Hot Lights, Cold Steel: Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon's First Years

Book Description

When Michael Collins decides to become a surgeon, he is totally unprepared for the chaotic life of a resident at a major hospital. A natural overachiever, Collins' success, in college and medical school led to a surgical residency at one of the most respected medical centers in the world, the famed Mayo Clinic. But compared to his fellow residents Collins feels inadequate and unprepared. All too soon, the euphoria of beginning his career as an orthopedic resident gives way to the feeling he is a counterfeit, an imposter who has infiltrated a society of brilliant surgeons. This story of Collins' four-year surgical residency traces his rise from an eager but clueless first-year resident to accomplished Chief Resident in his final year. With unparalleled humor, he recounts the disparity between people's perceptions of a doctor's glamorous life and the real thing: a succession of run down cars that are towed to the junk yard, long weekends moonlighting at rural hospitals, a family that grows larger every year, and a laughable income. Collins' good nature helps him over some of the rough spots but cannot spare him the harsh reality of a doctor's life. Every day he is confronted with decisions that will change people's lives-or end them-forever. A young boy's leg is mangled by a tractor: risk the boy's life to save his leg, or amputate immediately? A woman diagnosed with bone cancer injures her hip: go through a painful hip operation even though she has only months to live? Like a jolt to the system, he is faced with the reality of suffering and death as he struggles to reconcile his idealism and aspiration to heal with the recognition of his own limitations and imperfections. Unflinching and deeply engaging, Hot Lights, Cold Steel is a humane and passionate reminder that doctors are people too. This is a gripping memoir, at times devastating, others triumphant, but always compulsively readable.

Customer Reviews:

First Rate.......2007-08-22

This was a phenomenal book. Dr. Michael J. Collins wrote an account of his four years as a resident at the Mayo Clinic which reads like a novel. It is at times laugh-out loud funny, other times devastatingly sad. I didn't want the book to end, yet I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book. I wish I hadn't read it yet so I could read it again. I hope he writes another one.

Doctors Are People, Too.......2007-01-12

Hot Lights, Cold Steel is an intriguing account of the life of a doctor. Written by orthopedic surgeon Michael J. Collins, it is a fast-paced reminiscence of his four years as a resident at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Michigan. Throughout the book, Collins connects the reader to many of his important cases. Told on such a relatable basis, the reader experiences the achievement, thrill, and sorrow that accompany his countless orthopedic cases.

Collins discusses his medical career, describing many orthopedic surgeries in great detail. There is sufficient detail that people with weak stomachs should be cautioned against reading it. He not only discusses each procedural aspect of his work, he also describes the emotions that accompany each victory and especially, each defeat. A major theme throughout the novel is similar to a theme in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter: humans make mistakes, but nobody is perfect and people learn to forgive. Collins struggles with this reality, recognizing that when doctors make mistakes, people die.

Collins's book isn't all about his career in the hospital, however. He also tells about his ever-growing family and what his being a doctor means for them. Although he relates many pleasurable moments with his family and fellow resident friends, Collins also discusses some of the suffering his family must face until he becomes an attending physician. He especially focuses on the many hardships his wife Patti must endure until he can build up his own practice. Addressing a common misconception that all doctors are wealthy, Collins tells of their poverty, calculating his salary at $2.50 per hour, describing countless "junker" cars, and telling of their near-empty bank account. He is forced to "moonlight" at another hospital on nearly all of his free weekends to supplement his income, which means sacrificing valuable time with his wife and children. Collins enlightens the reader by recounting episodes of his life not only as a doctor, but as husband and father, making the point that doctors are people, too.

For anyone who is considering a career as an orthopedic surgeon, or any medical profession, this book is a must-read. By providing a unique look at the life of a doctor, Collins describes in detail the personal and technical aspects of every surgery as well as his life as a doctor in general. He makes clear just what being a doctor is about, vocationally and personally. Just like an awesome episode of `House', Collins's book will keep the reader interested for hours at a time.

Enjoyable reading.......2006-11-04

The author did a good job keeping our interest and it was very believable.
My 89 year old mother enjoyed it, as did my husband and I.

I highly recommend it. It's nice to know that non-fiction can keep your interest.

"They don't make scalpels with training wheels.".......2006-08-28

"Hot Lights, Cold Steel," by Michael J. Collins, is a fascinating account of the making of an orthopedic surgeon. Collins starts his residency at Rochester's prestigious Mayo Clinic with deep feelings of insecurity. In fact, he dispiritedly dubs himself "the dullest scalpel in the drawer." Unlike his fellow residents, Collins, an Irish Catholic from Chicago's West Side, did not do multiple rotations in orthopedics while in medical school, conducted no research, and wrote no scientific papers. Instead, he worked on a loading dock to make ends meet. To his credit, however, Collins has energy, intelligence, ambition, and perseverance.

