An absolute delight
A funny, marvelous tale of an empty-headed, gold digging girl and the unfortunate man she marries. Try to find an edition with the original ink drawings, which add much to the period flavor. Those familiar with Stowe only from Uncle Tom's Cabin will be amazed by her talent as a light humorist.
Although the Java collection classes are not nearly as complicated as the Standard Template Library classes in C++, it can still be a bit daunting to figure out whats included and whats not. Beginning with the simple historical Java collection classes (for arrays, Vector, Hashtable, and Stack), the author shows you just how to do it, with clear reference to useful APIs for each collection type, plus short code snippets showing these APIs in action.
The standout feature of this title is its clear presentation of the Java Collection Framework, the built-in set of classes in todays Java 2 standard. Other texts can get muddled with their coverage of these classes, but this one never loses the reader. Starting with the APIs that are available for every collection class, the book builds to show whats available in linked lists and map classes. The author does a great job at avoiding the confusion between different implementations of these basic container shapes. (Of course, he does explain the difference between HashMap, WeakHashMap, and TreeMap, for example, but not before showing which APIs are common to all map classes.)
Beyond choosing and using the right collection class for the job, this text also excels at showing off the built-in algorithms that are available for manipulating collections (like for sorting and searching). Advanced sections give advice for defining your own custom collection classes should you need to go beyond the built-in classes. Final chapters look at third-party collection classes (like the JGL and util.concurrent package) for doing even more.
Its the clear focus on understanding and using todays Java collection classes effectively that helps make this title a winner. In all, Java Collections is a handy and truly worthwhile guide to using Java collections, something that all Java developers need to master to write effective software. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered:
A complete reference on Java Collections
This book is well organized and is an easy to use reference. It has in-depth coverage of collection classes and their uses. Code examples are made very simple to understand and easy to follow because of UML(pictorial) representation. For advance developers, it's good to learn about the common mistake.
The sections on each collection interface and implementation form a great reference. You would learn to create multimaps and priority queues, through real world best examples. The book also offers tips on choosing an appropriate data collection type. Material on how different collections interact with threading particularly useful.
An excellent book for Scully OR Tabitha
This is a reprint of a book published in the 1830's by Sir Walter Scott as a favor to his son-in-law. Scott researches folklore, superstition, and witchcraft (through folklore, trial records, and previous scholars) in depth to give the reader a comprehensive body of knowledge. The modern reader will find more here than she ever knew. Countless court cases from all of Europe and especially Scotland (where the author resided) and England are presented. Scott writes from the point of view that he lives in a scientific age and that the possibility of these occurances is absurd, but, because he gives you all of the information from which he derives his opinion, you can make your own. Personally, I'm a fanciful person and would like to believe in ghosts and such, but in most of the cases he has plausible explanations for their being impossible (especially pertaining to witchcraft). Interesting to note, in not one of the cases of witchcraft did any of the accused, or the accusers mention goddess worship. Neither did they in any of the 'accepted' mystical hobbies of the era either. He talks of things of which I have never heard. For example, seers claimed to have captured fairies or slyphs in their crystal balls and they were not "seeing something" as in the movies, but getting the information from the agent inside the ball. It takes a while to read, as the editors of the period didn't know what to do with commas and run on sentences. Some of the words are outdated, and are used differently in our time than in his. This is an excellent book for both the sceptic and believer, as well as Christian or pagan.
This parenting relationship book is based on the authors experiences in leading more than 2,000 workshops with new and expectant dads to discuss parenting in a non-threatening environment. In it Hogan Hilling and Jesse Jayne Rutherford offer thoughtful insights into what makes dads behave the way they do.
Not long after Hilling began his workshops with dads, he began to hear from the moms. They were confused by their husbands behavior and, knowing they were attending Hogans workshops, invited him to speak to them about what he had learned. Soon he was conducting workshops with moms who wanted to know what their husbands thought about being dads. Why doesnt he spend more time with the kids? Why am I stuck doing all of the housework? How can I get him more involved with our family?
The Modern Moms Guide to Dads draws on what Hilling has learned from working with dads and moms for more than fifteen years. He explains to modern moms what their husbands are really thinking about pregnancy, parenting, and marriage, and he teaches them how to get their husbands more involved with the kids and get some relaxation for themselves while keeping the peace in their marriages.
In each chapter, Hilling tells stories from his own life and from the lives of other dads. Each of these stories sheds light on a secret that dads dont tell their wives. Also included are quotes from real dads about their innermost thoughts and feelings, helpful tips on parenting, and a section called And a Mom Wants You to Know, written by Jesse Jayne Rutherford.
Written by a dad and a mom, The Modern Moms Guide to Dads is a fun guide for understanding and strengthening a marriage that has given birth!
Excellent read for new, and not so new, parents alike!
