ELIZABETH: FIFTY GLORIOUS YEARS.

Amazon.com

Once again, the Bison Books imprint of the University of Nebraska Press has reached into baseball's past and returned with a Hall of Fame read. Fear Strikes Out is one of the game's most dramatic autobiographies. It is also one of the most important. When first published in 1955, it ventured into territory traditionally considered out of play for a sports story. "I must have been quite a card when I first broke into baseball's big league as a Boston Red Sox rookie in 1952," Piersall opens rather cheerily. He was a baseball clown, and the fans loved his offbeat shenanigans. One paragraph later, he tosses a huge, hanging curve. "Almost everybody...thought I was a riot. My wife knew I was sick, yet she was helpless to stop my mad rush toward a mental collapse."

In time, Piersall would become one of the silkiest centerfielders of the '50s--no mean feat given his contemporaries Mantle and Mays. A new afterword by Piersall catches us up to his later years (and stunts) in baseball and his post-career as a broadcaster. Fear is actually a prologue to that. It's a courageous story. Piersall's demons had him by the throat and nearly choked him. The breakdown he suffered early in his rookie years was so complete and so terrifying that his mind blanked out the next seven months before his own healing allowed for a painful reconstruction. Given that Fear was written in an era before biographic confessional and the public washing of an athlete's unclean flannels, Piersall's honesty and detail about mental illness, hospitalization, psychiatric therapy, and the struggle back to sanity are extraordinary. This is a truly marvelous book--better than the movie starring Anthony Perkins that was made from it--and, like the lead-off hitter Piersall was, it's earned its spot at the top of the order of any serious collection of baseball biographies. --Jeff Silverman

Customer Reviews:

Helped me deal with my parents' mental illness.......2005-02-02

After my parents both were committed to a state hospital on two different occasions, I lived with the secret -- in shame. While in grade school, I was looking for a sports book to read and ran across Piersall's book. By publicly telling his story and frankly admitting he was mentally ill, Piersall helped me change my attitude and lose my shame. I realized mental illness is quite common and can be treated successfully.

The book was a godsend to a child living with psychological trauma.

Fine-If Sanitized- Story. Good '50s Backdrop........2000-11-09

"Fear Strikes Out" tells the tale of Jimmy Piersall, who played for the Boston Red Sox in the early to late 1950s. He and Willy Mays of the Giants were the best defensive center fielders in pro baseball then and perhaps ever. "FSO" is more concerned with Jimmy's nervous breakdown in 1952 and his subsequent recovery. The real story should be his patient wife, without whom Piersall would have been at sea. The Catholic Church has canonized people for less! "FSO" skims along the edges of Jimmy's problems but to its' credit does not sweep them under a rug. The problems may be sanitized but not trivialized. In my opinion, the true meat of the book is its' 1950s American League backdrop, which I'm just barely old enough to remember. Red Sox fans should enjoy reading about Ted Lepcio, Lou Boudreau, Ellis Kinder, Joe Cronin and Billy Goodman. "FSO" has a limited scope and appeal. The 1950s sportsworld was lilly white and not given to tell all, dirt digging locker room scoops and the book reflects that era. Jimmy gets a free pass on some (not all) of his antics. Readers who accept those constraints should find "FSO" enjoyable and worthwhile. Anyone with a dad or uncle, etc who is a hardcore Red Sox fan has a great Christmas present to click unto.

Fine-If Sanitized- Story. Good '50s Backdrop........2000-11-09

Inspirational, not informative.......2000-06-09

This short biography of talented centerfielder Jim Piersall of the Red Sox has long been well-received for it's frank portrayal of mental illness and the difficult road to recovery. Unfortunately, the book is ultimately disappointing because it goes only to the brink of discovery; we never fully understand the real cause of the illness or have explained to us what the treatment was like.

The book begins with Piersall's fascinating life story including his difficult family life and we see the strains of his illness develop from his earliest memories. Piersall proves to be a very real person and his humanity is quite believable as he accomplishes many things under the heavy burden of his illness. However, about the time Piersall suffers his blackout, the book blacks out as well and we only learn about his descent into madness as he thumbs through photo albums with his longsuffering wife. He only mentions in passing that he received shock therapy, but we never learn why or for how long or whether there were other treatments involved. The book has a gloriously happy ending with Piersall fully recovered and on his way to Spring Training for next season. I think the reason for this is that the book may have been written as a sort of apology or explanation to the general public about Piersall and his antics on and off the field; it also may have been considered poor taste in the 1950s to have been more descriptive than that.