At first, Collins tries to stay in the background and keep his mouth shut, hoping that his superiors will overlook his obvious ignorance. When he reviews a chart with the notation "Patient is TTWB," he wonders what this acronym means. Could it be "three times without bleeding," or "terribly thirsty without beer?" Collins disconsolately predicts that he will shortly be drummed out of the residency program for "practicing medicine without a brain." The author's self-deprecating humor is delightful and it helps to offset the tragic cases he recounts.

The author explores the grueling nature of a surgeon's training: the sleepless nights, snatched meals, long absences from loved ones, and fear of hurting a patient. Because he is constantly short of money, Collins and his wife, Patti, drive a series of broken down junkers, and as his family grows, he must moonlight in order to pay the bills. The compensations are the exhilaration of helping a patient regain his or her health, the excitement of performing an operation for the first time, and the deep friendships that Collins forms with his fellow orthopods. Although it terrifies him to know that, if he slips up, he could kill or cripple someone, as time goes on, he gradually learns to accept the fact that everyone makes mistakes and terrible things do happen. He cannot let this possibility destroy his confidence.

The most memorable aspects of the book are the medical anecdotes: a boy's leg is mangled by a tractor and the doctor must decide whether to amputate, a beautiful woman has a rare cancer that requires mutilating surgery, and on a lighter note, a forty-year old man comes into the emergency room with a fishhook up his nose. Sometimes Collins succeeds, and other times, he fails. However, his four years as a resident teach him the immense value and satisfaction of his chosen profession and the importance of treating every patient with respect and compassion.

Reality.......2006-07-02

The thing I loved most about this book is that it is REAL and it is HONEST. It's not exactly glamourous...and that attributes to the book's success.

Dr. Collins doesn't write about earning lots of money and driving the best cars and going to country clubs. He writes about being a resident, just out of medical school, slightly clueless, working 100 hours a week at $2.50 an hour. Not glamourous at all.

But then he writes about the things he does have - a loving wife, many wonderful children, and how some of his fellow residents are his best friends.

It's all very touching and real...I would reccomend this to any people who think they might want to be doctors. It shows you that you're going to have to work very hard...but it will all be worth it in the end. That's an important lesson anyone entering the medical world needs to know.

Average customer rating:

Pretty useful book on cold-formed design
This is a best one.
Extensive discussion on physical behavior of steel members

Cold-Formed Steel Design, 3rd Edition
Wei-Wen Yu
Manufacturer: Wiley-Interscience
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471348090

Book Description

The definitive text in the field, thoroughly updated and expanded
Hailed by professionals around the world as the definitive text on the subject, Cold-Formed Steel Design is an indispensable resource for all who design for and work with cold-formed steel. No other book provides such exhaustive coverage of both the theory and practice of cold-formed steel construction. Updated and expanded to reflect all the important developments that have occurred in the field over the past decade, this Third Edition of the classic text provides you with more of the detailed, up-to-the-minute technical information and expert guidance you need to make optimum use of this incredibly versatile material for building construction.
Wei-Wen Yu, an internationally respected authority in the field, draws upon decades of experience in cold-formed steel design, research, teaching, and development of design specifications to provide guidance on all practical aspects of cold-formed steel design for manufacturing, civil engineering, and building applications. Throughout the book, he describes the structural behavior of cold-formed steel members and connections from both the theoretical and experimental perspectives, and discusses the rationale behind the AISI design provisions. Cold-Formed Steel Design, Third Edition features complete coverage of:
* AISI 1996 cold-formed steel design specification with the 1999 supplement
* Both ASD and LRFD methods
* The latest design procedures for structural members
* Updated design information for connections and systems
* Contemporary design criteria around the world
* The latest computer-aided design techniques
Cold-Formed Steel Design, Third Edition is a necessary tool-of-the-trade for structural engineers, manufacturers, construction managers, and architects. It is also an excellent advanced text for college students and researchers in structural engineering, architectural engineering, construction engineering, and related disciplines.

Customer Reviews:

Pretty useful book on cold-formed design .......2007-01-20

I have not gone through 1 chapter yet. But the inroduction is already illuminating about aspects of cold-formed members, which are not so clearly explained in other books I've come across. The only setback is it is not in SI units, making it hard to use in places like Singapore.

This is a best one........2001-10-16

Cold formed steel is cheap and widely supply in some country. By using the code in this book, I can reduce so much material cost from expensive imported wide flange into a self made double I beam by using 2 C light lip. This book is practical can be use in real construction by following detailed example.

The code is very new and up to date. This is the book you should not miss..

