No comments about Handbook of Multibiometrics (International Series on Biometrics).

2 comments about Intermediate Hindi Reader.

1. This book presents an excellent diversity of Hindi/Urdu stories, poems, memoirs and articles. Only problem is the choice of some articles that present somewhat outdated view on India and its people. Book also lacks exercises and drills for each chapter.



2. I have to give this book 4-5 stars, because there aren't really many other good 2nd year Hindi (as a second language) intermediate readers out there. If you have finished Shapiro's Primer for Modern Standard Hindi, you should be able to tackle this book with just a dictionary.
   
   Yes the readings are outdated, but the hope is that as India rises as a world power, we will see more writers and teachers producing contemporary learning materials more appropriate for the age we live in. Until I see more material, I have to highly recommend this book. Anything Jain and Schomer do is top rate.

1 comments about Tradition and Beyond: Handcrafted Indian Textiles.

1. Love this book. The surprise for me what how contemporary the examples in this book are. Most things are from the 1980's or later. And they are beautifully chosen and reproduced. This is a gorgeous book.

1 comments about A Student Guide to College Composition.

1. This spare, well-written book is the best college composition text I have seen in my several decades of college teaching. Modern composition texts are in my experience frequently over-written, poorly-written, visually fussy (a serious problem for the many students who suffer with various degrees of dyslexia), and equipped with too many bells and whistles.
   
   Murdick's A Student Guide to College Composition covers the simple how-to's for the major types of writing assignments college students are expected to master--narrative, exposition, argument, criticism, research and timed writing tests. Murdick is himself an exemplary writer--pithy, concrete, clear and correct, he models good writing in the text itself, an accomplishment of which most other textbook authors seem incapable.
   
   Students like the book, and they GET it. At about $20, this book is an excellent value.

No comments about Jain Desi khana.

3 comments about Nichiren: Leader of Buddhist Reformation in Japan.

1. This volume on Nichiren, the 13th century Buddhist who founded a revolutionary school of Buddhism, is a work with certain merits. There are wonderful reproductions of rare prints depicting Nichiren in his time. I know of better source information on the life of Nichiren Daishonin available through the Soka Gakkai International organization.



2. This small book contains an engaging biography of Nichiren Shonin, a Buddhist master who founded the Hokke (Lotus) school in 13th century Japan. In addition to the text itself, the book also contains glossy pages showing the life of Nichiren by way of painting, and is a nice addition. The writing-style of this book is quick, enjoyable, and easy to read. It is not overly technical or laden with terms, but does provide historical background to place Nichiren's life in context. One not need be a scholar to understand it, and it is very accessible to the beginning student of Buddhism.
   
   This book contains only the orthodox views and teachings of Nichiren, and is one of the few biographies in English that are reliable on this account. Nichiren's teachings are also explored in this work, and his devotion to the Eternal Buddha Shakyamuni comes through clearly. It can be said that this book is more of a devotional piece or a hagiography than an academic work. Nichiren Shonin emerges as a powerful figure at the center of this book, propagating the Lotus Sutra under the most stressful conditions imaginable.
   
   This is an excellent introduction to Nichiren Shonin and his teachings, who is often misunderstood not only in popular culture, but academic circles as well! I do hope to see a larger and more in depth biography of Nichiren published in English in the near future to complement this enjoyable book.



3. This book is the best English language resource on the life of Nichiren available today. The author makes use of a broad range of truly scholarly sources, and yet his writing style is so engaging and dynamic that one almost feels like they are actually witnessing the events being described by the author. The author goes to the trouble of making a clear disticntion between the events in the life of Nichiren which are actually historical and the events attributed to his life which are based on popular traditional hagiography. Nichiren is a much misunderstood person; being seen quite often as someone who was intolerant of other religions only for the sake of establishing his own. This book clarifies that Nichiren's intolerance was towards religious and government policies that oppressed the common people. In this regard, the book almost reads like a "theology of liberation." It is well worth the read.

No comments about The Essence of Materia Medica.

5 comments about Handbook of Fingerprint Recognition.

