5 comments about Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary (Thumb Index).

1. I needed this for a class I am taking and it is wonderful. Almost everything I need is in there. I recommend this book to who ever is in some medical training or even if they already are in the medical profession. It is wonderful



2. I was very pleased with the purchase of Tabers Cyclopedic. I never thought that this 8th edition would be so indebt with the information I was looking for.
   
   It is one of the best medical dictionaries out there.



3. I was really pleased with my order. I received it within 4 days of purchasing so that was awesome. The quality of my product was amazing and brandnew... overall, im very happy with my purchase.



4. So far my husband and I have found this book to be very helpful, we have only had it a month and are both taking medical terminology. He's taking the class for a biology degree, and I'm taking the class for massage therapy. Every time we have looked up a word, it has been there. If it needs a picture, there is one. It always gives you the root word with prefix and suffix separated and what language the word came from. The thumb index makes it much easier to find pages quickly than the books that don't have them. The definitions are easy to understand and are oftentimes more helpful than the definitions in either of our textbooks.



5. I could not believe the difference in the New tabers Dictionary, the last one I purchased was when I was in Nurses training. Iam very please with the product and am glad I went into Amazon.com looking for it. I didn't think there was a new edition. Thank You

5 comments about Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.

1. I found this book very informative and helpful. This book gave me the courage to let my daughter cry herself to sleep. She's a wonderful napper and night sleeper now, with hardly any crying.



2. This book may contain good information about babies and their sleep habits, but I wouldn't know because I couldn't follow a word of it. Maybe it's just my lack of sleep and "baby brain", but I found the book disorganized and hard to follow. It is also riddled with alarming warning messages with little explanation. I wish the author had a better editor or a co-author because there might be some good information here.



3. We have three children 8,4 and 3. We read this book when someone recommended it for our first child's sleeping problems. Since our oldest was 3 months old ALL of our children have had succesful sleeping patterns. They all go to sleep awake and always have, they all have the "natural" wake times (ie. around 3:00 am) and because of this book they soothe themselves back to sleep. How awesome is that! Do your babies wake up from there naps screaming crying? That is a sign that they are NOT well rested. My 4 and 3 year olds still take naps EVERY day 2-3 hours and still go to sleep 8:30 pm every night. Children have to have success in everything they do so they will continue to do it. This gives the success to the child and takes the fear out of a lot of sleeping problems. Read this great book with an open mind. When the Dr. says 3 days to form a new habit, it is unbelieveable that is exactly what happens. I have friends that state "my kids just do not need that much sleep" or "you just have kids that sleep more than mine", it is a learned HABIT just like a LACK OF SLEEP is a learned HABIT. Great book, cannot say enough.



4. Thank goodness we got this book. I never ever thought the sleepless nights would end. But, they did. It was a little confusing for us because we had to tackle three problems at once. We had to transition to crib, get the baby to fall asleep on her own, and stay asleep. Read it! It makes sense and it works.



5. This book is terribly confusing. The author switches between ages without warning. I makes it hard to understand if the information given is for an older infant or a newborn. This book just needs a better structure.

5 comments about Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.

1. Such an inspiring book! McDonough and Braungart offer much more than just passion for creating a green world--they tell us how to do it. Through their experience innovating new systems with companies like Ford, Herman Miller, DuPont, and many more, they bring serious intelligence to a movement that often feels like another fad. Current enthusiasm aside, Green is here to stay, and we need to start understanding the things we talk about.
   
   Put on your creativity hat and prepare to be dazzled.



2. Apparently corporations are all going green. Even Ford will become perfectly sustainable. Now they abuse their employees & produce thousands of fossil-fuel-burning cars out of a "green" facility built with materials extracted from where, a green, sustainable mining operation?
   
   This book has some good points & quotes, but in the end it's another propaganda piece for greenwashing corporations.



3. This book was in perfect condition when I received it and the really cool thing about it is that its WATERPROOF which means you can read it pretty much anywhere-in the shower, underwater, at the beach or even in a fish tank! The book gives you scary insight on how we are destroying our earth and killing ourselves slowly and simultaneously!!!



