Book Description
This photo of Escherichia coli being attacked by bacteriophages highlights rapidly developing technologies for using phages to treat antibiotic resistant infections without destroying normal resident bacteria, and without side effects. Phages are also being used to detect and remove pathogens from our food supplies, both plant and animal. Also exciting is the use of phages as vehicles to delivery DNA vaccines, often directly to mammalian immune system cells. Recent work also suggests possible antitumor effects of phages. We stand on the edge of a whole new world of exploration and applications of microbiology.
For over 20 years, and through five editions, Black's Microbiology: Principles and Explorations has captured students' imaginations. Her enthusiasm, passion, and knack for memorable stories and anecdotes bring the study of microbiology to life in a way few other texts can match.
Now updated to reflect the latest topics in the field (e.g., SARS, bioterrorism, GMO's, geomicrobiology) and accompanied by state-of-the-art animations of key concepts, this new edition is sure to help inspire a new generation of enthusiasts for the dynamic science of microbiology.
Critical Acclaim
"I continue to find Black's text an excellent contribution to undergraduate Microbiology education." --Karen Messley, Rock Valley College
"I like the conversational and informal style Black adopts throughout the book. This is a book, which could very well engage even the most reluctant student. It is comprehensive, nicely detailed, and incorporates many aids to teaching and learning..."--Iris Cook, Westchester CC
"[The text] is a wonderful introduction into the world of microorganisms for students from a wide variety of backgrounds."--Jeff G. Leid, Northern Arizona University
"...I have found it [the book] accurate to a fault, brilliant at getting students motivated and interested in microbiology, and a great practical training book."--Gerard O'Donovan, University of North Texas
Also available
Laboratory Exercises in Microbiology, 2nd Edition
Robert A. Pollack, et al.
ISBN: 0-471-42082-4, 264 pages, paper, (c)2005
Written specifically for allied health students, this lab manual presents a variety of highly engaging activities and experiments that convey the basic concepts of microbiology.
Customer Reviews:
It's ok.......2006-02-19
It's an okay book. I needed it for a class. There are several mistakes on the diagrams (our professor noted which ones).
Lots of typos and missing info........2006-01-07
Good study guide when the answers were in the back. Sometimes the answers were off by one or non existent. If you can get past that, it does help, but jeez don't they employ a proofreader? For thirty bucks, I was kind of disappointed. The textbook is great.
Wonderfully Informative Book!!!.......2005-12-12
WOW! I love this book. Every time I read part of it I learn so much stuff that I never knew before. It is fairly advanced information but it is written in a very understandable way. I am in high school and I like it because it teaches in the same format as my school's biology text books. I use this book because I like to read about this stuff. It is so facinating. If you are in a high school biology class, read this and you will be light years ahead of every one else!
Great book for teachers and students.......2005-09-17
This text explains some very complex information in a very reader-friendly way. The photos, charts and practical examples of how microbiology impacts everyone's life make it very readable. I would recommend it for teachers and students!
Micro Made Easy.......2005-09-14
This is one of the best text books I have ever used. The information is clear, concise, and interesting. It gives examples throughout the book of how microbiology is being used now to help us.
Book Description
An incredible, true-life adventure set on the most dangerous frontier of all—outer spaceIn the nearly forty years since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, space travel has come to be seen as a routine enterprise—at least until the shuttle Columbia disintegrated like the Challenger before it, reminding us, once again, that the dangers are all too real.
Too Far from Home vividly captures the hazardous realities of space travel. Every time an astronaut makes the trip into space, he faces the possibility of death from the slightest mechanical error or instance of bad luck: a cracked O-ring, an errant piece of space junk, an oxygen leak . . . There are a myriad of frighteningly probable events that would result in an astronaut’s death. In fact, twenty-one people who have attempted the journey have been killed.
Yet for a special breed of individual, the call of space is worth the risk. Men such as U.S. astronauts Donald Pettit and Kenneth Bowersox, and Russian flight engineer Nikolai Budarin, who in November 2002 left on what was to be a routine fourteen-week mission maintaining the International Space Station.