1. This book first describes the different biometric systems that exist. It describes different methods of acquiring the fingerprints and the advantages and drawbacks from each method. Then it handles the different analysis methods for fingerprints in depth. The matching algorithms that are known with their evaluation is handled throughly with their indexing and classification methods. It discusses methods for fingerprint evaluation with the databases of NIST on DVD and the software sfinge for artificially making the fingerprints.

   The part that is really new is the multimodal biometric system and performance measures of these systems. It also handles the individuality of fingerprints themselves and finally it gives an overview of methods for attacking fingerprints systems (denial of service, fake fingers, trojan horses, replay but also the electronic storage systems behind them). If you are in biometrics and also in forensic science, you certainly should consider reading this book.




2. This book is a "must". Very useful for my research on Biometrics and Multibiometrics Systems. No wonder this book received the 2003 PSP Award (Computer Science) from the Association of American Publishers.



3. The applications of Biometrics technology range from federated identity management to digital rights management, time and attendance, background checking, and homeland security. None of the biometric characteristics has received more attention till date than fingerprints. Fingerprint recognition is the most cost effective and accurate biometrics, which is evident from its rapid deployment in the widest range of security applications.

   This book contains a plethora of information on every aspect of fingerprint recognition technology - introduction to biometrics and fingerprints, fingerprint sensing devices, feature extraction, matching, classification, synthetic fingerprint generation, multimodal systems, secure design, fingerprint individuality - you name it. The DVD accompanying this book will save you a lot of money and trouble of collecting your own data to test your algorithms.
   
   The authors of this book - Davide Maltoni, Dario Maio, Salil Prabhakar, and Anil K. Jain - are undoubtedly some of the most well known and respected experts in the world on the topic of fingerprint recognition. It is no surprise that such extraordinary researchers have produced such an exceptional masterpiece.

   Whether you are an inventor, developer, practitioner, forensic specialist, or system manager in this field looking for an excellent reference or just a novice looking for basic information on biometrics and fingerprint recognition technology, you must read this outstanding book.




4. Lo recomiendo si desean implementar nuevos algoritmos para reconocimiento de huellas dactilares y/o una revision a profundidad de como funcionan los metodos existentes.
   
   Imprescindible concimiento de gradientes y algoritmos digitales en el tratamiento de imagenes.. para comprender el contenido.



5. "This book is intended for researchers, practicing engineers, and students who wish to understand and / or develop fingerprint-based recognition systems." So the introduction, and right they are. The authors have chosen a more informal style, but still give some of the Mathematics necessary. The references are extensive and ultimately the reader will have to go to them to make a contribution.
   
   I would recommend buying this book with "Automatic Fingerprint Recognition Systems" by Ratha and Bolle (ed.) It would be hard for me to make a decision between these two books.

3 comments about Clinical Acupuncture: Revised Edition 2001, Rep. Deluxe Edition 2005.

1. This book has sold over two million copies! It covers all aspects of acupuncture including complications. The author is the most published and well known Acupuncturist in the World and this book is the sum total of over 40 years and 2.5 million patients of experience!

   This is the only book that you will need if interested in acupuncture. There is so much information in this book to review, but I will reply to any specific questions.

   I am a personal friend and associate of the author, so any question that I can't answer I will ask him to confirm.




2. This is a real bible for medical profession, the only thing that may help a lot is if you get a better kind of paper, ...( one needs it for a long period of one's life, maybe years, and will use it very much as consultating book). Any way I, as a medical doctor, see this book as a rare and non usual pearl...in acupuncture for medical doctors, and every M.D. would help his(her) patients if read a book like this, and will make "miracles" if study in deep this diamond...



3. Wise words from a wise man. This book by professor Anton Jayasuriya is a very good introduction to the science of acupuncture. The book is easy to read and contains excellent anatomical channel maps and "landmark" descriptions. Therapeutics is rudimentary but again very useful to the student. Of particular interest is Professor Anton's fondness for Baihue (Du 20). Every patient who attends the Medicina Alternativa clinic in Colombo (Sri Lanka) receives an initial needle to this point, which is reflected in therapeutics.