4. For those to are ecologically minded, a key part of creating any new product is to produce a life cycle assessment (LCA), which is also known as a cradle-to-grave analysis, working from manufacture (`cradle') to use and disposal (`grave'). The LCA investigates all of the environmental impacts of that product and attempts to minimise that damage. One of the key premises of McDonough & Brangart's book, is that minimising damage just isn't good enough. Instead, the authors propose that we change our entire design processes so that reuse and nourishment are built right into the process. Instead of minimising waste, we create value. Cradle to Cradle goes beyond the notion of having recycling as the final step in a process flow, and instead builds on the idea that waste need not exist at all. We can design our lives and products around the notion of nourishment - from the way we live to (primarily) how we design and produce goods. The natural world provides the template for what the authors suggest, from the regenerative world of the insect, to the cherry tree, to the use of natural nutrients such as solar and wind power. They suggest that the key to working within, rather than against, nature is to respect biodiversity, respect the elegance and abundance of what is around us, and begin our design process with the notion of there is no such thing as waste.
   
   The writing style itself is clear, simple, and suitable for all ages and knowledge levels. Different readers will take different things from the book. It is addressed to those that do design for a living, and for those who are professionals in industry, this book will serve as a manual for development. But all of us are engaged in creation and consumption in one way or another (the machine I'm using to type this on, or the reams of paper my kids draw on to take two general examples) and the choices we make on how we will conduct those activities, and seeing ourselves as all being part of the great cradle to cradle cycle is an important step forward.
   
   The book spends some time discussing the whole notion of dangerous design principles, including the way in which "downcycling" only defers the problem as products become more and more unstable (and environmental problematic) as they are recycled. Although I've yet to see plastic books become a trend, the book itself is an example of how a product can be manufactured in a way that will be infinitely valuable. It's made out of synthetic paper which doesn't use wood pulp or any dangerous inks or substances, and is both waterproof and pleasurable to read, with nice thick pages and clear ink. The book goes into quite a lot of detail about what it would mean to design products that weren't less bad, but rather 100% good. The authors look at architecture and how we can design buildings that take into account the diversity of their settings, and the natural needs of their inhabitants.
   
   The book concludes with "Five Steps to Eco-Effectiveness", a neat summary of how to put the philosophical principles discussed in the book into practice. Some of these, such as "Step 2: Follow informed personal preferences" may seem a little unusual, advocating that we use our aesthetic sense, our observations and our own sense of pleasure (yes, pleasure) to guide our design decisions. While others, such as "Step 4: Reinvent" may seem almost too broad for the average reader. However, the book is full of so many specific examples, primarily from industry, that it's easy to picture what they are advocating working in practice. After all, the book itself is not only beautifully and safely designed to fit the "cradle-to-cradle" philosophy, it is also written in a way that is easily read, linguistically elegant and appealing, and sound in its advice. As a writer, I can see the sense in taking on this wholistic approach to environmentalism, ditching the hysteria and the mass of finger-pointing practices which look green but which don't actually make much of a difference, and taking on this approach in a whole body sense. It's powerful stuff and the impact is starting to happen, perhaps a little too slowly, but, as the authors say, "it's going to take forever...that's the point."
   
   Magdalena Ball is the author of Sleep Before Evening.



5. Great book, in perfect condition and as I saw on screen that s how i received at home.

5 comments about Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School (Book & DVD).

1. This book is very informative and exciting to read page by page. I'd definitely recommend it to almost anyone...as I have been! Anybody looking to further their knowledge on how our wonderful devices (brains) work in correlation to many of our daily functions should give this one a chance...and I'm only half-way in!



2. Brain Rules is a great book - Medina takes a complex subject (your brain) and makes it seem understandable. His twelve rules are a roadmap for teachers, business people, politicos and really anyone trying to communicate to an audience. I highly recommend this book if you are in any of the above groups. It is light on science and heavy on practical use. If it isn't a mandatory book for every would-be professor it should be.
   
   The book has great practical advice - one such hint on communication is the layout of the 10 minute cycle. One of John's rules is that we only pay attention to things that are interesting and only in 10 minute increments. So if giving a fifty minute lecture you should break the lecture into 5 10 minute topics starting with the gist of the subject and within the first minute grabbing everyone's attention using an emotional attention grabber - if successful you have 10 minutes to get your message through. Repeat it often during the next four sessions and you have a chance to get the message to stick. Use a picture to express the idea and that chance to get your message to stick goes from 10% to 65% over a thirty six hour period. - It is in the book.
   
