A lot of interesting information, but as other reviewers ...
927908
A lot of interesting information, but as other reviewers have stated, the author has a tendency to go off on wild tangents that seem only peripherally related.  I read a lot of studies on psychology and human behavior, so most of these I skim through. There are significant sections of the book that relate directly to the book's title subject, so I'm reasonably ok with the book.
3709277
Yes this was an informative book,however, but many STYX fans (such as myself)already know the history of the band and where they stand now. It seems the author was making an attempt not to step on anyone's toes and not "piss anyone off" by adding his own opinions or those of the fans.
By the way, where would any band be without their fans? Why isn't there a section devoted to them. I for one will be selling my copy immediately or giving it away.
207966
Information packed, but be ready to look up medical terms.  Rather repetitive and long-winded, but well worth the considerable effort.
1401790
Lots of interesting stuff here, especially the work on the true location of the Garden of Eden. I understand the need for many of these researchers to distance themselves from Ancient Alien theorists. Mr. Collins seems intent on doing this and it's a bit too much for my taste.
2082639
I have mixed feelings about this, which I listened to (once) as an audiobook. There is much fresh and useful information, and her reading style is animated and earnest, and all the CDs held my interest. The author is obviously committed and enthusiastic, and I think she's a great role model for her two daughters. I especially found her section on how personal identity is related to habit to be very thought-provoking. But I had to cringe at her casual descriptions of "the habit of drinking too much", with no mention of the complexity of the reality of alcoholism in a significant percentage of the population. I am not on the computer much, and haven't seen her blog, podcasts etc. so perhaps she has addressed this issue elsewhere. (Or in the hard copy of her book?) All in all, a good exploration of the topic, in my opinion. Mary Lee Moser
3724383
I get the impression that the author spent a few years buried in the Convair archives at the San Diego Aerospace Museum digging up all of this arcane information. Given the sheer numbers of entries and the limits on how big a given book can be, I don't much miss a lot of data on each entry. Probably, there isn't much available on a lot of these prujects, because they were (mercifully) terminated at an early stage. It is facinating to review the Consolidated penchant for flying boats and amphibians of all sizes, shapes and roles.
893277
Although this book has a lot of information, it also has a lot of incorrect information, errors, and misleading statements... be cautions
1327610
I wish we had the option of giving 1/2 stars for reviews, because I would give this book 3.5.  I just couldn't give it 4.

This book has a lot of good information.  It seems to have information on a full range of topics.  I particularly liked the sample itineraries it gave that fell in a range of interests.  However, that information is laid out in a confusing way.  It just doesn't flow and it can be hard to figure out where you are in a section.  For example, I jumped to a page to look at information on the shopping.  It was really hard for me to figure out what town it was in.
188842
There are some wonderful facts and considerations in this work.  I particularly like Dr. Kaku's physics approach to categorizing consciousness.

However, the work is plauged with too many movie synapses.  Movie references are fine, but just reference it and leave to the reader to understand, or look up a review if they don't.  Just another way of saying, cut to the science chase.

Additionally, the editor / proofreader did a poor job - incorrect words, improper punctuation, and even mispelled key words.

Overall, the information provided is intriguing and thought provoking, but it could have been more clearly provided.
3297694
Good book packed full of tons of information that will make you want to read texts on chemistry, microbiology, geology, atmospheric science and countless other subjects.
There are some things I didn't like though:
1. The book appears to be funded by the Living Planet report, a highly UNscientific paper that was publicized by WWF, Nat Geo & other decent groups, but also involves many banks, corporations, NGOs...Well, it's good to call attention to the environment, but the math involved in that report is garbage, and it's been overused ad nauseum.