But then, on February 1, 2003, the Columbia exploded beneath them. Despite the numerous news reports examining the tragedy, the public remained largely unaware that three men remained orbiting the earth. With the launch program suspended indefinitely, these astronauts had suddenly lost their ride home.
Too Far from Home chronicles the efforts of the beleaguered Mission Controls in Houston and Moscow as they work frantically against the clock to bring their men safely back to Earth, ultimately settling on a plan that felt, at best, like a long shot.
Latched to the side of the space station was a Russian-built Soyuz TMA-1 capsule, whose technology dated from the late 1960s (in 1971 a malfunction in the Soyuz 11 capsule left three Russian astronauts dead.) Despite the inherent danger, the Soyuz became the only hope to return Bowersox, Budarin, and Pettit home.
Chris Jones writes beautifully of the majesty and mystique of space travel, while reminding us all how perilous it is to soar beyond the sky.
Customer Reviews:
Great for those with interest in life in space........2007-09-15
I really enjoyed this book. I have always had an interest in the space program since I grew up in Florida and would watch most launches when I was in grade school. There were just a few parts of the book that might not be totally accurate due to the writers background as a sports writer and that is why I gave 4 stars. Happy reading!
stuck in space..........2007-07-30
In February of 2003 the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere and all seven astronauts aboard were lost. The news shattered the pysche of our nation and as TOO FAR FROM HOME strongly details the last people to see them and who felt their loss so acutely were the 3 astronauts aboard the International Space Station who had just seen Columbia disenage from station. Americans Kenneth Bowersox, and Don Pettit and Russian Nikolai Budarin were left with only the outdated Soviet capsule Soyuz to get back home. With the mission estended and no end in sight the author richly details life aboard the ISS and all the inherent risks of life in space and all the spectacular reasons why men and women risk their lives to be in space.
Couldn't put this book down!.......2007-07-25
I really enjoyed reading this book. The writing is beautiful and very descriptive. It reads like a science fiction book. It is very fast-paced and easy reading.
In November 2002, ten astronauts left Earth aboard the space shuttle Columbia headed for the International Space Station (ISS). The mission was to depart much earlier, but problems, both technical and weather related, marred the launch. On one launch date, when the astronauts were already strapped-in in their seats aboard space shuttle Columbia, bad weather in their emergency landing site in Spain prevented the launch. The astronauts had to return home. On another occasion, a technical fault cancelled the launch. When the new launch date in November was approaching, the astronauts were wandering if more problems would suddenly appear and prevent another launch. Some astronauts believed that the mission had a bad luck aura around it, but did not discuss it openly. One astronaut had told his relatives that he was never coming back home again!
The launch did take place on November 2002, and to spectators on the ground and to the astronauts aboard Columbia the launch was routine and successful. But cameras aboard Columbia transmitted a different image to Mission Control. A piece was dislodged during the launch and hit critical heat shields located underside the shuttle. After reviewing the tape hundreds of times, Mission Control concluded that the piece must have bounced off the underside of the shuttle causing no damage.
On February 1, 2003, only seven of the ten astronauts were heading back to Earth aboard Columbia after bidding farewell to the three astronauts they left behind in the International Space Station. Sadly, they never made it back home. On re-entry, as witnessed by millions of spectators worldwide, Columbia exploded, killing all seven astronauts onboard. Contrary to what Mission Control thought at first, the heat shields were damaged during the launch. The three astronauts left behind in the International Space Station -- Donald Petit, Kenneth Bowersox, and Russian flight engineer Nikolai Budarin -- found themselves too far from home, stranded on the International Space Station!
