5 comments about The Last Lecture.

1. I really enjoyed the insights shared by Randy. I thought about Randy's proverbs on better living and found them to be pragmatic and appealed to my common sense and rationale. However, I think the reason Randy's lectures were so impactful is because of his heart and emtional sincerity of impactful experience he remembered: find and marrying his wife, the birth of his first son, the wisdom of his father and the pursuit of his dreams, the achievements and expectations he set for his students, and his desire to find meaning and purpose for his children in the future. I liked listening to Randy and found the stories heart warming and real. Randy is a nerd, but a cool nerd. Randy has a strong following of loyal patrons, facility, and friends; but what makes him cool is his excitement about accomplishment, building his dreams, and his relationships with his children - family - and friends. Randy seems like a good guy. I hope you enjoy listening to his last lecture. I did and found myself hurrying to my car to listen each of the 5 cds.



2. In this book, Randy Pausch has given his readers an extraordinary perspective of the emotional journey he and his wife traveled together after receiving his terminal diagnosis. He showed all us his true courage as well as the things in life that truly matter.



3. Good Product, not expensive, good condition and excellent content, this book is really cool, I advised almost all my friends to read it.



4. This book came in excellent condition and way before it's expected delivery date. I was very impressed and pleased with the purchase and seller.



5. Great book. Does not offer any unique advice per se, but reinforces the belief that living without regrets is the only way to go, and helps you get your priorities straight. Pausch is able to enjoy whatever time he has left because he can check pretty much every one of his childhood dreams off the list. That's what I took away from it anyway, though I'm sure there are plenty more lessons to be learned from his story depending on where you are in life.

5 comments about The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope (P.S.).

1. Valerie: Philadelphia, Pa....
   Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thought provoking, inspirational. Should be required reading for public school children...



2. This book was an inspiring story about a youngster growing up in a small village in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world. He could have lost a future because of his mediocre grades in primary school, he could have died in an horrific famine, he could have perished in the face of several catatrophes but none of that happens.
   
   The youngster in question is thirsty for knowledge of all kind. On his own, he researches electricity and wind power and constructs a windmill which powers a small flow of electricity and light into his humble shack. This in turn brings him attention and praise from knowledgeable including scientists and inventors and changes his life, and perhaps even his village, considerably. He eventually learns to speak about his invention in important setting and bring knowledge to others about his impoverish and needy nation. While the writing is simple, the story is complex and delightful. This is an excellent read.



3. I wish I could stand in the town square and call out to passersby to read this paradigm-shifting account. Since there is no global town square, all I can do is leave a 5-star review. I gave this book to my father for his birthday and he has been equally moved. Though it makes my own life seem obscene in its relative opulence, I cannot recommend it enough as no doubt that is part of its enormous strength and relevance. Though only part; there is so much to glean here.
   
   Bo?
   Bo!



4. I purchased this book as a gift for someone who is interested in alternative energy sources. He said he enjoyed it.



5. "The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind"
   by William Kamkwamba
   and Bryan Mealer
   
   
   Book Review by Jay Gilbertson
   
   "Before I discovered the miracles of science, magic ruled the world..." So begins the autobiographical story of how wind changed one boy's world and knocked the socks off his proud parents!
   
   The story is actually three tales all woven together with one of my favorite words--hope. Young William grew up in a village in Malawi (sub-Saharan Africa) where electricity was scarce, maize was the staple food and starvation was never far away. One of the many interesting daily life-of-William-tidbits he shares is that regardless of how very poor his people are there exists a deep personal respect for one another. This honor sustains the community and is what keeps the village functioning and whole in difficult times.
   
   Where in America public education is free to all, in William's village there is basic education--but it comes with a price tag. William does indeed begin school as the maize crop that particular year yielded extra money to pay the $80 tuition (average per capita income per year is $160) but a drought came, as it often did, and he's forced to drop. Yet William isn't one to sit around and mope, off he tromps to the local `library' and it is there that he finds a book that will ultimately change his life: Using Energy.
   
   As a boy, William was intrigued by how things worked. Since electricity for televisions in most parts of Africa didn't exist, most people listened to small, hand-held radios. From Malawian reggae or American rhythm and blues from Radio Two in Blantyre, (a city in Malawi) or Chichewa (Malawian language) gospel choirs and church sermons from Lilongwe (capital of Malawi). He and his cousin began to take these small devices apart in order to learn how they worked. This, in turn, led him to discover the mechanical dynamo. It's the small generator that powers a light for a bike and coupled with a windmill, William literally turns on the lights in his parent's home. This is only the beginning.
   
   Through much trial and error and an endless stockpile of discarded gears and pipes and wires, William built his crude windmill to generate a few precious volts. This discovery sparked an interest in the press who spread the word of his `invention.' The prying news reporter's stories soon swept William into a journey that literally changed his life, his village and...I'm not telling you anything else--you'll have to read it for yourself!
   
   One of the other wonderful concepts that leapt out of William's story is inspiration rich with gratitude. He ends with:
   
   "I hope this story finds its way to our brothers and sisters out there who are trying to elevate themselves and their communities, but who may feel discouraged by their poor situation. I want them to know they're not alone..."
   
   This is one juicy story full of angst and struggle, death and dust and endless heat. It has the power of wind and the magic of a boy called William Kamkwamba. I can't wait for you to meet him.
   
   
   For more details and some incredible videos of William:
   […]

5 comments about The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Dover Thrift Editions).

1. There are any number of reasons to read Ben Franklin's autobiography.
   
   For the fetching language and wit. As when he deviated from his vegetarianism to eat some fish that "smelt admirably well," saying, "If you eat one another, I don't see why we mayn't eat you...So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do."
   
   For his keen insights into human nature and his own flawed behavior. Such as his youthful lust for the paramour of a friend who was out of town: "I grew fond of her company, and, being at that time under no religious restraint, and presuming upon my importance to her, I attempted familiarities (another erratum) which she repulsed with a proper resentment, and acquainted him with my behaviour."
   