   Highly recommend!



3. This author, a well educated neuroscientist, has that rare ability to combine scientific wisdom, common sense and a sense of humor into a cocktail that goes down easy and creates a very pleasant feeling, but doesn't make you stupid. You then know what you need to do to be healthier, live longer and feel better. The rest is up to you.



4. Dr. John Medina, the author of "Brain Rules," is a tsunami of positive energy. If you're not lucky enough to see him speak live, take the time to explore the book's website ([...]) and view the DVD packaged with the book. His qualifications are top-notch - he's a developmental molecular biologist focused on the genes involved in human brain development and the genetics of psychiatric disorders. He currently holds joint affiliate faculty appointments at the University of Washington School of Medicine in its Department of Bioengineering, and at Seattle Pacific University, where he is the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research.
   
   Here's the basic theme of the book... our schools and businesses are designed in direct opposition to how our brains work - let's challenge that and try out some new ideas - let's leverage our current understanding of the human brain to start over. This theme is covered through presentations of his 12 "Brain Rules" - each covered in depth in its own chapter of the book.
   
   Dr. Medina takes hardcore brain research and theories, and boils them down to easy-to-grasp ideas. Even though the book is written to the layperson, it is not dumbed down - it's just clearly written and supported through illustrative observations and stories. Some of his stories will have you laughing, others will leave you crying, and all will start you thinking. The last chapter will make you want to tear down our entire public school system.
   
   Here are the actual rules (also listed on the book's website):
   Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.
   Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too.
   Rule #3: Every brain is wired differently.
   Rule #4: We don't pay attention to boring things.
   Rule #5: Repeat to remember.
   Rule #6: Remember to repeat.
   Rule #7: Sleep well, think well.
   Rule #8: Stressed brains don't learn the same way.
   Rule #9: Stimulate more of the senses.
   Rule #10: Vision trumps all other senses.
   Rule #11: Male and female brains are different.
   Rule #12: We are powerful and natural explorers.
   
   Each rule is introduced through an observation or story to gain the reader's attention (DELIGHTFULLY and creatively illustrated further on the DVD - lead actor Brandon Whitehead is hysterical!); then clarified and supported through a discussion of the research; and finally applied to today's learning, business, and sometimes even home environments with "ideas" for how they could be implemented.
   
   Note: If you're like me (and I know I am), you love to see references embedded in your text - Dr. Medina intentionally reduces distraction by not including them within the book. The references are, however, meticulously listed by rule and by fact on the website (you may have to do a little digging, but they're in there).
   
   Make sure everyone you know who has a voice in our school system reads this book!



5. Brain Rules is a fascinating book. Medina has taken the complicated brain and made it understandable and interesting with an engaging narrative. Not only did this book cause me to look at my own life and "brain health" differently, it caused me to see the world differently. Reading Brain Rules is like finding the missing puzzle piece to some perplexing life questions. That sounds like hyperbole, but for me it was true.
   
   The chapters on memory are particularly sticky. Have you ever wondered why someone remembers an event you were both at so differently than you? The memory is so crystal clear, you are sure you are right and they are wrong. It turns out, you are probably both wrong. When you read the memory chapters, you will understand how and why you remember certain things, and why you don't. In the process you will learn how to remember more effectively. You will also begin to call into question the accuracy of some of your most precious memories.
   
   Don't worry, the book is not science gobbledy gook. Medina use stories and visuals to make the concepts understandable to everyone. And in each chapter he gives advice and practical applications for education and business.
   
   It's the best book I've read thus far in 2008.

5 comments about Yoga Anatomy.

1. This is a book I've been looking for to understand how muscles work on a yoga session. A must for all yoga practitioners who want to know how the asanas work.



2. This book is absolutely wonderful in its presentation of what is going on inside your body when doing yoga.
   
   Though it is somewhat technical in some aspects, it is well worth your time to go through it and learn what is happening even if it is not clear the first time you read or look at it, though for the most part for me that was the exception rather than the rule.
   
   If you practice yoga or are interested in anatomy in general, no matter what level of experience or knowledge you have in either subject, this is a very enjoyable and educational experience.
   
   Highly recommended.



