I practice airsoft and I bought this book to learn how to play better. I found it very complete, and I think the best part of this book is the one that speaks about traing methods. It could describe more tactics and tecnics. A good book indeed.

This book show how you can do your own target ranges and tactical training with your pistol,shotgun and SMG:s. It also show selection of handgun, shotgun and SMG:s. This is a good book and give you some idea's on how you can train. Recommended.
I also recommend "Raids".

Advanced Weapons Training is one of the best books on tactical weapons training and is up-dated with each new printing. The other STTU titles available from Amazon further expand on this subject. We highly recommend CQB, RAIDS and SNIPER 2. They are all excellent.

Although this is still a terrific book for anyone with an interest in comparitive martial arts study, I didn't feel this volume was as thorough as the first in actually comparing Chinese Martial arts versus Aikido (Takemusu style). The second in a planned three part series on the Comparative study of Chinese martial arts and Aikido, this book includes sections on Aikido sword and jo (a staff about 36-50 inches in length), and Chinese sword methods. A paperback volume, the volume I own was printed on quality acid-resistant paper. I noticed an improvement in the quality of the pictures in this volume from those in the first.

Author Sugawara clearly states in the introduction that the theme of this volume is to introduce the reader to the "how to's" of weapons training in both styles, so perhaps volume three of this series will cover what I felt was missing. As per the statements of the author, this volume DOES give decent coverage to the weapons methods of both Aikido and Chinese Martial practice. Both Tetsutaka Sugawara and Lu-jian Xing are versed in Aikido and Chinese martial arts (each has extensively studied BOTH), and therefore have a good grasp on the methods and philosophies of both arts. This has probably helped this series avoid any competitive air between these martial arts, where one might try to "prove" that one method is any better or worse than the other. This is the first book that has broached the subject of Chinese sword and Aikido Sword in the same volume--I look forward to the third volume in this series.

This 332 page volume is the first in a projected 3-volume series. This first volume compares the philosophy of Chinese Martial arts with that of Aikido, and the empty-handed combative aspects of both arts. This volume is broken down into four sections. The first offers a historical context for both Japanese and Chinese martial arts, the second part deals with Chinese martial arts, and is heavily illustrated and includes descriptive narratives to accompany each sequence of photos. Part three deals with Aikido (specifically the Takemusu style), and illustrated by photos with explanations much the same as part two did for the Chinese arts. Part four includes direct comparisons of the most common techniques of aikido and Chinese Martial Arts.

This book is heavily illustrated, and apparently intended for people who have an interest in understanding the similarities and differences--in essence, the connections between different "styles" of martial arts. I do not consider this book to be instructional in nature. Someone without a basis in martial arts training might have difficulty understanding the depth or point of this book--both Chinese martial arts and Aikido are rather extensive in and of themselves. The authors of this book are also NOT concerned with proving that one art is superior in any way to the other. For those with a more studious bent who enjoy considering the possibilities, here is a volume you will enjoy.

A note on the co-author's relationship in research: Co-Author Tetsutaka Sugawara Studied Aikido under the arts Founder Morihei Ueshiba beginning in 1960, and has also studied Goju Ryu and Tai Chi--he is the founder of the Minato Research and Publishing Co (Now known as Sugawara Martial Arts Institute). Co-Author Lu-jian Xing studied Chinese martial arts under Chu-xinag Du, Yan-ling Xing, and others. He met Sugawara when he came to Japan in 1992 to learn Aikido as an Uechi-deshi (live in student) under Sugawara at the Sugawara Institute, and the two commenced their comparative study of these martial arts. The second volume in this series has been published, and deals with weapons aspects of both Chinese Arts and Aikido. I eagerly await the third volume in this series...

First I would like to say that this book is not for the beginner. The beginning history would be benneficial for all. History is followed over the 1st 100 pages. But the majority of the book is directed mainly toward the art of Aikido and Chin Na. There are many photographs in the book (some other angles would have been most helpful), but the written explanations are fantastic. An overlooked treasure. A must for all those that study Aikido and Chin Na.

This is a good book. It has some brilliant insights. It also has some mundane material. It's the only book on SYSTEMS architecture and should be read by all architects as well as systems engineers. Software engineers could learn from it too.

As a start on describing systems architecture (as opposed to technical or business architectures such as software, hardware, security, information, network, etc.) it does a superb job. What I would like to see is more. I sense from the books footnotes that some material from the first edition has been elided. A third edition should include recent journal articles viewpoints and any material the editor cut from the first edition.