   For the panoramic view of this Renaissance man's interests and accomplishments: his work as printer and pamphleteer; his founding a state militia, a hospital, and a school; his work as military leader, scientist, inventor, and politician.
   
   But for me the most compelling lure of Franklin's tale is its depiction of English-speaking America in its infancy, when still a British colony. When the country was raw and manners polished, when our institutions and culture still lay unformed and malleable, and opportunity lurked around every corner.
   
   Franklin seized those opportunities, seemingly by default in some cases and, in others, by dint of discipline and determination. In the process you see how he helped shape our culture and institutions at a time when they were still mere clay.
   
   On the surface, this ascetic, cerebral, and industrious businessman seems an unlikely rebel. Abstemious, sober, principled, cautious, civil, and civic-minded, he spent his early days in long hours at the press and his nights discussing philosophy and politics with serious-minded members of a discussion group he formed. "About this time," he writes, "I conceiv'd the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection."
   
   But we also glimpse his independence of mind--both as a religious skeptic and as a colonial who chaffed under British rule--and his contentiousness. A man who seemed to cherish conflict and won his way with preparation and persistence, whether in the marketplace, the legislature, or in the field against the French. We see in Franklin, the uniquely American characteristics that would help a lean, under-populated, and vulnerable colony grow into the world's great religious refuge, military power, and economic Mecca.
   
   Along the way the reader of this truncated autobiography--which concludes in 1765, long before Franklin gained his greatest fame--is, by turns, intrigued, charmed, and seduced by Franklin's wiliness, warmth, and wit.
   
   For example: As a young man he set out from Boston to seek his fortune in Philadelphia. Even though fatigued and hungry after a difficult journey, he presses his last shilling on folks who ferried him up river in a row boat, musing: "A man being sometimes more generous when he has but a little money than when he has plenty, perhaps thro' fear of being thought to have but little."
   
   Time and again, both on Franklin's part and that of colleagues and strangers, you witness generosity, kindness, and blind optimism. These, too, seem American virtues, and make you wish for more trusting times.
   
   You also see his glee in making mischief. As when he convinces his early employer, Keimer, to join him in his vegetarian regimen: "He was usually a great glutton, and I promised myself some diversion in half starving him."
   
   And his ever-present if subtle humor and iconoclasm: "[Osborne] and I made a serious agreement, that the one who happened first to die should, if possible, made a friendly visit to the other, and acquaint him how he found things in that separate state. But he never fulfill'd his promise."
   
   But his serious and responsible side dominates Franklin, a man always trying to squeeze the most out of himself and others: "I grew convinc'd that truth, sincerity and integrity in dealings between man and man were of the utmost importance to the felicity of life; and I form'd written resolutions, which still remain in my journal book, to practice them ever while I lived."
   
   He helped form a militia for self-defense, led men onto the field of battle, and warned an arrogant General Braddock against marching into Iroquois country to face the French--advice that, if heeded, would have saved hundreds of lives. Also, twenty years before the coming of the Revolutionary War, Franklin saw its roots in the British mistrust of American militias, London preferring the presence of British troops supported by resented tax levies.
   
   Franklin was a frank man, plain spoken and self-critical, as we see in his portrayal of early London indiscretions: "...[T]hat hard-to-be-governed passion of youth hurried me frequently into intrigues with low women that fell in my way, which attended with some expense and great inconvenience, besides a continual risque to my health by a distemper which of all things I dreaded, though by great good luck I escaped it."
   
   So in the end we see Franklin not as a printer, politician, or statesman, but as a man--fallible and forthright, and still alive and breathing in his own words.



2. In this candid autobiography, B. Franklin unveils his vision and tactics in business, political, social, religious and sexual matters. His colonial viewpoint stands in sharp contrast with his `moral' attitude.
   
   American Dream
   B. Franklin is the perfect example of the fulfillment of the American Dream. Working from the age of 10 in his father's business, he goes to New York, `a boy of 17, without the least recommendation or knowledge of any person, with very little money in my pocket' and becomes a wealthy and influential businessman.
   
   Character, colonialism, protestant influence
   He was a ferociously independent mind with a huge aversion for arbitrary power. He was a generous, good-hearted man, who refused to patent his inventions, because `as we enjoy great advantage from the invention of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.'(!)
   But he was not so generous with the aboriginal US population: `rum may be the appointed means to extirpate these savages in order to make room for cultivators of the earth.'
   He was a perfectionist, wanting to become completely virtuous. He even composed a catalogue of moral virtues (13) with temperance (eating, drinking), frugality (no waste), industry (useful job) and chastity (sex only for health and offspring).
   
   Business, general tactics
   Under the influence of his father, he became a writer (of almanacs) and a printer and later launched his own newspaper.
   He never published pamphlets or proposals in his own name, but under pseudonyms like `some publick-spirited gentlemen', thereby avoiding `the presenting myself to the publick as the author of any scheme for their benefit.'
   Another tactic was: `I shall never ask, never refuse, nor never resign an office.'
   
   Politics, religion
   He sees through the political game: `while a party is carrying on a general design, each man has his particular private interest in view. Man primarily considered that their own and their country's interest were united.'
   In religious matters, he was a deist, but never became a member of a sect, because he saw their blatant hypocrisy: `each sect grievously calumniated other sects' and `every other sect supposing itself in possession of all truth.' Even the Quakers got easily rid of their principle `that no kind of war was lawful.'
   
   Sex, marriage
   Candidly he confesses that `that hard-to-be-governed passion of youth hurried me frequently into intrigues with low women, which were attended with some expense besides a continual risque to my health.'
   For marriage, `the business of a printer being generally thought a poor one.' `I was not to expect money with a wife, unless with such a one as I should not otherwise think agreeable.'
   
   These sincere autobiographical notes are a must read for all those interested in US history.



3. The book was in great condition I just didn't realize it wasn't the book with the foot notes....But service was great!



4. Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography is one of the very few books that all Americans should read, and virtually everyone else should also. Its greatness and importance can hardly be exaggerated. Aside from being a great autobiography, the book cuts to the very heart of what it means to be American; it is indeed hardly hyperbolic to say that Franklin created the American dream, and this details it. The work thus has strong inspirational potential, not least because it is a great and unusually practical ethics primer. In addition, it is a fascinating glimpse at late colonial America, and we get plenty of Franklin's wit and wisdom.
   
