Subjects:  1. Business & Economics   2. Business / Economics / Finance   3. Business Decision Making   4. Business/Economics   5. Cognitive maps (Psychology)   6. Decision Making & Problem Solving   7. Decision making   8. Management   9. Problem solving   10. Strategic planning   11. Thought and thinking   12. Business & Economics / Decision-Making & Problem Solving   13. Management decision making   

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Source For Information
While this book does contain a lot of invaluable information, I caught myself dozing off several times while reading. It is a good book for use as reference and a wonderful tool for concrete guidance, but I have found other books with same information less "text book" and easier to read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics   2. Business / Economics / Finance   3. Business/Economics   4. Management   5. Nonprofit Organizations & Charities   6. Nonprofit organizations   7. Business & Economics / Nonprofit Organizations & Charities   8. Business & Management   

Customer Reviews (5)

Riveting!
Wow! In this riveting book, Christopher Bryson skillfully connects the dots in exposing a 60 year old cover-up by industry giants designed to avoid mounting litigation related to fluoride--a major workplace poison--and reveals how public opinion was engineered to embrace this toxic substance as the panacea for tooth decay.

With more than 100 pages of supportive documentation Bryson spotlights the long-hidden truth, some of which he uncovered in recently declassified government files, showing that fluoride's harm to human health was well known before the start of fluoridation in 1945.

The shocking facts in this powerful book should rightfully enrage and catapult a largely unsuspecting public into action against this ill advised practice; one that has been banned or rejected by 98% of medically advanced countries.

Finally, the whole story is being told.
This book contains an amazing amount of new material about the origin of water fluoridation and it answers many questions about the motives behind it. Why were many important physicians, dentists and scientists who opposed fluoridation systematically stigmatized and falsely discredited during its early promotion? Why have thousands of scientific studies revealing the harmfulness of low levels of fluoride ingestion never been revealed in the major media? The answer, as usual, lies in following the money trail. Christopher Bryson brilliantly documents and puts together the pieces of this dramatic mystery after many years of researching hidden and classified information behind the story. All who are now forced to drink fluoridated water should read this important book and learn how fluoridation began in the backrooms of those industries long guilty of major environmental pollution with toxic fluoride emissions. Promoters (including the US Public Health Service) have painted themselves into a corner, so ending fluoridation would be hugely embarrassing to them. Shining this new light on the sordid history of fluoridation will hopefully do much to stimulate objective and overdue scientific scrutiny of the procedure and the harm it has long inflicted on the US public.

A seminal work
The Fluoride Deception, by former BBC journalist Christopher Bryson, is an extremely well-researched book (10 years in the making with over 100 pages of footnotes), and it contains a history of fluoride almost completely unknown to most people.

From out of the memory hole, Bryson has brought forth declassified government docs and internal industry memos that help deconstruct (and obliterate) the corporate spin (e.g. 'look ma, no cavities') that has been internalized for too long by too many people - even by people who are otherwise aware and progressive.

Some examples of the material Bryson has unearthed:

* Fluoride was industry's biggest air pollutant during the Cold War, causing the greatest amount (by far) of litigation, both for damage to workers and damage to the environment
* The biggest air pollution disaster in US history was a result of fluoride air emissions, not sulfur gases as the government has long contended (Bryson provides new compelling evidence on this - see the ALCOA memo)
* The main scientists promoting the safety of fluoride had profound (yet often unknown) conflicts of interest
* Fluoride was a vitally important chemical to national security, as it was the chemical used (on a massive scale) by the US bomb program to process and refine the uranium
* Scientists in the US bomb program (e.g. Harold C. Hodge) who were involved with the human radiation experiments, were behind the implementation of the early water fluoridation trials
* The "Father of Public Relations" Edward Bernays was involved in the early campaign to fluoridate the nation's water
* Studies (Bryson provides several irrefutable examples) indicating seriously harmful effects of fluoride exposure were suppressed and never published.