3. Very Revealing for those with trouble with one or two poses. You can really see where your muscles move.



4. I guess I'm one of those people that likes to understand the how and why of everything I do. Therefore, whenever I workout, I find myself wondering about the purpose of each particular exercise. Am I actually working, strengthen, or stretching my muscles in a way that is beneficial to my body or am I just wasting my time? Am I doing the exercises correctly or am I setting myself up for an injury? Perhaps that's why I love the Anatomy series from Human Kinetics. They have a number of different books that take a deeper look at Stretch Training, Stretching, and Yoga exercises.
   
   Yoga Anatomy has full coloured pictures of the body for a wide variety of movements: breathing, standing poses, sitting poses, kneeling poses, supine poses, prone poses, and arm support poses. These pictures show which muscles are in use during a particular motion. Extra information is then included about which joints are involved and which muscles are lengthening and working during the process. Each entry also notes proper breathing as well as information on any challenges associated with the pose.
   
   In this way, there is no guess work involved. I know exactly what each posture is meant to do, which muscles I'll be working, and how to prevent injuries. I can then take full responsibility for my health and fitness.



5. A very useful book to all yogis who want to know more about their body

5 comments about Anatomy Coloring Book, The (3rd Edition).

1. I bought this book because I give massages and find it a very helpful guide in therapeutic massage. I refer to it all the time for more than massage-- understanding injuries and health conditions in general. A must for the curious.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805350861/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title



2. Good selection for me. I need it for class. It came promptly and what I could afford. Thank you.



3. I purchased both this and the Physiology Coloring Book and they are great! Not only does coloring in the images reinforce what I'm studying, but the text portion (explanations) are added bonuses. I highly recommend both.



4. I am still reading the book but overall the information given is good academically. I am preparing for ACSM examination & I feel this book will really help men in my studies. The detail info with diagram really help you to understand each part of the human body, this way no one will forget what he/she is reading.



5. As an A&P teacher, I find that students who use this anatomy coloring book get it faster and retain the info longer than any other. It is much more accurate than other anatomy coloring books. Highly recommended!

5 comments about MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Sixth Edition.

1. This handbook is a great thing to own if you are a writer in any way. I purchased it for school at a lower price then the bookstore's price. It helps with correctly writing your papers in school and correctly writing things for work.



2. The Modern Language Association has developed a crisp contemporary style with ready application well beyond the realms of modern literature. The style is an evolution of Chicago style. The reference format for the "Works Cited" in MLA-speak, are virtually indistinguishable from those in Chicago-style bibliographies. However, MLA has added a unique parenthetical "author-page" citation to reference sources in the text. This is easy for both scholars and non-scholars alike to comprehend and use, making this a good general-purpose style.
   
   The MLA Handbook does an excellent job of representing the style, though with occasional foibles. These tend to be more a distraction than a nuisance, and are often ignored when the style is used in scholarly publication. For example, there is a marked predisposition for the use of abbreviations in references. This is unnecessary, and can present some rather unsavory phrases when sounded out, such as "U of Chicago P" for University of Chicago Press. Page space is rarely so confined as to make the parsimonious use of letters productive, so many authors and journal editors forgo this frugality. The handbook devotes an entire twenty-page chapter to the topic.
   
   There is a tendency in the handbook expand features beyond their useful application. In the last edition the requirements for presenting quotations was elaborated far beyond the needs of most scholars. This was circumscribed in the current edition, but references to electronic sources were elaborated far beyond their credible application. Such references can have up to fifteen elements! An ephemeral online source cannot be made permanent and credible by elaborating the reference to it, and this appears to be an attempt to do just that. These features, too, can be employed as needed or safely ignored.
   
   Missing from the handbook is any reference to the use of headings and subheadings in research papers. The handbook claims that most instructors discourage their use. However, an informal sampling of articles published in the MLA's own journal, PMLA, found that about half did make use of subheadings. This seems a bit hypocritical, especially in a handbook that gets a mite preachy about plagiarism. Do as I do, do as I say, or what? To be credible the handbook should reflect the style as applied in print.
   
   These criticisms border on the trivial simply because there is nothing else to complain about. At its best, the style employs simple rules. For example, if a number can be written in one or two words write it out. Otherwise use numerals, and always use numerals for precise measures. In contrast, APA (American Psychological Association) style has elaborate rules requiring some small numbers to be written as words, others as numerals. MLA style is free of such exceptions. As long as the style and handbook are approached with a measure of tolerance for its idiosyncrasies, it is easy to use and adequately comprehensive for all the tasks of scholarship. Only if you have delved into other research styles such as APA, AMA (American Medical Association), and Chicago can you appreciate the simplicity of MLA style and the masterly way it has been documented in the handbook. There is elegance in ordered simplicity, and more so than any other research style, MLA style has achieved that elegance.