   The book would of course be invaluable if it were only an autobiography, as Franklin is one of the most notable and interesting people to ever live. His life was long, and he accomplished more than almost anyone in history; a simple list of his achievements would almost be a book in itself. That he did not come close to completing this is thus extremely regrettable; it goes only to 1758, when Franklin was in his early 50s, well before his famed public career. Those wanting coverage of this important era will thus be disappointed and must rely on later biographies. However, Franklin's long list of accomplishments even at that point does much to atone. It is also important to realize that this is not a formal autobiography but was written in four stages over nearly twenty years. The first and probably best-known part was as a 1771 letter to Franklin's son. The much shorter Part Two was written in 1784, continuing the former narrative for the public. Part Three was written in 1788 and the very short Part Four, which breaks off somewhat abruptly because Franklin was near death, in 1790. The book - no part of which was published until after Franklin's death, and then only in French, and which did not come out in full until well into the nineteenth century - as it stands was thus not meant to be cohesive and is indeed far from it; there is a little overlap and no real transitions. No one should expect polish, but there is no arguing with what is here, though Part Four is clearly less substantial. We learn about Franklin's family background and early life, his near-literal rags to riches rise, his printing career, his writing, his scientific exploits and inventions, his early political actions, etc. This encompasses an astonishing number and variety of important and worthy deeds. The sheer number of things that Franklin began or pioneered is simply incredible - and almost unbelievable considering the circumstances. We see everything from the founding of the first American fire department and library to the founding of the University of Pennsylvania to the famous electrical experiments to the invention of the Franklin Stove and other devices - and far more. It is an excellent story well-told, and anyone at all interested in autobiography will be endlessly intrigued.
   
   Franklin's rise from humble origins to world fame and acclaim is endlessly amazing and ever-admirable. One of the first truly self-made men, he had the kind of can-do optimism, resolve, and perseverance of which few people can even conceive. Franklin details how he did it, thus delineating the American dream that has attracted the down and out but hopeful from all around the world for over two centuries. The book's influence is simply profound - and quite direct in that it is still widely read, though indirect ramifications are even more enormous. Hundreds of millions have imitated it whether they know or not - and many have known -, but probably none have equaled it, and few have even come close. Yet it shows no sign of ceasing to be inspirational; Franklin shows, as no one else has ever come close to doing, that hard work and determination really can pay off. It is remarkable enough that his story is real, but the truly remarkable thing is how little it owes to luck. Many have of course been disappointed, often tragically, in trying to emulate Franklin, and it is undeniable that monumental intelligence and a plethora of other assets gave an edge that only a very small number of people can ever come close to reproducing. For all this, though, his story's bare reality is the best kind of inspiration one could ever hope for.
   
   As if listing his accomplishments were not enough, Franklin also relays his truly noble self-improvement experiment; knowing his faults all too well but determined to be virtuous, he developed and rigorously applied a near-mathematical improvement system. He did not fully succeed, but the degree to which he did is highly noteworthy. There is much to be learned here as elsewhere; many have used his system, some with considerable success, and nearly everyone can get something valuable from it. On top of everything else, the book is thus a great ethics introduction - the kind that simply has not existed for some time. Franklin combines the best aspects of Spartan, Roman, and Puritan ideas of virtue - a combination that cannot be found in the innumerable tripe now littering self-help bookshelves. Unlike those wretched works, this is intellectually and even aesthetically pleasing - and more importantly, is eminently practical and supremely accessible.
   
   Franklin was great in nearly every sense - full of virtue and true nobility as almost no one has been. He has rightly been an American hero for centuries, revered around the world. That said, he has always had critics, and it is easy to latch onto negative things. Some - famously including D. H. Lawrence - have condemned Franklin as hopelessly materialistic, obsessed with what the latter elsewhere called "the way to wealth." There is definitely some truth here, and it would be quite hard to deny that perversion of Franklin's scheme has led to significant harm. One can of course say this is not his fault, but more to the point is that it is hard to criticize considering Franklin's circumstances - and only the envious will begrudge his success. This in any case sells him very short; Franklin after all refused to patent that would have made him unspeakably wealthy or accept money for public office. It is also very unfair to claim or even imply that he cared only for wealth. We must not forget that Franklin was one of his era's greatest scientists and intellectuals and an extremely well-read polyglot - all his own doing, as he had almost no formal education. However, he may be otherwise criticized - not least for the book's profusion of barely-disguised vanity, which he admits many times. In the end, though, this is hardly worth mentioning. Being Franklin, the only surprising thing is that he was not much vainer still; nearly anyone else would have been, and who can deny it would have been almost entirely justified? An arguably more substantial point is Franklin's infamously innumerable sexual trysts, including many with prostitutes. He refers to this himself, including what he calls "low women," but some may disparage him for not being more open. That said, it is only fair to note that he is often surprisingly honest - not only in mentioning such dalliances at all but in many other ways, not least the blunt description of his failed marriage proposal. Some will value this, while others will think Franklin honest to a fault, and still others will think it does not go far enough. We must remember in any case that this part was written to his son and that the book was meant to be practically applicable rather than confessional.
   
   Practicality is indeed Franklin's core trait and the one that should get the most attention; it goes a long way toward erasing any doubts. Regardless of how famous or rich he became, Franklin was never highfalutin or pretentious, always retaining the hard common sense that served him so well. This led to great improvements not only in his life but in countless others; for example, despite a fearsome intellect, vast self-education, and highly impressive accomplishments in nearly every field, Franklin could still concern himself with things like reducing street dust and making street lights brighter. How many in his position would have even noticed such things - except perhaps to complain? Flawed as he clearly was, only a handful of people even compete with him for widespread benefits to humanity. We can - and should - admire and appreciate this, whatever else we think of him.
   