2. When going over "controversial" subjects such as GMOs & nuclear power, the book caters to public paranoia by repeatedly stating things that "might" go wrong. Though the book does say GMOs are clearly safe, it also seems to justify the irrational anti-GMO sentiments that seem to have a grip on the USA. On the other hand, when mentioning "Organic", the bias is reversed: Organic industry is presented favorably, with little or no question about the methods (which use pesticides, manure etc).
2479765
Lots of pictures and interesting information. The organization of the actual plant is pretty good, but the information presented about each plant is not consistent or easy to find. Most entries do tell a little about the climate/habitat/ecology of each plant, but it's definitely not information you can easily scan and find if flipping through. The common names used are not consistent with those that many local botanists I have met use (I guess that's the problem with common names). However, it would be nice if she included some of the other common names that are used as well. For example, for the plant Aloysia wrightii, Dodson uses the name "Wright's beebrush". I've never heard anyone else use that name. The two common names I have heard (from at least 10 different people) are "Spicebush" and "Oreganillo".

This book is nowhere near comprehensive, so don't expect to use it to as a true field guide.
4954211
In this book, AJ Dunning (head of the Cardiology Dept at the University of Amsterdam) examines the extremes of human behavior through tales of bizarre activities throughout history.  Such tales include Joan of Arc, and her companion Gilles de Rais(sp?), later known as Bluebeard; the practice of castrating young boys for the Italian Opera; the theft of corpses for medical research in England, and so forth.  Dunning is obviously a wealth of knowledge on nearly every subject, and his tales are told in a fascinating and captivating manner.  But, at times it seems as though Dunning is just pouring out as much information as he can, without thought as to how it should be organized, or what it means.  As the author is a medical doctor, it seems that the vast majority of his writing centers on medical anomalies and the history of medicine, which may not be interesting to most people outside of the medical profession.  Also, probably the most annoying tendency in this book (which may be the fault of the translator), is that whenever something is quoted from another language, such as french, german, or italian, it is not translated.  A few times this is very problematic, as he will use a quote to demonstrate some point, and the whole quote is unintelligable, unless you happen to read that language.  All in all, the book is enjoyable and interesting, and is actually quite fascinating at times, but it is not always the best read.  Recommended only for those who are very much into history, medicine, or who just enjoy reading about the bizarre and dark side of humanity.
2205147
The authors present some interesting information as well as some research methods that one wouldn't expect to be used in the manner they present. However, the data, the conclusions of the research, the background stories, and the premise are not all that compelling to me.
300686
In taking up this book, I was looking for the author to provide me with various primary source accounts of life during 18th century Paris.  In this regard, the book largely succeeds.  Farge provides many sources and does well to create an interesting world for the reader.

There are only two problems I have.  For one, Farge should have edited the amount of meta-theorizing in the book.  There is a lot of "some historians do this, I want to do this" sort of talk.  While these thoughts are relevant, they appeared a bit too often.

More important, this book only seems to scratch the surface of what could have been a more in-depth work.  For example, the reader is treated to a very intriguing tale of an unhappy housewife and her desire to climb socially, only to be left without an ending; there is just a very well-articulated premise.  Another frustration was the analysis of a particular police report.  We are told about police procedure and various domestic disturbances in this officer's jurisdiction covering nearly 3,000 arrests, but his 36 murder/attempted murder cases are only mentioned in passing; not one of these tales is provided.

While this work will provide insight into the life of Paris in 18th century, the full picture is absent, and the omissions are frustrating.
892127
A good book, I'd rate it higher, but as with other of the series, there is a lot of duplicate information - not the publishers fault, as the sources (cyclopedias) were that way.
4188951
Lots of good information here on the misinformation handed out to those in the medical field as well as to the public as well as the amount of money spent by Big Pharma on direct-to-consumer advertising and financial entanglements with the medical profession and universities.  My only complaint, as I am finding common with books of this sort, is that the author eventually resorts to pushing his/her brand of politics/philosopy on the reader, in this case universal medical care paid for by guess who?  When I buy a book like this, I generally want "just the facts, ma'am," although presented in a readable and, if possible, entertaining way. I am not looking to be proselytized to the author's political or philosopher bent.
138471
Good information, and well worth the money.  Mr. Stein's examples used to illustrate his points are somewhat wordy, and too many.  One or two would suffice.  I skipped over most of these.  Also, Mr. Stein writes this book from the perspective of 20th century literature, so some of his strongly held opinions aren't necessarily applicable to writing in 2015 and beyond.