Mission Controls in Houston and Moscow worked around the clock to bring back the astronauts safely. Launching another Space Shuttle was not an option, since further NASA space shuttle launches were suspended for months, perhaps years. There was also the problem of how to provide the stranded astronauts with enough supplies while they remained in space. Ultimately, they had to settle to a plan that, according to the author, was risky to say the least. Latched to the side of the space station was a Russian-built Soyuz TMA-1 capsule with outdated technology and, according to the Americans, a questionable safety record. In 1971 a malfunction in the Soyuz 11 capsule left three Russian cosmonauts dead (However, as one reviewer on amazon.com pointed out, all Soyuz crews since that mission have worn full pressure suits during launch and entry as a safeguard against that failure happening again). Furthermore, the Soyuz TMA-1 capsule hadn't been flight tested before (there was never a need to use it)! However, as far as the Russians were concerned, the Soyuz was safe and the only way to bring the astronauts back home.
Despite the inherent danger, the Soyuz became the only hope to return Bowersox, Budarin, and Petit home. Interestingly, though, the three astronauts had such a great time aboard the International Space Station that none of them wanted to return home when they were relieved. Aboard the Soyuz, the three astronauts eventually took "an accelerated, lung-crushing dive" back to earth. Their account aboard the Soyuz is remarkable, and will leave you gasping for air!
The author goes back to the history of the space race with Russia; with the first Russian in space; to animals sent in rockets to space; Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon; the Russian space station; and finally to the International Space Station. You will learn a lot of things about life in space that you probably did not know about, assuming you have not read such material before like me. For example, many early astronauts aboard space stations felt lonely and depressed and longed for home. All the earlier astronauts retired from NASA soon after their return from space! Two astronauts actually went on strike for a whole day while on a space station, and refused to continue their mission. They too retired from NASA on their return. However, the Russian cosmonauts fared much better. They adapted well to the loneliness and confines of space, unlike their American counterparts. According to the author, this is due to the simple life of the Russians as compared to the luxurious and comfortable life Americans lead and are used to.
You will learn a lot about the amazing beauty of a space walk, and how astronauts are so mesmerized by the beauty that they forget themselves, floating as in a trance towards Earth. One astronaut almost was lost in this way if it wasn't for another astronaut pulling him back! I actually went to my video store and bought an Imax DVD of a spacewalk! On the funny side, you'll learn how astronauts "take a crap" in zero gravity, and some quite embarrassing situations!
Here's some negative criticism from other reviewers on amazon.com:
"This author skips around with what in the movie business would be called flashbacks; a few of these are fine but I think this author over used them."
"Felt like there was a little too much effort put into making this into a Manly Tale. Everything seems a little too exaggerated -- the spicy language, the icy fear, the burning decisions. Maybe this style would have held up without question in a magazine, but at the novel's length, I kept wondering, "How do you know?" The little details started to feel like some of them were imagined or embellished; the writing was popping me out of being lost in the scene."
Overall, I highly recommend this book if you have never read non-fiction books on space before.
Too far from home: A story of Life and Death in Space.......2007-07-05
Arived quickly in time for a flight to Atlanta and back, was able to get entirely through it during both flights, However I generly like a lininar book, this author skips around with what in the movie business would be called flashbacks, a few of these are fine but I think this author over used them.
This is as good as it gets............2007-06-27
Ordinarily I wouldn't read a book on space travel because it's not something I've ever had an interest in. I picked the book up for my husband. I'm certainly glad I opened it myself. I read one of the comments where the person thought that Chris Jones should stick to what he knows, sports. I think it's obvious that Chris IS sticking to what he knows, the heart and soul that fills a person up and pushes them to go for the impossible. He understands the human spirit and writes about it beautifully. Space travel is a huge, poetic, heroic, incredible achievement that somehow I viewed with a blase' attitude -- Ho-hum, man in space.... What was I thinking! Thanks to Chris I will now always view it with a lump in my throat and gratitude to the remarkable men and women who make it happen.
Book Description
This self-contained laboratory book provides thorough background information and clear directions for conducting experiments and activities. Readers not only learn basic biological concepts but also gain experience using the scientific method.
Includes 41 self-contained exercises and over 250 figures. Exercises cover the following areas: enzymes, photosynthesis, cell division, fungi, terrestrial plants, blood and circulation, digestion, the skeletal system, heredity, DNA fingerprinting, and evolution to name a few.