In a nutshell, The Fluoride Deception is a seminally important book about a surprisingly important subject: the risks of fluoride to our health and environment. It is a must read for anyone interested in the fluoride issue and/or the making of the Atomic Bomb. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General   2. Political Science   3. Politics - Current Events   4. Politics/International Relations   5. Public Policy - General   6. Public Policy - Social Policy   7. United States - 20th Century   8. History / United States / 20th Century   

Customer Reviews (1)

Models mathematical
The behavior of the models mathematical in the stability of power systems ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Calculus of variations   2. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming   3. Control Theory   4. Engineering - Electrical & Electronic   5. General   6. Linear Programming   7. Mathematical optimization   8. Mathematics   9. Optimization (Mathematical Theory)   10. Programming - Systems Analysis & Design   11. Science/Mathematics   12. Technology / Engineering / Electrical   

Subjects:  1. Art   2. Art & Art Instruction   3. History - General   4. History - Medieval   5. Art / General   

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General   2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)   3. Comics & Graphic Novels - Manga   4. Juvenile Fiction   

Customer Reviews (12)

Speaking & Listening from the Heart
Kelly Bryson uses humor and fun "plays on words" to teach us how learning to communicate compassionately brings us more love, empathy, intimacy, and overall enjoyment of life.

This book is a fun read and also caused me to revisit past interactions, and see that by taking this new approach at communication, the end result can be both me and the other people are happy and get our needs met.

I highly recommend this book!

I was tired of being one of the 'nice dead people'
"I was tired of being one of the 'nice dead people' in the world, so the title of this book spoke to me. I was totally skeptical that it could really help. But after reading it I really was inspired to start "dancing in rhythm to the beat of my own soul, and learning how to enjoy it when people freak out about it." (A quote from the book.) It really has become my guide from depressed "doormat" through
overly "obnoxious" aggressiveness to an evolved, enlightened, more empathic assertiveness. Kelly's real life stories, hilarious humor and refreshing theories teach the mechanics of integrity and loyalty with oneself. It is convincing me of the self defeating dynamics behind self sacrifice. Plus the pratical principles and tools of Nonviolent Communication are helping me with my only relationship issue - "Self Abandonment!"

BE REAL
I received Kelly's book as a gift. It was perfect for me. I took it on a trip back home and read it on the way. It really helped me talk with my Mom about my wants and needs. I would highly recogmend this book- the first couple of chapters are the best! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Developmental - Lifespan Development   2. Interpersonal Relations   3. Personal Growth - General   4. Psychology   

Customer Reviews (14)

Armchair adventures for the timid
The title of this book is THE BEST AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITING 2000. OK, ok, so I'm obviously a tad behind on my reading. (I only just recently got around to the fine print on my birth certificate which lists the warranty exclusions.)

"To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar that it can be taken for granted."

Perhaps the spirit of the statement is hard to realize nowadays when even Ulan Bator boasts (?) a McDonalds. However, its author, travel writer Bill Bryson, has, as this anthology's editor, pulled together twenty-six tales that will transport the armchair traveler far beyond the well-trod tourist paths. And I say this as one whose wimpy idea of adventure is to dine on a scorching curry in one of London's Balti houses after an afternoon exploring the book stacks at Foyle's.

The only journey in this volume that's personally appealing is the one to Bhutan described by Jessica Maxwell in "Inside the Hidden Kingdom". (That was until I searched the Web for Bhutan tours and was faced with the eye-popping cost of such a trek. Winning the California Lotto will be a pre-requisite, I'm afraid.) Otherwise, scouring France and Spain for the perfect first alcoholic drink of the day, or attending the World Ice Golfing Championship 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Greenland, isn't a trip I'll queue for. Neither is spending the night in the depths of New York's Central Park, searching for the remnants of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia's remote highlands, traveling by donkey into Morocco's Atlas Mountains, picking-up hitchhikers in Cuba, or journeying down the Congo River on an over-crowded, squalid, passenger barge. I admire those who do such things, and it makes for great storytelling, but I'm way too soft.