There are many useful insights and a good overview of systems architecture. The definition of systems architecture was good.

I found no significant errors although some of the material included was not as relevant as some that was omitted. Newer material that has been published in journals needs to be included.

I would like to see a better relationship drawn with systems engineering, business strategy, six sigma techniques, etc. Some of the material included may have some architectural significance but that was lost in describing systems engineering and quality approaches rather than contrasting and comparing them with SA. Perhaps a systems engineering companion book to be read first could handle this sort of material.

The heuristics were excellent but incomplete. This is not a fault of the author but the fact that the field is new and just being documented.

The examples used were those available. I would like to see others but many people will not let that information out for use. Certainly an example of business as a system and noting how systems architecture relates to business strategy would be a useful addition.

Some minor glitches such as not defining acronyms before use were annoying but did not impede learning.

I would like to see appendices with summaries of the standards referenced. I would like to know a lot more about the schools, curricula, and courses relating to SA that were mentioned.

The research seems incomplete. The sources used were used well but there are others that did not get used. Some used did not seem to be as pertinent. I wonder if the editor gave the authors a deadline so they could publish the second edition.

This is a good book. It can be better. Hopefully a third edition will fill in and extend the coverage, provide additional examples and more subject matter for reference in the appendices.

If you have any interest in systems you should read this book. It would be 5 stars except that it could be improved. Since there is no other competing book it is infinitely better than the alternatives. Other books drop down an implementation level and do technical or business architectures even though they label the book as systems architecture. Those would make good follow on reading for domain and discipline engineers but all engineers should read this book.

Review: This is a great overview of the subject of systems architecture. It is already highly regarded in the systems engineering community. It is rich in useful detail. It gives a comprehensive historical view of the discipline. I found a large number of specific insights about the nature of architecture as opposed to engineering. The collection of over 180 heuristics is an interesting framework for the text. I can highly recommend it as a study to both novices and seasoned professionals. The guest chapters on political process and systems architecting (Brenda Forman), and The Professionalization of Systems Architecting (Elliot Axelbrand) are both valuable additions to the immense vocabulary of the authors.
If I have one quibble it is that the book correctly insists on quantification of performance attributes as the only proper basis for architecture, certification, and engineering. But it so often denies the measurability of so called 'soft' values - and remarkably includes things like 'safety', and 'environmental impact' in that category. I fear that setting too high a standard for quantification leaves us with mere ambiguous words. This of course is a widespread problem. I disagree, and will take up the discussion with the authors and the community - as I already have done. In addition I find a complete lack of examples, or discussion, about how 'multiple performance and cost attributes' can be used by the architectural level to understand the architectural problem. There are far too many non-quantified models, and far too little insight as to how a systems architect would deal with the quantified attribute requirements of a system. Maybe in the 3rd Edition?
Tom@Gilb.com, August 24 2002.

I am a professional software and systems architect. Also, I have designed, built, and teach an industrial course on architecting distributed object systems. Being a very active reader of the literature on software architecture, design patterns, and software development process, I can say: there is, in my opinion, no better book on the subject of the process of architecting and the realities of life as an architect. Herein lies wisdom. Grasp it.

This book is the best in the Art Of Star Wars series, but has a few downfalls.

This book is filled with color photos, but the text that goes with the pictures hasn't improved much. A good thing about this book, is the artwork is divided up into sections: HOTH, STAR DESTROYER, ASTEROID FIELD, DAGOBAH, BESPIN, REBEL CRUISER, and at the beginning of each section is about one and a half pages of text that describes how the "section" was done for the movie.

The "features" of the book such as the technique for the Imperial Walkers and Tauntauns to make them move, was included in the paragraphs at the beginning of each section, but really was poorly written. And the evolution of Yoda wasn't even written in text at all. All it consisted of was pages of drawings that looked different.

The pictures are, as always, magnificent, and included photographs, drawings, sketches, paintings, matte paintings, and blueprints, although the blueprints are on two pages, and a portion of them disappear where the two pages meet. But the rest is great, and it is so amazing to see how real the matte paintings look!

All four and a half stars are for the great pictures, organization, and text, but the missing half star is due to the lack of text. The lack of text is the real downfall, but since the pictures are great, I don't regret getting it. Especially since this is the only ART OF THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK book there is.

