This is a well written book.I only noticed some minor things I did not like. If you like books about Italians who are criminals this is the one for you. Serpico was great also

I dont read much as I find books get boring after about half way through. I read this entire book within a week and never got boring.

This is great book Mr.Maas has written.It takes you into the underworld like few have since.With Joe Valachi's words.He tells the story of the birth of the underworld as we know it today.How it was organized into families.What rackets he was involed in and how he worked day to day in his crew.

It is very good book, thanks to Joseph J. Weed for writing and publishing it. It may be very helpful for anybody who reads it and tries to implement what has been read. But no book can be used instead of live participating in Rosicrucian lessons, that has been designed ages ago to give knowledge and skills in the right pace, with accordance with Rosicrucian teachings about cycles and proper usage of resonances for best efforts/results ratio.

I read this book twentyfive years ago, and I began to seriously change my life. Unfortunately I loaned the book to a friend and could never get it back. I soon thereafter made contact with the Rosicrucians. The last twentyfive years has been a journey, and although I had only studied earnestly with the Rosicrucians for six months or so, everything that they taught me has been validated through observation and experience. I mourned the loss of this book for twentyfive years, and just happened across it here in Amazon. I am now reading it again, and I am amazed at how much I have progressed....and how much more there is to do. My youngest daughter and my first two of more to come grandchildren are blessings that I would never have been granted had I not read this book and found my way to the Rosicrucians. I am so happy to have found this book again.

What a wonderful book. Filled with esoteric insight that took the author decades to learn. Here it is in print, narrowed down to the core,the heart of information that opens up a portal to metaphysical and spiritual understanding. Many authors fill their books with unnecessary filler jargon, this one gets to the point. I recommend it to all who want to cut to the chase learning to raise their vibrational freqency,increase psychic energy and abilities, and resonate with a higher awareness. I am glad this book FOUND ME.

With aunt Hildas hiccups changing objects into something else its not hard to guess that it means TROUBLE!!! Refrigerators into cows, sofas into swing sets and school lunches into pheasant under glass. Oh dear! But Sabrina's history books into Benjamin Franklin or 'Ben' for short is going to far. Now Sabrina has to retrieve him back when Salem loses him. It could only happen to Sabrina!!!

This is the funniest Sabrina book I have read,it's hilarious!!

Aunt Hilda has the hiccups, and they are out of control! Hic! The refrigerator turns into a mule! Hic! Now, the sofa is a garden swing! It is okay until her history books disapear and Benjamin Franklin is in it's place! Now, Sabrina is chasing "Ben" all over westbridge. Before Sabrina knows it, Ben is hanging with a motorcycle gang and getting tatoos. But Sabrina's history texts are in 1776 with events all laid out for our fathers if Sabrina can't figure out how to get Ben back to his time. Sabrina's life will never be the same. This was a fantastic book and I think you should read it.

Mark Twain promptly proves with this volume that he is, indeed, as the title states, "America's Master Satirist." Having grown up in a fundamentalist Presbyterian community, Twain knew his Bible well; and, like any thinking person, his beliefs and attitudes relating to it changed as he grew older, wiser, and more experienced. Although Twain - due to many factors, such as the death of several children and his wife and his failed investments - grew famously bitter towards the end of his life, his vision remained remarkably clear-headed, though clearly suffued with pessimism - indeed, his zest for the truth and absolute intolerance for mankind's accepted irrational beliefs became even more razor-sharp during this period. Although there are writings in this volume from all phases of Mark Twain's career, the majority of them do come from that latter period - a period in which, indeed, the exploration of these themes was the main facet of his writing. Included are such well-known items as the Diaries of Adam and Eve (as well as several other Old Testament characters), Captain Stormfield's Visit To Heaven (published here in full for the first time ever), and, of course, his masterpiece, Letters From The Earth. In these, and the other, oftentimes more obscure pieces, Twain burlesques and satarizes freely, calling mankind on both his steadfast taking to irrational and illogical beliefs, as well as on his sheer stupidity and gullibility. If one is looking for a satire along the lines of Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn, then this is DEFINITELY not the place to look; however, if you have a fondness, as I do, for the darker, more probing side of Twain, then this is a volume that you must most definitely pick up.