In all the modern travel essays I've read, even if they're about trips to hell and back, nobody is ever permanently hurt. That fact is what makes so horrific "The Last Safari" by Mark Ross, a former safari guide, who tells of the time he and several clients were kidnapped in Uganda by border-crossing, machete-wielding rebels from the Congo. This tragic and shocking narrative is alone worth the price of the book.

All of the contributions to THE BEST AMERICAN TRAVEL WRITING 2000 are off-beat by a little or a lot. That common element is what makes the whole worth reading.

An amazing collection
After reading this book, I decided I hate travel guides but love travel writing. Travel guides tell you where to go so that you'll run into more pasty, spoiled americans like yourself; travel writing gives you a sense of the land and the people. I loved this collection of essays because it took me to other places and educated me about their history and inhabitants. I learned about the yuppification of Nantucket, the bloody past of Zanzibar, ethnic conflicts in western China, a brutal kidnapping in Uganda, the environmental efforts in Bhutan. Some pieces are frightening; some are humorous. All are enlightening. My only complaint is that I wish more pieces by women had been included -- I would have liked to hear more about the experiences of women in exotic lands. All in all, a fine collection of essays.

Travels well
My wife and I came across this CD in preparation for a very long drive to northern Michigan over the July 4th weekend and I am thoroughly pleased with this most-random selection. Aside from David Halberstam's self-absorbed "Nantucket" which barely passes as travel writing let alone good, let alone fresh (it may have helped if he read this piece) the selections were excellent and varied. Bryson's reading of "Winter Rules" nearly had us off the road southbound on US 127 near Midland, and Adamson's reading of the the thoroughly politically/socially incorrect (and excellent) "Weird Karma" nearly put us into a barrier near Ann Arbor on US 23. Thank you Mr. Bryson et al for that travel moment.

Best yet, the table was so wonderfully set by Bryon himself with his reading of "From the people who brought you the killing fields" by Patrick Symmes. I can only express my appreciation of this selection in the memories it brought back to my days in the 1980s and the wonderfully in-poor-taste song by the Dead Kennedys "A Holiday in Cambodia." Wonderful writing does that to you.

We look forward to reading and hearing the 2001, 2002, and 2003 editions. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Essays & Travelogues   2. Travel   3. Travel - General   4. Travelers' writings, American   5. Voyages and travels   6. Travel / Essays & Travelogues   

Customer Reviews (2)

Peach Girl Forever!
The amazing series continues in the original Japanese format! I don't want to spoil what's goin on but this is my favorite manga series of them all as a great cheesy teen romance that keeps you hooked right in the story! I highly, highly, highly, recommend this manga and I'm pretty convinced if you buy it you'll enjoy it.

It's finally happened!
Momo and Kiley are together! Kiley remains a true Wily-Kiley with his interest in Momo, but he definitely shows his sweet-side throughout the book. And, as always, he's the character which makes the comic funny and worth reading. Sae takes a back seat in this volume, appearing (I believe) only once, but we find our villain when Kiley's old girlfriend shows up...and appears ready to reclaim him. We learn some of Kiley's past in this volume, and also get a deeper side to him, as well. This Volume will leave you craving the next, seeking resolve to the many new mysteries which surface in this book. This volume (and in fact, the entire series) is probably one of the most re-readable. I frequently pick it up and read it all again, unlike some of my other manga, which is good one time through, then gets old.
This volume is written in the original right-to-left format. The benefit of this is that none of the artwork has been flipped, or altered. The downside is that, if this is your first encounter with this style, you will most likely get confused and dizzy trying to figure out the order by which to read the panels (but don't worry, you get used to it after a few pages or so, and there is instructions in the book). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cartoons and comics   2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General   3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)   4. Comics & Graphic Novels - General   5. Comics & Graphic Novels - Manga   6. Dating (Social customs)   7. Fiction   8. Juvenile Fiction   9. Schools   