Balanced by his co-author, Jesse Jayne Rutherford, who offers the female perspective in each of the ten chapters, The Modern Mom's Guide to Dads handles many topics such as how society shapes a man's self-understanding and what kinds of pressure they're really under. They work more once baby arrives on the scene not because they're trying to get away from us (although those Monday morning door-rushes have me a bit skeptical -- I don't know. My husband really loves his job), but because they're trying to provide for us. It's an eye-opening book in many ways. New dads struggle with guilt, negative self-talk and confusion as much as women do. We're just more vocal about it and it seems socially appropriate for women to talk about their struggles. How many talk shows have female moderators? Very few, other than perhaps Dr. Phil, really get at the heart of people. Most men have not learned how to express themselves around these issues. For the first time, there's hope. Hogan Hilling, founder of Proud Dads, Inc., has provided an outlet for them to reveal what they're truly thinking in a safe, nonjudgemental environment.
Hogan has been offering parenting workshops and new dad seminars in area hospitals since 1992. His approach is straight-forward and extremely helpful for anyone, mom or dad, struggling with their roles as a new parent. He admits many people might not find his role as a stay-at-home dad (for fifteen years!) to be 'manly' in the traditional sense. Thank goodness! How else could there be progress without a man stepping out of the corporate box to stand up for what he believes in? It turns out many more dads, regardless of race, creed, religious or socio-economic status, believe the same thing. You don't have to be a Superdad or Supermom to do the right thing. In case you hadn't heard, there's no such thing.
A truly wonderful book full of surprises that will make you be kinder to your husband and see things his way ...for once!
Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of Diary of a Mother: Parenting Stories and Other Stuff and Sahm I Am: Tales of a Stay-at-Home Mom in Europe, lives near Munich with her husband and two children.
"I love how the author, Akendo..."
"I offer a whole-hearted recommendation for Akendo Ntangku's novel, Through the Eyes of a Warrior. It is not often that an author's debut novel tells such a profound and thought-provoking story. Let's hope this is the start of a long career for Akendo."
- Rusty Shelton, Phenix Literary Publicists, Austin, TX
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Plague War, Excellent Sequel
I was surprised to find that although this sequel was in the same style as the first, it had a different sort of tone. The relationship between the two main characters Ruth and Cam is infectious. They each have their issues and its interesting to see how they interact with each other. The sexual tension that Plague War delivers is amazing considering all the characters are grimy, nano-bitten, unwashed, scrappers who will do anything to survive.
This book causes you to feel the desperation of a world that is in constant threat of annihilation. However, the characters have the hope to survive and the power of the human spirit to carry on, no matter what the obstacle.
Some of the untouched mountain people infuse this story with a newness, that by this time you would expect not to exist. The contrast of the beaten down warriors against these innocent, fresh-snow-like individuals is really an excellent contrast in a book that is about fighting for life.
There is a lot of war talk in this book. Military actions, governments colliding, plots foiled, plans carried out. Since I am not a fan of military stories, I was slightly distracted by this. However, the human relationships of the people in those uniforms carried me through those sections of the book. If you are a military enthusiast, I think you will be pleasantly surprised by how detailed this book is.
I was happy to see the reappearance of some of the characters from book one that I did not expect. Hernandez was a pleasant returnee. His point of view was intriguing because of his lack of control over the situation that was happening to him. I felt his struggle between what he knew was right and how he was going to survive.
Ulinov, who I disliked the most after book one, was one of the most interesting characters to read about because we get to see his allegiance to his country. It may not be a very popular thing to say, but I think I was actually on his side when the bomb hit.
With the set up of possible resolution in book 2, I am expecting great things from book three.
Interdisciplinary Computing In Java Programming Language introduces Java Programming language within the first part of the book. The second part includes ten chapters of algorithms. Each chapter includes a detailed example application. The approach is therefore to elucidate the algorithm(s) in the first half of the chapter, while devoting the rest of the chapter to materializing the algorithmic concepts in Java with a judiciously chosen example application. Other distinctive features of this book include distributed/parallel computing and animation in Java. Interdisciplinary Computing In Java Programming Language is designed to meet the needs of a professional audience composed of practitioners and researchers in science and technology. This book is also suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate-level students in computer science, as a secondary text.
A must-have for any serious computational researcher
The book covers a great number of algorithms some of which, such as the Metropolis algorithm, are embedded within a chapter. Applicability of the algorithms are amazingly broad as evidenced from the topics of the written examples in each chapter. Encyclopedic, this book is a must-have for any serious computational researcher.
The first 3 chapters of the book introduce Java language. Topics include Java basics, graphics, threads and distributed computing via RMI. The level is intermediate to advanced. Each chapter contains a working example: chapter 1 lists a matrix class; chapter 2 a Java GUI; and chapter 3 an RMI implementation.
The 2nd part of the book is focused on various computational algorithms. Chapter 4 is on Simulated Annealing which is powerful for optimization. The example application is minimizing the free energy of a 3-dimensional Ising lattice.
