Product Description
In this thought-provoking, sometimes controversial book,author John O.Goodman sounds a blaring alarm: the field of cardiologyis in the midst of a crisis-and if reparations are not made soon,countless lives may be lost.Mr. Goodman examines this crucialsubject from all angles- clinical, organizational andpolitical. Within this framework, the author goes on to offer solid,workable, potentially life-saving solutions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Exaggerated..Not Too Accurate..
I am sure that there are better films about Babe Ruth. The movie was entertaining but it was more of a soap opera than the real life of the babe, which had certain epic qualities. It has some entertainment value and I watched it from start to finish. Consider it an introduction for people that don't have much knowledge of the real life of the Babe. Just realise that it is a movie and not the real thing. ... Read more

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Latin American Ideology
The book is a review of Latin American politicsusing case studies, economics, politics and culture up to 1990. The six countries examined are: Peru, Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Guatemala. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Excellent scholarship
Unlike the book of the same Homeric mythical title by Ross King, which is based is on the articles and scholarship of scholars who, unlike KingARE art historians, this book is a very well written (and translated from the French) work of original scholarship by an author who writes with his own impeccable authority ... Read more

Product Description
Peter Norton's Inside the PC, 8th Edition provides insight into the PC family. The book focuses on the exploration of the PC including the hardware and its interior as well as concentrating on the operating systems--Windows and DOS. The more you know about your PC the better you can truly realize the potential of the machine. This book will help you understand what goes on inside the PC, which will help you make more educated decisions in buying new or additional equipment. Peter Norton covers everything from processors to operating systems, monitors to multimedia, and mobile PCs to the Internet. Become well versed in all of these technologies and more! Amazon.com Review
Peter Norton's Inside the PC, this new editionincluded, is an excellent resource for those who need a broad-brushintroduction to personal computer technology. It gives succinctexplanations of important technologies--including information forshoppers--and even provides a high-level explanation of what computerprogramming is all about.

A book like this can't expect to staycurrent for long, and time has already introduced some shortcomings:There's no coverage of the new 66 Mbps Ultra DMA standard and thecontroller cards needed to implement it. Similarly, the authorsneglect any discussion of the controversial serial number feature ofthe Intel Pentium III and (less excusably) barely touch on digitalphotography.

Nonetheless, Peter Norton's Inside the PC hasa very readable style--it's possible to sit down with this book, enjoyreading it, and come away more knowledgeable than when you began. It'salso handy as a reference--you can look up mysterious PC terms hereand expect to find a good explanation. --David Wall

Topics covered: Inside IBM-standard PCs, processors, disks,memory, peripherals, networking (including the Internet), and thenewest developments in 3-D audio and video. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Fabulous book. Belongs on every interested owner's bookshelf
Eighth edition:
This book is fabulous. No argument possible, it's a great book. It may be better suited to some experience/interest levels than others, but by any standard it's an excellent book.

It's like an "Encyclopedia of the IBM-PC," but with in depth treatment of the topics. If you've ever wondered what any acronym (PCMCIA, e.g.) means, you will find it in this book.The difference is that whereas another book may explain that acronym with only a sentence or a paragraph, Norton gives you seven pages on that and related technologies including: ATA protocol, CardBus, Card Services, CIS, flash, Media storage format, Socket Services....Multiply that level of detail times every computer acronym you've ever wondered about and you have a valuable resource.

The book is an in-depth overview to the PC. You get deeper coverage of each topic then you would normally get in a book of this type, and therein lies the main value. Still, since it's an overview, if you want to dig into a topic you are given excellent references to external sources.

As expected, given Norton's roots in the disk utilities area, great depth is given to the subject of hard and floppy disks and their structure and organization. You won't find a better or deeper treatment of this material anywhere other than Norton's materials. If you want to understand the FAT, FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, master boot block, master boot record, partition table, etc., this is the place.

The book targets beginners to experts, and I think that's a strength. Beginners get introductory material (like what is a byte or a serial cable) explained, while experts get deep treatment (like why a 16550A UART is better than a 16550 p429). That makes this single book a great reference for anyone, especially a newbie. You may have to study some pages carefully or even look up external resources, but isn't that unavoidable?

Sadly, tragically, this book is left over from an earlier, better, time of computing. The first edition of this book is from a day when you owned your own computer, not Microsoft. In that day, fun, excitement, experimentation, discovery, fascination, and programming the hardware yourself were still part of the equation. In that day it was popular to use a tool like DEBUG and poke around in the portions of memory managed by the operating system and really understand what was going on. Now, Windows is so complex and sophisticated that poking around like that is of limited usefulness. Still, tell me where are you going to get anyone to tell you about DEBUG or using I/O ports to talk to the CMOS or real-time clock these days?