Of the three original Art-of Star Wars books, this is the best, for it does not include the screenplay that the other two do, and instead has useful information about the production of the film instead. The only drawback is that many of the illustrations run across the center of the page, where the binding obscures a portion of the image, but this is fairly common in softcover of this type. Recommended for fans and serious film buffs alike.

This book is FAR superior to the other two "Art of" books in the original trilogy because it is actually an "Art of" book and NOT an illustrated screenplay. By publishing the script elsewhere (in numerous publications - the best being "The Empire Strikes Back Notebook" which had the script, commentary from Kasdan and Kershner, and tons of storyboard panels - try to get a copy), Lucasfilm wisely left room for the artwork and its accompanying explanatory text. The other two books, while providing plenty of fantastic eye candy, unfortunately tell you nothing about the artwork. It is a good sign that for Episode I, Lucasfilm has chosen to go with and improve upon the editorial model set by the "Art of Empire" book.

This book is very helpful if you do the Artist's way morning pages. In fact, if you are not doing this, I'm not sure what else you would use this book for.
I gave it a 4 only because the number of pages for each week were off and it was an awkward book to write in. Other than that it was great.

GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT THE AUTHOR INTENDED FOR 3 PAGES OF WRITING
When you do the Artist's way journaling, it states you should do 3 pages of writing per day. This book gives you a sense of what the author meant as 3 pages. By the way 3 pages this size took me not the 15-30 minutes the author implied, but more like 45 minutes to 1 hour. It could also be the morning grogginess too.
I get up at 5:15AM to do these.

NOT ENOUGH PAGES FOR EACH WEEK PLUS A CHECK-IN:
As this book is by the same author that did the Artist way 12-week program, I am surprised that the number of pages provided did not meet the authors requirement. Per week you should have at least 21 pages and then 1-2 pages for a weekly check in. I found that I often wrote into the following week though I never wrote over 3 pages/day nor more than a 1 page per check in. 23 pages per week should be what the author provided as a minimum.

BOUND-BACK MADE IT AWKWARD TO WRITE AT TIMES:
This book would be better as a spiral bound book, so that you could fold back the areas you did not need. At times in the AM, it was all I could do to write much less trying to hold the book open.

INSPIRATIONAL SAYINGS EACH DAY PERTAINING TO THAT WEEK WAS NICE:
The author paraphrazed the Artist's way book providing page numbers as well, each day. That was nice. It often helped to get my writing jumpstarted.

SUGGESTION TO THE AUTHOR:
As you recommend to your readers to continue the morning pages a follow on set of books would be handy with the same type of inspirational phrases each day. Buying this book again with the unmatched set of pages and difficulty to hold open, does not appeal to me.

This program is a good one and I plan to continue the morning pages. It is a very useful thinking practice.

When I purchased the journal, I didn't know exactly the impact the journal would have. As I followed Ms. Cameron's instructions, I became amazed as to what was happening with creativity in my life. I recommend the book and the journal to anyone who is willing to be challenged by the concept of creativity.

Reading "The Artist's Way" & actually doing some of the key things can change your life. Morning pages are one of the key things (others include a weekly artist date & the use of affirmations) & this is a great volume to start in. I'm a slow learner so I actually went through four of these before I bought my own blank-paged journals. Things I like about this volume include that it forced me to fill a certain amount of space: there are three pages for each day & that's what Cameron wants you to do & this volume gives a very good guide of how much writing is desirable. I also like the quotations, the summaries of the goals for the coming week & even the potentially cheesy contract with myself to commit to the process. Time IS an issue & Cameron's 30 minutes is at least at the beginning optimistic, though that's what I now generally use. At first it might take longer, even significantly longer, but it's well worth it. I started writing morning pages in November 1998. Three years later, I am still writing them. They are a wonderful tool toward a clear head & the working through of issues & about the only thing I believe someone can do wrong in using them is to be afraid of letting whatever comes out come out. Coincidentally (I don't THINK so) I started serious work on my first, non-fiction book at the same time I started morning pages & three years later I'm very close to finishing it, so I know the program works. It also goes very well with 12 Step programs, for people in those. If you buy this journal, also buy "The Artist's Way," the book that lays it all out ... & consider some of Cameron's little books of affirmations, which are outstanding. This is a wonderful tool and deserves five stars.