I am a very religious person, and I was somewhat skeptical about reading this book when I received it as a gift. My husband and I read each other the diaries of Adam and Eve, and by the end we were both so moved we cried. True, it is excellent satire, but it is hardly offensive. Mark Twain manages to weave in sincerity and bits of truth with his masterful parodies.

NEWSFLASH: I am a very religious conservative (aka "right-wing nut") who believes in the Bible and other books of scripture as the word of God, yet (unlike another reviewer would predict) I love Mark Twain's religious satire. I think that he has a keen eye for truth -- he sorts out the garbage of man-made religious fluff from the stuff that really matters. In many ways, his religious writings actually support my own beliefs in his tongue-in-cheek way. I don't think this book has any use if you intend to "bash" right-wing religionists with it. Anyone who would be shaken by Twain's writings probably doesn't really believe what they profess anyway...

I have read most of the writings in this book, although not in this edited compilation, so I cannot give my rating based on that. The five stars I have given in my review are for Mark Twain's works themselves.

I liked this book and will keep it around, but it does get some
facts wrong. E.g., the book discusses printing & Gutenberg at
some length (as it should) but is all wrong about Gutenberg's
ink chemistry. This is no small point. Gutenberg's books are
famous for their stable, glossy ink. This (Gieses') book says
G's ink was based on carbon black (which fades). Everyone has
known since 1983 or soon after (Google "Gutenberg ink cyclotron")
that Gutenberg created metallic inks. His inks were better than
most which followed. The Gieses should have been aware of this
by 1994, when they published their book. I think this sort of
error is common in survey works, and I think there are other
errors of this sort in the book at hand.

Also, the Gieses take time late in the book to denounce firearms
as the *only* "pernicious" technology developed during the middle
ages. This appears quite witless, since they generally applaud
technological improvements which promoted social leavening, and
firearms meet that test easily ("God made men but Sam Colt made
them equal"). I can easily nominate a more "pernicious" medieval
technology: that of torture. Many are the museums in Europe
which lovingly preserve elaborate machines for inflicting
pain--something which we now regard as forensically worthless and
morally abhorrent.

Reacting to the perception that the medieval period was one of technological stagnation, Frances and Joseph Gies have written a fascinating review of innovation in that period. Starting with a review of ancient technology, the authors then go into innovations made during the so-called Dark ages. After that, the pace quickens, as the authors report on the later Middle Ages, and into the Renaissance.

I was impressed that the authors gave full credit for innovations that migrated from Asia to Europe, even attempting to discover the path that the innovation took. Overall this is an excellent review of medieval technology.

Ok, the Giles may got wrong some detail in this book, but it is a good book anyway. Most of the time we use things wich origin we don't know. Sometimes we think that what we are using is very modern and it actually comes from the middle ages.
This book is a very good book to know how they worked, what kind of machines they used, etc.

At the end of his review, A reader from Seattle writes something about torture. First he should read books like "Those terrible Middle Ages", "The Origins of Spanish Inquisition" and/or search for "the Myth of the Renaissance" on google.

Buy this book only if you have not read anything else about telecommunications in the past 5 years. This book is quite shallow in both strategy and technology. Good as an overview for non-technology people though.