Extensive discussion on physical behavior of steel members.......1998-05-05

Writen as a text book, this work looks at in particular the behavior of cold formed steel members. It gives complete and useful information regarding the strength of thin elements common to cold formed steel and a guide to design. The information is also very applicable to larger hot rolled steel member design in that it illustrates what design assumptions are taken for granted when designing with thicker members. Subjects included are flexural and compression members, cylindrical tubular members, connections, diaphragms, shell roofs structures, corrugated sheet, and composite design. Overall a very useful resource.

Silent Steel: The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion

Average customer rating:

Poorly-written journalism, definitely not naval science
Requiem at 12,000 Feet
The Benchmark on the Subject
Engrossing, well-written
The death of the USS Scorpion

Silent Steel: The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion
Stephen Johnson
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471267376

Book Description

Praise for Silent Steel

"The magnitude of the tragedy of the USS Scorpion is matched only by the depth of the mystery surrounding her loss. Stephen Johnson has done a remarkable job of shining new light on this dark moment in U.S. submarine history."
—Sherry Sontag, coauthor of Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage

"What happened to the USS Scorpion? The question has vexed submariners for almost four decades. Now, with meticulous research and incredible attention to detail, Stephen Johnson examines and dissects one of the most tragic and mysterious submarine accidents in U.S. Navy history."
—Douglas Waller, author of Big Red: Inside the Secret World of a Trident Nuclear Submarine

"Stephen Johnson has crafted a forensic masterpiece that leads the reader back through time to unravel the gnawing enigma of the tragic 1968 loss of the nuclear attack submarine USS Scorpion. Sifting through a maze of conflicting theories, he meticulously lays out a tale of undersea detectives searching for conclusive evidence to one of the most baffling mysteries of the cruel sea."
—Rear Admiral Thomas Evans, author, analyst specializing in submarine history and operations, and former officer on the Scorpion

"The manuscript arrived with yesterday's afternoon mail. I finished reading it by nightfall. It's that good! Thoroughly researched, impeccably documented, with an appealing and literate style, Silent Steel should become essential reading for submarine enthusiasts and for anyone else who enjoys an engaging and informative yarn."
—A. J. Hill, author of Under Pressure: The Final Voyage of Submarine S-Five

Customer Reviews:

Poorly-written journalism, definitely not naval science.......2007-08-05

This book contains 241 pages of disconnected, repetitive prose, of which about 100, at best, are informative and useful in understanding the loss of Scorpion. Are there no editors at publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc.?

Requiem at 12,000 Feet.......2007-07-23

Nearly four decades after the tragic and mysterious loss of the nuclear fast-attack Scorpion, it seems her 99-man crew is finally getting its due. At the time of the Scorpion's disappearance, the story was lost in the tumultuous 1968, with the assassinations of both Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and a media entranced with a rising Viet Nam body count, the Scorpion quickly fell from the front page. Of the two recent books illuminating the events, much from previously classified Navy documents, one, "Scorpion Down", by Ed Offley, chooses to sensationalize Scorpion in Cold War intrigue and Pentagon conspiracy. "Silent Steel", by Stephen Johnson, is the other, and for my money, the better. Rather than trying to grab headlines of his own, Johnson's documentary paints an accurate and surprisingly lively portrait not only of what is know about the last days of the Scorpion, but also of life aboard a US Navy nuke during the Cold War.

Painstakingly researched but told in the vernacular, Johnson steps through the various theories of the Scorpion's demise: was it the accidental detonation of one of its own torpedoes, failure of a weld in the pressure hull, an explosion in the main battery compartment, or the highly unlikely attack by a hostile Soviet sub? Johnson is at all time is respectful of the sacrifices of the submarine service, and, in treatment reminiscent of Robert Kurson's "Shadow Divers", places the dignity and sanctity of the crew's eternal resting place above all else. While recounting the evidence as cited in a string of official investigations, Johnson also weaves in a strong and poignant dose of personal interest, bringing to life the officers and crew so long forgotten by so many. Ultimately, while the author offers no final solutions, he does the US Navy a great favor by shedding light on the clandestine operations of "the silent service". In short, a quick, intelligent, and educational read that is long overdue. Highly recommended.

The Benchmark on the Subject.......2007-06-30

With "Silent Steel", Stephen Johnson has written the most well-researched and comprehensive book on the Scorpion disaster to date. His exceptional human insight and unwavering devotion to the facts set this book apart from similar books on the subject. There is no smoking gun in this book; no government conspiracy, and no UFOs. Instead there is a comprehensive report on the brave men who took Scorpion on her final dive.

Sadly, other new books on the Scorpion disaster have glamorized the conspiracy theory, using this incident to sell books. When reading Stephen Johnson's book, you may find yourself thinking "Okay, come on, you've obviously done a ton of research on this...let's hear your theory about the Soviet Echo-II that sank the Scorpion". Fortunately, he doesn't go there. I think that's because he's done the research and knows better.