Overall, this book is great for biographical information on Piersall and as an inspirational story of triumph over adversity, but may leave you hungry for more detail.

Good book!.......1999-03-17

It is one of the best books I have read in my life

Fear Strikes Out: the Jim Piersall Story

Average customer rating:

Fear Strikes Out: the Jim Piersall Story
Jim & Al Hirshberg Piersall
Manufacturer: Grosset & Dunlap
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O3XPK0

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Fear Strikes Out The Jim Piersall Story
Hirshberg
Manufacturer: Little Brown and Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JEAIRM

Book Description

Moviegoing in America catalogs the social and cultural change that has attended America's favorite pastime from the days of the nickelodeon to the dominance of the multiplex. Bringing together an impressive range of historical scholarship, Gregory A. Waller charts the evolution of film exhibition and reception as a function of changing patterns of American community, identity, and consumption.Pairing notable current research with extensive primary material - drawn from trade accounts, popular magazines, and exhibitor handbooks - Moviegoing in America deepens our understanding of the role of film in everyday life by exploring the movie theater as commercial venue, physical environment, public sphere, community centerpiece, and all-important site where audiences experience the movies and experience themselves as an audience.

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poor and limited database !

poor and limited database

Solid opening book

The Meran System
Steffen Pedersen
Manufacturer: Gambit Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chess | Board Games | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Botvinnik Semi-Slav

The Slav : Concise coverage of a dependable and dynamic opening favoured by many top-class players

Understanding The King's Indian

The Slav

The French: Tarrasch Variation

ASIN: 1901983285

Book Description

The Meran is an opening rich in both strategy and tactics, making it ideal for players seeking to win with either colour. It occupies an important place in the repertoires of many of the world's top players, with Anand, Kramnik, Kasparov and Karpov regularly taking one side or the other. The book provides the most detailed coverage to date of the Meran, together with several related variations, and the various Anti-Meran options available to White. Together with the author's The Botvinnik Semi-Slav, it provides complete coverage of the Semi-Slav, the most combative line of the Queen's Gambit. Other Gambit titles: Test Your Chess, The Main Line French: 3 Nc3, The French: Tarrasch Variation, French: Advance and Other Lines, The Gambit Guide to the Bogo-Indian, The Gambit Guide to the Benko Gambit.

Customer Reviews:

poor and limited database !.......2004-06-03

It's only a poor limited database.
I'm really disappointed to bye this Gambit book
I bought this book just after the excellent work of Burgess in
Slav defence.
U can't learn opening from this book.
If u want to learn the ideas of Slav or Semi-Slav or QG ,
Sadler is the best,
then u can use chess base or chess assistant to see more....
I will never bye another book of PEDERSEN.

poor and limited database.......2004-06-03

When I compare this work with Sadler and Burgess.......!
It's only a poor limited database.
I'm really disappointed to bye this Gambit book
I bought this book just after excellent book of
Burgess : The Slav! but these books are not comparable
If u want to learn the ideas of Slav or Semi-Slav or QG ,
Sadler is the best
U can't learn opening from this book.

I will never bye another book of PEDERSEN !

Solid opening book.......2002-10-09

This is one of those Gambit opening books that are easy to read and contain enough analysis for a strong player to base his opening repertoire on, both for white and black. Myself, I play Meran with white only.
Pedersen's opening books are pretty close to what I expect of opening books. But more specific discussion of the ideas behind the opening in the style of Yrjölä's books, or in the style of the "Pirc Alert!" would make this even better, especially for the intermediate player and below.
This book complements the same author's Botvinnik Semi-Slav book, which also includes the Moscow variation. One reviewer called the other book even better than this one, so I'll definitely buy it some day if I start playing this system with black also.
But where are the analyses on the Noteboom and the 4.e4 gambit variations?

Transgenic Plants: A Production System for Industrial and Pharmaceutical Proteins

Average customer rating:

An Emerging concept - Well handled

Transgenic Plants: A Production System for Industrial and Pharmaceutical Proteins

Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Biochemistry | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Biotechnology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Genetics | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

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General | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Transgenic Plants: A Production System for Industrial and Pharmaceutical Proteins provides a detailed guide to the principles and practice of using transgenic plants as a system for the production of heterologous proteins. It is unique in that it covers the complete process of heterologous protein production in plants, from the initial transformation of the plant, through to transcription, transgene stability and finally the downstreaming processing events for protein purification. Written by an international team of industrialists and academics, this book describes:

the fundamental issues associated with expressing heterologous proteins in plants;
a number of detailed examples of the successful small-and large-scale production of proteins;
the essentials of patenting; and
the commercial exploitation.

