This book is a real dud.

It's supposed to be a thriller, but isn't very thrilling. Some nonsense about Arab terrorists who think they were destined to rule the world, according to their interpretation of the prophecies of Nostradamus. (...)

It's got nothing going for it. The characters are cartoons with no personality, the speeches that come out of their mouths are
flat and boooooooooooooring. The plot's got more holes in it than Swiss cheese. Plus there are about a million errors in punctuation, words spelled wrong, and bad grammar that make reading as bumpy as riding on a road filled with potholes in a car with no shocks.

Take my advice, folks, and forget this turkey.

I was Fascinated that the actual quatrains from Nostradamus over 400 years ago, were woven into the story line. The underlying theme; to warn about a Middle-East terrorist leader with the financial resources to cause a possible threat to the USA and the world. I found it prophetic that the book was released before the tragic events in New York and Washington.

Decades ago sci-fi grandmaster Isaac Asimov noted the similarity between detective stories (whodunit?) and science fiction "puzzle" stories (how do you solve the problem?). Avoiding some of the obvious pitfalls, he began to write stories that contain elements of both of these popular genres. But of the various stories in this collection, only Larry Niven's "ARM" really lives up to the title, combining the imagination of science fiction with the action and drama of a detective story. Asimov's "The Singing Bell" comes close, and shows off the master's skill with "puzzle" stories, but the armchair detective doesn't really lend itself to exciting reading and would be a serious disappointment to fans who expect some action. As for the rest, only Poul Anderson's "The Martian Crown Jewels" and "Time Exposures" by Wilson Tucker are bona fide sci-fi detective stories, and both are eminently forgettable. Donald Westlake's "The Winner", Robert Silverberg's "Getting Across", and Philip K. Dick's "War Games" are all very good science fiction stories, indeed are the highlights of the collection, but there are no detectives in them. Perhaps the most memorable sci-fi detective is Philip Jose Farmer's Herr Ralph Von Wau Wau, the intelligent canine of "A Scarletin Study", a humorous send up of the whole cross-genre concept. In sum, while perhaps the blame lies more with the form than with the editing, this book fails to deliver what it promises; the overall collection isn't that strong as "just" science fiction, and the advertised combination of sci-fi and private detective fiction never really coalesces. Readers interested in this idea would do better to pick up one of Asimov's many fine collections.

I thought the book was very good describing the plot, storyline, and characters. However, the book was pretty easy to predict. It's whole storyline was old and boring. The absence of twists and any new developments killed any suspense. Overall the story gets a 3 out of 5.

I really disliked this book. While it is an essay based on someone's opinion,the argument was not substantiated with any sort of academic knowledge as to the psychology of the female mind or to world of filmmaking past the writing process. The author's definition of what makes a "Great Dame" in contrast to a "Wimpette" is so narrowly construed that rather than feeling empowered by the "Great Dames" the reader is left outraged by who is considered a wimpette. Susan Isaacs argues that Anita Hill is a wimpette because she should either "(1) report him [Clarence Thomas] for sexual harassment through established procedures or (2) tell him to shut the hell up." Isaacs does not consider that sexual harassment, especially repeated sexual harassment is psychologically damaging to a person. Sexual harassment often preys on a person's inferior position and makes him or her afraid to come forward for fear of ridicule. Also, the author fails to point out that filmmaking remains a male-dominated field. No woman has ever won an Academy Award for Directing or Cinematography. Until women gain an equal voice in the media, the majority of films will continue to have characters that Isaacs deems "wimpettes."

I picked up this book hoping to gain some insight into the role of women and the characters that they play in books,television, and movies. I consider myself a feminist and I find most books in the Women's Studies sections of bookstores fairly interesting. I did not expect an optimistic viewpoint and Isaacs did not fail in this respect. What I found so annoying and disappointing in this book was Isaacs' insistence in defining what makes a woman a positive role model and what makes her a negative role model. By the end of the book, one begins to feel, (or at least I did as a woman) that any hint of weakness in a woman spells her downfall. For Isaacs, the ingredients that make up a brave dame are no easy feat and I beg to differ with her on several counts. By creating all of these rules for becoming a brave dame, Isaacs undermines what I would argue was her intent - to show that brave dames do exist.