For those who are interested in introductory biology and want to gain hands-on experience conducting experiments covering basic biological concepts.
Customer Reviews:
Good, but costly...it's a textbook.......2007-09-10
This workbook is a required book to go along with my regular textbook for my introductory biology class. It is well laid out and easy to work with.
Average customer rating:
- Great for Grads/Professional--confusing and convoluted for undergrad
- Best introduction to neural network models of cognitive processes
- A new paradigm
- A new paradigm
|
Computational Explorations in Cognitive Neuroscience: Understanding the Mind by Simulating the Brain
Randall C. O'Reilly , and
Yuko Munakata
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
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Theoretical Neuroscience: Computational and Mathematical Modeling of Neural Systems
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Fundamentals of Computational Neuroscience
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The Computational Brain (Computational Neuroscience)
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Spiking Neuron Models
ASIN: 0262650541 |
Book Description
The goal of computational cognitive neuroscience is to understand how the brain embodies the mind by using biologically based computational models comprising networks of neuronlike units. This text, based on a course taught by Randall O'Reilly and Yuko Munakata over the past several years, provides an in-depth introduction to the main ideas in the field. The neural units in the simulations use equations based directly on the ion channels that govern the behavior of real neurons, and the neural networks incorporate anatomical and physiological properties of the neocortex. Thus the text provides the student with knowledge of the basic biology of the brain as well as the computational skills needed to simulate large-scale cognitive phenomena.
The text consists of two parts. The first part covers basic neural computation mechanisms: individual neurons, neural networks, and learning mechanisms. The second part covers large-scale brain area organization and cognitive phenomena: perception and attention, memory, language, and higher-level cognition. The second part is relatively self-contained and can be used separately for mechanistically oriented cognitive neuroscience courses. Integrated throughout the text are more than forty different simulation models, many of them full-scale research-grade models, with friendly interfaces and accompanying exercises. The simulation software (PDP++, available for all major platforms) and simulations can be downloaded free of charge from the Web. Exercise solutions are available, and the text includes full information on the software.
Customer Reviews:
Great for Grads/Professional--confusing and convoluted for undergrad.......2006-11-17
I am currently taking a honors psych class which utilizes this textbook as a lab handout (we solve the exercises closing out each chapter). I find this book very hard to read due to the language and the explanations the authors use to explain certain topics. The book reads more like a guide for those already familiar with the subject matter, and the questions closing out each chapter are even harder to understand than the chapter text itself. If the authors wish the book to be of any help to undergrads who are not already familiar with the topic they should take a step back and revise the text so that it is understandable for all. NOTE TO UA STUDENTS THINKING OF TAKING THE CLASS WHICH UTILIZES THIS BOOK
---->dont.
Best introduction to neural network models of cognitive processes.......2006-03-23
"Computational Explorations in Cognitive Neuroscience" provides a very readable overview of state-of-the-art neural network models for human cognition with an emphasis on both biological plausibility and experimental (psychological/cognitive) evidence.
A new paradigm.......2000-09-27
In this book, research themes, which include perception, memory, language as well as high-level cognition, are explained in terms of computation. Their theory is based on brain science, computer science, and psychology. Though the authors speculate about the functions of each part of the brain and the relation among them to some extent, the authors propose a new paradigm to existing sciences. Their integrative approach and method are very simulative, and I've got a lot of hints from this book. But I don't need the usageof particular software, PDP++ in such a theoretical book. The authors explain and demonstrate their models and theories using PDP++ at the end of each chapter. If you want to study how to use PDP++ as well as their theories, this book will be extremely good one.
A new paradigm.......2000-09-27
In this book, research themes including perception, memory, and language as well as high-level cognition are explained in terms of computation. Their theories are based on brain science, computer science, and psychology. Though the authors speculate about the functions of the brain and the relation among them to some extent, the authors propose a new paradigm to existing sciences. Their integrative approach and method are very simulative, and I've got a lot of hints from this book. But I don't need the usage of particular software, PDP++ in such a theoretical book. The authors explain and demonstrate their models and theories using PDP++ at the end of each chapter. If you want to study how to use PDP++ as well as their theories, this book will be truly excellent.
