Frontiers in Biomedical Polymer Applications, Volume I

Book Description

The use of polymers in medicine has become a reality over the last 10 years. Scientists have been attempting to develop biomimetic materials to substitute for flawed or damaged natural systems. This new book presents the most up-to-date developments in the use of synthetic polymers as biomaterials. Frontiers in Biomedical Polymer Applications is a compilation of the papers presented at the first International Meeting on the Frontiers of Medical Applications of Polymers. Held in St. Margarite, Italy, participants from countries throughout the world came to present their findings and to discuss future directions in this rapidly growing field. The text contains all 24 of the presentations and is well-illustrated with over 200 figures, tables, formulas and schemes. Frontiers in Biomedical Polymer Applications is required reading for anyone interested in the current developments in polymers as bioapplications, as well as implant materials, polymeric drugs and drug delivery systems. Keep pace with the latest developments in biomedical polymer applications.

Book Description

Reflections on science, culture, and society, by the acclaimed author of The Woods Hole Cantata and The Doctor with Two Heads

In this retrospective of Gerald Weissmann's best-known essays, the reader is treated to his unique perspective on what C. P. Snow once dubbed "the Two Cultures"-art and science. In Darwin's Audubon, Weissmann examines the powerful influence that the two exert over one another and how they have helped each other evolve. From listening to the scientists who gather ever year to sing at the Woods Hole Cantata Consort to looking at the influence of Audubon's watercolors on Darwin's On the Origin of Species; from comparing William Carlos Williams's poetry to his unedited case books to watching Oliver Wendell Holmes grow as doctor and as poet, Weissmann weaves a rich tapestry that will delight fans and newcomers alike.

Customer Reviews:

not for me.......2006-05-05

Don't get me wrong. I'm sure if I was a doctor, biologist, or chemist of sorts, I might have enjoyed the book much more. However, I'm not any of those things, so this book, though very interesting at times, was on the whole a drag and I could have probably spent my time doing something else.

My favorite essays were Puerperal Priority, Science Fictions, Call Me Madame, In Quest of Fleck, Losing a MASH. A lot of the essays I found dull or else I was too lazy to be as imaginative as Weissmann. Like I said, a person more attuned to his field of medecine might care to think about what he's saying while I just let it pass through unnoticed.

Anyways, all in all, I must admit that the author is an excellent writer and his superior education in the sciences and humanities is evident from all of his writings.

Synchronicity and other stuff?.......2004-08-15

What amazed me about this book - apart from the excellent writing and obvious literary skills of Weismann - was the way the author brought seemingly disparate ideas and themes together: choral music and sanitation; unusual psychological syndromes and military service.
There's an endless imagination drawn on here - maybe a bit clunkily at times - and this is one of Weismann's overarching themes: the importance of imagination.
I enjoyed this - and will keep on dreaming.

Analysis of art, science, and culture.......2002-03-10

Essays by the author provide plenty of insights into science and the liberal imagination, bringing together works from his prior books to accompany seven new works. The author's analysis of art, science, and culture considers influences on all and how the various genres have helped each other to evolve.

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Hard to believe they couldn't find more interesting stuff on TR's hard drive.

Love Tom, love his point of view.

Revisitng previous adventures in writing.

Can't get enough from Tom Robbins

For Robbins Fans

Wild Ducks Flying Backward
Tom Robbins
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Robbins, Tom | ( R ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Villa Incognito

Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates

Another Roadside Attraction

Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas

Still Life with Woodpecker

ASIN: 0553383531
Release Date: 2006-08-29

Book Description

Known for his meaty seriocomic novels–expansive works that are simultaneously lowbrow and highbrow–Tom Robbins has also published over the years a number of short pieces, predominantly nonfiction. His travel articles, essays, and tributes to actors, musicians, sex kittens, and thinkers have appeared in publications ranging from Esquire to Harper’s, from Playboy to the New York Times, High Times, and Life. A generous sampling, collected here for the first time and including works as diverse as scholarly art criticism and some decidedly untypical country-
music lyrics, Wild Ducks Flying Backward offers a rare sweeping overview of the eclectic
sensibility of an American original.

Whether he is rocking with the Doors, depoliticizing Picasso’s Guernica, lamenting the angst-ridden state of contemporary literature, or drooling over tomato sandwiches and a species of womanhood he calls “the genius waitress,” Robbins’s briefer writings often exhibit the same five traits that perhaps best characterize his novels: an imaginative wit, a cheerfully brash disregard for convention, a sweetly nasty eroticism, a
mystical but keenly observant eye, and an irrepressible love of language.