   His wisdom also comes across in many other ways, benefiting us further. Franklin had great insight into human nature and has much practical advice about virtually every interpersonal relations aspect, including how to advance agendas without making enemies and even how to turn enemies into friends. His observations on everything from literature to religion also have great value; simply put, he could hardly write boringly, and what he has to say is very far from boring in any case.
   
   Additionally, it must be pointed out that the book would be of great value even if it did not deal with someone as important as Franklin because it is an excellent primary source about a very important period. We get a very vivid idea of what it was like to live in early to mid-eighteenth century America socially, economically, politically, and otherwise. The work's historical value is probably impossible to calculate.
   
   Finally, one must not neglect to mention that Franklin is a prime American prose stylist. He deliberately wrote in a very simple style that was clear, concise, and generally accessible - a distinct contrast to the mainstream writing of his time. Some may doubt this, but it is easily proven by comparing the book to other late eighteenth century ones - or even many from less than a century ago. How many can be easily read without footnotes and other glosses or extensive introductions? Spelling and punctuation have of course changed significantly, but anyone can still pick this up and get into it quite quickly and easily, which is not its least notable feature.
   
   All told, this is absolutely essential for anyone even remotely interested in Franklin, American history, self-improvement, or any of the many other topics on which it touches despite being under 150 pages. The world would undeniably be substantially better if everyone read this and took its most inspiriting aspects to heart, and there can be no higher praise.



5. Franklin himself called it his Memoirs, and it is, sadly, incomplete. Not this book, but his autobiography. When studying nonfiction in school, particularly the autobiographical genre, the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is often the benchmark. Held to the highest esteem (with the notable exception of Mark Twain's review, which was somewhat colder than most), it his likely the most read autobiography to date. Franklin, for all his faults, was an influential man in ways that politicians today can only aspire to be. In fact, his 13 virtues are just as poignant and pertinent today as they were when he devised them.
   
   This copy is LARGE PRINT, which makes it a wonderful gift for those with poor eyesight.

5 comments about Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character).

1. Don't pay any attention to that negative review by "Zorba", whose knowledge of post-war bar culture is probably limited. And his appraisal of Feynman's practical jokes being hurtful must be based on something other than this book. Feynman has some funny stories and provides us with some biographical data along the way to give the stories a setting. We hear about his childhood and his first job, along with his early fascination with gadgets and inventions. Not much in the way of specific details on his work in physics, as has been provided in other biographies, and the "Feynman diagrams, which show the arrows of light and time, are mentioned not-a-once, nor is it detailed exactly what he won the nobel prize for, though his headaches of receiving the prize are amuzing. Don't look for physics, but for the social life of a physicist who also happened to be a character. He does talk about physics and math and education in a general way and offers up some general observations about how people approach these subjects. There are stories from Los Alamos to Brazil and Japan and from CalTech and Princeton. A fun short read, if that's what you're looking for.



2. If one can tolerate Feynman's ego, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" will teach him or her a valuable lesson. By example, Feynman teaches the reader to enthusiastically ask questions and tenaciously pursue answers. With his entertaining anecdotes as evidence, Feynman shows that such an approach to things makes for an exciting, fun-filled life.



3. I hate Richard Feynman. Even dead, I hate him. He was so smart. He was so funny. He was so witty. This book is like a short story of fun. Everyone who reads it will feel like they were there and wish they had been him. I even learned a thing or two.



4. I got introduced to reading about this character back in the late 1980's. It may not be going too far to say Richard Feynman is an American hero. Read about him and then you decide.
   
   Eccentric, brilliant, helped make history in several ways. As a side job single handedly discovered the cause of one of the world's worst air accidents when the comity charged with that responsibility was at a loss for a solution. His students loved him; they wrote these books about him.
   
   There is even a classroom educational tool called a Feynman diagram. Besides all that the stories are interesting and humorous. Anything but a dry biography.



5. I bought this book on a whim because it was about a famous scientist, who built much of the foundation for what I was studying. I opened it up while taking a break from my physics homework and.. needless to say I couldn't put it down. I read it in one day. The mixture of his adventures being intertwined with his work on quantum theory was better then anything I've ever read.

5 comments about Fixing My Gaze: A Scientist's Journey Into Seeing in Three Dimensions.

1. For some adults, such as myself, I lacked stereo-vision for much of my life .... until when at age 45 (March 2000) I had surgery to correct my "wandering eyes." The surgery was a success - although it took about 6-7 weeks before my brain was able to "fuse" the two images it saw into "one" 3-d image. For the first time in my life. Over the next weeks and months, my eye sight (3-d) became stronger and stronger and my nearsightedness because a less severe. As far as I can remember, no one (none of my health care providers) ever told me that surgery might help correct my vision problem... Until I had an executive physical at Mayo and the doctor there informed me of this option. The article in the New Yorker was very good and the author's story is compelling, but not all that uncommon as I am finding out. Just read the other reviews here.... It is very interesting to be able to see a "baseball" or "tennis ball" or "golf ball" in mid-air. I am glad she wrote her book and is telling her story (on NPR) as it is a story that many of us can relate to. Thanks for giving a voice to all of us who see the world in 2-D (or have seen the world in 2-D) most of our lives. I just want to put a plug in for surgery.... in the right case, it might help as an adult. It did for me.
   Paul Floyd, Mpls, MN



2. When Susan Barry was an infant, she developed crossed eyes- strabisimus. When she was seven, she had surgery to correct them. They looked normal then. It wasn't until she was in college that she realized that she didn't have stereovision- the ability to see in three dimensions. Of course it was too late by then to do anything about it- the scientific community agreed that the cut off point for restoring stereovision was in infancy. She was way too old to change things; her brain could not be remodeled.
   
   Then, when she was 47, she consulted an optometrist and was referred to Dr. Theresa Ruggiero, a developmental optometrist. There she learned that the doctor had patients as old as ninety. This doctor treated children with vision problems that made school difficult, people with binocular vision problems, and people whose vision had been affected by stroke or brain injury. There, she learned that while her eyes looked straight to other people, they actually didn't line up quite right- there was several degrees of difference in them. They literally did not see the same things, and Sue's brain had learned to adapt to that so she didn't see double. Now her task was to both learn to align them better with eye muscle strength, and retrain her brain in how it translated the signals it got from them.
   