Also the info on understanding the hard and floppy disks, while fascinating, is of limited use in modern times. Back in the day when a 10MB hard disk cost you $1000, yes, you might take the time to use DEBUG to poke around the sectors and repair the partition table. In modern times I would not do that. I would just go to "Best Buy" and buy a new one for $50 and use the other 2 days of my weekend for reading this excellent book.

Confusing & quite often complex
.. I was not overly impressed. Being new to the inner workings of a PC I was immediately lost. I've had to read chapters over in order to understand what the authors are trying to say. What has helped me was another computer manual that was beutifully illustrated and helped me to recognize the parts & pieces of hardware that Mr. Norton referred to in his book.I did like the glossary though. This book is definitely not one to recommend to beginners.

It is a good overview
The book covers many aspects of PC hardware and software and it is very good if you need an overview. If you want understand the details of these aspects this is not your book. Sometimes the concepts are difficult tounderstand because there are not enough figures.

Some good diagrams, but...
Inside the PC has several good diagrams, one showing the physical connections between the CPU, cache, memory, video controller, chipsets, PCI and ISA buses, and another showing how data and address lines connect to astandard 32MB DIMM module.Many explanations in the book, however, head ina promising direction, but fall short, as this excerpt shows: "TheCPU, with its 64 data wires, connects to 8 bytes of memory at a time.Thismeans that the three least-significant bits of any address may be ignoredin pointing to locations in main memory."It is unclear how thesecond sentence ties in with the first, and why the three least-significantbits may be ignored.

The book attempts to cover too many aspects of thePC, from CPUs and chipsets, to inkjet printers and the future of theInternet, with varying levels of detail and organization. Advanced readerswill not need the chapter covering the basics of bits and bytes, but willwish for a more detailed and thorough discussion on paging, while novicereaders just learning about bits and bytes in Chapter 3 are probably notready for DEBUG and the probing of memory locations in Chapter 5,especially when Chapter 4 veers off in an unrelated direction to discussmotherboards, ribbon cables, and legacy standards; a more defined targetaudience (beginner, intermediate, or advanced) is needed, as is a narrowerscope of topics, preferably one limited to the components and technologythat is "Inside the PC."

Easy technical and informational reading
Peter Norton's Inside the PC, Eighth Edition, and holds your attention better than most other technical books.It is written in a conversational style, which is easy to understand.Norton lays out his topics logicallybeginning with basic hardware information and becoming increasingly morecomplex.He uses pictures, graphs, and tables sparingly, only whennecessary.Some of the most interesting sections are his HistoricalAsides, Notes, Technical Notes, Tips, Standards, and his own Principles,which come from his personal experience.There is a Quick Navigator insidethe front cover that tells you where in the book to find general areas ofinformation.The book has a useful glossary and a cross-referenced index. This is a good informational book at an intermediate level. ... Read more

Product Description
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres dominated French paintingfor much of the nineteenth century, from his emergence as the leadingstudent of Jacques-Louis David and winner in 1801 of the prestigiousRome Prize, to his death in 1867. A champion of classicism and adevotee of Raphael and Poussin, Ingres's conviction that color shouldserve elegant line breathed new life into a century-old artisticdebate. It was in drawing that Ingres established his legacy; he isconsidered to be one of the greatest draftsmen of all time. He was astaunch advocate of history painting, yet his genius is most evidentin his sensitive portraits and luscious nudes. His intentional drawing"faults"-the ambiguous relationship of a mirrored reflection to asitter, the inscrutable hinge of a shoulder to an arm, or an unlikelyruffle of fingers and cocked wrist-link Ingres's painting to some ofthe most audaciously expressive innovations of the late nineteenth andearly twentieth centuries, inc!luding those of Degas, Cézanne,Matisse, and Picasso.

In this comprehensive, lavishly illustrated volume Georges Vigneexamines Ingres's artistic life and brings together a staggeringnumber of drawings, studies, and compositions. Guided by carefulscrutiny of drawings and documents, Vigne reappraises deep-rootedassumptions and offers a wealth of candid insights on issues such asIngres's faithful studio assistants, his official commissions thatcould weave in and out of political regimes, the legendary rivalrieswith Delacroix and the Romantics, and the curious motivation behindIngres's seemingly endless line of copies and revisions of his earliercompositions.

Finally, as an indispensable resource to scholars, this volumereproduces, with Vigne's methodical transcriptions and annotations,the valuable pages of the notebooks in which Ingres listed andreferred to his paintings.