Customer Reviews (2)

Great book on optimal control
This is a fantastic book on optimal control especially for readers who do not have to learn the math as they go. It covers a wide range of problems in a variety of disciplines and is an interesting book. The approach is relatively modern although a differential geometric approach is not utilized. For those wanting a pretty complete treatment of the basics of optimal control this will be a good supplement to the usual suspects or even a good stand alone text. Although the mathematical requirements are not very great, the reader who has them firmly in hand will be the most successful.

Good book on optimal control
This is one of the best books on optimal control. It covers a wide range of interesting material including parameter optimization, optimization for systems with constraints, feedback control and singular solutions of optimization. The book can be useful in teaching courses in control theory. There are plenty of exercises included in the text. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Robotics   2. Technology & Industrial Arts   3. Mathematics for scientists & engineers   

Subjects:  1. Career/Job   2. Common good   3. Leadership   4. Non-Profit Organizations Management   5. Nonprofit Organizations & Charities   6. Political Process - Leadership   7. Political leadership   8. Politics - Current Events   9. Public Affairs & Administration   10. Public Policy   11. Public administration   12. Business & Economics / Nonprofit Organizations & Charities   13. Civil service & public sector   14. Management & management techniques   

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent book on K-9 Tactics
This book is filled with great information. It is helpful for the Police Administrator, Back-up Officers and K-9 Handlers. It fills in the void from Technical Training of the Dog to actual street application. Through this book you can learn from others experiences. It is a great starting point for new handlers and some new ideas for seasoned ones. With the info given you can easily adapt it to your current program. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Pets   2. Policing, Police Dogs   

Customer Reviews (3)

a reader from San Cristobal is also wrong
I can't comment on the book. However I must point out to anyone who has read the two other vicious reviews/character assasinations that Simon Goldhill is a profoundly good man.

I don't agree with A. Seddon's review.
I don't agree with the review that has been posted on this site. In a paranoid and weird way, it seems to accuse the author of being a member of the far right. I think that is cruel and unjustified. However, it is fair to say that Simon Goldhill - as the academic consensus internationally indicates - is simply (a) a profoundly unpleasant man, and (b) a pretty useless scholar.

So, criticise him within this framework - as a failed academic and a failed human being. But don't make accusations about his political outlook which cannot be derived from his scholarship. Unless Mr Seddon knows something we don't?

You must read this review before you proceed.
The fact that you are even reading this review indicates that you are considering buying it. Please, I beg you, listen to me - I have something vitally important to say.

This 'book' sullies the good name of Greek scholarship. That the other academics involved allowed themselves to appear in a book with Simon Goldhill should cause us to scorn and dimiss them - from their jobs, should they repeat this offence.

His filthy chapter is offensive, unpleasant, depraved, and yet somehow also excruciatingly boring - almost coma-inducingly so. Every word drips with the bearded contempt he has for women, for Greeks, for life itself.

This book does not only sully the name of Greek scholarship - it sullies the good name of drivel. It plumbs new depths for the human species. I beg you not to buy it, ever.

For the Greeks, for those who have gone, and for yourselves: just say, "Goldhill: never!" We must fight him in our lecture halls, we must fight him in our libraries, and we must never surrender.

If we resist him now, if we defeat this menace, then even if Greek scholarship lasts for a thousand years, people will still say: this was our finest hour. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art   2. Art, Greek   3. Classic Art   4. European   5. Historiography   6. Ancient Greece   7. Art / General   8. History of art: BCE to c 500 CE, ancient & classical world   

Customer Reviews (3)

Unimpressed
Picked up this book after having heard it was funny, informative, and easy to read. Within the first few pages i became disillusioned! It's hard not to be really, when Mr Bryson refers to spiders as insects, and in his initial segment to point out "some facts", states that Australia is a single island continent. I'd be curious as to which continent New Zealand belongs to then? Maybe Australasia ceased to be in the day he lost crossing the date line? Having spent over a quater of a year in Oz some of his comments managed to make me chuckle, especially regarding Red Back Spiders, but on the whole i was disappointed. At the price, i'm not inspired to buy another of his titles.