   It worked. After a lot of hard work, one day her vision suddenly popped into 3-D. And it's worked for a lot of other people, too. As neuroscientists are learning, the adult brain retains plasticity into adulthood and can be trained to make up for deficits, but that information isn't trickling down to all doctors as fast as it should.
   
   Today the author is a much better driver, can read longer without getting tired, and is a better tennis player. She's not as clumsy, and revels in how marvelous things look to her now.
   
   The book is a twining story of both her own journey to stereovision and the biological and neurological underpinnings of vision. It's a very interesting read, a good addition to the growing number of neurology for the layman books.



3. I have suffered from Congenital strabismus all my life, I had 2 surgeries as a young infant and underwent some vision therapy in early life from my recollection, however, like most strabismics, I never developed bionucularity or stereopsis. As a child/teenager I was never good at ball sports, particularly small ball sports and never knew why, I always thought I was just naturally poor at most sports, which was hard socially and psychologically for me at the time. It wasn't until my teen years when my eyes began to turn again that I realised there was a problem. A routine eye exam in early high-school picked up my monocularity, however I was told not to worry as I had good vision in both eyes and what I lacked wasn't so important. Not fully understanding this at the time I went on with life as normal, into my late 20's/ early 30's my eye turn began to get worse to the point that it became cosmetically distracting and people would look at me differently and some would make comments and ask questions, so at the age of 34 I decided it was time for my 3rd surgery to realign the eyes once more. At this point I also began to research the topic of strabismus and stereopsis and after failing fusion and stereopsis tests conducted by my opthamologist, I set out to see what can be done to correct this. Coming across Sue's book and lectures on youtube gave me the inspiration to pursue the same course of treatment she underwent. My eyes are now almost normally aligned, just a little off horizontally/vertically, after surgery and I have begun vision therapy with a developmental optometrist just as Sue did. To my surprise using the brock string has made a huge difference so far! I can see the "x" when I cross my eyes!(which has required alot of effort to learn) and as a result I am now getting better at fusing both images with effort! Hopefully in time this will develop further and also potentially unlock/develop redundant bioncular areas in my visual cortex and help me experience the wonderful world of stereopsis as it did for Sue!
   
   This book is a MUST read for any adult with congenital strabismus and monocular vision! It brings hope for all those individuals affected by this condition by outlining Susan's path to depth-perception/stereopsis after close to half her life was spent viewing the world with monocular vision. Susan's story is an enjoyable read and explained in a way that even non-medically minded individuals will understand. I rate this book very highly!



4. Excellent read for anyone interested in the brain, in vision and in neurodevelopment. I've known for a long time that adults can improve the use of their eyes. Now I have a much better understanding of why this is true.



5. This book provides amazing insight for people who work with visual processing issues. A must read for reading specialist and occupational therapists and indispensable for parents of kids with learning disabilities. Most of them may be caused by visual processing issues that usually go undiagnosed by ophtamologists.

5 comments about The Real Benjamin Franklin (American Classic Series).

1. Excellent - Couldn't Put It Down. I was afraid it would be boring but it wasn't. My 14 yr. old son also read and enjoyed it. I finished this several months ago and have gone back and re-read various sections. The reference section and Writings section are a huge bonus as well. I would recommend this book for the casual reader as well as for advanced study. check out The Real Thomas Jefferson (American Classic Series) and The Real George Washington (American Classic Series) as well.



2. A classic that everyone should read. Delivered quickly and in great condition. Bully. A 5 star performance.



3. I truly can not begin to even comprehend how someone can call this book biased in any way. It talks about Franklin's life, basically, his growing up and the events that lead to the way he thought about things. It talks about his greatest accomplishments and sorts out the myths about him. I have fallen in love (not really in love) with another founder through reading this book.
   
   Who knew it was Franklin who came up with "as snug as a bug in a rug".



4. As with the other books in this series I enjoyed learning about a another great founder.



5. I have recently purchased 3 of the American Classic series, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. These 3 books come with a time-line,
   Life Story, and an index and thumbnail(s) of the individual by contemory. All
   of which make these books great reference books for any library. So a brilliant
   quote on almost any subject is just a minute away.
   
   I have read Ben Franklin and a quick scan of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The Real Benjamin Franklin is an easy read, well structured, well documented(every page is footnoted). It gives you a general feeling for the man, the times, and his possition in it.
   
   The Real George Washington (American Classic Series)The Real Thomas Jefferson (American Classic Series)

5 comments about The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science.

1. First off, this is a highly readable and entertaining work about an overlooked era of scientific achievement. There exists a gap in general science history between the foundation of Newton and subsequent progress of Faraday/Maxwell. Holmes brings this period into focus in the midst of a Romantic age while we ride through the streets of London in a carriage to an evening's science lecture and special effects extravaganza. This is all good. But Holmes looks at the era through the forty footer where the sweeper might have been a bit more effective. We follow Humphry Davy from first breath to last gasp in a detailed biography that at times simply distracts from the good stuff. On the other hand, I am much obliged for the details presented on William Herschel and Caroline. I was astounded by their accomplishments and wondered why this was new to me. I've read a lot of popularized science yet did not know of the team who expanded our narrow universe into deep space and manifold galaxies, who unveiled the evolution of the stars. Perusing my bookshelves, John Gibbin's The Scientists gives William Herschel two sentences; Arthur Koestler in the Sleepwalkers, no reference; Bill Bryson, two sentences and a footnote; Timothy Ferris' The Whole Shebang, no reference (although he gives them 10 pages in Coming of Age in the Milky Way) and so on. So thank you for that, Mr Holmes. The biography of Joseph Banks is also more balanced than Davy's nuanced depth, while the balloonists and jungle-hacking journey through Africa of Mungo Park expand the range of exploration. Then there are the poets, a seminal breed in a time possibly lost on the modern reader who might not appreciate the scope of poetic influence prior to the Twentieth Century with its more dynamic communications media. In a polarity reversal, unless you are acquainted with the Romantic poets' lives, you'll get scant help within, but the attention to their scientific influences is right on.
   