This authoritative volume on Ingres is also the most completemonograph on any artist of his generation and a valuable chronicle ofthe man behind the last great studio in the classical tradition. ... Read more

Product Description
General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1896Original Publisher: Sampson Low, Marston ... Read more

Product Description
A unique document in the history of the Kennedy years, these letters gives readers a firsthand look at the working relationship between a president and one of his close advisers, John Kenneth Galbraith. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

For the record -an interesting glimpse at the life of giants
This is a compilation that in and of itself is quite mundane. The letters are not the most eloquent nor powerful prose that you are likely to have read. However, this is the correspondence of two of the biggest figures of their age.

The letters regarding the Vietnam war are the most interesting and provide some recognition of the clarity & forsight of Galbraith's mind.

Buy this book if you are interested in these men and the age of Camelot.

A nice collection of historical documents.
JFK, a magical name in history. This book provides a way to investigatethis man's life from other people's letters. You may want to read it. ... Read more

Product Description
The definitive work on PC memory management. Throughout the book numerous examples, detailed memory maps, and graphics help readers understand memory management topics. This edition of the "Elephant Book" includes a disk that includes a number of reporting utilities, example memory management related batch files, and utilities designed to help control your PC's use of memory (DOS and Windows versions). (Operating Systems) ... Read more

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"Damisch's achievement lies in having called into question theart-historical methodologies that still dominate work in this field. Hiswillingness to reconsider the epistemological basis of the disciplinegives this book its special relevance and value for the circumstances inwhich we find ourselves today." -- Keith Moxey, Artforum "Wasperspective an approximation to 'normal' perception of space, evolved inthe fourteenth century, codified by Alberti, and rendered obsolete byCézanne -- or is it a 'symbolic form,' one way of discoursingabout space, which conditions perception, rather than merely describeit? Damisch brings not only his vast learning but also great subtlety tobear on this question. It is a virtuoso performance of a book that willbe treasured and read repeatedly by anyone interested in the art of ourown time, as well as in its history." -- Joseph Rykwert, Paul PhilippeCret Professor of Architecture, university of Pennsylvania.

In part a response to Panofsky's Perspective as Symbolic Form, TheOrigin of Perspective is much more. In France it is considered one ofthe most important works of art history to have appeared in the lasttwenty years. With the exception of Michel Foucault's analysis of LasMeninas, it is perhaps the first time a structuralist method such as theone developed by Claude Lévi-Strauss in The Way of the Masks hasbeen thoroughly and convincingly applied to Western art. The taskDamisch has set for himself is to refute both the positivist critics,whose approach makes up the bulk of perspective studies and is based ona complete repression of Panofsky's early work, and the currentpseudo-avant-gardist position (whether in the field of cinema studies orin literary criticism), which tends to disregard facts and theoreticalanalysis. Damisch argues that if a theoretical analysis of perspectiveis possible, using all the tools of structuralist semiotics, it is onlypossible in the context of a close look at its appearance in history,beginning with the details of the "invention" of perspective. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

outstanding
this study, intense and multi-faceted, is a mandatory text for anyone who attempts to re-understand perspective. ... Read more

Product Description
Virtually everyone agrees that our health care system needs reform. But what kind of reform? Some want a return to the system that prevailed in the 1950s. Others would like to see the adaptation of the government-run systems prevalent in other countries. The latter, national health insurance or single-payer health insurance, appears to be gaining ground in the United States. Before Americans find themselves participating in a health care system that has failed in every country it was adopted, we should be asking ourselves whether such a system is effective and efficient.

In "Lives at Risk", the authors examine the critical failures of national health insurance systems without focusing on minor blemishes or easily correctable problems. In doing so, the purpose is to identify the problems common to all countries with national health insurance and to explain why these problems emerge. Most national health care systems are in a state of sustained internal crisis as costs rise and the stated goals of universal access and quality care are not met. In almost all cases, the reason is the same: the politics of medicine. The problems of government-run health care systems flow inexorably from the fact that they are government-run rather than market driven. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

The good overpowers the bad...
The Good:

Systematically looks at individual belief's about health care (ex: Costs, Access, etc) and then attempts to contrast popular belief's with cold hard facts. This makes it simple to simply skip to a section that interests you. Moreover, for its breadth, it is a very fast read. Some of the stronger arguments deal with lack of rural access to care, the myth that preventative care will save money, or that a nationalized health system will save money in general (etc...)

While the chapter on preventative care is particularly good, the best parts of this book are surprisingly those with the fewest hard data and the most simple logic. For example - the insight that "We could potentially spend our ENTIRE gross domestic product on health care in USEFUL ways" - seems to escape 99% of those currently debating health care. From this argument one can take the real dilemma of health care to its logical conclusion - you have to, in some way, limit care. This can only be done by a) administrative decisions or b) market forces.