3. This book was for a college class that my sister had, and it worked out just fine.



4. it seems to have everything that i needed in it and has more pertinent information than the internet. Has been pretty useful for me so far



5. This book seems to answer all questions I had and all questions I am likely to have.

5 comments about Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness.

1. The idea that good government -- effective, productive, protective -- is possible, and even desireable, seems to drive libertarians and certain conservatives up the wall. It may have something to do with an overweening devotion to liberty, but I think it might have most to do with the fact that some people profit from the mistakes of others, and anti-governmental types want more individual profit. They enjoy the chaos and competition of an unfettered marketplace, which is particularly beneficial to those who depend on investments rather than a salary.
   
   But when we consider the damage done to our society over the past eight years by a government that doesn't intervene when health and safety and livelihoods are at stake, we realize that liberty must be limited to some extent. The authors of this book are not necessarily suggesting we limit liberty, yet their critics have wasted no time decrying their liberal pedigrees and accusing them of promoting governmental intrusion into spheres of life that should remain private.
   
   The authors are simply showing that when governments and companies help citizens and employees make better decision, when taxpayer dollars and corporate profits are channeled into such programs, everyone benefits, just as families do when parents present better choices to their children. I realize this statement will trigger another howl from libertarian conservatives about political elitists and do-gooders and the nanny state and the infantilization of our culture, but these generalizations are both selfish and cynical. Even good people need help at times, and we are morally bound to help them whether or not you may wish to.
   
   The authors' detailed examples and reasoning provide excellent arguments for the kind of government we need. I hope everyone will read this useful, positive, and important book.



2. If you've never hear of "choice architecture," it isn't because you haven't experienced it. From your 401(k) enrollment form to the location of food at the company cafeteria (heck, even the menu design), every choice you make (or don't make) results partly from a decision someone else (the choice architect) has made for you. Even while I was still reading Nudge, I found new ways of viewing day-to-day activities which have created both new opportunities and interesting challenges for me personally and professionally.
   
   Nudge is the rare book that keeps you thinking after you read it. Rarer still for a book that is inherently academic. But, with its real world examples, Thaler and Sunstein bring libertarian paternalism to life. Wouldn't it be a hoot of those who could take advantage actually did so? I know I am going to try.
   
   Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck: A Conversation About Income, Wealth, and the Steps in Between (Total Candor)



3. Before I get to the book review, note that Thaler has done an excellent 1-hour talk about this book for Authors@Google, which is well worth your time whether or not you actually read Nudge. It's much better than the videos on Amazon.
   
   The book. Thaler & Sunstein define their use of the word "nudge" on page 6: "A nudge, as we will use the term, is any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people's behavior in a predicable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives. To count as a mere nudge, the intervention must be easy and cheap to avoid. Nudges are not mandates. Putting the fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not." The authors then go on, in the first part of the book (roughly 100 pages) to give examples of situations in which nudges can and should be used. Some of the examples are trivial: people eat 53% more old and stale popcorn if you serve it in a big bucket (the popcorn was stale enough that it squeaked when chewed). But many of the examples are significant, and concern people's persistent inability to make good decisions (as defined by themselves) in areas like eating and saving.
   
   Part II of the book (roughly 55 pages) has 4 chapters focused specifically on money. The first of these chapters discusses a program of theirs called "Save More Tomorrow" in which employees can fill out a form to increase their retirement savings in sync with future pay rises. In the example the authors give, those in the program went from a savings rate of 3.5% to 13.6% in under four years. This quadrupling was achieved with nothing more than a nudge. The other three chapters in this part are about: the naivite of many people (even nobel prize winning economists) in making their investment decisions, credit cards and credit generally, and a brief case study of the Swedish social security privitization.
   