Embedded in this primarily journalistic compilation are a couple of short stories, a sheaf of largely unpublished poems, and an off-beat assessment of our divided nation. And wherever we open Wild Ducks Flying Backward, we’re apt to encounter examples of the intently serious playfulness that percolates from the mind of a self-described “romantic Zen hedonist” and “stray dog in the banquet halls of culture.”

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Hard to believe they couldn't find more interesting stuff on TR's hard drive........2007-08-25

I'm not a fan of short stories. I'm less of a fan of gathering together a bunch of old articles and selling them as a book. I am, however, a huge fan of Tom Robbins.

While it was good to read some Tom again, I can't say I was tremendously impressed by this selection of "short writings." Personally, in terms of cleaning out a hard drive and putting it in novel form, I much prefer Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time I did enjoy some of Tom's poetry, and the homage to the Doors but other than that, the material was seriously dated.

Hopefully there will be a new novel soon. I miss him. And these last two forays (this and Villa Incognito) have left me wanting.

Love Tom, love his point of view........2007-08-16

If you can't get a full blown novel (hope one is in the hopper even as I write) then you can enjoy surfing the mind of this great intellect and wit by reading his collection of articles, reviews, etc.

Revisitng previous adventures in writing........2007-06-28

Wild Ducks Flying Backward is an eclectic sampling of travel articles, essays, short stories, a movie treatment, poetry, song lyrics, tributes, opinion pieces and responses to requests from magazines for writing on various issues.

I was immediately impressed by Robbins' creativity and the diverse subject matter he is willing to address in his writing. His use of language and his descriptive power and imagination are indescribable. In these samplings he comes over as a man with a delightfully wicked sense of humor. He also impresses his readers with his scholarly criticism. He is astute and a mature observer of human nature. He has the gift of being able to peel back the layers to show us man and character in his nakedness.

I got the feeling that what I see is what I get with this author. Working out what I see is at times fun, confusing, awe inspiring, daunting and over whelming. Robbins makes me want to write more and play with words and images like never before.

I particularly enjoyed the travel articles. I laughed out loud reading the "Canyon of the Vaginas" written about a trip to a remote canyon in Nevada full of vagina petroglyphs. Robbins used the essay as a spring board for a discussion on the feminine and sexual power.

There were times when the book lagged and my attention wandered. This was mostly during the extensive section of tributes. His piece on "The Doors" written following his first attendance at one of their concerts, although less developed in writing style, was interesting to me because of the picture he paints of the culture at that time. His tribute to Joseph Campbell was interesting for the same reasons. I enjoyed his tribute to Diane Keaton. Clearly this is a woman he admires and lusts after. The writing was prosaic and sensual. His tribute to Leonard Cohen took me back to my teens, and I relived the feelings of identification and depression at that time. Robbins points out the true genius of Cohen and the depth of his poetry. I want to go back and listen to all those records again, get my guitar out (save us all!) and sing!

We all know that a college town presents its own brand of waiters and waitresses. In his essay "The Genius Waitress," Robbins imagines his way and ours into the thoughts, dreams, perceptions and disappointments of such a character.

A section of the book is comprised of responses to questions asked for various publications. When asked to write about one of his favorite things Robbins wrote about the letter "Z". This essay was amazingly imaginative and the fact that he chose a letter of the alphabet to write about shows his playful and non-conformist mind.

Robbins shares his love for language and writing in a series of essays including one in response to the question; what is the Function of Metaphor?

He continues to provide food for thought for the reader and writer in such essays as:

What Do You Think Writer's Block Is and Have

You Ever Had It?

With What Fictional Character Do You Most

Identify?

Is the Writer Obligated to Use His/Her Medium

As an Instrument for Social Betterment?

Why Do You Live Where You Live?

What Was Your First Outdoor Adventure?

Do You Express Your Personal Political

opinions in Your Novels?

How Would You Evaluate John Steinbeck?

I found all of these questions thought provoking and useful for discussion in the writing class I teach.

This is a book I know I will come back to over and over again. There is much to interest a wide variety of readers in it. I find myself thinking about some of the essays at random times. I did not expect to find Zen-like studies on writing and life in this book. I was delighted by the author's depth of character, mischievousness, word-playfulness, clever wit, understanding for the human condition and compassion in this collection. This is truly a lateral thinker in the extreme. Finally, Robbins spoke to my heart in his statement "We are in this life to enlarge the soul, liberate the spirit, and light up the brain."