Chapter 5 is on artificial neural network which is useful for classification. The text includes some tips on stock index prediction using neural network. The example application of this chapter is a Kohonen self-organizing feature map for clustering.
Chapter 6 is on Genetic Algorithm that is inspired from Darwinian evolution. The example application is the canonical "Traveling Salesman problem" in optimization.
Chapter 7 is the cellular automata that have been used to simulate natural as well as social phenomena. The example application of this chapter is a 2-dimensional fluid flow through obstructions.
Chapter 8 is Monte Carlo method that is used in all kinds of simulations The example application is modeling the drift-diffusion behavior of a stock price.
Chapter 9 is Molecular Dynamics which is widely used in chemistry and molecular biology for simulations such as protein folding. The example code of this chapter is evaporation of a 3-dimensional gas.
Chapter 10 is Feynman's path integral. This chapter is a bit technical, requiring background in quantum mechanics. The example application is the pricing of financial options.
Chapter 11 is chi-square fits which is a chore in any data-analysis. The author rewrites a legacy Fortran chi-square fitting routine into a Java class.
Chapter 12 is Bayesian analysis which has recently gained popularity because of advances in computing power. The application code of this chapter is Pixon algorithm in imagine restoration.
Chapter 13 is about Graph which is related to Bayesian method. The example class of this chapter is Kalman algorithm that has been used in real-time projectile (such as missile) tracking.
Appendix is about web-computing, achieved by converting standalone applications in previous chapters into Java applets.
Informative and a great read
This isnt a boring manual. Its smart very informative and laugh out loud funny. I have actually laughed out loud while reading this book. Buy this book and master your Kindle.
This is worth a second read - probably more.....
The pastoral nature of this novel is such a disguise for it ends with the toughest, grittiest and most challenging ending I have ever read (stronger than Kafka's 'The Trial', or Christopher Priest's 'The Separation'). As a human being facing what we all face this ending is truly awful.
But what is Hudson telling us in this novel? Is it a Victorian approach to telling things that are otherwise inexpressible - that affection is not enough? That real love with all its manifestations must be honoured, because without it there is only death?
Here I find a challenge to psychoanalysis and all the techniques of psychology: 'I only discovered, what others have discovered before me, that the practice of introspection has a corrosive effect on the mind, which only serves to aggravate the malady it is intended to cure.' (If only I could stop introspection ......!) ) [page 279 Dutton edition of 1917]
But here the common man, Smith, plunged into this affectionate pastoral society, bemoans what he has just learned - that the young woman he loves can never love him as he wishes - 'I wish that I had never made that fatal discovery, that I might have continued still hoping and dreaming, and wearing out my heart with striving after the impossible, since any fate would have been preferable to the blank desolation which now confronted me.' [page 303-304 of the same edition]
I wonder what woman of Hudson's acquaintance he had to put aside with such enormous regret that he expressed these words!
Search this book out. Absorb its gentle fantasy and hold tight for a rough ending.
Other recommendations:
The Separation - Christopher Priest
The Trial - Franz Kafka
The Shepherd's Life - W H Hudson
Green Mansions - W H Hudson
Great Overview and nicely written
Pervasive Computing: The Mobile World (Springer Professional Computing)
This book gives a great overview on devices, technology and explains the fundamental thought of mobile computing. Despite the fact, that the book is on the market since a while, the information is still accurate and the texts are fun to read! Again, a good overview and background information.
The most up-to-date and comprehensive introductory ASP.NET book youll find on any shelf, Beginning ASP.NET 1.1 in C# guides you through Microsofts latest technology for building dynamic websites. This book will enable you to build dynamic web pages on the fly, and it assumes only the most basic knowledge of C#.
Beginning ASP.NET 1.1 in C# provides exhaustive coverage of ASP.NET, guiding you from your first steps right up to the most advanced techniques, such as querying databases from within a web page and performance-tuning your site. Youll find tips for best practices and comprehensive discussions of key database and XML principles you need to know in order to be effective with ASP.NET. The book also emphasizes the invaluable coding techniques of object orientation and code behind, which will start you off on the track to build real-world websites right from the beginning&emdash;rather than just faking it with simplified coding practices.
By the time youve finished the book, you will have mastered the core techniques and have all the knowledge you need to begin work as a professional ASP.NET developer.
A well-written jack-of-all-trades/master-of-none book
I didn't know much about ASP.NET and C#, although I have done some junior-level programming projects with other languages. Based on rave reviews, I originally tried Jesse Liberty's Programming ASP.NET book, but I could not digest that book due to its lack of gradual buildup, lack of connecting ideas, and obscure examples.
Matthew MacDonald's book "Beginning ASP.NET 1.1 in C#: From Novice to Professional," on the other hand, is very well-suited for a beginning programmer. As with many other beginner's language books, he covers the C# language syntax and common ASP.NET controls. However, he covers advance topics such as state management and caching.
He also covers ancilliary topics such as Visual Studio explanations, files that make up a VS Solution or project (i.e. what is web.config?), and setting up your computer to run ASP.NET.
