If you only buy one book on agent systems you could do a whole lot worse than splash out on this thoroughly admirable and admirably thorough work from d'Inverno and Luck. Easy to follow (even if your Z spec is a bit rusty, as mine is), clear and really well set out. The authors have a deep understanding of their subject and a rare ability to communicate their ideas.

There are several books on intelligent agents and multi-agents systems that I've come across, but most are either too broad-ranging and shallow so that they don't actually get to important core issues, or they're too narrow and mathematical for my liking (and for many others). This excellent book somehow manages to pull off the feat of providing a good introduction to agents, while also drilling down to some fascinating and deep issues in multi-agent systems. What's particularly good is that it does two things - it analyses and explains the issues with really clear textual description, and then provides a more formal description (using the Z specification language) that is surprisingly readable.

After providing an introductory chapter, the book presents a "framework" for understanding agent systems (hence the title) in which it brings together various different notions of agents. The chapters cover the framework itself, the different kinds of inter-agent

relationships that arise within it (to get to multi-agent systems), and more complex agents with greater sophistication. There are also a couple of case-study chapters that show how the model can be used to give descriptions of BDI systems and the contract net.

Throughout, the authors provide really good explanations, and then also formal descriptions using Z. Whether or not you buy the claim that Z is the most used industrial formal method, it turns out that despite the mathematical nature of the Z specification, the book as a whole is really very readable. It is worth noting that the level of mathematical description in the book for describing the framework and the systems is pretty close to abstract code descriptions (which is perhaps not surprising given that Z is intended for use for specifying software). With the appendix intro to Z, the book should also be a useful resource for developers wanting to understand exactly what would be involved in building systems.

One of the difficulties I've found when reading about agents is trying to make sense of some very different ideas and systems, and trying to understand how they fit together. This book provides some of the answers. In summary, the book covers some basic agent concepts, and builds them up to describe quite complex multi-agent systems, moving from abstract ideas to descriptions of specific implemented systems, and showing how they come together. It provides an excellent

introduction to agents, and keeps going to address some much deeper issues.

I was a student of Dr. Routman's many years ago and very much enjoyed his classes and the perspectives he offered. Since I am currently employed in State Service and seeking my MPPA, I thought it would be nice to refresh my political enlightment. This book was everything I hoped it would be as it reminded me of how I formed my opinions so many years ago and offered a few new perspectives that will help me in the future.

For the political insider, this book is probably oversimplified for your taste but still offers some merit. It is a refreshing return to the very basics of politics and political ideals. If you are running for office, it is a must read as it will identify the current state of the average American's political thinking.

This book is geared towards the average college undergraduate and written with the short attention spans of today's youth in mind. Notations and references are saved until the end of the book as not to distract from the reader's attention. I would not, however, let age be an indicator as to who this book is appropriate for. If you are new to politics or have never given it much thought, this book is a must read. Here are a few indicators that this book is right for you:

1. If you think of Democrats and Republicans in terms of their stand on taxes.

2. If you have never voted.

3. If you have not voted for someone because it was said that they supported taxation.

4. If your opinion of candidates is based solely on whether they are classified as liberals or conservatives. (These terms are treated to the best definitions I have seen yet)

5. If you don't know or are not sure what a radical or a reactionary is.

6. If you cannot read a news article or listen to a broadcast about political candidates and be able to pick out the bias in their logic.

7. If you do not understand what "progressive taxation" is.

If any of these questions apply to you, this is a cheap fix. It won't completey make you politically literate but it will put you on the road to recovery. At the very least, by the end, you will be able to develop your own political philosophy and pick your candidates in the future by how well they meet your ideals and not because they have the best ads or because the media says so.

Routman is a master at getting to the root of an issue and explaining it in attention-grabbing detail. An incredibly fascinating book for anyone interested in politics!

I loved this collection. I especially liked the Peter Frampton retrospective at the end. He really is one of America's greatest writers, and a mormon, too, I understand. And "I'm not going to wear that thing" rules. Keep up the good work. Surf Reality.

These poems express a rather cultural aspect of American Society. Each reader will, in most cases, be able to "connect" with these poems and what they stand for. They are definately not the typical poems, but what is typical anyway? People from different cultures and different backrounds will identify with the entirety of this book.

This work is a splendid example of the new emphasis of the publisher on producing comprehensive works in a handy cheap format compared with the earlier broad brush treatments which covered too much in too little detail.
The new emphasis is on sets covering various national armed forces in as much detail as is available, consistent with the current purpose of the works in the series, which have evolved from an original emphasis on serving the military miniature maker market into works intended to enlighten the general reader in enough detail to satisfy the merely curious and to point the way to further reading.
Most of us, including myself, have little need for, or the patience to read, voluminous studies, often in foreign languages, covering many eras and nations. My main interest is in the US forces, their allies and their enemies in the twentieth century.
That said, these works should be purchased as presented, in sets within the series. Since they are produced as a set, the volumes cover only relevent parts of the general history and the clothing and individual equipment is covered as it appears in each period. The French Army, US Army, British Army, and Italian Army series all have three volumes, covering the major theatres and time periods of the war. The German set has five.
If you want more detail on Army clothing then see Shelby Stanton's World War II work reviewed on this site. Unfortunatly I have yet to find a comprehensive study of US individual equipment which is not riddled with errors of omission, misidentification, and unproved speculation. Though a great exception is Scott Meadow's work on holsters which is more than most want to know and is expensive to boot. Not for the general reader.
If you want an introduction to the fascinating variety of clothing and equipment of the forces covered, this set is for you.