   Part III ("Health", 40 pages) has three chapters. The first is about the well-intentioned but badly-designed medicare "Part D" prescription drug program in the US; this will not be very interesting to non-Americans. Next is an 8-page chapter on using nudges to increase organ donation (by changing the default to donation and requiring the person to opt-out). The third Health chapter, somewhat oddly, is about the environment, and Thaler & Sunstein present some examples of nudges, such as an orb that glows red when you use a lot of electricity, which can help people to be more energy efficient. To me, it seems that the world's environmental problems are unlikely to be solved by mere nudges, but I guess they won't actually hurt.
   
   Part IV ("Freedom" 30 pages) is a bit of a misfit. It has three chapters, the first of which is about school vouchers, the second of which advocates a change in the law which would allow patients to sign away their ability to sue doctors for medical malpractice, and the third advocates a redefinition of government involvement in sanctioning marriage. These three together read like general interest libertarian essays, strangely disconnected from the rest of the book. They're good, but a reader could skip them without losing the thread of the book.
   
   Finally, there is Part V ("Extensions and Objections", 25 pages). Every book of serious nonfiction should contain something like Nudge's Part V. Thaler & Sunstein address criticisms of their positions in a serious and thoughtful manner. My impression is that the authors are really putting up the most serious objections that they've faced at seminars and talks, rather than mere straw man arguments. There's no point in my describing these in this review, but I think that the existence of this part says good things about the intellectual tone of the book, and I enthusiastically recommend it.



4. What I expected were interesting perspectives on a series of examples that would illustrate various aspects of their thesis. The examples would start off with promise, but the authors nattered on until it was just too irritating. I would then jump to the next example - either immediately or when I next picked up the book - but each one failed in the same way.
   
   I still can't explain how such interesting topics were rendered so trite.



5. This is an interesting book to read, with some decent ideas on how things come to happen, It reads a little dry at times but overall it is worth the time spent and does make one think of a differnet approach to persuasion and public influence.

5 comments about A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Seventh Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing).

1. The book arrived in a timely manner, and was in good shape. We got exactly what was stated in your description.



2. Not only have the editors updated Turabian for the internet age, they have greatly improved the layout and made it easier to use.



3. This new edition of the venerable Turabian manual is no more than a rough draft. It is perhaps a second draft, but a work in process nonetheless. The need for a deft ediorial hand to finish work is soon evident to any knowledgable reader. First, the same material on tables and figures is covered in two separate sections. This material could have been consolidated in one place. Second, essential information on references is overly wordy and convoluted, requiring five chapters to present the same material that needed just one in the previous edition. Third, there is a serious lack of focus. The promise of the first section is not fullfilled in the second. The focus shifts. Were this a thesis or a dissertation, it would not get past the student's advisor to the full committee. Were this an article submitted for publication, the editor would return it for needed revisions. Were this a patchwork body of Dr. Frankenstein's creation, it would still need an energizing spark to bring it to life.
   
   There are two distinct sections to this text. The first is an elementary, but polished, introduction to crafting research papers by eminent and accomplished scholars. The second seeks to present "Chicago style for researchers and students," which is the subtitle of the volume. The transition between the two is not smooth. While the first section is for beginners, the second is for advanced students, presenting numerous graphics to help format a dissertation, but just a single graphic for class papers, a title page. Thus, the neophyte is given the task of inferring from the format of a dissertation how a class paper should look. This seems backwards. Shouldn't the task of translating from one format to another be given to the more advanced student? Better yet, why not present both formats? Students writing a dissertation are well beyond needing the elementary guide to doing research found in the first half of the book. The focus shifts from beginner to near-professional with no closure for the beginner and no preparation for the grad student. Could this be the patchwork creation of a mad (but competent) scientist?
   
   An appendix is the literary equivalent of an afterthought, and that is where the page format graphics have been relegated. Apparently the editors of this venerable "manual of writers of research papers," considers the format of words, sentences, tables, figures, paragraphs, and quotations more important than their presentation on the page. Perhaps, "A Manual for Writers of Research Text" would be a more honest title. The subtitle, not the title, appears to be the ordering principle of the second half of the book--Chicago Style for for Researchers and Students. The emphasis is on the style and not the final product, the research paper. This may be a fine point to some, but both the APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association) place page formats in the body of their style manuals.
   