Transgenic Plants: A Production System for Industrial and Pharmaceutical Proteins will be of interest to plant biotechnologists, molecular biologists and protein biochemists in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Customer Reviews:

An Emerging concept - Well handled.......2000-05-21

The editors have made a sincere and good attempt at introducing the reader to the emerging concept of using transgenic plants as a production system for valuable industrial and pharmaceutical products. In the first half of the book the editors have compiled the various topics which are the fundamental aspects of recombinant protein production in plants, thus making the reader aware of the intricacies involved in genetic manipulation of plants. The editors have also included examples of industrially and pharmaceutically important proteins that have been produced in plants. A few chapters have also been devoted to highlight the potential of using transgenic plants as production systems on comparision with other systems in terms of downstream processing and commercial feasibility. The illustrations are appropriate and in compliance with the text. The editors have also included a number of references at the end of each chapter which makes useful further reading. The only drawback is that the book can be comprehended only by graduate students of biology; and a more simpler version, abundant with illustrations and graphics might be necessary to enlighten the novice. On the whole the book is well organized and a lot of effort has been put in; although there is always scope for improvement.

Average customer rating:

Transgenic Plants a Production System
Meran R L Owen
Manufacturer: WILEY, JOHN @ & SONS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N67JNC

Average customer rating:

Transgenic Plants: A Production System for Industrial and Pharmaceutical Proteins
Meran R. Owen
Manufacturer: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBMPTQ

Book Description

This inspiring volume offers 250 uplifting quotations from master motivator Zig Ziglar and other inspirational men and women such as Abraham Lincoln and Helen Keller. Also included are famous quotes of unknown origin. Covering topics that include attitude, self-image, goals, motivation, success, and relationships, this collection is brimming with optimism.

"When you're tough on yourself, life is going to be infinitely easier on you." --Zig Ziglar

"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want." --Ben Stein

"Whether you think you can or think you can't--you are right." --Henry Ford

Customer Reviews:

Keep this book on your desk........2007-05-21

This book is classic Zig. Inspiring! It is the perfect companion to keep with you on your desk or in your briefcase.

Average customer rating:

Is this SAT practice?

The Best

Packed With Knowledge!

Great Insight!

Great Insight!

The Real Warren Buffett: Managing Capital, Leading People
James O'Loughlin
Manufacturer: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Buffett, Warren | ( B ) | People, A-Z | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Leadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Essays of Warren Buffett : Lessons for Corporate America

The Warren Buffett Way, Second Edition

The Warren Buffett CEO: Secrets From the Berkshire Hathaway Managers

Damn Right: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger

Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist

ASIN: 1857883322

Book Description

Book buyers and Buffett admirers alike, have praised The Real Warren Buffett for its compelling insights into how the second richest man in America achieved his astounding success.

Customer Reviews:

Is this SAT practice?.......2005-05-14

It's not that I don't understand what he's saying. It's just that the writer seems to try to impress us with his big vocabulary.

I've been studying for the GRE, and it seems like every few sentences of this book has a GRE word in it. This is actually good for me, since it's helping me study. However, I feel like this style of writing just doesn't flow for me. I've read almost every other Buffett book out there, and most of them flow better than this book.

The author tries to describe Buffett's thought patterns as if he has gotten into his head somehow. Interesting theories, but I don't see any clear evidence indicating how the author knows these things. How do you know what's going on inside Buffett's head? There's a good chance that half this book is made up.

The Best.......2005-02-02

I have read every Warren Buffett book there is and this one is the best by far. The reason: the discussion regarding the development of a circle of competence and dealing with what is both knowable and important and ignoring what is important but not knowable. No other Buffett book covers this absolutely critical issue like this book.

Packed With Knowledge!.......2004-06-12

A sentence crafter happily at work, James O'Loughlin imparts clarity with literacy. On the rare occasion that his industrious research does not find just the right quote from Buffett or Munger (chapters average 90 footnotes), he uses their favorite metaphors from sports and life. This is excellent writing that falls short only on prophesy and damnation. Buffett must pass Berkshire on to an heir in the next decade, but exactly who might follow him is given short shrift. How this unknown magician might cope with Munger (too old to be an heir) is avoided carefully. The manuscript was begun before September 11, 2001, created insurance chaos, but O'Loughlin doesn't elaborate upon it, beyond suggesting that chaos benefits Buffett - whose main float derives from super catastrophic insurance and reinsurance. We recommend this volume highly - along with getting to know the Real Buffett, you will learn a tidy amount about economics.

