5 comments about Animal Assisted Therapy in Counseling.

1. Several of my clients use their pets in the important work of assited therapy. I think it's important to understand the many positive benefits our pets bring to our lives. This book is the first one, a ground breaking edition, which explores the positive benefits pets have in the various aspects of counseling. Anyone involved or seeking to become involved in pet therapy should find this book very helpful!
   
   Shawn Messonnier DVM
   (...)



2. I read this book in one sitting!!! I couldn't put it down until I had read the whole thing! This book is a spectacular addition to the counseling field in its own right, and fills an important gap left by other animal-assisted therapy (AAT) texts. Dr. Chandler has collected in a very engaging and readable form all one needs to know to effectively conduct AAT. I found the information and guidelines on AAT particularly useful, especially the sections emphasizing examples of therapeutic responses, uses of animals assisting in therapy, and the various requirements for certification. The pictures and descriptions of Dr. Chandler's own work with her 3 co-therapists were fun and informative as well. Before you buy any other book on AAT, buy this one first; read it, read it again, and then see the difference AAT really makes for counseling clients. On second thought, don't buy any other AAT books; this is the only one you'll need.



3. This is one of the best books available about the use of AAT in mental health practice. I've reviewed most of them for some research I'm doing in the field, and Dr. Chandler's is thorough, based on the latest research, easy to read and absorb, and filled with very practical information. She covers the tremendous benefits of this type of work along with necessary cautions, and emphasizes the importance of proper training and credentialing. The book is ideal for people just entering this fascinating field, but there is also lots of useful information for more experienced AAT practitioners as well.
   
   Rise VanFleet, Ph.D.
   Child/Family Psychologist
   Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor
   Past President, Association for Play Therapy



4. I found the book a bit disappointing. While there were supporting citations and references given for the use of animal-assisted therapy, it lacked advice on how to actually begin training the animals and handlers and how to get started in providing services. The book did not tell me anything I didn't already know; it discussed the author's own pets and recommended training through outside organizations, such as the delta society.



5. After Piddles the Incontinent, donned the Wonder Woman dog costume (please see my earlier review for the full, terrible story) I have been left mental scarred and addicted to a daily cocktail of illicit prescription drugs and full-fat chocolate milk.
   
   In contrast to my unfortunate disposition, this selfsame incident gave Piddles a new-found confidence, which I found infuriating. It was, therefore, with some considerable relief that my long search for some heavy-duty therapy finally led me to this unique book.
   
   Although she has barely finished chapter 3, Piddles is already showing an uncanny talent for counselling. Her friendly, confident couchside patter (Woof, woof woof woof, woof woof, woof, woooooof, barrk, growl, woof!) coupled with some serious face-licking have helped me out of my slough of despondency.
   
   Even though I have yet to fully recover from my mental madness, there is now a long line of local psycho-loonies queuing up for some doggy therapy. Whatever the doubters say, this book works better than a dose of trepanning in an insane asylum.

5 comments about Principles of Polymerization.

1. Encyclopedic and comprehensive, this text ought to be the sole reference work for undergrads and graduates in the field of polymer science.



2. The number of concepts covered in this book is amazing -- I learn something new with each reading. The book is also great for pointing you to the leading references in the field; although it is lacking decent coverage of living polymerization. Odian's book is not easy to read. For a chemistry book it includes relatively few chemical structures or mechanisms, so for students who don't already know chemistry it is a rather useless introduction A better introductory polymer chemistry book is by M. Stevens.



3. I have been using this book for several years, including a term where it was the primary text for a graduate-level Introduction to Polymers course. As textbooks go, I have found this one relatively easy to read, and the concepts easy to follow. It it quite comprehensive, but assumes an undergraduate background in organic and physical chemistry. Since the course, it has been a handy reference in my research, though, as someone else noted, it is lacking in respect to living polymerizations, particularly Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization. However, Odian's work remains one of the most useful textbooks from my graduate classes.



4. I took a course last year in Polymer Chemistry and this text was the standard text book. It was an amazingly great reference book. This book mainly target on Polymerization synthesis and characterization. If you are interested in the mechanical properties of polymer, you should look for other one. But this is a must for all polymer chemists and material scientists who are interested in polymer processing.