I have to admitt that it was the title of the book that caught my attention. I was excited to finally find a critique of modern women and the wimpy, unaccountable, excuse-making attitudes many television personalities inflict upon the viewers. My first disappointment was that the book focuses mainly on fictional TV characters, not real people. What is the point of criticising a fictional personality if it is the actress' job to portray her that way? The author missed out on the major wimpette of our time - Oprah Winfrey. While I don't mean to pick on Oprah, I want to point out that there are plently of true cases the author could have used in her book.

I would like to append to my previous comments to provide further clarity.

While the object file containing instruction code will be stored in RAM, the MPU will use a decoder or look-up table to handle the instruction. This hardware will not be changed.

I've read the reviews and skeptical of their value. Here's why:

1. A program is a list of instructions. Instructions are "hardwired" on the processor "chip". Yes, you can program a processor. Your writing lists of instructions so that the processor will interface with other onboard devices and hardware and execute ALU operations. I don't believe the author was meaning that you are to change the hardware.

2. I'm not familiar with the AMD MPU but am skeptical of the video control issue. Depending on the architecture of an MPU it could act like a video card.

3. If an MPU can execute most of its intruction at reduce bus cycles (translating to reduced clock time) yes it will process faster.

If there is anyone out there that can provide a fair review of this book and point out why I should buy the book besides the manufactorers user manual I would be very interested in reading it.

Mike

Electrical Engineer

It's a little out-dated now, of course, but if you're interested in learning about PC processor technology and how it all works, this book is a great value. Of course, no one is going to go buy a K6-2 these days, but the terminology and the concepts you'll learn apply to any processor. ... First, no one ever said that the K6-2 was going to replace the video card. Second, all AMD chips from the K6 on up ALL HAVE MMX SUPPORT. Finally, when they said you could "reprogram the processor," they were talking about the "virtual processor" on the CD-ROM, ...I've seen this book listed used for around $..., so it's a really cheap way to learn about the fascinating technology behind all PC processors.

It's not that the stories in this collection aren't good ones. In fact most are very good indeed. But the book itself is a very misleading package. To begin with despite the title there are no stories by Isaac Asimov, he didn't edit the book (some of the stories were written after he died) and had no connection with it. Except that evidently the stories first appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Which is not enough to justify putting Isaac Asimov's name on the cover.

Also the stories are not about Halloween. They are merely horror or dark fantasy stories. They aren't even necessarily scary; many of them are humorous. (A couple pretty funny, I must admit.)

Worst of all, the book itself is defective. The story "Dikduk" by Eliot Fintushel just stops in the middle, halfway down the page. The last part of the story is completely missing. At least it is in my copy.

All this is a shame because most of the stories are pretty good. (Though not new. All of them are reprints.) If it had been called "Dark Fantasy From Asimov's S.F. Magazine" or some such, and if the publisher had paid attention and not let the printer lose half of what might be the best story in the book, it would be a book worth having. As it is I can't recommend it. Why encourage dishonest packaging and sloppy production?

With a title Halloween and a JOL in a space suit you're thinking there might be some cool Halloween stories set in space? There were no space stories and no Halloween stories. Just a collection of horror stories that had nothing to do with Halloween. I feel like the title and the cover were false advertising. I don't want a horror book, I wanted Halloween!

I found the collection to be an excellent selection of spooky, funny and always extremely readable tales perfect for Halloween. No, you won't find Algernon Blackwood or the all-too obvious HP Lovecraft. However, I felt not the least bit guilty setting these venerable literary corpses aside to read some of the modern talents of the SF field. Macleod, Duncan, and Sanders were all stand-outs for me. I also enjoyed the Lovecraft homage "The Shunned Trailer." Too bad they couldn't include the hilarious art from the magazine along with the story.

You can't go wrong with the Asimov's titles. This is my favorite next to Isaac Asimov's Moons. I suppose my advice to all of the potential readers out there is this: Put the lights low. Relax. Enjoy a few hours of guiltless, spooky fun! Pumpkin pie and your Mom optional.