He writes in a way that is easy to follow, and his examples are not obscure, but straightforward. He focuses primarily on the chapter at hand, so you get the sense that he is teaching you in discrete steps. Each subsequent chapter, he adds on top of what you know from previous chapters. His code examples and explanation remain within the context of the current or previous chapters. He doesn't use code in his examples that does not pertain to the current or previous chapters, nor does he talk about things in later chapters other than an informative cross-referencing parenthetical (i.e. "For more information about this topic, see Chapter X").
I also like his diagrams on the ADO.NET model and the .NET architecture. These diagrams won't give you in-depth information, but they illustrate how the parts work at a high level. I didn't get this in other books, including the O'Reilly ones.
Because of his explanations, for example, I finally understand the basic ADO.NET operational model. Set a Connection object, then Set a Command object, and then choose between a DataReader object (for read-only data) or a DataAdapter object (disconnected read-write data). The O'Reilly Programming ASP.NET book and other ASP.NET books don't explain this clearly and often used DataAdapter or DataReader interchangeably in their examples.
Altogether, his writing and delivery style is very well-paced to me. I am not overwhelmed.
There are few downsides to this book. After a certain point in the book, he stops giving full example code, but he tells you why he is doing this (you can download the full code from his website). He only highlights the core code needed to demonstrate the topic. I still wish he used the full code examples in later chapters, because I generally type the code to get practice. By downloading code, I don't absorb the material as easily. Of course, that would make the book longer.
As for the criticisms of SQL injection by other reviewers, I agree that it is bad, but this is also a beginner's book. I'm sure he chose this format to teach the idea of database access and manipulation. However, he does talk about SQL injection attacks on page 431 in the ADO.NET access section. He discusses the topic for about a page, so it doesn't provide much detail, but it does serve as a cautionary note to the reader. I'm sure you can read other books to get more information on how to secure your web form from attacks.
Being a beginner's book, he covers a lot in the 1,000 pages in a jack-of-all-trades style, but it probably won't cover issues veteran programmers might be most interested. In fact, veteran programmers will find this book superfluous in some chapters, such as a 50-page tutorial on the C# language. For C# beginners, the chapter on the C# language may not be enough. You're not going to find all the answers here, but there is definitely enough information to get you started and for further research.
Lastly, I've contacted the author a few times with questions about the topics in his book, and he answered them in a friendly way. It's nice having an approachable author, even though I know the author has a busy schedule.
The Rich American Woman
Family situations easy to relate to. Humor as well as drama coupled with vivid descriptions of third world India relayed in a manner that makes you feel what the author felt on a personal level. The relationship between the main characters is deep as evidenced when Nick tells Amelia he likes how she does things as she prepares the days events for the children, which all women like to hear from their mate. A good quick read worth your time.
Guest Reviewer: Chris Anderson
Chris Anderson is editor-in-chief of Wired magazine and the author of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More.
Four hundred years ago, Francis Bacon warned that our minds are wired to deceive us. Beware the fallacies into which undisciplined thinkers most easily fall--they are the real distorting prisms of human nature. Chief among them: Assuming more order than exists in chaotic nature. Now consider the typical stock market report: Today investors bid shares down out of concern over Iranian oil production. Sigh. Were still doing it.
Our brains are wired for narrative, not statistical uncertainty. And so we tell ourselves simple stories to explain complex thing we dont--and, most importantly, cant--know. The truth is that we have no idea why stock markets go up or down on any given day, and whatever reason we give is sure to be grossly simplified, if not flat out wrong.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb first made this argument in Fooled by Randomness, an engaging look at the history and reasons for our predilection for self-deception when it comes to statistics. Now, in The Black Swan: the Impact of the Highly Improbable, he focuses on that most dismal of sciences, predicting the future. Forecasting is not just at the heart of Wall Street, but it's something each of us does every time we make an insurance payment or strap on a seat belt.
The problem, Nassim explains, is that we place too much weight on the odds that past events will repeat (diligently trying to follow the path of the millionaire next door, when unrepeatable chance is a better explanation). Instead, the really important events are rare and unpredictable. He calls them Black Swans, which is a reference to a 17th century philosophical thought experiment. In Europe all anyone had ever seen were white swans; indeed, all swans are white had long been used as the standard example of a scientific truth. So what was the chance of seeing a black one? Impossible to calculate, or at least they were until 1697, when explorers found Cygnus atratus in Australia.
Nassim argues that most of the really big events in our world are rare and unpredictable, and thus trying to extract generalizable stories to explain them may be emotionally satisfying, but its practically useless. September 11th is one such example, and stock market crashes are another. Or, as he puts it, History does not crawl, it jumps. Our assumptions grow out of the bell-curve predictability of what he calls Mediocristan, while our world is really shaped by the wild powerlaw swings of Extremistan.