5. Odian offers a comprehensive guide to polymer chemistry, covering nearly all the types of polymerization, exploring radical, ionic, step, and copolymerization mechanisms and kinetics in sufficient detail. Some recent advances in polymer synthesis are not covered, but book offers enough knowledge to have a good grasp of all aspects of polymerizations. A must read for anyone considering a career or education in polymer synthesis!

1 comments about Chemistry the Central Science, Laboratory Experiments (10th Edition).

1. Lab work has been a standard part of the study of chemistry since people have been studying chemistry. In fact, it was the practical experimentation that led to the learning that is written in the texts and taught in lectures. The experiments that chemistry students execute are not designed to discover presently unknown aspects of chemistry. It is essential that students be given clearly defined procedures that elucidate specific points that are related to the text they are studying in lecture. The purpose of lab work is to give the student a visceral connection to the material, to see in reality what they are reading about, and to develop their technique in working with precision, in detail, and in making correct and relevant observations.
   
   This book provides 43 experiments that relate well to the 25 chapters of the main textbook. Each experiment lists clearly everything that will be needed for the experiment, discusses the point of the experiment and what is going to transpire during its execution, the exact procedure to be followed, the questions that need to be answered for the report (these are observations, calculations, deductions, equations, and so forth), pre-lab questions, and relevant diagrams. There are also appendices of useful information that will be needed during the experiments.
   
   These experiments have been tested and tried and are geared to minimize the work of the instructor in refitting the lab when adopting the text and lab experiments. Since it is the 10th edition, I would expect that most things will work as expected. But in reality, one should always be prepared for the unexpected and work carefully around chemicals, flame, and other people.
   
   A sound and interesting text and program of experiments.

5 comments about Laboratory Manual for Principles of General Chemistry.

1. It is a typical boring and verbose, but yet comlete and unclear, lab instructions. You wont have a choice so just buy it.



2. This lab manual is the one required for my chemistry lab class at a much better price than the school offered.



3. The item was in brand new condition as described and shiiping was also fast...though price was a bit high but it worth



4. Great seller! Item was shipped FAST! Exactly as described in brand new condition. Thank You!



5. This was exactly what I needed for my chemistry laboratory class. I'm glad I didn't purchase a used one because I have to complete the exercises for each lab. Thank you.

5 comments about Chemistry: Matter and Its Changes.

1. When I used this textbook, I was looking for a mathemtical/engineering approach to chemistry. This textbook, however, explains concepts with examples but little or no scientific proofs. I found myself filling in proofs from other courses like thermodynamics and science of materials. Overall, a very thorough book, but heavy on the memorization, and light on math and graphs.



2. I have read older editon of this textbook. Older 3rd edition (1988). But it still stands tall among couple of other chemistry books on my shelf. No other book can match the style and elegance of Brady's book IMHO.
   
   There are a lot of books out there maybe more detailed. But Brady's is the one that explain why certain concept is important, how they were discovered and by whom they were developed. Instead of starting explaining each key concenpts in Chemistry, Brady's always start with how previous researchers reached the theory at that time period. And how we can relate them in terms of our current understanding of this wonderful of chemistry.
   
   If Brady didn't lose any his touch, I am 100 % sure and can gaurantee this newer edition will follow its earlier edition's tradition. Even if your course doesn't require this book as a text, go grap one. If you can't afford newer one, go buy old edition. They are still a classic and in fact I am still using 1988 edition.



3. THIS BOOK IS A GREAT GUIDE FOR ANY STUDENT WHO WANTS TO LEARN CHEMISTRY AND ALSO A GREAT GUIDE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO PREPARE3 THEM SELVES FOR WHAT'S AHEAD AT UNIVERSITY.



4. ...in a number of ways. The chapter on stoichiometry is the first one I flip to when I'm evaluating a new text. This book does a better job of providing a conceptual foundation for the mole concept than any other book I've seen. It shows the rationale behind the concept by working a few simple problems with and without moles. The problem setups emphasize strategic thinking by asking students to identify the 'critical link' that connects given information with the problem's goal. The "Is the answer reasonable" checks given with each problem are more detailed and more helpful than in other texts; they help students develop a sense for what is and isn't reasonable in the answer, using alternative back-of-the-envelope solutions that often provide additional insight into the nature of the problem.

