This book provides a very interesting account of the British SAS operations in Iraq in the years after the initial invasion. It covers the activities undertaken by the SAS, Special Boat Service (SBS) and associated US special forces units in a surprising level of detail given the sensitivity and recentness of these operations and is well written throughout. Unlike many writers who ve covered the SAS, Urban generally maintains objectivity and discusses the shortcomings of the tactics they used and problems caused by leadership tensions. The material on the negative impact of prisoner abuse on the operations of British and, to a lesser extent, US special forces was particularly interesting. This honest approach greatly strengthens Urban s conclusion that the SAS played a role in Iraq which was out of all proportion to the size of the forces it deployed. The book also includes some interesting photos of SAS troops in Iraq, though these are padded out with generic photos of regular US troops which appear to have been included to illustrate the kinds of terrain the SAS operated in.

Progress in the development of surgical implant materials has been hindered by the lack of basic information available on the nature of the tissues, organs, and systems being repaired or replaced. However a considerable body of data has accumulated concerning the materials aspect of both implantable materials and natural tissues and fluids, broadly distributed in various publications, with varying degrees of accuracy and precision. This handbook draws together for the first time much of the accepted data and information on the subject. The experts responsible for each contribution to the Handbook of Biomaterial Properties have considered not merely the intrinsic and interactive properties of biomaterials, but also the appropriateness of their applications as well as their historical context. The resulting text will prove invaluable to the researcher, student, bioengineer and practising physician.

In Mississippi, the former blues man Lazarus is in crisis, missing his wife that has just left him. He finds the town slut and nymphomaniac Rae dumped on the road nearby his little farm, drugged, beaten and almost dead.