5 comments about Buddhism: A History (Religions of the World).

1. My kind of book--Scholarly, humane, beautifully written, all-encompassing, precise, concise. Starting from the life of the Buddha, and describing the development of Buddhist thought as it spread from country to country, and describing Buddhism's part in Asian history, I was amazed by its completeness and intelligence.



2. Noble Ross Reat's 'Buddhism: A History' sheds new light on old theories of connections between Mahayana and Hinduism, the emergence of Mahayana philosophy as a reaction to Nikaya Buddhist philosophies, the importance of Nikaya Buddhism as the fundament of later (Mahayana) development, and the large cultural framework wherein Buddhism evolved to its present from. The emphasis and relativation of Mahayana in historical and philosophical context makes its importance brittle. He has a clear style, good argumentation, terrific insight and a no-nonsense approach. The rich text, unfortunately, is so inviting that one would wish for a larger elaboration and more Pali or Sanksrit terminology. Essential reading for advanced afficionados.



3. The development of the various schools and sects is treated in great detail. The philosophical bases of the different versions of Buddhism are compared and contrasted. It's also a good introduction to Asian history in general. Each country or region has its own chapter. I thought the emphasis given to the politicization of Buddhism and its importance in the emergence of the national identity of the various Asian peoples was especially good. I also learned how Buddhism greatly enriched Taoism, Confucianism, and Hinduism.



4. This history of Buddhism traces the religion from its origins to the present day. The first few chapters of the book deal extensively with describing the early history of the religion in India and the philosophies and beliefs of Buddhism itself as well as the two primary divisions of Buddhism, Mahayana and Theraveda Buddhism. The rest of the book discusses at length the histories of Buddhist religion within individual countries and regions, with an emphasis on the various sects that originated within each country as well as their distinguishing characteristics. The end result provides the readers with a distinct view of how Buddhism has spread and evolved throughout Asia. The book ends with a discussion of Buddhism's spread outside of Asia that is disappointingly short.
   
   The book is quite thorough in its discussion of Buddhism, and it also includes general historical information on some regions of East Asia (such as Korea, Sri Lanka, Indochina, and Tibet) that are not discussed in most conventional Western world histories. In this light, the book is very good reading for people who want to thoroughly understand the overall history of East Asia rather than only the histories of the predominant countries in the region.
   
   Unfortunately, this book is overloaded with details on Buddhism. Too much information on what appear to be historically inconsequential Buddhist sects and minor Buddhist historical figures is presented in the book. In some sections, the history becomes the relentless mentioning of facts rather than the clear statement of significant events and their historical consequences. The various Asian names and terminology, which are difficult for anyone from any culture to keep track of, add to this problem. In effect, the fundamental lessons to be learned about Buddhist history sometimes become muddled by too many details.
   
   I ultimately recommend buying this book just to better understand Buddhism and East Asian history. The book's thorough discussion of Buddhism gives the readers everything they need to know for a basic understanding of the religion's history. However, this book relies too much on detail and too little on making clear, strong statements on the fundamental driving forces behind Buddhist history, which may be dissatisfying to some readers.



5. The thing about this book is that the author obviously really tries to be objective. His approach is conspicuously scholarly - he doesn't appear to have an agenda of any kind, other than to educate his audience about the history of Buddhism. He is respectful when dealing with both the Theravada and Mahayana schools of Buddhism, and although one detects his probable personal admiration for the Theravada and Vajrayana schools in particular, he tries to be as objective as one person can possibly be about all of the traditions. Some Buddhists may find his scholarly, rationalistic and intellectual approach to Buddhist history a bit offensive at times, but as he obviously trying to explore Buddhist history as truthfully as possible, I think he should be forgiven for any expressions of scepticism (which are not overwhelming - he is obviously a Buddhist sympathiser, if not a Buddhist himself).
   
   It was interesting to learn about Asian history, I felt he covered it well, although I would have liked more about Buddhism in central Asia - I guess he covered this in his interesting chapter about "Indian Buddhism".