   The chapter on atomic structure is the only one I've seen that uses the central idea of quantum mechanics (wave-particle duality) as its central theme. It elegantly uses the de Broglie relation to tie wave and particle behaviors together, in the process naturally explaining where quantum numbers come from and why changes in electron confinement in a reaction can lead to color changes.

   The thermodynamics chapter is also quite innovative, discarding the idea of entropy as a measure of disorder and instead stressing its connection with the number of ways a state can be realized. A simple model of heat flow from a hot object to a cold object makes the connection between probability and process spontaneity clear.

   The approach for explaining and predicting molecular shapes is much better than that used in other texts, where students end up memorizing a large table of molecular shapes. This text starts by showing how electron domains arrange themselves the central atom, and then visualizes how the molecular geometry changes as bonding domains are replaced with nonbonding domains, one at a time. Students see the underlying idea without getting lost in a mass of detail and special cases.

   I also like the "Thinking it through" problems at the end of each chapter, that emphasize critical and strategic thinking rather than simply getting a numerical answer. Ebbing and Chang don't have this feature. The "Test of facts and concepts" are cumulative tests that students can use to synthesize material from several chapters; I haven't seen another text with this feature, either.




5. This textbook is an excellent way to learn chemistry. It provides very nice graphics to explain the text. This text makes learning chemistry very enjoyable and interesting. Senese and Brady did a wonderful job with this book. I highly recommend it.

5 comments about The Organic Chemistry of Drug Design and Drug Action, Second Edition.

1. This book is very good introduction in the major aspects of the chemistry of the drugs. It explains with good schemes the reactions of drugs and others important mechanisms. The book is scientifically well written and enjouyable to read. The graphic images of molecules integrate well with the written aspects of book. Book covers major areas of pharmaceutical drug research, integrates the chemical and pharmacological aspects of drugs, and discusses the essentials of drug activity and mechanisms.



2. There is a new considerably expanded and updated edition available of Silverman's already classic text as of Jan/04. ISBN is 0-12-643732-7. Check it out... price is comparable to the earlier edition.



3. This book is fantastic and covers a broad range of topics that fall into the category of rational drug design. The book goes in depth into topics dealing with each important aspect of how drugs are discovered and modified to produce better drugs: from effects of chirality to electronic effects. The structure of drugs, at the molecular level are covered in detail, reflecting every major aspect of drug structure. Then, interaction between drug (ligand) and enzyme, at the molecular level are covered.
   
   In my estimation, to benefit most from this book, the reader should have a working knowledge of organic chemistry and biochemistry (at least protein secondary and tertiary structure).



4. This is probably the best book of its kind in the vast and multidisciplinary field of drug design and action. Richard Silverman is an acclaimed chemistry Professor at Northwestern University, and in this book, he provides the most comprehensive and lucid exposition of the chemical basis of drug action that I have seen. No matter how complicated biological systems and their interactions are, at the basic level, it's all chemistry, and mostly organic chemistry. An organic chemist will find this book extremely illuminating in a way that would not have been made clear through his traditional education.
   The book opens with a short but clear discussion of drug discovery, combinatorial chemistry, and clinical testing and trials. Then it leads the reader through a variety of enzyme catalyzed reactions, with examples of major drugs studded all the way. Silverman shows us how nature is the master organic chemist, employing the familiar reactions of chemistry in an unsurpassed way. The chapter on enzyme inhibition is long and detailed, and it's breathtaking. Which is important because almost all major drugs act by inhibiting enzymes. The examples which Silverman chooses to illustrate are both important (including many bestselling anti-cancer, anti-viral, and antibiotic drugs to name a few), as well as very interesting. The last parts of the book deal with DNA binding drugs, and with pathways of drug metabolism and excretion. Along all the way, the emphasis is on the chemical reactions that drugs undergo, which after all is what controls their properties. The lucidity of the book is such that a beginning graduate well-versed with the basic principles of general and organic chemistry can easily understand all the contents.
   This book is so interesting and illuminating that it's one of the very few academic books which I have actually read from the first to the last page, with every word in between. In fact, it even makes great bedside reading! Truly a must-have book for all chemists and biologists of every kind, interested in how drugs work.