I have never been so frustrated by a textbook as I have been by this one. It fleshes out the most basic outlines of the topic, then gives a handful of examples (which tend to be unhelpful and riddled with errors) before moving on to the next topic. The number of typographical errors is astounding and makes getting through the examples an exercise in futility. The exercises are mind-numbing in their computational complexity without really challenging the student's understanding of the material. If you're in a class where use of Mathematica is discourage (like I was), beware!

This book is small, expensive and relatively bad. While there are plenty of errors to be annoyed by (everything from incorrect solutions to syntax errors in the mathematics), my main qualm with the book comes from the poorly motivated text. While the underlying structure is suitable, the overall exposition is crap. The text reads like lecture notes, and I don't think it is quite up to the standard of a textbook. The exercises also need some work; there should be more exercises that are more interesting. As a mathematics major I am not all too impressed with it, but a student of an applied science may like it more. Although in this form I don't think it is suitable for any audience.

If you want to learn Vector Calculus, I would suggest the multivariable/vector analysis sections of Stewart's Calculus text. That is where I learned the material. Vector Calculus by Marsden also seems promising, but I have not read it all yet.

Positives: Gorgeous photos and substantial fact-based descriptions of pre-1971 Mercedes Benz SLs.
Glaring NEGATIVE: Only five sentences and no photos on the SLs from 1971 to the present (350SL, 450SL, 380SL, 500SL, 560SL, SL-class, etc.).
IMHO, if it could be retitled "Pre-1971 SLs", it would rate five stars but, as it is, it was a near total disappointment for this '72 350SL owner.

SL lovers will find Meredith's book fun to read for the pictures alone. Lots of neat restored 300SL coupe & rdstrs, 190SL's and 230/250/280SL's with many nice detailed photos of obscure options, etc. I particularly liked the last chapter showing raw data from the factory about production details. Be aware that the book has numerous factual errors. For example, Meredith says that the W113/Pagoda cars had black engine compartments, including the underside of the hood/bonnet. This is WRONG. Those areas should be the same color as the exterior of the car. There are other errors as well. It is a pity that a book that is so informative and that so many people will doubtless refer to for many, many years helps to spread misinformation. Future restorers beware.

Why was Skal given the inspiration for a concept he just couldn't handle? Oh, the agony! The idea of a robotic body replacement syndrome in modern America is brilliant. So was Skal's idea of how to treat the topic-- a societal neurosis, like anorexia, a talk-show scandal. But the execution! Arrgghh! The therapist who helps the afflicted is not only unbelievable, his character is gratuitously disgusting. The novel works when it keeps us on the edge of being drawn into a technofetishist's fantasy... but suddenly, we're there, the robots are here, beep beep. The effect is stupid. Would have been better if Skal had just stayed in the now-world and made a mainstream novel instead of going bad SF on us. Shame on you, Skal! You should've spent an extra year on this novel, or let somebody else write it! In addition, Asimov's intorduction is insufferably vain, something like "I thought of this first in my short story _Segregationist_." Whatever, Isaac.

EL ATOMO , MATERIA , QUIMIC

David was a 16 year old boy, who enters an institution, because of his nightmares and fear of touch. He meets a young girl by the name of Lisa who has a split personality. This story is of their growing as a person, growing in love. This story wasn't like anything I have ever read before, because it was written as a case story would be. The only real thing that I found similar about this book was that two people fall in love. I was very touched by the character of Lisa. The reason why is that Lisa has a split personality. One moment I could be extremely happy and the next severly depressed. I could understand her more than the character of David. "Big fat John, fat cat John---he's gone, he's gone---Fat John is gone!" This was from her personality when she was Lisa. While when she is Muriel she is no longer childish, but more lady like and silent. I really liked the theme of the book, which was that people can change and can get better over time. The reason I rated this book so low, is because I had really didn't like how it was written. I found that the play was written a lot better. In the play and movie, you got to meet characters like Simon, Josette, Kate, Carlos, Sandra, and etc. They were also students at this institution. I did like how you got see more of what David and Lisa were thinking and their background. You could start to get a sense of their background.I really hated how the book ended, but I enjoyed the moment when David and Lisa met. This book is not for everyone and I really do not recommend it, unless you are trying to get background on Lisa and David, or have an extra half an hour to burn. But I do highly recommend reading/seeing the play and/or seeing the movie.