fascinating and comprehensive
588863
fascinating and comprehensive, but needed a better editor
3325527
I found this book fascinating, as it brought together so much information on topics that I'd previously skimmed over or touched on tangentially. For example, the introductory section on phonetics was just what I needed as a solid foundation for all the references I'd come across randomly before. Each of the following sections were both enlightening in a general way and full of interesting little nuggets that explained the general development of the English language and especially all the curious little quirks of pronunciation and spelling that occurred along the way. I found it especially interesting because of my knowledge of other languages, with all sorts of connections and contrasts jumping out at me in relation to German, French and even Gaelic. For example the fact that "adder" in English evolved from OE "naedre" ("a nadder" becoming "an adder") made me think of the Gaelic "nathair" for snake.
1896954
This is a very well researched and comprehensive book. It is quite monumental in its scope. To give you an example, I opened the book at random to page 139. One of the listings on this page is Ipecac. Many households know about this medication. It is
usually used to induce vomiting. Children often swallow things they should not. The books goes into some detail about where the plant was first found, how it is refined, and how it came to be used by Europeans. It then lists some sources for further reading.
It also has a great Appendix section. It shows which tribes lived where, including many good maps. The Chronology section lists when different things were discovered or invented by the indigenous people. It also has an appendix which lists the book's
entries by area, by subject and by which tribal group is associated with that item.
I know how long it took me to do the research associated with my book. I can only guess that the authors spent a very long time putting together the material in this book.
EAICW has a plethora of listings and information. EAICW is 384 pages long and measures (in inches): 1.19 x 11.20 x 8.44. It is a BIG book. It would make an excellent addition to any well stocked library.
I highly recommend it.
4677105
This book was recommended to me and I was very impressed with the high level of presentation and thoroughness of content. Fascinating and informative, it is an absolute joy to read for professional and personal interest. Comprehensive, easy to read and digest, visually stimulating, emotionally satisfying. Buy it now!
1408462
Vastly informative and comprehensive, I actually found it to be a page-turner (for medical geeks, medical zebras, or in my case, both). Excellent material for understanding the whole forest, rather than walking circles around a tree. Make that slithering, for the gravitationally challenged. This is not written for laymen/women, fair warning. You should have a fairly substantial base grasp before you tackle this...or go for it with the help of a medical dictionary if you are not familiar with the terminology. I bought the kindle edition...geeky enough that I had no need for the dictionary, but I'm weird ;)
104088
"Sogobujutsu: Psychology, Philosophy, Tradition" is.a well written, comprehensive exposition on the warrior arts as practiced by the Neji Gekken Ryu at their Godaishin Dojo in eastern Pennsylvania. It is intended to be a textbook explaining the history, psychology, philosophy, and traditions of the warrior arts as practiced by the author's students. However, I think it's suitable for a much wider audience  e.g., for students or practitioners of any of the martial arts, as well as for those (like me) curious about them. This book is not a manual on the techniques of Sogobujutsu; it's about the why, not the how.

Though not a professional author, David writes in a clear, approachable, conversational manner. Throughout the book I had the sense that he was right in the room chatting with me about the passion of his life. In much of the discussions throughout the book, David uses the Japanese term (highlighted) immediately followed by the corresponding term in English. Some readers may find this approach a little confusing  I found it to be very helpful. The book could use a few editorial touches, but it is largely very well done. It strikes me as being quite comprehensive, especially with the large glossary near the end of the book. It also contains a helpful index and an exhaustive table of contents.

I found the book fascinating. The hardcover edition has very nice production values. I also bought the Kindle edition because it was so reasonably priced. I highly recommend the book.
3855076
Comprehensive and High-Level Bird's Eye View of an impossibly huge collection of:
* Basic, Specialized Searches, and Additional Features,
* Shopping and Product Searches,
* Maps and Directions, Communication Services,
* Multimedia,
* Other Services,
* Google Software Tools,
* Google for Business and Developers,
* Into the future,

  This is an impressive work of trying to summarize (even though it took 800 pages) of an impossible huge number Services and Products that are offered by Google. Some of these are totally disjoint, and some really related and extensions of each others.

  This is an excellent comprehensive Reference Book to have next to your computer. I was very pleasantly surprised by many things, for example:
* Searching for Financial, University, Technical, and Government information,
* Google alerts and Updates, Making Google Safe for Kids, and other Languages and Translation Capabilities,
* I refined my ability to use to use Maps and Directions,
* I was impressed with Google Answers and Book Search, Tools for desktop, Calendar, and Google Pack,
* Was really happy to find Picasa, which is good image processing Application,
* Found out things about Google Labs, and found the Advanced Search Operators to be extremely helpful for navigation into the book and understanding of it.

  Again, as one of the Google Mottos, Michael Miller has made the Impossible, Possible with this book. And not only he has done "No Evil", he has done an excellent job.

