McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science & Technology Hundreds of engineers and scientists contributed to the alphabetically arranged 7,800 short articles including 19 Noble Prize Winners
This definitive reference offers you concise, authoritative, and up-to-date coverage of every major field of science and technology. In articles authored by scientists and engineers at the forefront of their fields (including 19 Nobel Prize winners), and written to be accessible to the general reader as well as the scientific user, this newly revised volume covers 75 major fields of science and engineering, including current and critical advances in fast-developing fields such as virology, genetics, computer science, and oceanography. Richly illustrated, it also features biographical sketches of the world's top scientists, a superb index, cross references, and bibliographies. No other reference offers scientists, researchers, students, and the interested public such definitive and inclusive coverage of science and technology in a single volume.
Far Edge of Darkness is the first half of an unfinished story that was meant to continue in Unholy Trinity. Why isn't the story finished? I plead a combination of ill health and financial need. Far Edge was originally written before my first professional sale and became my third published novel, after Sleipnir and Time Scout, plus the anthology Bolos 3: The Triumphant. I was editing Far Edge and writing Wagers of Sin (Time Scout #2) when a major illness shattered my health and left me unable to write for three years, with a contract for a major series unfulfilled. Wagers of Sin limped its way into print during this time as I struggled to finish the last third of the book (which I have no memory of writing). Jim Baen and Toni Weisskopf stood by me as I put my life back together, an act of faith and kindness for which I will bless them forever. My health remains fragile, which limits my production speed, as does the day job I must keep to hold onto utterly necessary health insurance. That is where the situation stands at present. I'm committed to the Hell's Gate "Multi-Verse" series with David Weber, which must be my highest priority.
If you have read Far Edge of Darkness and enjoyed it, thank you and please accept my apologies for its unfinished state. (I, too, want to get my literary children off that cliff they're plunging over!) If you haven't read the book yet, I will say this in warning: the book's action is constructed so that every single chapter ends on a cliffhanger, including the last one. If you want "the rest of the story" to exist before you begin reading a book, you'll probably want to skip Far Edge of Darkness. But if you are willing to overlook the lack of an ending to the overall story (there is closure of some major plot threads), you're welcome to step onto the roller coaster. Just hang on, because that last drop is a real dilly...
The Encyclopedia of Buddhism is one of the first major reference tools to appear in any Western language that seeks to document the range and depth of the Buddhist tradition in its many manifestations. In addition to feature entries on the history and impact of Buddhism in different cultural regions and national traditions, the work also covers major doctrines, texts, people, and schools of the religion, as well as practical aspects of Buddhist meditation, liturgy, and lay training. Although the target audience is the nonspecialist reader, even serious students of the tradition should find much of benefit in the more than four hundred entries.
The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had
Bauer's The Well-Trained Mind (which she co-wrote with Jessie Wise) taught parents how to educate kids; her latest is designed for adults seeking self-education in the classical tradition. Reading-sustained, disciplined and structured-is her core methodology, so she starts with tips on improving reading skills and setting up a reading schedule (start with half-hour sessions four mornings a week, with daily journal writing). Reading is a discipline, like meditating or running, she says, and it needs regular exercise. To grow through reading-to reach the "Great Conversation" of ideas-Bauer outlines the three stages of the classical tradition: first, read for facts; then evaluate them; finally, form your own opinions. After explaining the mechanics of each stage (e.g., what type of notes to take in the book itself, or in the journal), Bauer begins the list section of the book, with separate chapters for her five major genres: fiction, autobiography/memoir, history/politics, drama and poetry. She introduces each category with a concise discussion of its historical development and the major scholarly debates, clearly defining all important terms (e.g., postmodernism, metafiction). And then, the piece de resistance: lists, in chronological order, of some 30 major works in each genre, complete with advice on choosing the edition and a one-page synopsis.