In full disclosure, Im a long admirer of Talebs work and a few of my comments on drafts found their way into the book. I, too, look at the world through the powerlaw lens, and I too find that it reveals how many of our assumptions are wrong. But Taleb takes this to a new level with a delightful romp through history, economics, and the frailties of human nature. --Chris Anderson
Excellent
Mr. Taleb's The Black Swan is an exceptionally thought-provoking work sure to be relevant for a long, long time. There is not much to add to the 500+ reviews, so I'll just say NTT's Black Swan is good enough to read again before months end. Well done, sir!
The first part of the book introduces a pattern language that describes how server-side component infrastructures work internally. It does not only adress the basic building blocks and their interactions. It also provides details about the reasons and rationales for this kind of system architecture. For each pattern, the book provides short examples of how it is implemented in EJB, CCM and COM+. These examples thus also serve as a good comparison of those three mainstream component infrastructures.
The second part of the book uses EJB technology to provide even more detailed examples for the patterns, including UML diagrams and extensive source code. Also serving as a comprehensive overview of EJB, it introduces it from the architectural viewpoint and for the developer highlights the consequences of working with that architecture.
Part three offers another approach to the material: a conversation between two people that describes how a concrete application has been built using component technology, focusing on the benefits of this approach.
After reading this book you will:
What is going on under the hood
The book presents a pattern language which is applied in implementing the component infrastructure (component and container) on the server side, particularly the EJB (Enterprise JavaBean) model. The patterns are also implemented with little variations by COM+ and CCM (CORBA Component Model).
E.g., how does the component tell container to handle its technical concerns by using ANNOTATION, and how does container intercept component call by using COMPONENT PROXY, manage the resource through LIFECYCLE CALLBACK and PLUGGABLE RESOURCES, achieve scalability and performance by using VIRTUAL INSTANCE, INSTANCE POOL and PASSIVATION, how does the transaction and security related information get passed through INVOCATION CONTEXT, etc.
The basic principles behind these patterns are Separation of Concerns and Functional Variability. The separation concerns between functional (business) and nonfunctional (technical) requirement yields the architecture and collaboration between the component and container; the functional variability yields reusable component building blocks.
No pattern is an island, the book provide a definitive guide on what is composed of server component infrastructure, it is a very valuable resource for both component and container developers, it is a link to chain all the individual patterns, each of which tries to solve one particular software requirement to illustrate how these patterns are working together to form a powerful yet flexible component infrastructure.
The *must have book* for all Malware administrators
If your book budget only allows for one book this year, this is the book you should buy. If you're a malware administrator for a small to large size enterprise this is the book that will help guide you through your day to day activities.
The section on detection a piece of malware that may be running on a user's machine is extremely helpful, the tools mentioned in that chapter will all become staple items in your outbreak "jumpkit" after reading that section.
There really isn't any other book like this out on the market today. The entire book was written by global top professionals in the field that live with the malware threat on a daily basis. They are not people that are locked away in a lab somewhere only dissecting threats sent to them, although that is a part of many of their jobs. These authors know what it's like to be in the trenches, trying to protect their enterprise environments while still maintaining that extremely delicate balance that allows their users to perform the daily activities that they require to make the enterprise run smoothly. These authors help walk you through their sections as if they are right there with you guiding you along and answering your questions.
Great for starters
There are not much books on this topic that explain the real problems faced by the starters. This is an excellent book and a MUST for the beginners and students that want to learn system programming
Great Java book
John Cowell has written a fantastic book on J++. As a new java programmer I had been struggling with some of the concepts of java and OO programming. Cowell's book contains, in my opinion, the best description of object oriented programming that I have ever read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn J++ or just java in general.
The God of War
Not only is this book informative, thought provoking but it is exciting page to page...I could not put the book down and was wanting more after I read the ending!!! A movie would be nice!
A must-read for high school thinkers and beyond
I got this book for my son, looking for an intelligent book with substance to it, but also something that he, as a 14 year-old, would enjoy. He never put it down--nor did I, when I read it after he did. I'd rank it right up there with Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, Chocolate Wars and other high school classics.
Ethics 101 Revisited
With its very engaging format, this book at first appears to be merely a diverting sampling of college-student answers to some of the moral and ethical riddles that beset our legal system. It soon becomes clear it is very much more. As the authors dissect the sometimes surprisingly insightful responses these young people offer to complex legal/moral isues, they skillfully guide them through the labyrinthe of contradictions and occasional absurdities that plague our system of justice. The result is both thought-provoking and entertaining and moreover, reveals a decided thirst for moral/ethical discusions in our classroom. As the debate on bio-ethics and technological advances heats up, this is no doubt the first of many such books.
Great Book, Great Author
Mrs. Lund is a great author. Her cookbooks are all great. I haven't bought a book that I haven't been delighted that I purchased it. Her recipies are great and healthy. Your family will loves the recipies and you will enjoy reading the book and fixing the recipies.
Excellent Book - Highly Recommended
A must read for anyone interested in the field of education. Very well written and full of valuable insights.