Belinda Shoemaker MFA Creative Writing

Can't get enough from Tom Robbins.......2007-05-19

My favorite author of all times. I wish he could come out with a new book every week. Oh well. I just have to read them over and over.

For Robbins Fans.......2007-05-13

As the introduction says, I was alittle disappointed even before I began. Being a fan, I was looking forward to a novel, a book full of flights of fancy. However, I enjoyed this collection of shorts. And found myself satisfied when it was over, a condition Mr. Robbins has graciously afforded me with each new offering! Thanks Tom.

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Wild Ducks Flying Backward
Tom Robbins
Manufacturer: BANTAM BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OJQTLG

Wild Ducks Flying Backward: The Short Writings of Tom Robbins (Unabridged)

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Wild Ducks Flying Backward: The Short Writings of Tom Robbins (Unabridged)
Tom Robbins
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download

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100 Essential Modern Poems

Manufacturer: Ivan R. Dee Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000BC1Q7I

Product Description

Adam Kirsch Parisi shows modern poetry isn't an obscure byway or specialized discipline... Every reader will find poems to learn and love.

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Wild Ducks Flying Backward

Manufacturer: NO EXIT PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GPEOC4

Wild Ducks Flying Backward - Short Writings

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Wild Ducks Flying Backward - Short Writings
Tom Robbins
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UKOG9G

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Wild Ducks Flying Backwards
Tom Robbins
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N6P0Q0

Wild Ducks Flying Backwards 1ST Edition Signed

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Wild Ducks Flying Backwards 1ST Edition Signed
Tom Robbins
Manufacturer: RANDOM HOUSE @ TRADE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TTKFPM

Amazon.com

Oprah Book Club® Selection, February 1997: Ursula Hegi's Stones from the River clamors for comparisons to Gunter Grass's The Tin Drum; her protagonist Trudi Montag--like the unforgettable Oskar Mazerath--is a dwarf living in Germany during the two World Wars. To its credit, Stones does not wilt from the comparison. Hegi's book has a distinctive, appealing flavor of its own. Stone's characters are off-center enough to hold your attention despite the inevitable dominance of the setting: There's Trudi's mother, who slowly goes insane living in an "earth nest" beneath the family house; Trudi's best friend Georg, whose parents dress him as the girl they always wanted; and, of course, Trudi herself, whose condition dooms her to long for an impossible normalcy. Futhermore, the reader's inevitable sympathy for Trudi, the dwarf, heightens the true grotesqueness of Nazi Germany. Stones from the River is a nightmare journey with an unforgettable guide.

Book Description

Stones from the River is a daring, dramatic and complex novel of life in Germany. It is set in Burgdorf, a small fictional German town, between 1915 and 1951. The protagonist is Trudi Montag, a Zwerg -- the German word for dwarf woman. As a dwarf she is set apart, the outsider whose physical "otherness" has a corollary in her refusal to be a part of Burgdorf's silent complicity during and after World War II. Trudi establishes her status and power, not through beauty, marriage, or motherhood, but rather as the town's librarian and relentless collector of stories.

Through Trudi's unblinking eyes, we witness the growing impact of Nazism on the ordinary townsfolk of Burgdorf as they are thrust on to a larger moral stage and forced to make choices that will forever mark their lives. Stones from the River is a story of secrets, parceled out masterfully by Trudi -- and by Ursula Hegi -- as they reveal the truth about living through unspeakable times.

Customer Reviews:

shared book x 10.......2007-09-23

after reading "the book thief" a 11 yr old told me she had never read a book from both perspectives told so well. (this girl is very wise) i ordered her stones from the river so she could read of trudy and her german town before,during and after world war 2. i read it when oprah recommded it many yrs ago and the book still hold my heart in its hands. it is quirky and funny without being silly. it is deep and wide without overwhelming the borders of a great story. an adult book for children to grow from.

couldn't finish it.......2007-09-17

There are few books I don't finish. I was looking forward to reading this book because it sounded like a great novel - fascinating characters, set in an inherently interesting time and place. Unfortunately, I found the writing dull and pedantic. The story is mostly told from the main character's point of view, but her voice does not change from infancy through adulthood. And there are sudden inexplicable shifts in point of view and in time, which work well in a short story or essay format but are annoying in a novel. I think her intent is to foreshadow, but telling us about a future act when the main character is still only 3 is not effective foreshadowing. And I kept remembering my 7th grade English teacher's direction to "show us, don't tell us" as to how different characters feel and relate.