Customer Reviews:
Good, although a little dated..........2006-12-20
It is indeed a weighty volume that as the other reviewer said must have been a labour of love. It contains all kinds of topics, from hypnosis and meditation to rolfing and biofeedback and many, many others. I ended up giving my copy away though. I bought it for use as I was studying psychology/counseling and wanted something that had a good overview of the healing modalities available, along with some objective comment. It certainly had that and is well researched, yet in the end I felt that if I wanted to learn about many of the topics in this book, I'd just do my own research, probably beginning on the web and then picking a few good books on that topic and I think I'd have gotten a much better outline than a few pages on each area can really give. That said, it must have been a monumental effort to combine such a volume and the author is to be commended for that.
An encyclopedia about the human body.......2006-09-12
This book is a must ready for anyone interested in increasing their human potential. Murphy cites countless studies done on the human body, ranging from the normal to the paranormal. In my case, as a writer and long time yoga teacher this book has been invaluable for quoting to my students. I recommend it to people who want to open their minds to ever expanding human potentials.
Modern classic missing pertinent content, yet, a must read!.......2006-01-27
The Future of the Body is what I would consider a "modern classic."
It is one of the truly comprehensive texts published on modern consciousness and transformative studies. I can't recommend it enough as mandatory reading for any student in the field of consciousness, transpersonal, and transformative psychology (or any field directly related to human potentials). However, my only reservation is that there is virtually no mention of psychoactives, those taboos of human culture, within the text as a whole. This fact alone keeps it from being truly comprehensive in terms of transformative capacities and forms of transcendence as defined by leaders in the field such as Susanne Cook-Greuter and even Ken Wilber (though I recognize his lack of attendance to this issue). Despite this omission, this text is, in my opinion, required reading for all students of consciousness-related studies.
-Ph.D student at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology
Who is the subject of evolution?.......2004-02-23
With some reservations I found this compendium of disparate information a useful survey and a flying question mark about the meaning of the term 'evolution', a term long since fallen into a ditch whence it stumbles forth into still more confusion, with a black eye from the brain-dead Darwin debate. The number of wild pitches (the phantom index in most such books being high)is not out of hand. The New Age attempts to define the term 'evolution' are at their best as an indirect comment on Darwinian versions, but fail as soon as they attempt to remap its meaning in 'spiritual' terms. Nevertheless this text indicates the only avenue of approach, which is to map out just what creature it is that we are supposed to be explaining. And the answer is that we don't know. The temporary ongoing 'conclusion' is that we can't produce a theory of evolution because we haven't the foggiest what man's 'evolutionary psychology' really is. But one thing is clear, Darwinism is very far off the mark, and the current ostrich style of pontificating the subtle side of man out of existence in the name of Darwin's phoney theory can't go on forever. Or maybe it can. Scientists simply don't respond to suggestions that they don't have a grip on man, and who man is.
The standard problem with books like this (and this one is much better than most)is the 'passing of bad pennies', sudden passages of garbage in, garbage out. That is, metaphysical versions of occult or other 'spiritual' phenomena. The road is long and hard here, but, taken with reserve, we have grounds for protest at the amputation of man being enforced in an age of Big Science dogma.
One problem is that New Age thinking has spawned a category of 'self-evolution' and this has become the favorite of many gurus, and others. This attempt to appropriate the word 'evolution' adds still more confusion. The problem is that 'evolution' is confused with 'self-realization', the evolution of that self being unknown, a mystery of the descent of humans in the Paleolithic. Sometimes evolution and involution are confused or braided together. It is not true that realized men have a better understanding of evolution. Indeed, the legacy of gurus show they can't reckon their own history,let alone the large scale development of the species man. It is worth noting the legacy of German classical philosophy, as this suggests, prior to such figures as Hegel, the 'noumenal' aspect of the conscious subject. That insight might be helpful in putting the labyrinth in perspective, for the New Age field is littered with metaphysical zoo items mixed with the genuine insights into the sheer complexity of human nature that make the 'sociobiology crammed down our throats' an episode of primitive hi-tech cavemen. The implications of the Axial Age concept and data give one hint of the scale of 'macro evolution' that transcends even the insights of the Enlightened, for there we see the 'generated' aspect of world religion, acting beyond the realm of the oblivious yogi, what to say of the mechanized monotheist.