   Mr Holms characterizes the emotion and intuition of the Romantic movement as reactionary to the formalistic and austere science pressing down on society and challenging its need for a Biblical creation and judgment. True enough, and we see a reflection of it yet again today as science flirts with DNA, cloning, and continued evolutionary revelation while the villagers in America light torches and teabags and chant in the streets, taking their cues from the electromagnetic medium that fuels their outrage. I personally feel that understanding the history of science, knowing of its hard-earned advance, and of the men and women who defied conformational thinking to free humankind from mind-numbing superstition, provides a wholesome appreciation of progress and the tremendous accomplishments of present-day research. Holmes ends with a summary statement reprising the rigid debates of science versus religion, science versus the arts, science versus traditional ethics. I would hope that by now - moving along rapidly in the Twenty-first Century - that we've earned the objective right to shift that inquisition to religion versus science, religion versus mythology, religion versus morality, and religion versus human rights.



2. After a long, dry season of disappointing reads, it is always particularly exciting when something finally comes along that can really quench my thirst. THE AGE OF WONDER did just that. This is the engrossing story of the Romantic Age of British Science, roughly from 1770-1830. About halfway through I realized that the scientists of the age (the term "scientist" wasn't coined until the very end of this period) were the pop stars of their era. Their lectures were sell-outs. The first one-way street in London was created to ease the traffic jams in front of the lecture hall during Davy's chemistry lectures. His audience consisted of large numbers of adoring young female fans.
   
   Both the Beauty and Terror of Science, as promised in the subtitle, are chronicled. The Beauty is evident. The Terror is not predominantly of the Dr. Frankenstein type, although this is discussed. The Terror referred to is how the discovery of deep time and deep space rendered a divine creation unnecessary. Science didn't exclude it. What Science said was that it wasn't necessary to explain the universe. This was as fundamentally unsettling then as a confirmed extraterrestrial landing would be today.
   
   This is most definitely written for the lay reader. It's meant to be a popular history. And it succeeds on those terms. It is quite anecdotal, almost picaresque in the way it moves from one episode to another. What binds the parts into a whole are the fully explored lives of Joseph Banks, William Herschel and his sister Caroline, and Humphry Davy. So yes there is science (although not overly technical), but there are very human stories here too. It is well written and engaging from first page to last. Highly recommended.



3. I read many books about math and science. It is rare, however, that a book on science gives me the kind of pleasure that this book does. It stands close to unique among books in the field: more than history or biography, it is a microscope on an era told through the biographies of some of the important scientists of the period.
   
   This story spans a time period from roughly the late 1760's through the mid 1830's. It starts with a beautiful chapter on the exploration of Tahiti by Joseph Banks. Soon after his return, Banks becomes president of the Royal Society. From this powerful position, Banks drives the development of British science for the next forty years so we see him continually pop-up as the rest of the book progresses.
   
   After Tahiti, the main scientists we follow are the great astronomer, William Herschel, and his sister, Caroline (a great astronomer is her own right), as well as the chemist, Humphrey Davy. We learn about their great scientific discoveries, of course (Herschel is famous for the discovery of the planet Uranus while Davy launched the field of electrochemistry and invented the miners' lamp that bears his name). We also get some great information of the importance of ballooning which developed during this time. Still, Holmes gives us so much more. He shows how this science flowed from the Romantic culture of the time and how these scientists were reflections of it.
   
   For example, though I have read many other works about these two men, I never really gave much thought to Herschel as a musician. His training and early working life was that of a musician. Astronomy was a "hobby" at which he happened to excel and which he melded into his life. Davy, for his part, is often considered the inheritor of Bacon in his respect for inductive reasoning and experiment; however, I never realized the important of his friendships with key poets of the period (Coleridge, in particular), and his own attempts at writing verse. It gives quite a different perspective on the man. In fact, Holmes gives us a wealth of information about the impact of Romantic authors on the acceptance of science by the public at large (Mary Shelly's Frankenstein being the prime example). Davy's famous public lectures on science are another example of this relationship.
   
   As the book draws to a close, Holmes also does a great job of showing how the generally positive view of science during this period began to give way to darker musings. Romantic spiritualism begins to give way to atheism, which creates ripples in the wider culture with which we continue to deal. The unity of "natural philosophy" gives way to specialization (physicist, chemist, botanist, etc.) which puts up walls between the branches of science. The groundwork of the modern age is being laid.
   
   Even a book as wonderful as this has some flaws. I found the brief chapter on Mungo Park to be sort of a strange aside to the general flow of the narrative. Holmes also assumes some knowledge on the part of the reader that may not be generally known to the non-scientific reader. (For example, he often mentions the strained relationship between Davy and Michael Faraday, but never really explains it. Anyone familiar with science of the period would know about this but others may not.)
   
   That being said, I got the sense while reading this book that it would have great appeal to many non-scientists. I plan on suggesting it to a number of English teachers I know whose lessons on Romantic poets may benefit from Holmes' insights. This is definitely not a book for scientists alone. It deserves a wide readership.



4. What is the hullabaloo about this book? What does it add to our knowledge of either nineteenth century science or Romantic literature? In order not to scare off the litcrit crowd, Holmes skims very lightly over the science, which is (presumably) the reason why we are interested in these people in the first place. Speaking as a litcrit/humanities emigré, I could have used slightly more enlightenment about the science underlying Davys's experiments with nitrous oxide or the preceding context of chemistry under Lavoisier and Priestly. However, we are spared these weighty subjects like children who are told about sexual reproduction only in vague or allegorical terms ("You want the truth? You can't handle..." etc.). OK, the Romantics were not as averse to science as high-school texts claim. Surely any English major should know that. Oh well, the book contains a decent bibliography at the end for the reader interested in expanding his horizons.