I just retired from the US Navy after 23 years. Half of that time was spent in the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System, tracking submarines around the world, and the other half was spent as a Submarine Sonar Technician, on submarines around the world. There is no conspiracy.

Stephen Johnson did justice to USS Scorpion and the families of the crew. He didn't follow hare-brained theories or threads of circumstance; he merely reported what happened in a riveting book. This is a book for anyone...average citizens, military historians, or scientists. Read this book before or after you read any of the other current books on USS Scorpion; this will set you straight.

Brett Beedles

Engrossing, well-written.......2007-05-02

Stephen Johnson's "Silent Steel: The Mysterious Death of the Nuclear Attack Sub USS Scorpion" is a highly detailed account of the last months of the US Navy nuclear submarine, lost in the Atlantic off the Azores on May 22, 1968, and of the various official investigations aimed at uncovering the reasons for that loss. Johnson follows the official chronology established by the Navy (in contrast to Ed Offley in "Scorpion Down: Sunk by the Soviets, Buried by the Pentagon, The Untold Story of the USS Scorpion") but reaches a different conclusion as to the underlying cause of the disaster (the Navy inquiries in general favored a torpedo accident of some kind, but Johnson believes some other equipment failure - perhaps a battery explosion or maybe merely a trash disposal unit that failed to seal properly - that led to an uncontrolled descent to a depth where the great pressure crushed the hull). The evidence for and against each proposed cause is examined in detail. All in all, an engrossing and well-written book.

The death of the USS Scorpion.......2007-03-11

As someone has already stated, this is a nice comprehensive overview of the loss of the USS Scorpion. I think the author did a very credible job of looking at all the theories of why this boat sank. As the author states, we probably may never know for sure. I don't think he means to throw away Craven's views. It is just hard to argue Craven's viewpoint when the scant evidence is against it.

The USS Scorpion was in bad shape. Many things were just falling apart, but yet the Navy sent it to the Med to conduct exercises. The armed forces really haven't changed much-especially with non-armored Humvees being used in Iraq today. A stronger captain would have told the brass to fix the submarine. These mechanical shortcomings may have caused the intial event which resulted in the loss of the boat. Ninety nine personnel died because of a poor refit.

This is a very interesting account of the loss of the USS Scorpion. For those interested in naval affairs, this is a nice book to have. I thought a diagram of the purposed structural theories that led to the loss of the submarine might have added clarity to the book. It would have taken a couple of pages to put in, and describe what the authoriities thought happened to the sub. Other than that, a well written book.

Cold Rolling of Steel (Manufacturing, Engineering and Materials Processing)

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Cold Rolling of Steel (Manufacturing, Engineering and Materials Processing)
W. L. Roberts
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0824767802

Cold Steel: The Art of Fencing with the Sabre (Dover Books on History, Political and Social Science)

Average customer rating:

Cold Steel (A practical effective guide to the sabre)
The forgotten art of sabre fencing
Excellent Instruction for a Gentleman's Defense

Cold Steel: The Art of Fencing with the Sabre (Dover Books on History, Political and Social Science)
Alfred Hutton
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486449319

Book Description

The techniques associated with the sabre differ markedly from those of the épeé and the rapier. This 1889 classic by a pioneer of modern fencing offers both technical and historical views of the art of the sabre. Topics include a variety of different strokes and parries, methods of combining attack and defense, and associated weapons. 55 illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Cold Steel (A practical effective guide to the sabre).......2007-07-19

I am new to the fencing scene, and I just wanted to explore the subject before diving in. This book although dated in language (you get used to it), is easy to read and understand for the most part. There are various sections and exercises for training your skills in the use of the saber. Alfred Hutton mixes the best of the "schools" of his day to produce a practical and easy to learn sword manual. The 'plate' pictures used to show some of the techniques are harder to decipher and understand then the newer looking drawings of Hutton with the sabre, but you get the point with the text. Don't expect support for your pursuit of mastering swordsmanship from people these days, but if your interested in late 1800 sabre training then Hutton's book is a good deal.

The forgotten art of sabre fencing.......2007-01-18

I really enjoyed this book because it deals with the technical aspects of sabre fencing. How to use the point, as well as both of the cutting edges.
The text is over 100 years old and was at the end of the era that was at the most perfected stage. Alfred Hutton borrows heavily from the old masters of Italy, France and England with his own style mixed in. A must read book for any serious saber fencer.

Excellent Instruction for a Gentleman's Defense.......2006-11-12

"Cold Steel: The Art of Fencing with the Sabre" was originally published by Alfred Hutton in 1889. The book is a classic instruction manual in the use of the saber in one's defense. There are several illustrations showing proper guards, defense and use of the saber.