It was with much disappointment that I finally decided that my annoyance with the writing style was too great. I gave up halfway through and returned the book.

not a lasting impression.......2007-09-13

I found this book very hard to get into, however, there were some very intriguing parts. I had to read this for school, and there were a few girls who absolutely loved it. Now that we have discussed it, if I were to read it again, I think that I would find it more captivating, but for now, I give it 3 stars.

A MUST-READ.......2007-07-05

Ursula Hegi has written an insightful and absorbing book. Stones From the River is magnificent. The story is beautifully told from the vantage point of one being born German, but tempered with the objectivity of one who was `different'--a Zwerg--and, therefore, always an outsider.

We see the world (Germany, 1915 - 1948) through Trudi's eyes, from childhood through womanhood: Trudi, the town storyteller, the keeper and purveyor of secrets. Trudi, whose imagination could stretch way beyond the confines of her stunted body.
Through Trudi's words we are given glimpse into what must be Hegi's own creative process (quoted in this next statement):
"The final design wouldn't happen all at once: there would be the rearrangement of it all,...a design would emerge...a story that would hold the entire world. It had to do with what to tell first--though it hadn't happened first--and what to end the story with. It had to do with what to enhance and what to relinquish. And what to embrace."

Trudi takes us into the lives of the people of Burgdorf, Germany, a community surviving the depression after WWI and torn by the passions of WWII. In this mainly Catholic town of traditions, highly held virtues were good manners, strict obedience to authority, unquestioning belief---belief without doubt--, the need for order, and if it meant not acknowledging unpleasantness,` keeping up appearances' to the extent of whitewashing events inconsistent with these values. You begin to understand what happened to a nation of basically good, hard-working people, struggling to regain self-respect after losing WWI. You begin to get a clear picture of how they were led astray and why, at least on the surface, they were quick to want to forget. As stated early on by Leo, Trudi's father: "Germans have a history of sacrificing everything for a strong leader...it's our fear of chaos" and then later, as Hitler was rising to power "...the German attraction for one strong leader, one father figure who makes you obey.... The silence of so many was born out of fear and from a lifetime of compliance, and the disbelief that the Germany they knew could be responsible for unthinkable acts of cruelty and violence.

We also see the war from the perspective of those being bombed by the Allies. I did not know that Dresden was firebombed or that men in trenches were buried alive by American tanks. Or, that America closed it's doors to Jews needing to immigrate, trapping them in Germany. Ugliness all round.

Trudi likens her ability to absort and retell the town secrets to her deep connection to the river that borders the town: seeing beneath the surface, knowing the undercurrents, the whirlpools that could take you down, the hidden stones.
Stones From The River is an eye-opening, fascinating, and skillfully told story: a "must read".

death by literature.......2007-02-06

Now I am usually a fan of Holocaust books, but I am currently contemplating burning this book. I have to read it for an honors english conference, and my friends and I are all in agreement; this is easily one of the worst books any of us has ever read. It is slow moving and the language isn't captivating at all. The tense changes and overabundence of characters makes the plot (or lack there of) hard to follow. There is also no oppurtunity to connect with the many characters of this book, therefore there is no emotional impact when bad things happen to them.
If you are thinking of reading this book, check yourself into an insane asylum. It's honestly horrible

25 Bicycle Tours in the Hudson Valley: Scenic Rides from Saratoga to Northern Westchester County (25 Bicycle Tours Guide)

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Cycling in the Hudson Valley, NY

25 Bicycle Tours in the Hudson Valley: Scenic Rides from Saratoga to Northern Westchester County (25 Bicycle Tours Guide)
Howard Stone
Manufacturer: Countryman Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

North America | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0881503665

Customer Reviews:

Cycling in the Hudson Valley, NY.......2001-08-12

We bought the book and used is exclusively to prepare and conduct bicycle trips in the Hudson valley. The trip length and route layout suites the occasional to average trained cyclist. The routes are using mostly side roads which makes the trips safe and pleasant. The indication of the mileage for each step make sure than no turn or remarkable viewpoint is missed. The abstract that precedes the detailed description of each tour is a good help to pick a route for the day. We highly recommend the book to anyone who has a interest in cycling in the Hudson Valley. Hopefully there will be more cyclists in the future as this area is great to be explored and enjoyed from the bicycle.