Thus, the author's make strong arguments for what lies behind those two forces - i.e. what drives administrative decision making and what types of market forces are responsible for determining costs. In the final chapters of the book, the Author's take their own views, using the latter argument, to discuss health savings accounts - their historical use and how they could be used more effectively. This section is the real gem.

The Bad:

Well, for starters, the sub-title doesn't really mesh with the overall content. They spend a majority of their arguments on the British NHS which, from what I can tell, is among the worst nationalized health care systems in the developed world. This is too bad as I can see opponents of the author's view writing the work off entirely for not talking more about France or Japan - "Well true that would be bad, but if we implemented it here it would be more like the healthcare systems in Japan, France..." etc etc... In that regard, it neither fully dispels all the myths nor arms those in agreement with the author's with enough data.

Overall:

The strengths easily outweigh the weakness', and there is enough validity in their arguments to make this worthwhile to just about anyone interested in the current debates. It is too bad the focus seemed to fall on the weaker NHS like systems and not the stronger - for this reason it will too quickly be written off as biased by many.

Libertarian critique of socialized medicine
This book is a critique of socialized medicine, as it exists in Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, by a team of free market economists.As befits an advocacy book, with a strong point of view, the authors are good at finding facts which undermine the arguments in favor of socialized medicine.They persuasively argue that national health systems not only cause patients to wait for long, often fatally long, periods of time before treatment, but that these systems are riddled with inequity based on politics.

This inequality manifests itself in some interesting, and to me at least unexpected, ways.Rural areas, of course, get poorer quality care than cities.Not surprising.The politically well-connected get better care than the man on the street.Not surprising.But the system as a whole pays a great deal of attention to people who are not very sick, and tends to short-change the critically ill.That surprised me.But it makes sense.These countries are democracies.Most people are not very sick.Politicians naturally want to provide benefits that the average person will see.Thus, in Germany, national health pays to send you to spas.In Britain, nationalhealth pays for ambulances for the not-very-sick which amount to glorified free taxicabs.But in both countries, there is a severage shortage of MRIs. The logic here is that the small minority which is very sick, tends to suck up most healthcare dollars, but that minority lacks enough political clout to get that result.Thus, national health tends to give the shaft to the very sick and the very old.

This book is very much worth reading.It has many interesting facts in it.I am less enthusiastic about the book than I might be, however, because the authors free market zeal was so strong.This lead them at times to make less than compelling arguments, in support of conclusions which free market theory supports but the facts do not.It also lead them to write often in terms of economic jargon, which I never like very much.Finally, it makes a a lot of what they say so out of touch politically that it is hard to take seriously.The authors may be right that a free market system is less likely to throw Grandma from the train than is a socialist system, but the Left is much better at expressing its thoughts as if they give a damm about Grandma.The way these guys argue is so abstract that it often leaves me cold.

Debunking the myths of socialized medicine
Mr Goodman points out some important facts about the uninsured in America, as well as the lies which are pushed by the leftist and the media. He intimately describes the socialized medicine systems throughout the world and compares those systems with America's healthcare system. A well-researched, compelling book! This is a MUST READ for anyone who thinks that Government controlled, single-payer "free" healthcare is what America Needs!!

Great Great Great Book
This book is a very informative book. It breaks things down for the average person to understand, but still gives plenty of statistics and facts to make it relevant to anyone.
I challenge anyone to read this book with an open mind and still believe in national health care.

A humbling read.
I spent a few months reading various writings on health care systems and trying to clean up the trash heap that is all Wikipedia articles on the topic.I thought I had a good grip on what was going on around the world.I was wrong.

Lives at Risk presents a crystal clear picture of the health care industry in the US, UK, and Canada.It exposes the economic and political factors that have caused decreasing performance and increasing costs in all three countries.Finally, Lives at Risk makes a recommendation for a way to do things better.

This book lays it all out in short, easy chapters supported by copious references for those who want to know more. ... Read more

Product Description
Before becoming a city, St. Petersburg was a utopian vision in the mind of its founder, Peter the Great. Conceived by him as Russia's "window to the West," it evolved into a remarkably harmonious assemblage of baroque, rococo, neoclassical, and art nouveau buildings that reflect his taste and that of his successors, including Anna I, Elizabeth I, Catherine the Great, and Paul I.