Great Insight!.......2003-07-03

Mr. O'Loughlin provides a high quality analysis of Mr. Buffett's leadership style, rational behaviour and critical self-appraisal. The book is well-researched. Even more important, it is well thought out. There is truth here. The challenge for the reader is to look in the mirror and acknowledge how little he knows, then go forth and allocate capital on that limited basis.

Great Insight!.......2003-07-03

Book Description

This timely book draws upon a long and distinguished military career and wars dating back to Korea for lessons for America's future land wars. Scales looks at Afghanistan and Iraq, and ahead to a wargame scenario of Kosovo 2020 to develop a picture of the American style of war. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Customer Reviews:

A Major General Looks at the Army After Next.......2006-06-13

Major General Scales is now retired. His last assignment in the Army was to work on the definition of the so called Army After Next. This required a detailed analysis of the American way of war, both from the military standpoint and the social. The American public has become very reluctant to fight in a war, or more precisely to accept casualties. This has been growing down through the past century. Only the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor turned the isolationist tide that was keeping American out of World War II.

The tradition, began in Viet Nam, of reporting battlefield deaths on a daily basis have created a strange (to me) philosophy where the 2,000 deaths in Iraq are major news, and the fact that about that many people are killed every three weeks on our highways is ignored. But the Army has gotten the message clearly that we can go to war, but don't kill any Americans.

MG Scales has worked on the development of technology and techniques that will enable the Army After Next to fight with an absolute minimum of casualties. He has done an excellent job in describing how these developments may play out. It's a very interesting projection, well written, and clearly expressed.

Of course the enemies are thinking about these subjects as well. And the situation in Iraq shows some of their analysis. Don't fight directly, but use ambushes, even start a civil war. This is unfortunately not what MG Scales is confronting.

Brilliant through Afghanistan, doesn't take into account Iraq.......2006-03-04

MG Scales is one of the great military thinkers of the modern age, and this book reflects the vast effort of thought he has put into military problems during his career. His thesis, that in limited-objectives warfare, technology enabled firepower is the key way to destroy the enemy, and that close-combat maneuver forces are for 'findin' em and fixin' em.' To some degree, I agree with his thesis, but note that my personal experiences in Iraq taught me that A) clese combat with the insurgents is the most efficient way to inflict mass casualties on the insurgents; B) the insurgent's capability of hiding themselves in the populace prevents the use of massed fires and target detection, not to mention the politically unpalatable possibility of collateral casualties. As usual, MG Scales writes well, and thoroughly understands his subject.

Book Description

The primary goal of World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Third Edition is to present a truly global history--one that both discusses the development of the world's leading civilizations and also emphasizes the major stages in the interactions among different peoples and societies. The book examines all the world's civilizations, including those in the Western tradition but also those civilizations sometimes neglected in world history texts--for example, the nomadic societies of Asia, Latin America, and the nations and states of the Pacific Rim. World Civilizations balances this discussion of independent developments in all the world's major civilizations with comparative analysis of the results of international contact. MARKET Appropriate for anyone interested in World History.

Customer Reviews:

What Ever Happened To Western Civilization?.......2007-04-11

This book was confusing, and expensive. I had to buy this for a history class that I took, and I just thought that is was confusing. However, It may not be the fault of the author or publisher as much as political correctness.

Back in the day we studied Western Civilization, actually the history of what made Americans what we are. But political correctness has redefined the concept of civilization and made it structured like the Civil Rights movement, where every society is equal. Well, they're NOT EQUAL in their contributions to American culture. Plain and simple.

To throw together all this loose information, in a confusing mess, just because it happened at roughly the same time in world history is nothing but a joke. Western Civilization covered too much information as it was, this World History movement is nothing but a sham, and I hope some historians wake up someday and change it back.

Just because a couple people traded silk across Eurasia in the Middle Ages doesn't mean there was some giant trade network that influenced everything equally. This book helps to illustrate how America has gotten to liberal in its worldview. Sorry.