Buy this book!
An extraordinarily valuable book for any one wanting to create Open-GL scenes. Unlike many Open-GL books that stop after presenting the basic Openg-GL figures, Open Geometry provides numerous complete source code examples of complex and interesting shapes.Want to display the horns of the greater kudu, Moebius strip, Klein bottle, complex mechanical motion? Then this book is for you.
Of the nine Open-GL books I own, this is by far the most useful.
Excellent Introduction and Hands-on examples
As a newcomer to WAP and Java Servlets, I found this book to be informative with an excellent introduction to both WAP/WML and Java Servlets. This book is written in such a way that its like the author is sitting right next to me to answer questions. This book contains lots of usable examples which I found very useful, sort of a cook book (no punn intended). I would recommend this book to the neophyte as well as the seasoned programmer.
Better take a day off!
If you are going to read this book you should plan on taking a day off! The book hooks you and I had a hard time putting it down.
A traitor scientists consciousness has been left behind and in order for the CU to discover why he sold out they create another person and inject the scientist consciousness into the other person. Things dont work out as planned.
The book deals with issues surrounding people and if they are free to choose. I dont want to write to much more. Do yourself a favor and buy this book!
From juvenile series fiction's changing presentation
Science Fiction, Children's Literature And Popular Culture proves a college-level cross-section analysis of representative works of science fiction, children's literature and popular culture to examine depictions of coming of age in the modern world. From picture and comic books which appeal to the young to films, videos, and popular novels and writings, this covers everything from juvenile series fiction's changing presentations to multimedia presentations.
must-read critical intro to information society theories
This book is a college graduate-level (perhaps precocious upper undergrad) critical introduction to various information society theories. The author admits early on that he does not believe we have entered a new "information age" even as he concedes various points--sometimes quite important points--that there have been big changes in society because of changes in technology, networks, and information flows. As a result of his stated biases, he sometimes comes across as more critical of those he doesn't agree with (Bell, Castells, etc.) than those he does (Giddens, etc.), although in each chapter he does try to show a critical perspective of each scholars' theories.
There are two main strengths to this book. First, it gives a very nice "lay of the land" overview of many important social theorists regarding the information age, and thus is an excellent launching point for students who want to explore theorists further. Second, his skepticism regarding theories of information society should be welcomed even by those who do firmly believe that we are in an information society. He raises many interesting points that will give those people who largely buy into the information society beliefs (as I did moreso before reading this book) cause to rethink some assumptions, which is what scholarly activity is supposed to be about.
Welcome to academia in the 21st century, where 60% of tenured professors have been supplanted by underpaid graduate students or part-time adjuncts. The professoriate is no longer a community of scholars that governs itself, but a group of employees whose work is reviewed by administrators who cut deals to put cheaply packaged courses on-line for worldwide consumption.
Where have the ivy-covered walls, tweedy professors, and genteel university presidents gone? Replaced, say the authors of this provocative work, by markets, profits, and computers.
Steal This University documents the rise of the corporate university over the past twenty years as well as the academic labor movement that has developed in response. Universities are increasingly looking to corporations as their model for reform, investing in merit-pay packages, partnerships with hi-tech companies, and anything that will reap profits from their creations.
With controversial, personal stories of workplace exploitation, tenure battles, and union organizing, the book shows the challenges of working within this new system and explains the countermovement working to restore independence to university teachers.
From New York Universitys outrageous union-busting techniques to the rise of for-profit schools like the University of Phoenix, Steal This University is both an indictment of current trends and a blueprint for combating them.
a reader too reactionary
a reader, you are clearly ignorant of the realities of adjuncting and grad school, and why it is not acceptable for universities to make hefty profits off of their students and then turn around and pay adjuncts and grad students sub-poverty wages. The class I'm teaching right now at a state college pays $2800. I'd have to teach ten classes a year to make $28k! Four and four is the 'normal' load...lets see *you* teach four classes and then come home and read a little critical theory so you can finish your Phd. What a reader sees as 'back to the sixties' and hostility is really a struggle by working people to make a living doing something they believe in, and what they believe in is being gutted of learning content and franchised and commercialized by corporations. Yes it's true, a reader, and you shouldn't make light of the struggle of working people and intellectuals to fight for the power of education. Pendejo.
The Measles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccine controversy has been characterized by two one-sided discourses. In the medical world, the weight of opinion is overwhelmingly in favor of MMR. In the public world, the anti-MMR campaign has a much greater influence, centered on the fears of parents that the triple vaccine may cause autism in their children. Both professionals and parents struggle to cope with the anxieties this creates, but find it is difficult to find a balanced account of the issues.
In MMR and Autism , Michael Fitzpatrick, a general practitioner who is also the parent of an autistic child, explains why he believes the anti-MMR campaign is misguided in a way that will reassure parents considering vaccination and also relieve the anxieties of parents with autistic children. At the same time the book provides health care professionals and health studies students with an accessible overview of a contemporary health issue with significant policy implications.