   The previous edition presented the three Chicago reference formats--footnote/endnote, bibliography, and reference list--side by side in a single chapter. This proved so effective that the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style elected to do the same thing. But this edition of the Turabian manual has expanded this one chapter into five. The question is why, for whom? Shouldn't students be treated to the simpler presentation? William of Occcam is the author of a famous priciple in philosophy know as Occam's Razor. He argued that when given a choice of alternative explanations the simplest will generally prove the most reliable. About 600 years later, William Strunk, Jr., advised his students to "omit needless words," and we might add, needless chapters.
   
   Given these observations, how would you grade a text with these problems? To me, it reads like a rough draft in need of additional work. I would not want to present a text in this condition to a dissertation committee. And by that standard, a revised edition is called for. With both the Turabian manual and Chicago manual on my bookshelf, I invariably go to the Chicago manual when I have a question. Ironically, with the previous editions of both texts it was the other way around. The new Turabian manual does manage to cover the essential features of Chicago style, and though it is a great buy at amazon prices, it is no bargain. It is a disjointed patchwork offensive to a disciplined mind. Dr. Frankenstein, would you care to hazard a second opinion?



4. The item I received was exactly what I ordered at a lower price than I would have paid at our university bookstore.



5. If you are a student and are wondering how to write a paper. This book offers great DETAILED advice in making sure your paper is what you wanted it to be. You can find clarity in the details of which are at times a step-by-step walk through of the sometimes daunting task of writing a major paper (thesis, dissertation, etc.). Use the book and enjoy how much you will learn from writing your paper and how much you will be able to teach with your paper.

5 comments about The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief, Second Edition.

1. This is a great resource for massage therapists and laypeople alike. Practical suggestions for self-help in pain relief, but the information can be easily adapted to use to help others. It translates trigger point therapy it into simple, concise, and readable text. The illustrations are helpful as well. Highly recommended.



2. This book is a great self-help resource for many types of pain, and also provides an interesting and fairly easy understanding of anatomy.
   
   The first day I had the book, I visited my father who was suffering from a very painful inflammation of the big toe, which his doctor had diagnosed as gout, although his urine tests did not indicate the acid which is a sign of gout. (He has had gout several times.) The book stated that a certain trigger point condition is often misdiagnosed as "gout" or can exist simultaneously with actual gout. I used the illustration in the book dealing with "symptoms of gout" and other foot/toe pain, found the trigger point in his shin and pressed on it - my dad was MAD at this point! It hurt! But within a few minutes he admitted his toe felt a little better. The next morning he was astonished, saying "I don't know what to think - the pain and swelling is completely gone." Throughout the week he massaged that sore trigger point a few times a day while doing yoga stretches, his toe remained pain-free, and within a couple of weeks the trigger point stopped hurting too.
   
   I've been using the book's suggestion for back, neck and hip pain. Although my results haven't been as dramatic and permanent as my dad's (since he was more consistent in self-treatment that I have been) I can relieve the tension pretty easily following the directions in the book. I will also get a Theracane, a recommended self-massage tool, because many of the trigger points are hard to reach or massage by hand.
   
   This book makes me appreciate a good, professional masseuse who can do the trigger point work for me. But it's great to be able to take care of myself as much as possible. This is a resource I will use for the rest of my life.



3. I bought this book after years of suffering shoulder and neck pain that could not be attributed to anything specific. Chiropractic care and Acupuncture helped some, but the treatments are expensive and not always available on a weekend. So I tried the book and found that by manipulating the trigger points, the pain would eventually dissipate. Its rather amazing that this simple therapy is not better known.
   
   The rating is 4 stars instead of 5 because it seems hard to find the specific parts of the body and how to treat them. I solved my problem by buying brightly colored tabs and affixing them to the different chapters - problem solved.



4. I have dealt with golfers elbow for years getting by with ice and rest but it would never go away. This book suggested a trigger point in the upper arm that I eventually found-a little hard ball that is not present on my good arm. I was amazed at how a little massage on that gives the elbow immediate relief. It was literally instantaneous. The elbow isn`t cured but 75% better with no more instances of extreme pain. After a little more research with the book I found trigger points in my back that give relief to lower back pain. A fanastic book, easy to read and use.



5. This pain started in a Ti Chi exercise class about 6 years ago. Just a nagging mid back pain that came and went. Chiropractic treatment helped but I could not do aerobics because it would come back. The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook showed me where and how to treat it. I got relief from the first self treatment and was cured within one week. Since then I have helped my son with his knee pain. I highly recommend this book, much pain and suffering can be avoided!