My God This is a Good Book
I first found this book at the Melbourne airport where there were piles of these books with bright yellow covers flying off the shelves to eager buyers.

I was in a hurry at the time and on this trip did not see much of Australia. In any case this is a wonderful book and made up for a lack of travel time. It is really excellent. Gives a picture of day to day life around the wilds of Australia. It wants to make you follow in his steps and re-trace his travels, pub by pub or through each isolated chinese restaurant in the outback.

Jack in Toronto

Great book
Bryson has done it again! I lived in Australia for quite a few years and reading this book brought back a rush of memories. His wit is insightful, and internationally "spot on." He doesn't really have a go at the Australians, as much as say, guitely pointing out unique quirks the Auzzies have developed for themselves down under.

I read this book on a plane ride back from Australia a few years ago, and caught myself laughing out load more than once.

Great book, Bill. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Australia   2. TRAVEL & HOLIDAY   

Customer Reviews (13)

Excellent essay collection about the US culture
In 1996, Bill Bryson was asked to write a weekly column about America for the "Mail On Sunday's Night & Day" magazine. Even though Bryson claimed not to have the time for writing those "Notes From A Big Country," his friend Simon Kelner insisted on his doing so. The result is an often hilarious, sometimes thought-provoking approach to the unique US culture. Having been born in Iowa, but having lived many years in Great Britain, Bill Bryson has the advantage of being American and being able to see his own culture from a different perspective.

The book "Notes From A Big Country" contains 78 columns from the first 18 months of Bryson's work. In the first one titled "Coming Home," he tells the reader how it was for him to come home after spending nearly two decades in England: "Returning home after such an absence is a surprisingly unsettling business, a little like waking from a long coma." (p 15) Reading the remaining 77 columns is like being taken by the hand by the author, who re-discovers the uniqueness of his own culture -- things he remembers from his childhood, things which have changed since he had left, and things which are new for him. Bryson talks about the positive sides of the American Way Of Life, but doesn't hesitate to mention negative sides. Some of the columns' headlines are somewhat telltale: "Dumb And Dumber," "Junk Food Heaven," "Commercials, Commercials, Commercials," "Friendly People," "Those Boring Foreigners," "Why No One Walks," "So Sue Me," "The Waste Generation," "Shopping Madness," "The Fat Of The Land," and "Stupidity News" to name only a few.

Bill Bryson did an excellent job bringing out the essence of US culture in a highly entertaining way. The book is a great read both for Americans and non-Americans. Some of the essays might lead to interesting discussions -- teachers might want to use them for their English classes. All in all, "Notes From A Big Country" is a fun and also educating book for everyone interested in learning more about American culture while being aware that Bryson is also a master of irony.

Notes from a Big Country
'Notes from a Big Country' by Bill Bryson is a very funny comedy book. After living in England for 20 years, he returns to his homeland of America with his family. This book really describes various aspects of the American way of life, which is totally different to England. There are short chapters that describe the things in America that he loves, but often also the things he hates! This often proves very funny! I really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh out loud as I found it very funny! (Not to be read in public for fear of embarrassment)! It is also very cleverly written in the way that the short, separate chapters all link together excellently. The book flows well and the pages fly by. It is quite a long book, but it never gets boring and I didn't want tot put it down. All in all, this is a very entertaining book by a talented writer. I would advise anyone capable enough to definately read this book.

