This two-volume textbook is the definitive reference book for pediatric surgery as practiced in the U. S. and Canada. As a pediatric surgeon, I use it frequently to refresh myself on the more complicated or unusual cases that I encounter. In addition, it is a good source of material for preparing educational presentations for other health care professionals. Every pediatric surgeon or resident in a pediatric surgery residency training program should own this book.

That said, this book is perhaps a bit too much for the general surgery resident or medical student in the middle of a busy pediatric surgery rotation. He or she might do better with Principles of Pediatric Surgery, a single-volume textbook covering the essentials of the subject, also published by Mosby. This other book would probably also best serve other nonsurgical pediatric physicians for pediatric surgery reference purposes.

This is then 2nd edition of a book that covers the essentials of pediatric surgery in a clear, concise fashion. While at 800+ pages, it is not a small book, it is shorter than the couple of other mainstream pediatric surgery textbooks that are each two volumes pushing 2000 pages. This book encompasses what U.S. and Canadian Pediatric Surgery Residency Program Training Directors expect their residents to know at the end of their training.

Who might benefit from this book? Firstly, as a board-certified pediatric surgeon, I would recommend it as a study guide for surgeons who have completed an accredited pediatric surgery residency program when studying for their American Board of Surgery exams in Pediatric Surgery. General surgery residents and medical students will also find it to be a manageable background source during their busy rotations on a pediatric surgery service. Other medical physicians, such as pediatricians and neonatologists, who care for young patients would also find it to be a handy reference to understand the surgical problems of their patients. Finally, I also use it as a source of material to help explain things to the parents of my young surgical patients.

If you are looking for the definitive bible on the subject, the one to get is the two-volume textbook, Pediatric Surgery, also published by Mosby.

Detective Jane Rizzoli returns in Gerritsen's latest novel, The Sinner. She is joined by medical examiner Maura Isles. The duo make a good team to investigate the seemingly unrelated murders of a nun, an unidentified homeless woman, and an executive. Rizzoli's character is more fleshed out from her previous appearances in The Surgeon and The Apprentice, and we learn more of her relationship with Gabriel Dean of the FBI. Dr. Isles is a good addition to Gerritsen's stable of protagonists. I'm sure we'll see more of these two women in future books from Gerritsen.

As a surgeon, I appreciate the medical detail and authenticity found in Gerritsen's works. Fortunately, as she has strayed farther from the medical/hospital setting, she has retained her medical realism. The Sinner is an exciting, gripping read, and I enjoyed it very much. However, as with her next most recent novel, The Apprentice, I feel like the resolution of the suspense was a bit rushed and predictable; hence the 4 out of 5 stars. Still I heartily recommend it, and I look forward to Gerritsen's next suspense offering.

This book was written by Stephen Coonts after 9/11. He weaves a plot in which Middle East terrorists and a couple of disenchanted Vietnamese refugees buy or steal some old Soviet nuclear bombs and try to blow them up in major US cities. Of course, Jake Grafton along with his wife Callie, old friends Toad Tarkington and Tommy Carmellini, new friend Anna Modin, and others intervene to save the day. Even though you know that the good guys are going to win again in the end, Coonts takes you on an exciting, suspenseful ride.

Whither Jake Grafton? Is he really retiring? I'm awaiting Coonts' next offering with bated breath!

In writing Saucer, Stephen Coonts got away from his usual "Jake Grafton and friends save the United States and the world" military suspense novels. The book is simple and reads like a plot for a made-for-TV movie:
1. Boy finds flying saucer.
2. Boy meets girl.
3. Bad guys arrive.
4. Boy and girl escape in flying saucer and find friends.
5. Boy and girl and friends fly around in flying saucer and have fun.
6. Bad guys steal flying saucer.
7. Boy and girl steal flying saucer back.
8. Boy gets rid of bad guys once and for all.
9. Boy becomes hero, and he and girl live happily ever after.
Reading Saucer was not a bad way to while away a few hours, but I prefer Coonts' other books.

This book is difficult to categorize. Is it a science fiction novel? Is it a horror novel? Is it a feminist treatise on the injustice of a male-dominated society with regards to a single woman? Is it all 3 and more?

Isserly is a different kind of woman searching out well-built male hitchhikers on the roads of the Scottish Highlands. What you initially think she wants to do with them may not be quite on target. Her character is very well fleshed out over the course of the novel. You share in her wonderment of the world, her frustrations with life/job/coworkers, her unattainable passions, and her relative loss of sanity.

This is a well-written book that crosses several fiction genres. It is a very good read that is difficult to put down once started. This is my first Michel Faber novel, and I heartily recommend it. I will soon be reading more works from this author.