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Stones From the River
Ursula Hegi
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Stones from the River

ASIN: B000H7ERB4

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The Boys From Lake County
James, Keir Baughman
Manufacturer: Baughman Literary Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Strategy | Military | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0979044340

Book Description

Co A, 73rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment. One of the most detailed reviews of America's Civil War in it's western field. A painful, shocking expose of the disastrous treatment of America's disabled Civil War veterans...little known even in those years...completely unremembered in our day. Hour by hour...heroism and brilliant strategy in the most hard hitting, combative, small scale raid of America's Civil War. Rank and file riflemen... friends and neighbors from one Indiana county...living, fighting, dying in America's bloodiest of all wars. "The Boys From Lake County" is likely one-of-kind in America's Civil War history...at least in the last hundred years. The book names all of the 100 men who originally enlisted in Co A, 73rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment. It details their age at enlistment, their height, complexion, color of hair, color of eyes, where they were born, where they resided in Lake County, civilian occupation, and what happened to them during the War. For a few it reveals some details of their lives after the War. For one, the book lists a great many events during his entire lifetime. As a matter of course, "The Boys From Lake County" is also a relatively complete history of their 73rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

The Civil War in the West: From Stones River to Chattanooga

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The Civil War in the West: From Stones River to Chattanooga
Peter Cozzens
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TZ0N1M

CIVIL WAR IN WEST SLIP CASES: From Stones River to Chattanooga

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After Shiloh and before Atlanta: How the ACW was Lost

CIVIL WAR IN WEST SLIP CASES: From Stones River to Chattanooga

Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 025202236X

Customer Reviews:

After Shiloh and before Atlanta: How the ACW was Lost.......1999-07-21

This trilogy very competently fills in much needed analysis and detail on the critical ACW battles of Stones River, Chickamauga and Chattanooga. Hard to believe, with the great volume of ACW material that has been generated and is still being generated, but there were really no standard, first rate treatments of these three great battles before Cozzens set to work (and there is still no standard available on the battle of Shiloh). The research, detail and accuracy are first rate (even more impressive since Mr. Cozzens is a foreign service officer and at times worked from sites as remote as Lima, Peru). The first installment - No Better Place to Die: The Battle of Stones River - is a slow start, somewhat confused and complacent (which is an odd impression, given that Stones River was equivalent to a two-day Antietam of the West). However, the next two volumes - especially the middle centerpiece - This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga - are stellar. The right balance of commentary and description in tactics, troop movements and first person narrative is achieved to deliver great story telling and history. The incredible, depressing, star-crossed story of the Confederate Army of Tennessee is an amazing testament to the indomitable nature of the human spirit. Never were better soldiers under worse leadership. Where this work earns its Main Selection of the History Book Club and ACW classic status is in the unflinching, painfully honest portrayals of the individuals involved: Braxton Bragg is revealed to be the egotistical incompetent that he was (Bragg's only effective campaign was the offensive he launched against his own officers after his only victory); Sherman and Grant very competent but also capable of serious tactical errors; Rosecrans' collapse into despair; Longstreet's self-serving intrigues; Thomas' plodding but heroic style; all come to life in these pages. Above all, the simple hopes and desires, fears and dreams of the common soldier, moved to acts of cowardice and bravery, stupidity and inspiration, despair and hope, are documented for generations to ponder (this is where the primary research pays off - resulting in well-placed first person narrative descriptions throughout). Mr. Cozzens' has delivered a very valuable, enjoyable work deserving of attention. The art work by Keith Rocco is also a nice touch, effecting without sentimentality, historical art which contributes to the whole.

On mammals from the Northwest Territory collected by Mr. A.J. Stone (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History)

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On mammals from the Northwest Territory collected by Mr. A.J. Stone (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History)
J. A Allen
Manufacturer: Published by order of the Trustees, American Museum of Natural History
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Rivers of Rock: Stories from a Stone-Dry Land : Central Arizona Project Archaeology

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Rivers of Rock: Stories from a Stone-Dry Land : Central Arizona Project Archaeology
Stephanie M. Whittlesey
Manufacturer: University of Arizona Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Second Particle Wave Theory: As Performed on the Banks of the River Wear, a Stone's Throw from S'Underland and the Durham Cathedral

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Second Particle Wave Theory: As Performed on the Banks of the River Wear, a Stone's Throw from S'Underland and the Durham Cathedral
Jimmie Durham
Manufacturer: Not Avail
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Museums & Collections | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1894773233

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Stones From a River 1ST Edition Signed
Ursula Hegi
Manufacturer: POSEIDON PR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SO3EI8

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