In addition to discussion of the use of the saber, "Cold Steel" also discusses:
>The Game of the Sword (The Fencing Sword)
>Saber Against Bayonet
>The Saber Opposed to the French Sword
>The Great Stick (The 5-foot Stick)
>The Constable's Truncheon
>The Short Sword-Bayonet or Dagger

For anyone interested in the Western / European martial sciences, "Cold Steel" is recommended reading. For those interested in developing skills with sword, stick, and dagger, "Cold Steel" is a must. Written at a time when men relied on these weapons for their personal defense, "Cold Steel" offers excellent instruction for one's defense.

Highly Recommended!

Average customer rating:

A long struggle
This was a Bolo Book?
Another Bolo story... read it twice!
Pure Excitement

Cold Steel: Bolos Book 6

Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

A long struggle.......2003-01-10

I've read all of the Bolo books since day one and have fond memories of the stories - some being better than others. However this book was a real, real struggle to finish. Not enough about the Bolos, too much on the humans and creatures they were fighting. Could easily have been condensed to 20 - 30 pages. Get it to complete the set but don't expect too much from it.

This was a Bolo Book?.......2002-12-31

They weren't needed in this story - the Concordiate could have sent a few dozen grav tanks to fight the Tersae.

The novel starts out smooth, a once peaceful world, is smashed by war, and Bolos and their commanders risk their existence to fight the attackers. But the novel's most touching plot line of a Bolo modified for a mining colony ends in the middle of the book. The novel then concentrates on the warfare that erupts around the humans, that evolves into almost trench warefare, or Korean war style conflict.

Bolos do arrive in the nick of time and save the day, but a couple dozen grav tanks could have done the same thing it seems. And - the humans did as much as the Bolos to save themselves. More hellbore shots were made to get a bolo unstuck from the mud - than there were in anger. If this novel was to demonstrate that a Bolo can do more than fight in thermonuclear environments, and fight jungle warfare - it was done in a poor manor. Having read many of the Bolo books, it was downright dissapointing to see the hellbores fired only four or so times against enemy targets.

The plot line went into a major 40-60 page deviation about a scientist making first contact with the Tersae. But this was drawn out far too long. And if you are a Bolo book fan, you always know how many pages there are until you get to the italics.... 20 pages into this muck of first contact, I finally skipped the other 40, and it had no impact on the rest of the story.

As a novel, it is _good_. But as a Bolo novel, it was dissapointing. I had to decide hard between a one star and a two star. The touching story line of the mining bolo earned it a 2nd star.

Another Bolo story... read it twice!.......2002-12-20

This is Book 6 in the Bolo series, originally created by Keith Laumer. The action takes place on a remote mining colony world that has an... indigenous population of a sort... that no one knew existed previously.

When things go sour, the colonists enlist the aid of the bolos... one of whom, Dirk, is an obsolete hulk that has been converted to a strip mining machine, and another, Senator, who is an upgraded antique who does not have proper control over his weapons systems.

For those not familiar, a bolo is a self-guided tank of sorts, though they are much more massive and powerful than any tank currently in use by anyone... it would be more accurate to say that they are land-going battleships on treads... though even that analogy is flawed. Bolos... at least the later marks are self-aware and there are not many forces that can stand against their might.

As badly prepared as these particular bolos are, the massive metal soldiers do their best and inspire the efforts of the Human colonists as well. The Humans are down to using WWI marble throwers, longbows, and a Sharps breech-loader... but they hold their own against an enemy that is not the real enemy.

With Humanity embroiled in a dispute with the Deng, not much effort can be spared to defend the colony. This book also introduces the Melconians to the time-line, with whom Humanity is destined to have another Galaxy-wide conflict that will leave both races barely enough genetic material to survive.

Like all the bolo books, this one is worth reading twice. The self-sacrifice and dedication that these living machines display will inspire the heart of any desk-bound warrior. Go ahead and buy it, if you like action-adventure, and/or hard science fiction, you won't be disappointed.