5. Growing up, I was never really fond of history or science, not to mention history about science, and I think mainly it was because of the way these subjects were introduced and taught to me in school, which was by rote memory and for the purpose of good performance in standardized tests. For me, it was a sad case of high scores without true, or lasting lessons or interests. On the contrary, a book like this, to me, makes history and science come alive and exciting and relevant to our everday life, it shows the continuity, and the close connections between literature, music, art, science, philosophy etc. It is amazing and refreshing to learn about the incredible versatility of the scientists--Banks, Herschel, Davy, Brewster--who were not the stereotypical modern day "geeky" engineers/scientists, these scientists actually wrote music and poetry, and were explorers and philosophers! And the writers and poets of that time went to science lectures and incorporated science into their arts! Painters and writers had dinner parties and discussed philosophies in scientific discoveries! (We are not talking about old,white hair sages here, we are talking about relatively young people. I guess when you don't have to tweet every hour about the food you ate or how many hours you excercised or what Lidsey Lohan was wearing, you can actually think about more profound things.) As the author writes in his epilogue, the rigid boundaries between science vs art, or religion or traditional ethics are no longer enough. We need "the sense of individual wonder, the power of hope, and the vivid and QUESTING belief in a future for the globe." Take it from Newton, "I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great Ocean of truth lay all before me." This book is educational and informative, but not in a dry textbook way. It was FUN!

5 comments about Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love.

1. Galileo's brilliance couples with his unique, loving, enduring relationship with his oldest daughter provides a wonderful read.



2. I had absolutely no idea what I would find in this book. Was Galileo's daughter someone who followed in his shoes or otherwise became famous? I did not know. I am just reading books about Renaissance Italy these days and it was laying around our house.
   
   It took a while to get what the author was up to, and yes it can be a little dry as one recent reviewer titles her review, but if you stick with it, it is a very rich story that could easily be made into a Oscar-worthy movie. I will not spoil the book by telling you how it ends but the end very much had the feeling of a great movie script unfolding.
   
   In this book, you get a modest sized but very functional biography of Galileo, you get a sketchy but again perfectly functional biography of his daughter, both woven around each other, and you get a very good sense of what the society of the time did to both of them.
   
   That's really all I want to say but I do very much recommend it.



3. Dava Sobel has a gift for sailing one smoothly along a vast flowing river of a story. Her writing is like none other, and I somehow leave feeling spiritually lifted, and intellectually more alive. In "Galileo's Daughter" she journey's through war, conflict, despair, plague, and all the travails of Medieval life, of one of history's more brilliant and spiritual minds. Through the remaining historical letter's of Suror Maria Celeste, Galileo Galeli's eldest daughter, she re-creates a most rare and beautiful father-daughter relationship, and an unbounded love between a parent and a child, a faith and science. This story is truly a gift to read!



4. Found this book to be very dry.
   It is really Galileo's story
   as his daughter was cloistered in a convent by him.
   However the relationship between science and the Church is fascinating.



5. Galileo's Daughter: a Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love is a heartwarming and scientific book about Galileo Galilei's life and his relationship with his Daughter, Sour Maria Celeste. Even though s called Galileo's Daughter: a Historical Memoir of science, Faith, and Love it is actually about Galileo Galilei's accomplishments n his time period of life in science and math. This book tells you how he figured out his theories and wrote them down to figure out was to prove them. It also tells you how he communicates with his daughter, who is a nun, by writing letters back and forth without ever really seeing each other. He figures that she is a smart and intelligent person that reminds him a lot of himself would advise you to read this book because even though you are reading a book and learning about the science that Galileo has discovered n his time, t also warms your heart knowing that he has love and faith in what he does even though other people don't believe him. He has to go through a lot to be able to prove him science to the people so that people will stop calling him a liar and unfaithful to his religion. He wasn't trying to prove n what he believe and also trying to please his religion and faith. He knew that some people would understand and eventually other scientist did when he rolled with their theories and they rolled with his. This is why I believe this is such a great book and recommend it to you.

5 comments about My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey.

1. My Stroke of Insight can completely change the way you look at life! Not only is it extraordinairily informative regarding stroke victims, but it's amazingly insightful in regard to how we all deal with life, love, family and friends. I've never read a better book about caring for the injured or sick and about approaching life knowing that happiness is a choice! I highly recommend this book (and the audiobook is WONDERFUL!) to anyone under any circumstances. A MUST read for families and caretakers of stroke victims. This should be required reading for any medical professional! And don't be intimidated by the first section - brain anatomy - it's not neccessary that you fully understand/retain all those details in order to comprehend the rest of the book. Believe me, you'll get the message by the time you finish it.



2. I was disappointed that the author, a woman of science, would look at her vascular incident in such a subjective manner. This book was hailed as a breakthrough in the field of neuroscience. It seems to me to be just a thinly veiled religious text that, like others of its type, proves that God does, in fact, exist. If I wanted to read about religion, I would go to the religion section of the store. I enjoy reading books on psychology and neuroscience, but I don't feel that this book should be found in the science section.



3. I enjoyed this book, but the first third or so drags a bit. The author does a great job bringing up examples of how resilient the brain is, and how it can heal itself even when severely damaged. The key to this seems to be through a program of repetitive learning and sticking with it long after conventional medicine would right you off. Probably a good lesson in other areas of life as well. There are some amazing stories of recovery in this book. Quite inspirational to my father who suffered a stroke two months ago.



4. I was disappointed with the book. I would have been content with the video as it seemed to cover everything. I also questioned discrepancies between the book and the video.



5. I absolutely loved this book. I could read it over and over again and again. She was so fortunate to get help in time. Another moment later and she might not be here today to tell her story. This book will have you laughing, crying, and on the edge of your seat. She had been through so much and yet her mother never left her side. She constantly challenged her mind so that she would one day be able to function again in this world. If you think the book is great, you should look her up on youtube and hear her miraculous story. It will have you laughing, crying and then crying again. The tears I cried were a resounding cry of joy. She is a very brave and strong woman to survive what she had been through. I guarantee if you buy this book you won't be disappointed.

5 comments about Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time.

1. John Harrison was an eighteenth century English clockmaker who embraced his profession with a passion. His pioneering work with seafaring clocks eventually led to one of the most distinguished achievements of his time- the north-south demarcation of global longitude. Longitude is award-winning author Dava Sobel's account of the decades-long saga that brought about Harrisons' momentous breakthrough.
   