Hahahahaha!!!
Bill Bryson is hilarious! I read this book on the train to work and many a times i had to resist myself from laughing out loud !!
In this book, Bill Bryson has complied a collection of short essays which he wrote when he returned to the States. The essays are both informative and hilarious!
Don't read this book in one sitting. Safe it for days when you are feeling down and in need of a good laugh! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Genre Fiction   2. USA   

Customer Reviews (2)

Fluffy pleasure combined with surprising tug at heart
Our heroine, Momo, get more heartaches in this installment. Kiley confesses that he has loved school nurse Misao since she was a tutor to him when he was in middle school. He also loves Momo but he just can't let go of his feeling for Misao. This make it sounds like Kiley is a jerk but the book gives a sympathetic portrayal of young, insecure Kiley in his junior days. We also finally learn what truly happened on the day Momo and Kiley first met (when Momo saved him from drowning). Misao was not just his first love, but probably first true friend. This revealation devastates Momo. After her traumatic relationship with Toji, you would think Momo would have gotten a break with dependable, reliable Kiley. But Kiley only ends up hurting her at the end too. Understandably, Momo falls into a deep depression. Toji learns of Momo's heartbreak. He came to Momo and tells that he wants to get back together. What choice would Momo make? She makes her choice. Personally, I don't think it's the right choice. But our Momo boldy goes on. There is also a bit about Sae possibly in prostitution. I don't know why anyone would be surprised. I hope Momo and the gang learned their lesson and leave Sae alone.

Yet another ending alluding to more twists... Can't wait for Peach Girl Change of Heart 5

Great Artwork!
I loved Peach Girl and now Peach Girl Change of Heart books!! The story is not as good as Peach Girl books volumes 1 to 8 but it still has great characters and great stories. It's a good read! I read alot of mangas and this author is one of my favorites because of her drawings. Clean and simple whereas other mangas' drawings are kinda sloppy and often overlaps with each other. If you appreciate art and a good story, get this series. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cartoons and comics   2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General   3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)   4. Comics & Graphic Novels - General   5. Comics & Graphic Novels - Manga   6. Dating (Social customs)   7. Fiction   8. Juvenile Fiction   9. Schools   10. Comic strip fiction / graphic novels   11. Teenage romance   

Subjects:  1. HotelsInnsetc.   2. Restaurants   3. Travel   4. Travel - United States   5. United States - Mid Atlantic - New York   6. United States - Northeast - Middle Atlantic (General)   

Subjects:  1. 17th-18th centuries   2. Art   3. Art & Art Instruction   4. France   5. History - General   6. Narrative painting   7. Painting, French   8. Painting, Modern   9. Art / General   10. History of art & design styles: c 1600 to c 1800   11. Painting & paintings   12. Painting, Modern - 17th-18th centuries - France   

Customer Reviews (1)

new = mid-eighties onward
This catalog presents a wide range of 'new' Chinese art (1985 onward). Some of it may be familiar to readers only casually acquainted with Chinese art, but most of it will not. In fact, even gallery goats are likely to find much new material. They have included the hanging scrolls (Zoon) of Huang Chih-Yang, the rouged, flower biting comrade by Li Shan, Fang Lijun's rage against conformity (the Chinese version of Munch's Howl), and Zhang Yu's elegant meditation. They have also selected pieces that look like rock album covers from the sixties, several more that express current turbulant feelings about Mao and his legacy, and many others that show this developing nation is growing up quickly...perhaps too quickly for its own psychic good. There are several essays to provide background and cultural context, but frankly, they're a bit lengthy and repetitive. This collection is certainly worth a look, but for every piece likely to raise an eyebrow and draw you in, there will be two that are quite forgettable. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century   2. Art   3. Art & Art Instruction   4. Art, Chinese   5. Asian   6. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General   7. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Museum   8. Exhibitions   

Subjects:  1. Biotechnology   2. Effect of low temperatures on   3. Material Science   4. Metallurgy   5. Metals   6. Physical And Chemical Metallurgy   7. Physical metallurgy   8. Science/Mathematics   9. Technology   10. Technology & Industrial Arts