Review of Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education (Hardcover)

Students need to hear the "real stories" of mathmatics for it to come alive for them. This excellent edition is chock full of marvelous tidbits and stories to tell and retell.

In addition to answering the question "Why do we need to know this stuff?" the volume contains classroom management and course management information needed by educators to improve their craft.

This is an excellent graduation present for anyone planning to teach in mathematics or the sciences, at any level.



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Review of Fifty Major Economists: A Reference Guide (Key Concepts) (Hardcover)

Steven Pressman's book is the best place for anyone to start reading about economics. What you get here is neither the one-sided, smug, neoclassical viewpoint that most books on economics take nor one full of revolutionary fervour. Instead, this short book moves chronologically through the economic landscape, pausing to highlight the important economic thinkers, their lives and thoughts, and explaining both their lasting ideas and forgotten ones.



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Review of Encyclopedia of Real Estate Terms, Third Edition (Hardcover)

Complete and comprehensive - never have those words rung truer than when one looks at "Encyclopedia of Real Estate Terms". With well over 1,500 pages of information on the real estate game, "Encyclopedia of Real Estate Terms" is composed and compiled by Damien Abbot, a man who has been involved in three billion dollars worth of real estate transactions during his globe-spanning, over forty year career. Now in its third edition, "Encyclopedia of Real Estate Terms" is a must for anyone getting into the world of real estate, and an invaluable reference for any seasoned agent who wants to stay on top of the game. "Encyclopedia of Real Estate Terms" is highly recommended for community library Real-Estate and reference collections.



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Review of The Handbook of Fixed Income Securities, 6th Edition (Hardcover)

I used this book as a text for a graduate level "Fixed Income Analysis" course. This book covers almost all the fixed income financial instruments from plain vanilla bonds to interest rate derivatives. However, reading this book leaves the reader with a desire for more than just the peripheral knowledge, which is all this book offers.

Theoretically, this book justfies its being called a handbook, but on the mathematical front, it stands absolutely nowhere. There are little or no examples used in the text even though the author touches base on the advanced topics sometimes. Any fixed income practioner, including me, will tell you that ONE JUST CANNOT LEARN FIXED INCOME CONCEPTS WITHOUT GRASPING THE MATH BEHIND THEM, and this book scores poorly in the quantitative analysis. Fixed income securities are extremely sensitive to interest rate fluctuations, and hence, it would be only sensible to present atleast a few chapters trying to explore the concepts used in the modeling of interest rates. But this book doesn't do that. There is little quantitative discussion about duration and convexity, two of the most important risk-measurement tools for bonds.

Since it is called a handbook, I don't see any reason why the author should hold back advanced concepts from the readers. Conversely, since this book doesn't attempt to teach all the concepts to its readers, it should not be called a handbook. This problem is actually common to all the Fabozzi books. Either his math is weak, or he is just busy making money writing a handbook on every possible fixed income security. It's only a shame that a capable and learned individual like him should do such a sloppy job.

I would recommend books by Bruce Tuckman, Garbade, or Horne for more advanced and intelligent discussions on fixed income securities and interest rates rather than this book. One really need not waste money on this book. Theory on Fixed Income instruments is widely available from Federal Reserve publications, which are almost always free. Put your money only where it will produce fixed & positive returns - Fixed Income 101.



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Review of Black's Law Dictionary 7th Edition (Hardcover)

I have to preface my review with a caveat: Black's is indispensible and if you're reading this, you need it.Also, I haven't looked through it extensively and so don't purport to rate this edition over the last one, just this deluxe version.

Having said that, I can't recommend this particular version with cheap-ish vinyl/leatherette cover and thumb indexing.

I just bought this deluxe version a few days ago for my sister who is going to enter law school in the fall.I decided that though the regular 7th version has served me well, she deserves the best.While this is surely the best, it is certainly not worth $40+ more than the regular version.

I feel like this $100 book will look like a pretty weak stand-alone present for her now that I've taken a close look at it; it's just a little underwhelming.

The cover, whatever it is, looks a little cheap and scratches and indents very easily.It already looks used and did not come sealed.

The binding and overall workmanship seems to be on par with the regular edition I looked at (and the one I own), which is to say mediocre.

The thumb indexing is a plus, and I guess that some people could desire that option enough to warrant the higher price.

Also, the paper is of noticeably higher quality, more like a nice library quality Webster's than a regular book.But I never noticed that the paper in my previous edition was lacking until Barrister Books told me.

The only other noteworthy thing about this particular version is the double take the cashier did when the price came up.

Really, I don't think you can justify that jump in price, if they could do something special for an additional $40-50 (i.e. leather, better binding, jewel encrusted carrying case) it would be worth looking into.There is a deluxe edition in a slipcase for $30 more, but there is no picture of it online and my school's bookstore didn't stock it and I'm sure it is the same book otherwise.

Al in all, a great reference with amarginal upgrade.



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Review of Encyclopedia of New Jersey (Hardcover)

First, the good points:this work is huge, well illustrated, and priced at about one third of what a commercial publisher would have to charge for something comparable.Probably no resource has treated the Garden State so thoroughly since the WPA guide was published about 65 years ago.

The downside, unfortunately, is that the contents are disappointing.Since the book has no index, or even a classified list of "essay" entries, there's no way to locate a topic unless you're able to hit upon the precise title under which it's discussed (assuming it's in there somewhere).The scope of coverage is quirky: it seems that every hamlet in the state has its own entry, yet there is no general treatment of, for example, industry or commerce or dairying or corporations (all things that are or have been highly important to New Jersey).Several of the general entries I have read so far are not exactly packed with information; the entries on industrial architecture and law, for instance, are as much about trends that apply to the whole nation as about anything specific to New Jersey.

Still, this work is certainly worth having, and Rutgers should be praised for making it possible.At present, no other reference work comes close.



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Review of The Encyclopedia of New York City (Hardcover)

Another reviewer said it best:Every New Yorker ought to own this book.It is huge, and chocked full of obscure facts about literally every facet of New York life.Sure, we all know who Bronck was, and working my way through Gotham, I learned about the Delancey family.But here, looking up the old neighborhood, I was able to find out how streets got their names, and so much more.

Want to know who won Mayoral elections?Look here.Want to know which newspapers were published and when?Again, look here.Searching one entry will guarantee that two or three or ten others will pop into mind.It is great for specific knowledge and for just browsing.

Not even the most knowledgeable New Yorker could read through this book and not learn some things.A wonderful reference work.



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