Dale A. Raby
Editor/Publisher
The Green Bay Web

Pure Excitement.......2002-08-05

There are two types of AI(Artificial Intelligence)that stand out very favorably in my extensive reading and viewing of sci-fi books and TV. One is Star Trek's Data, who, other than his presumably deceased evil twin, Lor, is literally in a class by himself. The other is a gigantic, self aware battle tank called a Bolo. Bolos are numerous, evolving over the course of decades, even centuries into different classes and types. Of the two, I have found the Bolo to be the most compelling. Why? Picture a war machine endowed with enough firepower to glaze a planet,yet embued with the soul of a poet. This incongruity is all the more remarkable in that there is nothing remotely anthropomorphic about these machines in the physical sense. Unlike Data, whose resemblance to humans makes it easier for audiences to identify and sympathize with his desire to be human. The Bolos featured in the four books I've read so far, have no wish to be any more or less than what they are. However, they have all demonstrated the best qualities of human nature: honor, loyalty, integrity, duty,even humor. Their abilities to speculate and philosophize on matters unrelated to their programming makes them more than self aware, that designation, in my view, being a diminishing one, but sentient in very humanlike sense. The stories in Bolos: Cold Steel, continues in that fine vein of portraying not only the destructive capabilities of these facinating machines, but providing us with their thoughts in delightfully rendered first person sequences. The setting is a volatile planet called Thule, which is being exploited by the Confederation, a human dominated entity. The planet is rich in the type of deposits important to the Confederation's war against a hostile species. Suddenly, Thule's colonists find themselves under attack by natives whose existence escaped the notice of Confederation surveyers. The indigenous population is Stone Age primitive, but armed with hi-tech weapons and using them to devastating effect. Confederation reinforcements, including Bolos are sent to the rescue. There's a lot of great action in this book, not all restricted to Bolo combat. The non-Bolo characters, I'll call them organics, are interesting and suitably complex. But it's the Bolos who are the stars of the show. There was one minor, but persistent problem that the writers of each story shared: their referal to Thule's natives as aliens. If a population is indigenous to an area, it cannot be alien. Other than this redundant mistake, Bolos: Cold Steel, is a worthy contribution to the Bolos' ongoing saga.

Average customer rating:

Still a fascinating reference work
It Delivers What it Promises
A Classic
As Valuable Today as Ever
Old? Yes. Antiquated? No.

Cold Steel
John Styers
Manufacturer: Paladin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

Paladin has obtained exclusive reprint rights to this classic (originally published by Leatherneck magazine), which was the Marine bible of unarmed combat. Emphasizing the practice aspect of bayonet, knife and stick fighting, this rare volume also provides short courses in unarmed combat and knife throwing. For academic study only.

Customer Reviews:

Still a fascinating reference work.......2007-09-10

John Styers was bunkmate to one of my jujutsu instructors, Charles Nelson. Charley was the bayonet instructor & Styers handled edged weapons. Together they spent hours analyzing tactics and techniques & broke down many moves at a time when Boxing, wrestling & the odd Judo classes were usually the martial arts in America using systems. When I asked Charley if you could fake a move as Styers showed during a bayonet exchange (like the British did in the movie "Zulu", he said - "believe me, if it's come down to bayonets there's not even time to pray. You're so close to each other they blow their last breath in your face as you ram it into their chests. It's as close to Hell as you'd want to come." Having said that, you can analyze and extrapolate Styers's technique & adapt them to your own situation, such as using a pointed or broken stick like a spear in place of a bayonet if that's the first thing you can lay your hands on. In Guadalcanal such improvisations helped insure survival. My father's cousin, Barney Ross (first man to hold 3 world boxing titles simultaneously) seconded Charley's description of the fighting there. That said, do as Bruce Lee advised & "take what is useful & discard the rest." If you can come away with 6, 5 or even 3 concepts and techniques you can use from Styers's presentatin then it's probably worth the money.

It Delivers What it Promises.......2006-11-06

I was referred to this book off of a self-defense forum. I'm glad I was. I was specifically interested in bayonet fighting.

The techniques the book sets forth are basic. That is exactly what I was after. They are simple and easy to learn. They require use of gross motor skills, not fine motor skills as you might find in something detailing advanced, multistep disarms, grappling maneuvers, etc.

It is an excellent primer on extreme close quarter battle.

Styers advocates getting the blade or point into the opponent with extreme prejudice, early and often. A little technique is thrown in to assist.

He is definitely a believer in practicality. Technique is a means to an end (survival), not the end itself.

Reminds me a little of another self-defense oriented author on blades, Don Pentecost. Both emphasize the importance of ferocity and mindset.

When it's time to fight, it's time for violent, ruthless action. They are also both geared toward real-world fights (not duels) that don't last long and which are usually one-on-one affairs.

Unless you have some reason to think that you are going into harm's way in a big way, with multiple occurrences and multiple opponents, mastering the material in this book is probably all (or more) than you'll ever need.

I would reserve judgment on some of the knife-fighting techniques (but not all) and all of the knife-throwing stuff.

A Classic .......2006-10-29

I originally purchased this book about 30 years ago and recently pulled it out again for a refresher. It provides an interesting snapshot of a period in American history when we believed in ourselves and saw those we battled as ignoble savages. Perhaps that was naive, but it sure helped to keep life simple. The preface is a great example:

"To Americans, who fight fair and clean by heritage - when they can - we dedicate this book...That they may save their own lives by confidently engaging their enemy with his own unprincipled principles."