REVIEW: "Commanding Communications" by Joseph Bonocore

We've come a long way from two tin cans and a string. We're on the edge of the time when your personal computer will go to the back of the closet to join the electric typewriter and the dial phone. Ready or not, the new worlds of communications are coming at us faster than we ever thought possible. That's the overwhelming conclusion after reading "Commanding communications: Navigating Emerging Trends in Telecommunications" by Joseph Bonocore (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). This well-researched, carefully considered book warns us to think seriously about the future. Bonocore tells us to carry over only those policies and business assumptions that will be suited to an information highway that will be infinitely wider and unbelievably faster, while being accessible to anyone, everywhere, and at any time. The future holds dizzying possibilities-and it could be subject to unfortunate regulatory squeezes. Bonocore confronts us with issues that deserve our attention. What will shape communications of the next decade? What opportunities and pitfalls will there be? What technologies in development today will dominate the multi-billion dollar communications landscape of the future? A valuable book. A must read for anyone interested in communicating. A book that should be read before almost everything we think about communications and everything we do to create the business of communications becomes obsolete.

This book is well written and gets to the very heart of the matter. The author starts by painting a very clear vision of the future and describes the general trends and steps towards realizing that future. Prognostication is very hard and rarely accurate in a dynamic environment. The author provides a useful framework towards addressing the trends thereby empowing an executive to develop a strategy which can evolve with the market.

This book provides an excellent overview of the various load balancing concepts and provides sufficient background information to provide a comprehensive discussion in one volume. An excellent book on the topic of server load balancing and a must read for those interested in the subject. This work is still relevant in our fast-changing networking environment.

This is a very good book for anyone who needs to setup a NLB or Cluster. Author walks you thru the entire process and makes good suggestion if your situation is different from the one offered in the book's example. Good book. I wish more IT books would offer same type of help.

This is a great book for anyone trying to implement any sort of clustering or load balancing on Windows 2000. There is a lot of confusion as to what's needed for clustering SQL server and how to do it.

This book provides in-depth information and step-by-step instructions on what hardware you need, how it should be configured, how to install MSCS, how to cluster your SQL servers, and how to load balance your web servers (as well as Exchange).

Instructions didn't skip through steps and screen shots were accurate! Thanks Joseph Lamb!

Definitely made getting our SQL clustered and web servers load balanced properly much easier.

This book covers "civic emergencies, wilderness survival, home management, auto repair, food storage and health". I find it odd that the text has been listed under a wilderness survival heading. At only 144 pages its wilderness survival focus is too terse to be compared to books of this genre.

If you are looking for books on wilderness survival and want FOCUS in your text, try reading the US Army Survival Manual.

Joe "Aboman" Bigley has compiled a complete resource for survival in almost all conditions. Many people associate the term "survival" with strictly wilderness related skills and in today's world that can lead to trouble. Today civil emergencies are a reality and Mr. Bigley comes to the front to address these situations. Covering subjects like understanding electricity and basic automobile repair this book brings home the fact that the key to survival, in all situations, is self-reliance. I have given this book as gift's to several family members and that is perhaps the most significant statement I can make as to how much I recommend this book.

Through unfortunate overuse the word "survival" has been diluted into a cliche. You can get divorce, tax audit, and college "survival" guides, as well as a lot of untried and fantasy information from armchair survivalists. Joe Bigley (known to his associates as "Aboman") has placed the term back in it's rightful niche -- the means of preserving your life. While the book does contain much information on emergency and wilderness survival, it is also a guide on how to assume responsibility for your own life.

We are a society that has turned our fate over to the police, fire department, ambulance, and when all else fails, the lawyers. There is an increasingly widespead attitude that you should be saved from your own mistakes and bad decisions. Bigley not only shows you how to take back responsibility for your own actions, but how to live as independently as possible. For instance, he covers how to understand electricity and how to use it wisely. He offers ideas on economical diets that are nutritious and tasty to avoid the doubts and expense of over processed food. Most importantly, he gives good solid advice on disaster preparedness, which considering the times, is a subject every American (and many other nationalities) should be skilled in.

Aboman's Guide to Survival and Self-Reliance is designed to help you take back control of your life. It's not just a survival guide to get you out of a tight spot, but a text on how to manage your life for the long-term. Don't expect a lot of 80s doomsday stuff, but a simple outline on how to save money, eat well, be healthy, and live long and free.