Usefully provoking book, taken with considerable caution.
Interesting Book.......2003-05-01
I gave this book 5 stars because it is very extensive in its scope - it is not, however, the final word on this topic, there is more - I guess there is always more and there are always even more amazing stories. The book explores different phenomena, some rather rare and unusual, as in the following excerpt:
"Thurston quoted a sister Margherita Cortonesi:
"On one occasion, among others, when [Sister Veronica] being in a trance state was reciting her Office alternately with some invisible being, she was observed gradually to stretch out until the length of her throat seemed to be out of all proportion in such a way that she was altogether much taller than usual. We, noticing this strange occurrence, looked to see if she was raised from the ground, but this, so far as our eyes could tell, was not the case. So, to make sure, we took a yard-measure and measured her height, and afterwards when she had come to herself we measured her again, and she was at least a span (ten inches or more) shorter. This we have seen with our own eyes, all of us nuns who were in the chapel."
In 1629, a Donna Hortenzia Ghini stated under oath that:
"Sister Lisabetta Pancrazi, formerly a nun in the same convent, told me that on one occasion, seeing that the said Sister Veronica when in ecstasy seemed taller than in her normal state, took a yard-measure and measured her height, and that after the said Sister Veronica came to herself she measured her again with the said yard-measure, and she found that she was half an arm's length shorter."
Among other religious who allegedly exhibited elongation, the Capuchiness Abbess Costante Maria Castreca was said to have grown a considerable height from the ground during a religious ecstasy; the Venerable Domenica dal Paradiso grew taller in trance, according to her spiritual director and confidants. Because such phenomena were not thought to be marks of holiness, they were noted simply because they were unusual.
I include such phenomena in this discussion because they indicate the body's responsiveness to altered states of mind. When consciousness is released from some of its ordinary constraints, whether in ecstasies or dissociated states, ligaments and muscles are sometimes liberated too.:
Download Description
"On July 20, 1969, the world stood still to watch thirty-eight-year-old American astronaut Neil A. Armstrong become the first person ever to step on the surface of another heavenly body. Perhaps no words in human history became better known than those few he uttered at that historic moment. Upon his return to Earth, Armstrong was honored and celebrated for his monumental achievement. He was also -- as James R. Hansen reveals in this fascinating and important authorized biography -- misunderstood. Armstrong's accomplishments as an engineer, a test pilot, and an astronaut have long been a matter of record, but Hansen's unprecedented access to private documents and unpublished sources and his interviews with more than 125 subjects (including more than fifty hours with Armstrong himself) yield this first in-depth analysis of an elusive American celebrity still renowned the world over. In a riveting narrative filled with revelations, Hansen vividly re-creates Armstrong's career in flying, from his seventy-eight combat missions as a naval aviator flying over North Korea to his formative transatmospheric flights in the rocket-powered X-15 to his piloting Gemini VIII to the first-ever docking in space. These milestones made it seem, as Armstrong's mother, Viola, memorably put it, ""as if from the very moment he was born -- farther back still -- that our son was somehow destined for the Apollo 11 mission."" For a pilot who cared more about flying to the Moon than he did about walking on it, Hansen asserts, Armstrong's storied vocation exacted a dear personal toll, paid in kind by his wife and children. For the thirty-six years since the Moon landing, rumors have swirled around Armstrong concerning his dreams of space travel, his religious beliefs, and his private life. In a penetrating exploration of American hero worship, Hansen addresses the complex legacy of the First Man, as an astronaut and as an individual. In First Man, the personal, technological, epic, and iconic blend to form the portrait of a great but reluctant hero who will forever be known as history's most famous space traveler. "
Customer Reviews:
ABSOLUTELY AN HISTORICAL MUST!.......2007-10-06
WHETHER YOU LIVED THROUGH THE ERA OF THE LANDING ON THE MOON OR ARE A YOUNGER PERSON WHO HAS ONLY HEARD THAT THE USA WALKED ON THE MOON, THIS BOOK IS THE ABSOLUTE HISTORICAL AUTHORITY FOR NOW AND FUTURE GENERATIONS.