Bruce Razban,
President/Founder, Razban Internet International
Silicon Valley, CA, USA
4824795
This is a synthesis of two one-volume works: Fodor's Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science and Spence's Encyclopaedia of Occultism.  But it also surpasses them by revisions and additional up-to-date information.  Although I haven't read the entire two volumes, I must say that I'm  impressed by the comprehensive nature of the set. It includes articles  about modern occult magicians like Isaac Bonewits and doesn't leave out  critics of the paranormal such as James Randi.  Also check out the 4-vol.  Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 24-vol. Man, Myth & Magic (Cavendish,  editor), 2-vol. Encyclopedia of Freemasonry by Albert Mackey, and Bernard  McGinn's series of books on Western Mysticism.  All recommended.
1376172
"Papyrus" is a fascinating study of the history of the plant and its environment.  It took a chapter or two to gain interest in the subject, but I soon learned that papyrus is more than just fancy paper!  Gaudet's descriptions are enhanced by numerous sketches of papyrus boats and buildings; I was particularly impressed by the papyriform columns.  There are numerous snippets of information that help the non-expert understand the plant and its products -- -- a detailed list describing how to make papyrus, for example.  The maps in particular were especially useful.  The book found its way to my bookshelf (as most books do) but I have reached for it a number of times.  It enhanced my  enjoyment of the Okavango Delta on our trip to Botswana and I recalled and revisited the descriptions of the dense swamps when I read two other books on the exploration of the Nile.  The book will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in African/Egyptian history and geography and also by those who are interested in how products are developed.  It's not only a must read but a must keep !  Anne M
733400
Brilliantly researched, comprehensive, and as well written and energized as a novel.
1198137
This book occupies a unique place in the entire body of published works for an overview of the art song genre and its development. Dr. Kimball's superb eye for detail has carefully amassed an amazing compilation of biography, analysis, and commentary on the most comprehensive number of composers, spanning all eras of song composition. The introductory

section of the book lays out a practical but not mandatory approach to using the information, in a way that encourages good listening skills and a coherent overview. Additional bibliography provides a very flexible resource for any course structure or further independent study.
641023
Fascinating comprehensive pen book with over 1,200 full color sharp photos of every type of fountain pen.  Includes many old ads and printed materials.  Interesting articles cover important topics such as,  development of the fountain pen, building a collection, where to find them,  storage and display, refurbishing and repairing them, inks, major makers  and much more.  Pen values are provided.  A delightful hardback book with  colorful laminated covers.  You don't have to be a pen collector to enjoy  this book.
4469551
Thoughfully written, interesting from cover to cover and painstakingly comprehensive - there isn't much more you could ask from a reference book, particularly if you're not an expert on the subject.  I really enjoyed reading The Graying of America, and found it much more interesting (and less dry) than I expected.  As a gerentology novice who works as a volunteer with hospice patients, I wanted something that would show me many facets of living with aging, rather than my usual reading on coming to terms with dying.  This book fit the bill to a "T", and I would imagine it would have a place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in aging well and understanding the life of the elderly.
55820
Just received my copy of vol. III. This is a fascinating piece of work - a collection of many hundreds of Tirpitz photographs, carefully dated and annotated, with identified locations, personalities, etc. Pretty much day-by-day chronicle of the ship operation, which unfolds in front of your eyes. There are photographs with little arrows marking new pieces of hardware installed on Tirpitz, other photographs where the arrows identify Tirpitz escorts, etc. Also carefully reconstructed maps, detailed camo schemes, wartime photographs next to the present-day photographs illustrating the locations where Tirpitz was parked in Norwegian fjords, etc. The wealth of visual information is mind-blowing. I have had no ideas that all of these pictures exist - normally one gets to see a few dozen of well-known photos that are reprinted from one book to another. Here we are talking about many hundreds of the previously unseen photographs. In my case, it proved immensely useful for my own research.
2552118
There are already several very detailed reviews here about this book, so I'll avoid repeating what they said. I'll just add my four-star rating by saying that this is a surprisingly interesting and easy to read book, given the fact that the main topic is not something one might expect to be particularly captivating. But Turner's excellent writing style, combined with an amazing amount of research spanning several topics from history to religion, makes this a thoroughly enjoyable book from front to back. The only reason I didn't give it a full five stars was that, if anything, it's a bit too long and spends too much time going into excrutiating detail on minor points. I think the author could have shortened this book by nearly a hundred pages and still achieved the full effect he intended. However, he certainly does present an exhaustive discussion of this topic and I am amazed at how much I learned. One final note: Perusing through the bibliography after I finished, I was utterly astonished at the volume of research the author did for this book. I cannot imagine how much time he spent putting together this delightful book, though I'm certainly thankful for his efforts.
3960163
This book is a wonderful, comprehensive collection of essays covering a wide variety of topics integral to an understanding of the "art" of negotiation.  As a litigator, I find myself spending a large amount of time in negotiations.  I picked up this volume because it came highly recommended by a friend of mine who has been involved in the field of negotiations for several years now, and I can only echo my friend's recommendation.  The book is organized into topical chapters, all of which can be read independently from one another and are written in a manner that makes the information, research and theories easily accessible even for relative newcomers to the field of negotiations.  Most importantly, this book is geared towards giving readers not only the tools to become better negotiators, but also to explain why and how these tools are successful - information that I believe is critical to one's ability to effectively implement negotiating techniques based on the specific situations and people one encounters.  Of particular interest to me were those chapters that deal with the more psychological aspects of negotiations, such as importance of gender, emotions, identity and culture; topics that are key to an understanding of interpersonal relationships and all too often are either ignored or only superficially touched upon.  I highly recommend this book to everybody interested in educating themselves about the topic of negotiations - and becoming a better negotiator along the way.
4148089
By far, this is the most interesting book I've read about the Linux operating system.

It contains fantastic coverage of a wide range of topics at varying levels of detail. The writing style is very appealing and the details are wonderfully selected and presented. The many chapters allow the user to explore each domain to varying levels of depth and breadth.

We have to thank the author (a leading contributor to Linux documentation) for having taken the time to produce it with such level of attention and sensitivity to optimal organization.

This is highly recommended for those who are looking for a book to learn about the details of Linux internals  in a lucid and exciting style.

I have a paper copy -- beautifully printed and covered -- and I look forward to purchase a kindle version,  too . . .