Although I do not have a lot of knowledge about knife fighting, many of the techniques appear to be practical and resemble those taught in the few courses I have attended. Since this book was oriented towards soldiers in combat, some of it would not be relevant (i.e. bayonet drills) to the average person on the street who is interested in personal defense training.

A classic that should be read by anyone interested in military history and/or close combat techniques.

As Valuable Today as Ever.......2005-11-06

I gave this book a 4 star rating, not 5, simply because the knife methods in it are not, as presented, perfect.
The knife work, obviously heavily influenced by Styers instructor A.J. Drexel Biddle (Author of Do or Die), is very duelistic - that is to say it stays entirely within the realm of two combatants knife on knife, at long range, vying for the right cut or hack to open up the opponent for a kill shot. Now, it's not quite as bad about this as Biddle's work, using a more combative platform (less of a stylized fencing platform), but it's still duelistic. Now, if real fights with knives happened this way, this would be the method for doing it - but, they don't. Most fights involving knives will start unarmed, at close range, and be a drag race between adversaries to get to a weapon first - if that weapon is a knife, you have a fight with a knife. Most knives easily carried and accessed will be small. Range is close, there is very little baiting and dancing around, there is simply up close hooking, cutting and hacking to clear limbs and stabbing to end it.
That said the knife material presented in Cold Steel contains many things you can extract for more modern, closer range, knife combatives. Targets; the hands/limbs, the throat, the chest and heart and the back, are excellent. Use of snap cuts, bi-directional cutting (using both primary and sharp back edges), body mechanics and footwork to improve power are all very good. Also of interest is the attempt to develop physical mechanics for using the knife that directly translate to using empty hands - very progressive concept for the age of the book.
Take the knife work out of the box its presented in, put it with what you do, take what works, discard the rest.
For the big knife practitioners, a big blade does dictate some degree of range and the work in Cold Steel will apply there very well, but it may still be an un-equally armed fight, the same unarmed beginning and "drag race" to achieve superiority with a weapon.
The knife throwing segment is the only part of the knife work I have no use for - throwing your weapon is losing it, and the likelihood of doing any good with a thrown knife under extreme stress, in the mad rush and clash of combat, is slim to none.
The segments on Unarmed Combat and Stick Fighting are great. The Unarmed segment makes excellent use of Elbows, Feet, and Body Mechanics as well as the "combative classic" Edge of Hand blow, the Chin Jab, and a few chokes, releases from holds and a little work from the ground. Very simple, and concise material.
The stick material is fantastic, both the Long End and Short End techniques as presented. Very realistic, directly applicable, material for both close and longer ranges. Simple and direct attacks and defense with the stick/baton, that are easy to practice and learn, and easy to apply with great brutality and force, for great success.
The bayonet material also seems very good - although of limited applicability to anyone not military, or not issued a bayonet and a solid rifle to put it on. It seems practical, and effective when viewed with common sense by someone who's never done it.

This book is extremely worth having as a combatives practitioner, soldier, police or security officer, or self-protection minded citizen. You will learn something from it if you open your mind, take what you can use and discard the rest.

Old? Yes. Antiquated? No........2005-03-12

The knife fighting section on this book seems to be misundertood by many. Yes, knife duels are hard to happen these days, as they probably were as the book was written. BUT, given the MANY lousy books on the matter of "knife vs knife" confrontation published, the system presented by this one is relevant. Because it's simple. If you want to learn to "duel" with knives, try several sparring sessions and try this method. The single "maybe" would be the advocated saber grip, but try and change for yourself. I've seem many friendly matches being won by newbies using this method against more seasoned "knife duelists". And believ, friendly matches is probably the only environment this kind of confront will occur. C'mon, it's 2005!
Oh well... if you do not believe in "knife vs knife", like myself, you could skip this one.
But there's more in it than knife dueling.
The H2H chapter is very good, as is the short baton section. Those two alone are worth the money invested.

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Bracing Cold-Formed Steel Structures

Manufacturer: American Society of Civil Engineers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Cold-Formed Steel Design, 3rd Edition

ASIN: 0784408173

Product Description

Bracing Cold-Formed Steel Structures: A Design Guide documents the current practices related to bracing cold-formed steel structure elements and systems. For many engineers the design of structures using cold-formed steel is seen as a daunting task. This report seeks to remove some of the perceived mystery by providing readily useful information for bracing these structures. Heavy on applications and examples, this book contains design examples illustrating bracing design for various types of cold-formed steel structures, as well as an extensive list of primary reference sources. This report is presented as a design guide and will assist the practicing engineer in designing cold-formed steel structures with greater levels of reliability, safety, and economy. Topics Include: â¢ Introduction to Bracing Design â¢ Cold-Formed Framing â¢ Cold-Formed Steel in Metal Building Systems â¢ Miscellaneous Cold-Formed Steel Elements and Systems