IT IS FILLED WITH DETAILS AND EVENTS THAT ONLY NEIL ARMSTRONG HIMSELF COULD PROVIDE. I AM SO GRATEFUL TO DR. HANSEN TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WRITE THIS BIOGRAPHY WITH THE COOPERATION OF NEIL ARMSTRONG HIMSELF. THIS WILL BE THE ONLY BOOK OF ITS KIND!!
Extremely difficult read.......2007-08-27
I was very disappointed in the book First Man. Mr. Hansen is apparently writing to an audience which includes only pilots, engineers, or other astronauts. I found it an exceptionally difficult read, filled with pages of inane (to the lay reader) information about formulation and testing of numerous aircraft. I purchased the book in order to read a biography about a great American hero; instead, I got an in-depth lesson on engineering, flight, robotics, etc. My advice? Forget about this book if you are interested in learning about Neil Armstrong the man.
Finally.......2007-07-10
Neal Armstrong is a national hero, brave beyond compare and worthy of all the lifetime accolades he's received... save one. He has never been generous with the experiences that cost the nation over 25 billion Dollars. Even in this book it's a small part; this book is primarily a biography, not an account of the lunar landing.
I'm sorry, I just have a really hard time thinking well of this man. In my opinion it's not right to treat these accounts as belonging solely to him when we paid such a high price in Dollars... and others paid for with their lives.
Great book about a great man.......2007-05-09
Even if you think you know everything about Neil Armstrong and America's historic mission to be the first to land men on the Moon, this remarkable book by Dr. James Hansen contributes a host of fascinating new insights into not only the character of Apollo 11's enigmatic commander but also into the nature of the spacefaring enterprise itself. It is a book for all time."
One huge disappointment for man... one giant mess for reader kind..........2007-05-04
I have read article after article on Neil A. Armstrong. I have read snippets in the biographies of many other astronauts and NASA administrators. I've read news stories and seen so many documentaries that I could probably tell the story of his NASA experience better than Neil himself. This story lacked anything resembling excitement. It failed from the first page to be interesting and couldn't even interest me when talking about his great accomplishment of landing on the moon. There was no conflict. There was no interaction. There was no impressions of Neil as it relates to his fellow astronauts. There were no pieces to the puzzle of a man who remains just as mysterious on the last page as he was before the book is ever opened. Sadly, this author accomplishes only one thing... Taking an interesting character from history and making him seem about as exciting as watching paint dry.
Average customer rating:
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The Zoological Exploration of Southern Africa 1650-1790
L. C. Rookmaaker
Manufacturer: CRC
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ASIN: 9061918677 |
Book Description
The 18th century witnessed a new interest in African animals. Research was undertaken at the Cape of Good Hope by explorers whose books, manuscripts and drawings concerning mammals and birds are listed and discussed within this text.;This text gives details on four collections of 300 mammal and bird drawings connected with Levaillant's research. Many examples are illustrated. The zoological contents of the material left by these seven explorers are analyzed for all mammals and birds emphasizing the history, taxonomy, nomenclature and zoogeography.
Book Description
Learn Data Mining by doing data mining
Data mining can be revolutionary-but only when it's done right. The powerful black box data mining software now available can produce disastrously misleading results unless applied by a skilled and knowledgeable analyst. Discovering Knowledge in Data: An Introduction to Data Mining provides both the practical experience and the theoretical insight needed to reveal valuable information hidden in large data sets.