Should you think I am just doing a friend a favor here, think again. I also have a survival book out and run a survival school. In other trades we would be considered competitors, but during these uncertain times the more good information that is available to the public the better. I recommend the book highly for all who want the best for themselves and their family.

I was visiting Prague a few days before the Soviet tanks rolled in...as for "timelines," the regime in Czechoslovakia was "humanfaced" a mile wide, but an inch under the surface, plenty of military and other bastions of international (hardline Soviet) communism were extant. It could scarcely be otherwise: the Kremlin Politburo was not happy with the modicum of downplaying of repressive totalitarian goverance that the reformist element was able to gain over and against the iron power of the former, Soviet-controlled regime. It was as embarassing to the Soviet dicatators as the 1956 Hungarian popular uprising and the necessity for the 1960s Berlin Wall. Even so, the main institutional elements of the repressive Soviet system were left largely unconfronted by a reformist government gingerly treading by the "bear." Thus Dr. Douglass' "timeline" is indeed most accurate. Czechoslovakia's borders remained as permeable as ever to any business activities the hardliners deemed necessary--as expected from a member of the Warsaw pact. As for the book itself, it is true history, thoroughly researched, and a reminder that the false and illogical "religion" of communism became a refuge for an international criminal class of thugs (see also Douglass' "Red Cocaine," A. Golitsyn's "New Lies for Old," Stephane Courtois' "The Black Book of Communism," Rev. Richard Wurmbrand's "Marx and Satan," and Rev. Clarence Kelly's "Conspiracy against God and Man"), whose behavior put most of the worst of the capitalists' in a more favorable light.

I was visiting Prague a few days before the Soviet tanks rolled in...as for "timelines," the regime in Czechoslovakia was "humanfaced" a mile wide, but an inch under the surface, plenty of military and other bastions of international (hardline Soviet) communism were extant. It could scarcely be otherwise: the Kremlin Politburo was not happy with the modicum of downplaying of repressive totalitarian goverance that the reformist element was able to gain over and against the iron power of the former, Soviet-controlled regime. It was as embarassing to the Soviet dicatators as the 1956 Hungarian popular uprising and the necessity for the 1960s Berlin Wall. Even so, the main institutional elements of the repressive Soviet system were left largely unconfronted by a reformist government gingerly treading close by the "bear." Thus Dr. Douglass' "timeline" is indeed most accurate. Czechoslovakia's borders remained as permeable as ever to any business activities the hardliners deemed necessary--as expected from a member of the Warsaw pact. As for the book itself, it is true history, thoroughly researched, and a reminder that the false and illogical "religion" of communism became a refuge for an international criminal class of thugs (please see also Douglass' "Red Cocaine," A. Golitsyn's "New Lies for Old," Stephane Courtois' "The Black Book of Communism," Rev. Richard Wurmbrand's "Marx and Satan," and Rev. Clarence Kelly's "Conspiracy against God and Man"), whose behavior put most of the worst of the capitalists' in a more favorable light.

Dr. Dougrass' "BETRAYED" gave me nightmares for a week. I am a Spec Ops Vietnam vet who initiated a technology program for Spec Ops at DARPA in the '80s. I was especially concerned with Soviet chemical weapons that were tested in Afghan villages. Douglass' information about enemy chemical weapons is right on the money.
The late Patrick Mahoney, a friend and staff member to the late Congressman Larry McDonald (shot down by Soviets going to S. Korea flight KAL 007) fought the POW/MIA issue for years and kept me informed. U.S. Congressmen and staff members with top secret clearances could not penetrate the government cover-up. Despite photographs, eye witness accounts and other hard information they were unsuccessful in breaking the code of silence. Again Dr. Douglass is accurate in his information and presents the most complete study I have seen on the subject.
Betrayed is not a pleasant read, but it is a must read. America must demand a complete change in its treatment of POWs, MIAs and their families. BETRAYED can start the process.

although the usual elements are there--defender of the faithful searching the heart of darkness (his own) at a crucial point in life (middle age); the good-as-gold woman who gets away; the woman who doesn't--sprinkled with stories cops tell each other. But it drags, as if written to a formula not fully developed. Wambaugh writes well, part Hemingway, part Joseph Conrad. But this adventure story for men misses in all but the gastronomical department.