Excellent analysis of scaremongering about a safe vaccine
This superb book gives an extremely useful account of the current state of knowledge of autism and its causes. It also shows that parents should allow their children to be immunised with MMR. The author is a London GP, who has an autistic son James.
Dr Fitzpatrick reminds us of the dangers of measles, mumps and rubella. In the ten years before the first measles immunisation was introduced in Britain, 850 children died from measles. Since MMR immunisation was introduced in 1988, there have been only four deaths from measles, and 19 from complications. Japan, with a low uptake of MMR immunisation, has 50/100 measles deaths a year.
So the government is right to encourage mass MMR immunisation and to oppose the individual choice of separate vaccines, even though its promotion of `individual choice' and `personalised care' undermines all good NHS policies. The government's `faith-based' politics - evident in Blair's refusal to say whether his son Leo had been immunised - align it against both the medical profession and scientific evidence.
The original article that sparked the MMR immunisation scare, by Dr Andrew Wakefield, only raised the possibility of a relationship between MMR immunisation and autism: it put forward no evidence of a causal link, and specified no mechanism of transmission. In the subsequent five years, he has failed to substantiate his claim.
Since then, many independent researchers have proven that there is no causal link between MMR and autism, but Dr Wakefield refuses to accept the overwhelming evidence. He even told a US senate committee that the Royal Statistical Society had damned an important study that refuted his hypothesis, although this was not true. He has now moved to a private clinic in Florida run by an evangelical Christian.
We still know too little about the neurobiological framework of autism. The one thing we do know is that whatever else causes autism, it is not MMR immunisation. The facts show that MMR vaccine is safe, and that immunisation does not compromise natural immunity.
Eye-Opening
This small text has more common sense packed in it than most epics. After reading this for the second time, I was amazed at how simple the premises are. I would recommend this to anyone who may be in search of enlightenment or just simply searching for a good read.
Wow!
Wow...that sums up my reacation to the 'Adventures Of Mr. Mocker'. The book is a collection of the various exploits of the main character, an inspirational Mr. Mocker. Throughout the book Mr. Mocker, we'll call him "Mocky", trouces here and there with escapade after escapede, only to land himself in more schemes as his friends and enemies alike exclaim "There goes Mocky on another one of his grand ventures!" What I liked most about this book was that the title left so much to the imagination. Mocky could be doing anything throughout the book, for one man's nap is another man's adventure!
Even though I have never read this book, I whole heartedly encourage everyone to do so. Reading this book will provide you with (depending on your reading speed) hours of escape from your ho-hum life, as you gleefully tag along on Mocky's Adventures!
Michael, the brilliant Irish Terrier - a must read for dog lovers
I happened across this book while looking for stories about Irish Terriers. I wouldn't normally read Jack London; his stories always seemed more to my brother's liking. However, this book quickly grabbed me because a lot of it is written from the dog's perspective. And those passages are spot on. Michael reminded me so much of my own Irish Terrier and how he thinks and reasons. It really got to my heart. When I finished reading, I made a donation to the ASPCA. And although I don't know much about Jack London, I'd bet he had an Irish Terrier himself, for sure.
One of poetry's great masterpieces
Essential for any lover of great poetry, and certainly for any fan of Oscar Wilde is his great poem, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol." Scarcely the only thing he wrote after his return from his notorious 2-year prison term, The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a moving and tragic account of one man's suffering. One could go on and on - writing hundreds of pages in essay form - about the indignities and injustices of prison life, but this goes toward saying it much better than any ivory tower intellectual argument ever could. Wilde, winner of the infamous Newdigate Prize For Poetry at Oxford University, had long been an immaculate poet - an a born writer - but he practically anandoned the form after his marriage and the start of his career as a playwright in the early 1890's (aside from that strange amalgram of a poem, The Sphinx.) And yet, this is almost exclusively the only thing Wilde wrote after his release before his untimely death in 1900. Thankfully, the great artist went out with a bang. The Ballad fuses some of the best and clearest writing I have ever read in the English language with a poetic sensibility and a true and tragic sense of real suffering, thereby creating one of the great poems of all-time.
Many anthologies of Wilde's writings are available, and perhaps buying a book that simply includes this lone poem is questionable. I definitely suggest that you go for a Complete Works if you are new to the author; however, if you'd like a travel-worthy copy of certain smaller works - such as this poem - then editions such as this will serve you well. Besides, this edition has as well those beautiful paintings to go along with it - something I'm sure Oscar himself would've loved.
This book is really exciting and informative.
This book presents a factual side of western history in an exciting way! That is very rare these days. From the first few pages, you are drawn in by young Tom's determination to join his uncle in Colorado and the dangers, joys, and sorrows he encounters along the way. I read this book in five days; it is an impossible put-down! All those who love history or just great stories will love this book.