Employing a "white box" methodology and with real-world case studies, this step-by-step guide walks readers through the various algorithms and statistical structures that underlie the software and presents examples of their operation on actual large data sets. Principal topics include:
* Data preprocessing and classification
* Exploratory analysis
* Decision trees
* Neural and Kohonen networks
* Hierarchical and k-means clustering
* Association rules
* Model evaluation techniques
Complete with scores of screenshots and diagrams to encourage graphical learning, Discovering Knowledge in Data: An Introduction to Data Mining gives students in Business, Computer Science, and Statistics as well as professionals in the field the power to turn any data warehouse into actionable knowledge.
An Instructor's Manual presenting detailed solutions to all the problems in the book is available online.
Download Description
Learn Data Mining by doing data mining
Data mining can be revolutionary-but only when it's done right. The powerful black box data mining software now available can produce disastrously misleading results unless applied by a skilled and knowledgeable analyst. Discovering Knowledge in Data: An Introduction to Data Mining provides both the practical experience and the theoretical insight needed to reveal valuable information hidden in large data sets.
Employing a "white box" methodology and with real-world case studies, this step-by-step guide walks readers through the various algorithms and statistical structures that underlie the software and presents examples of their operation on actual large data sets. Principal topics include:
* Data preprocessing and classification
* Exploratory analysis
* Decision trees
* Neural and Kohonen networks
* Hierarchical and k-means clustering
* Association rules
* Model evaluation techniques
Complete with scores of screenshots and diagrams to encourage graphical learning, Discovering Knowledge in Data: An Introduction to Data Mining gives students in Business, Computer Science, and Statistics as well as professionals in the field the power to turn any data warehouse into actionable knowledge.
Customer Reviews:
conveys basic ideas.......2006-08-25
The book gives a good introduction to data mining. Larose manages to cover the important techniques used to analyse data and turn it into knowledge. These include neural networks, various types of clustering. Most importantly, perhaps, he discusses how to try various models and how to evaluate the effectiveness of each model.
The book's length is insufficient for many readers to actually get enough information to apply several of the methods. The details of using neural networks, for example, can be quite voluminous. But the value of the book is in conveying the basic qualitative ideas of the methods.
Customer Reviews:
A Truly Adventurous Life.......2007-03-16
During the golden age of exploration Samuel Baker's destiny becomes entwined with that of the extraordinary Florenz at an Ottoman empire slave auction. The two share a long lasting love for each other and adventure that endures the hardships of 9 years in Africa and the navigation of Victorian British society. The book offers many insights into their adventures and relationships with notable friends, such as, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Sir Richard Burton, Speke & Grant, and Chinese Gordon.
Book Description
Spaceflight Life Support and Biospherics is the introduction to space life support systems and artificial ecosystems that has so far been lacking. It is a source of information for everyone involved in the life support system design and development process -- engineers, scientists, and students -- as well as all those who are simply interested in this existing discipline. The structure of this book is such that it gives step-by-step answers to the basic questions concerning life support systems on any scale -- from small microbial systems to the Earth's biosphere: + Why life support system development and biosphere research? + How does our natural life support system, the biosphere, work? + What are the environmental conditions for life support systems in space? + What are the fundamental terms and requirements of life support? + Which physicochemical life support subsystems currently exist? + Which are the potential bioregenerative life support technologies of the future? + What are life support systems of future planetary habitats going to look like? + What are the experiences of the largest artificial ecosystem -- Biosphere 2? + What are the potential terrestrial benefits of life support development?
Customer Reviews:
Very useful.......2007-04-18
I bought this book as research for a paper on water and food production on long-term space missions. The book is well written, easy to read, and packed with lots of good information. Very useful.
A very good introduction and summary to the topic.......1996-08-30
Spaceflight life support and biospherics is a very well written book
that gives engineers, scientists and students all information needed
for this topic. It may become, or it is already, the Standard-Handbook on life support systems
for space.
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