   Any history buff who dares look back over the turbulent ups and downs of maritime navigation will sooner or later hit on the longitude debacle that gripped much of Europe between the 15th and 17th centuries. A string of devastating incidents across international waters prompted an urgent examination by political and scientific establishments of how best to accurately map out the oceans that formed such a crucial part of global commerce. The egregious positional miscalculation by one Admiral Clowdisley Shovell, whose flotilla ran aground on the isles of Scilly off the coast of England in 1707 at a cost of 2000 lives, is perhaps the most widely documented nautical calamity of that era. Forced to navigate by latitude alone, ships became ever-vulnerable to ambush as they sailed along only a handful of well-advertized trade routes.
   
   And so began the most hotly-contested race for scientific notoriety ever launched. Spurred on by a carrot-stick monetary prize of £20,000 that accompanied the passage of the British parliamentary Longitudonal Act in 1714, Harrison garnered somewhat of a `David and Goliath' reputation as he took on the intellectual clout of the British Admiralty. A panel of scientists, naval officers and government officials collectively known as the Board of Longitude was commissioned to sort through a plenitude of proposals claiming to adequately tackle the longitude problem. And during the years that followed, all manner of imaginative ideas were proffered by business hopefuls. Fanciful schemes that relied on perpetual motion machines or canons strategically placed across the vastness of the oceans were expeditiously rejected due to their obvious lack of practicality.
   
   Most problematic for those wishing to cast their hopes on the reliability of clocks was the need for a timepiece that would not deviate by more than 3 seconds for every full day out at sea. Such was the accuracy threshold set by the board. But clocks at that time were simply not up to the task. Even the most experienced engineers would not have had the acumen to manufacture a timepiece that could counter the unforgiving sea swells and volatile atmospheric conditions of a trans-oceanic trip.
   
   Undeterred the prodigious John Harrison put his apprenticed woodcraft skills to the task of winning the coveted prize. He quickly cottoned on to the idea that if a clock could reliably measure time aboard a ship and at a second location of known longitude, the ship's longitudinal position would be easily calculable. By the age of 20 Harrison had already become well-acquainted with the nuances of Newtonian mechanics and had produced his first pendulum clock using wooden cogs. With this came the realization that if he were to excel under the high standards that the board so vehemently demanded, his clocks would have to be revolutionary in almost every aspect. Most importantly oils and other similarly purposed lubricants would have to be done away with since their thermal expansion/contraction properties would so cripplingly mar the functional consistency of any cog-based mechanism. Over the course of half a century a tireless Harrison produced a series of sea clocks aptly named H1, H2, and H3, H4 (`H' for Harrison) that demonstrably addressed the temperature problem. While dumbbell-shaped bar balances, temperature-compensating bi-metallic strips and caged ball bearings made them appear other-worldly, numerous test voyages from England's southern ports affirmed their inimitable quality.
   
   An unwavering perfectionism and an unshakable tenacity gave Harrison a respectable following among Royal Society members. But his greatest rivals never relinquished their conviction that the only truly reliable method for measuring longitude was through detailed observations of celestial movements, notably of the moon and stars. A multi-generational `relay team' of Greenwich Astronomer Royals that included the likes of John Flamsteed, James Bradley and Nevil Maskelyne battled successively in favor of the superiority of celestial cartography right up until Harrison's death in 1776. And having collectively catalogued hundreds of thousands of stars across both the southern and northern seas, their case seemed unshakable.
   
   Under Maskelyne's watchful eye Harrison was eventually forced to hand over all of his clocks for examination by the board. Maskelyne subsequently relegated H4 to the status of a mere accessory that "might enhance the lunar distance [method] but never supplant it". But amidst considerable acrimony and a last ditch appeal to the king of England, Harrison was given an eleventh hour reprieve. Trials of the last of his timepieces, the H5 watch, and a series of cheaper replicas confirmed the mastery of this once-obscure clockmaker. He was eventually declared the winner by the Board Of Longitude and duly awarded the financial prize he so uncontrovertibly deserved.
   
   In her book Longitude Sobel has weaved the disparate threads of this pivotal epoch of maritime history into a story that accurately reflects the animosity and tensions that so entangled its key players. A firm grasp of relevant scientific and political themes brings a unique aspect to Sobel's prose as does her fast-paced style and attention to detail. Such a rare combination of qualities makes Longitude a must read for those wishing to experience popular science writing at its best.



2. When I saw this book I was really excited, but my excitement waned with each page. This topic is very graphic in nature and guess what - no diagrams. No explanations concerning the methods just a statement that something could be done buy something or other but not really how it was done. You're left with incomplete pictures of any particular method or subject. Many times I just wanted to throw this book in the garbage out frustration. I can't say I really enjoyed the book.
   
   If the author would have actually tried to learn and do navigation on the water the book would been written differently and better I suspect



3. Sobel has crafted a story about the invention of a sea-worthy watch that helped sailors find their Longitude. The book is about 180 pages including index. It would have been 100 pages in standard format. That is one of the reasons it can now be had at 1/3 its original price. Sobel is a competent reporter who often uses cliches and puns to keep her readers interested. It is light and entertaining, I recommend it but just for fun.



4. Nice telling of the story of the quest to solve the longitude problem, something that not too many people today would know about, but without which modern civilization would be impossible.



5. Until I recently saw a list of books about inventions in the Wall Street Journal, I was completely unaware that there had been great difficulties in developing a method to identify the longitude of a location at sea. Dava Sobel, in this short (175 pages, not counting acknowledgments, bibliography, and index) book, gives a good historical background of the problem and various methods to solve it, and does quite a good job narrating the competition to win quite a substantial prize by developing a method that worked consistently and precisely.
   
   I would have been happier had the book contained more about the exact methods used by John Harrison to overcome the various difficulties caused by changes in temperature and humidity and by the motion of the ships themselves. My guess is that the publisher had put a limit on the length of the book that made this impossible.