Month: August 2014

Authors:  David B. Magleby, Paul C. Light, and Christine L. Nemacheck Publisher: Pearson – Education Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram An important point is made by the authors in their note To the Student at the beginning of this book. They write: “…our basic rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were neither guaranteed by those who wrote our Constitution nor by the citizens who have worked, one generation after another, to expand these rights and set our government’s course.” They assert that it depends on us the people to safeguard these rights as vigilant citizens. People...

Editors: Patrick Frank Publisher: Pearson – Education – 522 pages, with 165 new images Book Review by: Laxmi Chaandi Patrick Frank poses the question “Why Study Art?” in his Preface and immediately answers it by saying “because at some point in human history, artists have dealt with every type of human experience, from the common to the forbidden, the mundane to the sacred, the repugnant to the sublime.” My own non-artist answer is that basically it is part of human nature to want to express what we have in our heads as well as to respond in our own...

Author: Juergen Schroeder, MD Publisher: Thieme 230 pages, 573 illustrations Book Review by: Nano Khilnani Dr. Schroeder writes that vascular interventions evolved from the technique of angiography. He points out that as recently as twenty years ago, every beginner in diagnostic angiography had the opportunity to work with guide wire and catheters. But today, many types of diagnoses of the blood vessel system in our bodies do not require catheterization but can be done with any chemical solution called a contrast. However, guidance is required by the beginner in angiography to learn techniques that an experienced practitioner needs to...

Author:  Thomas L. Pirnot Publisher: Pearson – Education – 763 pages, plus appendix, answers, etc. Book Review by: Venkat Subramaniam Thomas Pirnot has made this book refreshingly different from other math textbooks. As the titles  of its fourteen chapters show you below, he relates numbers to life, making math come alive. Written in conversational style as someone speaking to a friend, he helps remove the anxiety many students feel when they are about to take a course in any branch of mathematics. This book has been described by reviewers as “readable, interesting and relevant.” All of this is true,...