took place relatively rapidly, focused in the years between the Franco-Prussian War and WWI.While this is a very thick and scholarly book, the quality of writing is excellent and the book is packed with entertaining and revealing anecdotal information.

It is clear that the process of modernization was accompanied by loss of regional cultural distinctions and languages.This cultural homogenization is perhaps regrettable but was an inevitable part of a process that resulted also in higher standards of living, greater individual freedom, and several other benefits.For example, Weber reminds us that in much of traditional rural France, seasonal hunger was common and famine a real possibility.By the end of the 19th century, famine was a vague memory and seasonal hunger largely banished.Similarly, modernization was accompanied by a fall in violence against persons, less child abuse, and weakening of overbearing patriarchial family structure.

This book has a couple of interesting resonances.The period covered by this book is also the height of European Imperialism.As Weber points out, the processes of modernization in rural France were identical to the processes of colonialization.Indeed, the modernization of rural France in the late 19th century can been seen as the final phase of the conquest of France by the region around Paris, a process that began with the Albigensian crusade in the 13th century.Ii is conventional today to depict European Imperialism as the result of the tremendous racism of that time.Yet, the modernization of rural France was essentially the same process carried out against fellow Frenchmen.This fact points out that the relationship between racism and imperialism is more complicated than commonly depicted.

Another interesting resonance relates to the recent tendency of French intellectuals and politicians to denounce the creeping 'Americanization' of French culture.These individuals like to present themselves as guardians as ancient cultural traditions.Yet, many, if not all of these traditions originate in the 19th century.Hardly ancient, and you can argue that American traditions are at least as old.Further, where modern French culture was to a large extent imposed by the coercive acts of the French government, 'Americanization' is the result of free consumer choice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Historic and captivating images
Compiled by art historian Kathleen G. Hjerter, The Art Of Tom Lea: A Memorial Edition is a simply gorgeous coffee-table artbook that showcases the black-and-white as well as the color illustrations of Tom Lea's drawings and paintings. Images of the American West, World War II, and the enduring vibrancy of nature are palpable in these historic and captivating images. A brief but informative commentary enhances this collection of outstanding visual images, with most of the pages being devoted entirely to superbly presenting Tom Lea's unforgettable work. The Art Of Tom Lea is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended contribution to personal and academic American Art History collections. ... Read more