Design of Metallic Cold-Formed Thin-Walled Members

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Design of Metallic Cold-Formed Thin-Walled Members
A. Ghersi , Federico M. Mazzolani , and Raffaele Landolfo
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Buildings & Construction | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0415244374

Book Description

This book approaches cold-forming techniques and the specific problems of cold-formed thin-walled members. It discusses the problems that may be covered in the evaluation of the strength of cross-sections and the buckling resistance of members, and highlights the theoretical basis and the design approach necessary to overcome them. Of particular benefit is a Windows-based program accompanying the book that allows the reader to easily evaluate the strength of a cross-section and the buckling resistance of a member for both steel and aluminum.

Silk Flags and Cold Steel: The Piedmont (The Civil War in North Carolina, V. 1)

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concise and informative
Highly readable popular history

Silk Flags and Cold Steel: The Piedmont (The Civil War in North Carolina, V. 1)
William R. Trotter
Manufacturer: John F. Blair Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Ironclads and Columbiads: The Coast (The Civil War in North Carolina, V. 3)
Bushwhackers (Civil War in North Carolina)
The Fires of Pride: A Novel of the Civil War
The Civil War in North Carolina
The Sands of Pride

ASIN: 089587086X

Customer Reviews:

concise and informative.......2006-03-23

Ive really enjoyed having read all three of the books by Trotter and refer to them frequently when endulging in converrsations of North Carolina Civil War history. These books are informative without long winded versions of trivial dialogue that sometimes populates some narratives of such a broad subject. Seems that the movie Cold Mountain refers to several scenes in this book, and the other two in the triliogy, in their attempt to portray the southern NC civilian life and its hardships. The books also portrays that not all NC natives were in favor of the war which reflects the accurate nature of polictics of the period. Enjoy.

Highly readable popular history.......2004-05-26

The books of Trotter's trilogy, "The Civil War in North Carolina" (the other volumes are "Ironclads and Columbiads: The Coast" and "Bushwhackers: The Mountains"), were published as independent works, and can be enjoyed as such. But one can't get a good understanding of the war in the Tarheel State just reading about a single region. I strongly suggest that serious students of the war, or of North Carolina, take time to read the entire trilogy.

Aside from John G. Barrett's "The Civil War in North Carolina," Trotter's trilogy is the only modern comprehensive account of the war in the Tar Heel state. (See also my review of Barrett's book at Amazon.com.) Unlike Barrett's rather academic, formal approach, Trotter is as concerned with telling some good stories as he is with documenting North Carolina's role in the war. He includes a fairly extensive bibliography in each volume, but apparently he relied mainly on published sources, and the footnotes are very sparse. This is not to say that his work is inaccurate or invalid, but it is hardly the ultimate account of the war in North Carolina.

His geographical division of the three volumes also presents some problems. Much information about the state's entry into the war and about its political aspects is found in "Silk Flags and Cold Steel," but the most important battles in the first three years of the war -- which had an influence on these political events -- are covered in the "Ironclads and Columbiads" volume about the coastal war. These two volumes also contain many later events that "interact," for example, the closing battles in March and April of 1865. And some events in "Bushwhackers" - most notably, Stoneman's cavalry raid in the final weeks of the war - also lap over in to Piedmont. Again, a full understanding requires reading all three of these books. Trotter, while adopting a mildly pro-Confederate tone like Barrett's, doesn't do as good a job of tying events in North Carolina to those of the wider war.

"Silk Flags and Cold Steel" contains the most information about North Carolina politics and the reasons for the state's reluctant secession in May 1861. Since there was little fighting in the Piedmont region of the state until the closing months of the war, most of the book deals with the war's impact on the economy, the relationship between the state and Confederate governments, and the roles of certain groups, including African-Americans, in the war. The latter part of the book covers Sherman's invasion of the state in March 1865, the battles of Averasboro and Bentonville, the surrender of Raleigh and the final surrender of Confederate forces in the state at Bennett Farm, near Durham.

One failing that Trotter shares with Barrett is the poor quality of his maps and the lack of description of battle sites, roads, and other places in modern terms. A copy of DeLorme's "North Carolina Atlas and Gazetteer" is a vital supplement to these three books; modern place names and locations of battles and other events should have been located using modern landmarks, included as footnotes.

Trotter's trilogy is "popular" history, entertainingly related and highly readable. He doesn't hesitate to have occasional fun with purple prose -- "The obsidian mountain night engulfed them like wraiths" -- but the writing usually is lively and flows well. There may be more recent and more thorough books about various aspects of the Civil War in North Carolina, but these three volumes present an introductory survey in a convenient package.

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