Enter Mac Wells, a cop whose legendary cool reserve masks a fierce loyalty to his colleagues and his city. As one of New Yorks elite undercover agents, he is part of a flagship anti-crime experiment that everyone wants to work. And at first glance, it seems to be doing just that -- crime is down; the citizens are happy. But strange and random acts of violence persist, in a pattern that no one can decipher. And when Mac accidentally tranqs his partner during a subway crime, he unwittingly stumbles upon a conspiracy that reaches to the highest echelons of the police department...and the government. Now Mac is forced to choose between his loyalty to his colleagues and his sense of justice -- and to figure out whom to trust before he becomes the next casualty of a tragic accident.
P.E.A.C.E. is a heart-pounding thrill ride that signals the debut of a potent new voice in the thriller genre. Breathlessly original, P.E.A.C.E. launches the dazzling career of a writer destined to rank alongside Ed McBain and David Baldacci.
Big Brother IS watching you
A very disturbing view of future world, where police wear 'sleeper' guns which are, in theory, supposed to put you into a light sleep and calm you down. But what if the drugs used in the gun are not as innocent as they seem? Guy Holmes explores the (grim prediction for) future with breathtaking detail. This stuff sounds so real, that I am afraid that, few years from now, we will be walking the streets we only read about.
FACADE
Façade: The front part of anything: often used figuratively, with implications of an imposing appearance concealing something inferior.
Be afraid, be very afraid! There is a killer on the loose and you had better hope that you have nothing in your past that may lead him your way. No matter what appearance you may present, he knows what is beneath that FACADE.
To wander down the streets of Pine Knot, Kentucky you would think it was another quaint little southern town. The people seem to live their lives much the same as any other small town. But beneath the FAÇADE, lives another world. A world of, secrets, lies, deception, and horror.
Deputy Detective KC Tanner is perfectly happy living his life as a confirmed bachelor. He is content living alone in his house with his Doberman, Zappa, and doing his job as a detective with the Sheriffs Department of McCreary County.
All of this, however, is being threatened by the sheriff's daughter, Sharalee MacArthur, who is determined to live out her childhood fantasy of her love for him. KC is doing everything he can possibly do to thwart Shar's advances, but it is getting more and more difficult as she is no longer the little girl he remembers. She came home from college a beautiful young woman. A young woman who will not leave him alone, although the age difference is too great in KC's mind. Not to mention that KC's best, and only friend, is Shar's father, Sheriff Mike MacArthur, known to all as Mac.
People are being murdered in the most horrendous ways. Ways that could possibly only mean revenge. But revenge for what? There has to be a common denominator that links these people together, and KC is determined to find out what that common denominator is.
At the same time KC has to convince Shar that he is not the man for her. He even takes to talking to the local minister of the church, Pastor Thomas Jackson about Shar, his physical attraction to her, and his past life, including the secret that he has kept. But it seems that no matter what KC does, Shar will just not give up. Finally he manages to drive her into the arms of another man, Sidney Kurtz. Very much to KC's surprise, seeing them together bothers him a lot.
However, KC doesn't have time to reflect on his unhappiness with Shar and Sidney being together, he has to solve the murders that are happening, and he has to do it soon before another one happens.
What is behind these murders? The common link seems to be Mac's dead wife, Alison Mac Arthur, Shar's mother. But who and what is the reason for this? Alison has been dead for almost twenty years. What is the secret that seems to be eluding KC? And who is behind all of this? He has to find out soon.
Ms. Rasey certainly has come up with a winner in FAÇADE. I could not put this book down. It had me completely absorbed until the last shocking pages. I had to find out what was going to happen in both the personal lives of the characters, as well as who was going to be killed next, and why. FAÇADE is completely addictive from the first page.
Ms. Rasey has created multi-faceted characters, and at the same time she has created a
super fast moving plot. She has captured the world of lies, deceit, intrigue, and revenge. FAÇADE is definitely a must read for its chilling account of the murders, the investigation, and the secrets that caused them. At the same time bringing into this horrific, and terrifying world love, friendship, and trust. It is amazing how she has managed to have two opposite plots run concurrently and mixed together to bring about a story that completely hypnotizes the reader.
FAÇADE is not only a spine-tingling murder mystery that will leave feeling cold to the bones, it is also a love story that will leave you completely breathless. FACADE is a wonderful example of Ms. Rasey's talent to blend spine tingling terror and suspense, with warm and sexy romance and love.
FACADE will keep you guessing. Even if you are clever enough to figure out who did it, which I don't think you will, you still won't believe the dynamite ending. It will leave you completely emotionally drained.
FAÇADE most definitely proves the old adage: What goes around comes around. And in this case when it comes around, it is deadly.
I definitely recommend that you get a copy of FAÇADE, take it home and lock the doors, turn up the lights, and settle in for a full night of terrific suspense, murder, and love. All mixed up in a great story that will leave you completely satisfied that you have visited the world of FAÇADE. You cannot miss with this wonderful book.