5. The book is great for understanding the title subject. But it has too many references which distracts the reader. Also, many times, the corresponding picture of a particular topic covered is not in the same page as the topic. This requires going back and forth between pages. The problems at the end of each chapter are really good and checks the understanding of the subject thoroughly.

3 comments about Physical Chemistry.

1. This is not everyone's physical chemistry text. It is the intellectual's source for both the fundamental and advanced canon of physical chemistry. They must be great teachers, the book is clear, thorough and challenging.



2. If you read the reviews of the 3rd edition of this book you'll see lots of people really dislike it.
   
   If you want a decent, student-friendly text get Physical Chemistry by K.J. Laidler, J.H. Meiser, B.C. Sanctuary (ISBN 0618123415). See my review at Physical Chemistry
   
   See my other reviews for other chem books.



3. Discussions in this book are not in depth as it may seem from complex text. Text focuses on basic concepts and pours excessive amounts of water around them. too much unnecessary words and sentences.
   
   if you are forced to deal with this book, it's best to look up topics online and then do the problems. I found several texts online which do a much better job in presenting material of this book. you can definitely find a much more simpler and compact text, which will cover much more than this watery text.
   
   what I liked about this book is amount of exercises they provide. about 50 problems per chapter.

3 comments about Organic Chemistry Problem Solver (REA) (Problem Solvers).

1. The Organic Chemistry Problem Solver is an excellent supplement for first-time students taking organic chemistry. If fact, in my opinion, it is the best at what it does -- provide students with much-needed guidance in their study of organic chemistry. It is also helpful as a review to students who are taking an upper-level course, even the first graduate course. It is more than a set of problems with their solutions, however. It is that, but it also provides a discussion of the approach to working a type of problem or to a general topic in organic chemistry -- stereochemistry, for example. The description of approache to the study and application of organic chemistry, detailed solutions, and accompanying discussions and descriptions are the strength of the book and is what makes it so valuable to the student. I would particularly reccommend it to a student who is in a course where the professor is not using a specific textbook or is not following the assigned textbook very closely, because many of the topics in a first-year organic course are described in enough detail to provide the background needed to understand most of the principles of the subject; it that sense, it acts a written tutor for the subject. Two characteristics are somewhat distracting, but they are minor: an older-looking font is used in the text (Courier ?) and the drawings and chemical structures (the extended structure of propane, for example) are crude in comparision to the slick drawings and structures found in today's chemistry textbooks. I would look past these, however, and get this book if I were taking a first-year course (or an intermediate or first-year graduate course). Used appropriately with the assigned texbook, it will be a great help with a time-consuming course that is considered to be very demanding to most students.



2. the format is too confusing. very few questions with mini lectures as explanations. It is very difficult to find the exact question to help with the hard to grasp areas.



3. Like "3000 Solved Problems in Organic Chemistry" from Schaum study series, the problems in this problem solver are just a bit off from what you will expect on a midterm exam. Problems are either too simple or too involved. Students should make sure they understand lectures (and concepts behind lectures) and attempt problems in the textbook. Students should pay close attention to mechanism problems and stereochemistry. The problem solver itself might seem overwhelming and may not be in concord with concepts being discussed in major organic texts. The problem solver, yet does provide a plethora of extra problems students can look at and try solving. Another item I suggest students checking out from the library rather than spending money on.

1 comments about Barron's AP Chemistry with CD-ROM (Barron's).

1. It arrived too close for comfort... my teacher was gonna deduct 100 points if it had arrived one day later. and the product it's self was in good condition. personally i'd choose another ap chem book unless u need it/ a teacher assigned it to you. it's not at all user friendly i had a horrible time reading it and it was poorly arranged. the text book was much better it had key words highlighted unlike the ap book. which has very few words bolded and most words that are arn't very useful at all.
   so..
   
   deliveray... almost too slow
   product ... good

1 comments about Study Guide and Selected Solutions Manual for Fundamentals of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry.

1. This book was received promptly and in excellent condition. I use it every week as a supplement to the actual text and coursework.