Who better to tell a cop's tale than an old cop? Wambaugh was there. He's able to translate his experiences in the LAPD into words we can feel and smell. The Blue Knight is a refreshing detour in the world of crime writing, a genre overloaded with static police procedurals and gory murder mysteries. The Blue Knight is a simple tale that humanizes a typical beat cop. At a time when cops were unpopular and routinely tagged as abusive Nazis or ignorant "fuzz" or "pigs," Wambaugh takes the other side, realistically describing the unique ups and downs of an LA beat cop by delivering his good-guy protagonist, Bumper Morgan.

Bumper is human, likeable. He walks his well-worn beat, meting out justice not by the book, but by common sense. This book works well at all levels. -- ....

Joseph Wambaugh never ceases to entertain me. 'The Blue Knight' is one of his earlier works, and so far it's a very close second to 'The New Centurions' for my favorite Wambaugh novel.

The novel tells the story of Bumper Morgan, a Los Angeles beat cop who is three days from retirement. Bumper is a big, fat, loveable glutton with a bit of a sadistic streak. We follow his last few days on the police force while he begrudgingly drives his patrol car through his long time beat in LA. Bumper explains that he prefers walking the beat, but since he's too old and fat he is forced to drive ' his legs aren't what they used to be.

Bumper tells his own story, and everything is told through his eyes. As usual, Wambaugh's gifted use of sharp, witty dialogue and scathing 'common-man' analysis of the streets brings Bumper's story to life. Everyone on his beat loves him. Restaurant owners pile heaps of culinary delights in front of him on a daily basis, and it's obvious Bumper LOVES to eat' many times my mouth started watering while reading the descriptions of a wide variety of foods laid out for this loveable cop.

When he's not eating (a rare occasion, or so it seems), Bumper meets with other locals: strip club owners, convenience store managers, even homeless bums whom he pays for info on the local crooks. Bumper is proud of himself for paying his informants out of his own pocket rather than paying out of the PDs 'kitty'; he thinks it keeps his sources anonymous and safe.

As warm, loveable and thoughtful our hero is, there is a sadistic side to Bumper Morgan as well. He's not above turning up the heat on the undesirables, and it seems to me that it's considered to be part of the job for him; certainly nothing to think twice about. Witness the bookie that nearly gets his arm broken after trying mail his 'book' back to himself. This bookie stands by a mailbox and as soon as he sees the heat coming, drops his stuff in the slot' this time, he didn't get his arm out of the box fast enough, so Bumper takes the opportunity to crush his arm into the box while pumping for info. You'd think incidents like this would make the reader dislike Bumper; not so. His matter-of-fact tone and the fact that he doesn't dwell on his use of physical force makes you feel as if brutality is a part of his status quo. It is this attitude that proves to be Bumper's undoing once you get to the surprise ending. There is another stunningly crafted scene in which Bumper embellishes the truth in court. He's not above fibbing a little to get these goofs behind bars.

Sharp witted, thoughtful, funny, human, brutal, warm, disturbing, violent, and truthful, 'The Blue Knight' is a bright spot for Wambaugh. His police stories are far beyond your average 'police procedural'; in fact, I haven't read any novel by Wambaugh which follows a set formula. Those unfamiliar with his writing style may note that Quinton Tarantino follows a similar vein when it comes to script writing. The difference is that while the wit is similar between the two, it is Wambaugh who has a more clear idea of how to make the slick verbiage work to establish realism, rather than Tarantino's more tongue-in-cheek approach. Bumper Morgan is REAL. Recommended.