Crisscrossed by rivers and canals, this "Venice of the North," as Goethe dubbed it, is of unique beauty. Never before has that beauty been captured as eloquently as on the pages of this sumptuous volume. From the stately mansions lining the fabled Nevsky Prospekt to the magnificent palaces of the tsars on the outskirts of the city, including Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, Oranienbaum, Gatchina, and Pavlovsk, photographer Alexander Orloff's portrait of St. Petersburg does full justice to the vision of its founder and namesake. The text, by art historian Dmitri Shvidkovsky, chronicles the history of the city's planning and construction from Peter the Great's time to the reign of the last tsar, Nicholas II. Anyone who has ever visited--or dreamed of visiting--the city of "white nights" will find St. Petersburg irresistible. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

A Feast for the Eyes
While I'm still making my way through the in-depth text of the book (a pleasant surprise, for a "pretty coffee table book"!) it is a beautiful book to leaf through, photographically.I've just completed Arthur L. George's terrific history St. Petersburg: Russia's Window to the Future, The First Three Centuries, and this has been a wonderful visual to accompany that, and prepare / excite me for my first visit to the city.(As a long-time architecture buff, I really appreciate the narratives that accompany the often-dazzling creations from 3 centuries of construction, as captured and beautifully presented in this book; although I do think a tiny number of the many images have not enlarged as successfully or cleanly as they should.)Beyond the marvel of the Hermitage/Winter Palace, the book is shaping my tourist agenda for what I need to see in person, once I get there.

Gorgeous book
This is a gorgeous book. I got it from the library first to see if it was as good as other reviews and it definitely is worth buying. The photos are stunning and the written explanations are fascinating.

Raving over a good find.
Discovered this book at Metropolitan Museum in NYC and wanted it immediately. However, I had the presence of mind to return home to Arkansas and GOOGLEd the title and now I own this volumes for $$$$ less.

Buy this book, and you won't NEED to visit St. Petersburg.
The most gorgeous, comprehensive photographic panorama of the treasures of St. Petersburg. Even if your exposure to St. Petersburg is limited to the Winter Palace, (now the "Hermitage" museum), BUY this book AND buy the unreal, almost surreal DVD "Russian Ark". Both are BREATHTAKING!

IMPERIAL RUSSIA
This is a gorgeous book on a beautiful city.My father would have loved this book, he had an interest in all things Russian, he and my mother toured St. Petersburg and loved it.The images in this book are crisp and text highly informative.St. Petersburg has a wealth of beautiful Imperial Buildings and they are shown at their best in this wonderful book.From Peter the Great's Peterhof to the Hermitage, to Catherine the Great's Tsarkoe Selo, the best of Imperial Russian architecture is on display.If you have any interst in Imperial Russian architecture or just enjoy fine books, then i cannot imagine you being disappointed.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
The 18th-century French philosopher Denis Diderot - the principal intelligence behind the "Encyclopedie" and the author of idiosyncratic fictional works such as "Jacques the Fatalist" and "Rameau's Nephew" - is also considered by many to have been the first great art critic. Until now, however, Diderot's treatises on the visual arts have been available only in French. This two-volume edition makes his art-critical texts available in English. Diderot's works are among the most provocative and engaging products of the French Enlightenment. Moreover, their ruminations on many issues of perennial interest (invention versus convention, nature versus culture, and technique versus imagination; the complex relations) between economic reality and artistic achievement give them a rare pertinence to current debates on the nature and function of representation. All the celebrated pieces included: the rhapsodic dream meditation inspired by Fragonard's "Coresus and Callierhoe"; the incident packed "excursion" through a set of landscapes by Joseph Vernet; the evocative consideration of the nature of ruins and historical nostalgia prompted by the first showing of works by Hubert Robert.These famous passages are considered in their proper context. The book also includes brief introductory texts and annotations by John Goodman that clarify the many references to contemporary Parisian culture, as well as an introduction by Thomas Crow that sets the texts in their historical and art-historical context. ... Read more

Product Description
Barton Fink is a 1991 American film written and directed by the Coen brothers. Set in 1941, it stars John Turturro in the title role as a young New York City playwright who is hired to write scripts for a movie studio in Hollywood, and John Goodman as Charlie, the insurance salesman who lives next door at the run-down Hotel Earle. The Coens wrote the screenplay in three weeks while experiencing difficulty during the writing of another movie, Miller's Crossing. Soon after Miller's Crossing was finished, the Coens began filming Barton Fink, and it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1991. In a rare sweep, it won the Palme d'Or prize, as well as awards for Best Director and Best Actor (Turturro). Although it was celebrated almost universally by critics and nominated for three Academy Awards, the movie grossed only $6,000,000 at the box office?two-thirds of its estimated budget ... Read more