This book is part of a set covering the US Army of WW II. The set covers the clothing, individual equipment, small and heavy arms, vehicles, and campaigns.
Of course, much more detailed information can be found in other works such as Shelby Stanton's definitive work on clothing but a complete collection covering these items would cost several hundred dollars at least and still not cover everything in detail.
Compared to the earlier volumes published by Osprey, it is an A compared to a D. The other volumes were superficial and suffered either from trying to cover too much or too long a period or written by authors who simply were not familiar enough with the period covered.
This is written by a knowledgable author and is superbly illustrated by the magnificent Mike Chappell. Drawing on multitudinous sources, these three volumes will satisfy those who want to know what grandaddy looked like in the war and give a useful overview for those not needing more detailed knowledge.
As a long time specialist in the period, I learned things and recommend this highly.
See my reviews of the other two volumes in this set.

This book is a must have for any student of the USMC during WWI who are interested in uniforms and equipment. This book is a highly detailed book that begs to be used over and over again.

This is a high quality, nuts and bolts review of the USMC in WWI. Surprisingly detailed for an Osprey-format book. The illustrations are excellent. This book is a must have for the collector, reenactor or historian.

The authors state that they wrote the books with two primary goals in mind. An opportunity to learn and use the statistical software package SPSS and to provide an introduction to a variety of statistical analysis procedures commonly used by graduate students, researchers and other professionals.

They have succeeded extremely well on both occasions.
The book has made a tremendous difference in the analyses of data collected for my master's thesis. The text is well written, well presented and in logical order. The examples, described in the book but also provided on a diskette, are very useful and clearly explain which procedures to use for which analysis and why. The illustrations in the book closely match the examples and the section "Interpreting SPSS --- results" is extremely useful in analyzing one's own results. One minor drawback: the text assumes total lack of computer literacy and goes to embarassing length in explaining how to open and save files. It can safely be assumed that most people using books of this kind would at least know that much.

All in all, a great book and a real time saver!

This book is very easy to read. It covers most topics you will meet in basic statistics. Very good explanations in procedures and outputs. Although you can not find any statistical formula in this book, use it with conventional statistics text books will be very benefical.

In my opinion the best of the series. In Usurper the hero (which you play), Avenger, has to travel to Irsmuncast in the Manmarch to claim back the throne which is rightfully his.

The best thing about the book, other than the great story line, is that you have a choice of two ways in which to travel. You can go a more direct route which is more dangerous or take the indirect route, which is arguably not that much easier. This means you as the player can effectively play the book twice and enjoy it as new the second time round.

The illustrations are lovely and the map is beautifully drawn, the attention to detail is unbelievable at times and you will find yourself not being able to put the book down. SO! why oh why was the way of the Tiger series taken out of print? Because they didn't sell that well? To be honest, I can't understand why.

This book is very awsome. I would recommend it to anybody interested in ninjitsu and adventure. The way this book is written immerses the reader in it's world. I've read it over 10 times over the course of many years, which is quiet a feat since I rarely re-read any book I have read.

If you need to comply with SFAS 141 and 142, you will want to read this book. The authors understand these standards inside and out. The book's coverage is practical, thorough and written in easy to understand language (which is important because the changes outlined in SFAS 141 and 142 are far reaching and complex.) The best part of this book is that in addition to providing compliance guidance for SFAS 141 & 142, it also shows you how to apply the standards. This is key! I also found the book helpful on showing me how to identify and value intagible assests which is still a somewhatnew area for me.

This is timely and excellent coverage of SFAS 141 and 142. The authors' explanation are clear and complete. I would recommend this book to everyone involved in valuation.

I ordered this small gem on a whim. The idea of having to open a book with a key, allowing the reader to interact with the story from the beginning, caught my attention. Okay, I'll buy and try, I thought. Well, when I received it, opened it with one of the two keys that came along, and began reading, I was hooked. The Vampire Diary is exactly that... a diary! The pages are all "handwritten" jottings, notes, screams, and drawings. I could not put it down until I finished it. The length is short, immensely readable, and immensurably mesmerizing. Absolute genius, and 10x worth the price.

I bought Vampire Diary on a whim, but it has become my favorite of any vampire book. It really shows you what it must feel like to watch yourself slip into complete madness and become an uncontrollable animal. The writing and pictures are great, and the book itself helps to add to the personna of the story. It makes you feel like you're really reading a diary of someone as they turned to the darkness. I loved it.

"The stories 'Marred Bliss' and 'Diary of a Fan' had me laughing so hard I almost choked. Wildly original and so smart. O'Donnell is a funny person's funny person." Sparkle Hayter

A great collection of stories and cartoons from one of our best humorists -- to wit, Mark O'Donnell, the co-adaptor of Moliere's Scapin (currently playing on Broadway). Of particular note are pieces like "The Solar Yearbook," which treats the planets like high-school students, and "Marred Bliss," a very short play with almost-right words. And the novella "Vertigo Park" is not only funny, but also sad and tender. Highly recommende