Biased, Wordy, Short on Facts.......2007-03-30

We use this book in my AP World HIstory class, and I find it quite useless. It's written sometimes using to casual of language, but still has bulky, multi-sentence paragraphs that serve only to confuse. Just as other reviewers have said, is so incredibly desperate to fight Euro-Centrism that it sometimes goes off on rambling tangents of the "heroic/underreported/unknown/ignored" accomplishments of others. While I am generally a politically correct lefty-Looneytoon myself, this book is over the top in its political statements, and when studying for the AP Test, one needs less opinion, and more fact. This book rarely emphasizes order, instead it emphasizes random people and dates that most AP Professionals say aren't on the test. Finally, it has detail, just details that no one else seems to think will be on the test, but ignores more important historical facts.

If this is the book you use in class, I suggest investing in something else, like a Princeton Review or Barron's before the test. Those who self-study for tests (the only people who would be looking to by this book), should shy away from superfluous textbooks and go straight for one of the books I suggested.

Decent for the AP Test but..........2006-05-21

This book is quite appropriate for the AP World History test, and provides you with most of the information you'll need for the test, however, it does contain several gaping flaws if read purely for interest or outside the context of an AP class. As some other reviewers have mentioned, it attempts to be too politically correct, and dissmisses European achievements, while hailing many less significant foreign ones. It also focuses on the role of women too much in certain civilizations, sometimes writing more about it than achievements in science, for instane.

Additionally, there are long, complicated events that are summarized a tad too much. For instance, it basically covered the entire history of the American Revolution and its impact on the world in a paragraph or two, and describes all the events and battles in a few sentences. Of course, in certain situations, this would be a good thing, as it gives more of a general overview of the world, which is often what the AP test is designed to test you on, however for an enthousiastic reader, it is quite dissappointing.

Overall, it will serve its purpose very well if you're a student, but if you're not, you better find something else to read.

Faulty, Biased, and Unable to Teach.......2006-02-15

This particular textbook was required for AP World History in my school. As an individual with great prior knowlege of the history of humanity, I was shocked by the dearth of actual facts the book provides in nearly every chapter. Most sentences Stearns writes as factual are almost always summary of a multitude of events which could be expanded with greater understanding for the reader. He rarely utilizes chronological dates, which has caused many in my class to confuse the chronological order of events and generally creating a situation where students not already familiar with history are almost completley unaware of the actual nature of the history the text is trying to teach.

The text is written with more regard to political correctness than important fact in most cases, even going so far as to justify Aztec human sacrifice in one instance and deamonizing the Spaniards who brought it to a stop. The chapters almost always devote disproportional attention to gender relations and other things which often are mentioned more than the actual achievements of respective nations and empires the text discusses.

Furthermore, the textbook makes so much of an effort to avoid Eurocentricism that it quickly becomes mostly Euro-dismissive, speaking negativley of European nations in any way that can be found while the other nations have faults downplayed and mentioned in passing.

Overall, the lack of actual facts, political correctness, neglect of important civilizations for concentration on aimless chapters on unimportant places in certain periods of time, and the attitude of Anti-Westernism make the text both a poor learning tool, and a highly subjective and biased collection of Stearns' opinions rather than an effective one with an objective look at history.

A Decent Read.......2004-11-15

I am currently taking AP World History and this is our assigned text. I am saddedened that this book does not contain, many facts, but it is great anaylsis wise. The in-depth sections are helpful, as are the online sorces, which I have used repeatedly. I do often say that I dislike this book, but please take into account that I have to take notes on it and I am lazy. But I do recommend this if one is looking for a very analyitical read. Also, I forgot to mention the fact that Mr. Stearns is very undecided when trying to make an agrument. Which can be good, but it is bad for those trying to write an essay. Again, I recommend this book

World Civilizations, Single Volume Edition: The Global Experience (3rd Edition)

Average customer rating:

World Civilizations, Single Volume Edition: The Global Experience (3rd Edition)
Peter; Adas, Michael; Schwartz, Stuart; Gilbert, Marc Jason Stearns
Manufacturer: Pearson Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OU6SWK

World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Single Volume Edition

Average customer rating:

World Civilizations: The Global Experience, Single Volume Edition
Peter N. Stearns
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OU8A94

Book Description

Contingent valuation is one of the means of incorporating socio-environmental considerations in costâ€“benefit analysis. The authors of this book have examined environmental valuation methods through the lens of costâ€“benefit analysis focused on three case studies in Japan: public parks, a bay wetland, and a recreational theme park. With implications for the world at large, the findings presented here serve as a valuable source of information on Japanese behavior regarding the valuation of environmental goods. New, alternative approaches and guidelines for costâ€“benefit analysis in the public and private spheres also are discussed. This volume makes an important addition to the library of all researchers and other scientists in the fields of environmental science and environmental economics.

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