When I started this book, it grabbed me, and I couldn't put it down. Fortunately, it's a relatively short book and can be read in a few hours. Sebastian Junger introduces the reader to the world of long-line swordfishing off the Grand Banks. One comes to know the occasionally wild and sometimes desperate captains and crewmembers of the fishing boats. Junger minutely details the work done and dangers faced by the men (and women) who go to sea (his work as a freelance journalist for Outside and other magazines comes in here).

In this book, Junger gives a "true" account of the Andrea Gail and her crew facing and ultimately losing to the storm of the century in October 1991. He used interviews with the surviving associates of the crew and other research. He then made educated guesses as to what happened when the ship actually sank, since there were no survivors to tell, so that part is historical fiction, if you will.

I heartily recommend this book as a quick exciting read. It made a round-trip flight from Denver to Boston and back pass quickly and saved me from the in-flight movies. I have not seen the movie based on this book, so I cannot pass judgment on the cinema version.

Judy Woodward Bates has become known as "The Bargainomics Lady" through TV & radio spots, lectures, & her one-woman fashion shows in the Southeast U.S. She defines Bargainomics as the wisest possible use of time, money, & resources for the glory of God. In her first book, The Gospel Truth About Money Management (TGTAMM), she relates to the reader how she has become such a good steward of her resources.

Although it is written from a Southern woman's point of view, I feel that TGTAMM would be an interesting & instructive read for men & non-Southern Americans, too. Mrs. Bates' ideas for managing & saving money & time are simple, practical, & down-to-earth, & she extensively references them to Christian principles & Biblical passages. She covers credit ("Don't do it!"), shopping (for food, clothing, shelter, automobiles, & gifts), travel, & "other stuff." I am sure that every reader will learn at least a couple of helpful lessons.

TGTAMM is a quick read, written in a light-hearted conversational style. It would make a good gift for family & friends. I look forward to future books from Mrs. Bates.

Published in 2001, Stephen Coonts' novel America is the 9th in the series starring his U.S. naval air hero Jake Grafton. We first met Lieutenant Grafton in the 1986 novel Flight of the Intruder as a carrier-based A-6 Intruder pilot in Vietnam. In subsequent novels, he has advanced in rank to now Admiral, moved to the Pentagon, & saved the United States (& the world) from increasingly evil villians & ever more technologically complex weapons.

In this novel, the first U.S. SuperAegis space-based missile defense system satellite is hijacked at launch, crashing it into the eastern Atlantic for salvage by a European billionaire & the European space agency. A super-silent, ultra-sophisticated, U.S. nuclear submarine is stolen by Russian & German pirates who then fire "Flashlight" energy pulse Tomahawk cruise missiles at Washington, DC & New York City, frying all devices with integrated electronic circuits, in essence crippling those modern cities. These two events are linked, & it takes Jake Grafton, his loyal aide Toad Tarkington, their CIA operative buddy Tommy Carmellini, old friend Marine Commandant Flap Le Beau, & their wives to figure the situation out & then rectify it as usual.

Jake Grafton is a modern literary hero approaching Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan in stature (although Clancy's much longer books allow him to more deeply develop his character). I am a fan of both. My favorite Jake Grafton novels are the earlier ones in which the immediate tension of naval aerial combat & war itself is better communicated. They were also great books for becoming acquainted with the workings of miltary planes & aircraft carriers. The later novels have gotten more farfetched in terms of plot and weaponry. The novel America continues that recent trend, at times stretching believability. However, it is an enjoyable read, & Jake Grafton fans & other miltary literary buffs should not miss it.

I first used the Harriet Lane Handbook during my pediatric rotation in my 3rd year of med school in 1981 (?10th edition), & I still use it (16th edition) in my busy pediatric surgical practice. It is especially useful for med students, pediatric residents, other residents (eg, surgical) when rotating through pediatric services, & practicing pediatricians & other pediatric specialists.

The section I use most frequently is the formulary of drug doses. Physicians treating adults generally memorize the one dose of each drug to give, but kids come in many different sizes, so the handbook is indispensible for drug dosing indexed to body weight. My second most used section is the one with all the growth charts, primarily to check for failure-to-thrive. The other section I use a good bit is the one analyzing baby (& older kid) enteral formulas to help guide nutritional therapy.

My only problem with the Handbook is that it has grown in size with each edition. It used to fit conveniently in a lab coat pocket, & it traveled all over the hospital with me. Now it's almost too big & heavy to carry around, so it stays on my desk (& another on my nightstand by the phone at home).

If you can't get a free copy of the Harriet Lane Handbook from some drug rep, go ahead & buy it.