After receiving Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, I read it cover to cover and thoroughly enjoyed it. Since then, I became a big Chicken Soup fan and bought a few other books. Among them I recommend (other than the above) Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul and the original Chicken Soup book. I feel bad not highly recommending this book either, but I felt utterly disappointed after purchasing this book and really wanted a refund, unfortunately I had spilled a drink on it. It seems as though the publishers were simply trying to push another Chicken Soup book and just slapped a book together using remnant, semi-motivating stories from the editing floor rejects and stories from celebrities that weren't necessarily as inspiring as I would expect. Perhaps if this was my first Chicken soup book, I would have loved it, but it wasn't and I was sorely displeased.

As I read a third serving of chicken soup for the soul, my heart changed. Each story is touching. some are sad, some are happy, but they are all unforgetable. I believe that reading this book has made me a better person, and I reccomend any of the books in this series to everyone. It will touch your life forever.

When they tout this series of Chicken Soup books as "Stories To Open The Heart And Rekindle The Spirit" they are not kidding! I have the first three Servings, and have the fourth on order. I read them cover to cover, laughing, crying, sighing. I can't bookmark any one page because almost every single page is great, and can be related to my life or referred to others to help in their lives. It is a book on life's perspectives... These two men hit the nail on the head everytime with the book's entries. I can read the book cover to cover, and find myself going back a day or two later, and re-reading one or more of the stories, as it relates to my life. I would recommend this book to everyone, young and old alike. It is truly a book, and a series, for everyone!!

I took French in college and like most of my classmates, couldn't really say that I actually 'spoke' the language. It seems that what we learn in a formal language class isn't always the best methodology for become fluent in the language.
Absolute French is the equivalent of two years of college level French in terms of the actual experience it gives you in speaking the language. In fact, I learned to speak much more French than I ever learned in my college classes.
The method is so easy-going and informal that you just
can't help to relax and actually learn French.
I have received many positive comments from my French speaking friends since I have been using this course.

A former diplomat with the US State Department says: 'Language Dynamics courses are the only courses I know of that are truly dedicated to effective and immediate communication in the target language. Academic courses often reflect the literary interests of professors, many of whom never had the experience of learning the target language as a second language. With these courses, you can hit the streets after every lesson knowing you can say more than you could yesterday'.

I was born in France and have lived in the US for the past 15 years. I am astounded at the arrogance of some people who think that mastering the basics of French is a bad thing. So many American think they are more advanced than they really are and they move ahead before mastering the basics. Then they go to France and find out they weren't quite so advanced after all. I bought Absolute French for my American husband and I saw him progress from nil to high intermediate level in less than two months. Understand that I spoke very little French with him (family politics). Almost all that he learned came from this course, listening to the tapes daily and repeating. It is the best French course on the market in my opinion.

Being a teacher, I find this book is very useful for beiggners as well as for teachers. Basically, In my opinion, accounting can never be understood without concept and principles. This book satisfies all the basic requirements of learners. This book is written in simple and useful business enviornment. It depicts all the concepts and attracts it`s users. The accounting treatments are stated in a simple way. One should can easily understand the basic purpose of financial and manegerial accounting. Really this book is remarkable!! I found this book is very useful. I have not words in my mind to describe it`s actual utility. But one thing is that there is a lack of problems in few chapters, if that could also be included then I am assure that the major problem of practice should be solved. This book described in a simple way, How the accounting performs as the "Language of Business".

I find this is one of best textbooks available in the market. I love reading it very much.

It is a very good book but there is no solution for the problems

As the protagonist makes his way across the dance floor of a club he detests, he treats the reader to all the dismal details of his miserable, debt-ridden, asocial life. Once he has completed the transit, he arrives at his table where his girlfriend waits. Then things really get bad. Although there is some interest in the scene where he confronts the demon cutting n on his date, one must wonder why this creature from hell bothers to recruit such a loser. Or why anyone should bother to read further.

This book reads like a classic thriller with intricately engineered plots and sub-plots. The characters are likable and believable and the action flows at a breakneck pace like watching a good James Bond movie. I particularly liked the technique of telling some history of the characters and story through occasional sub-plots. Also, I liked the occasional subtle humor injected at appropriate moments. This is good suspense. A real page-turner that made me wish for more. I look forward to Book II.

What a nice surprise this book was. I didn't know what to expect from it but I got a lot out of it. Stewart has created the most intriguing vampire world I've seen in a long time. It is both traditional, fans of Dracula will be right at home, and new, with interesting histories and explanations of how the vampires of this world came to be and how the vampire hunters deal with them. The mix of old and new was quite refreshing.

Characters: One of the strengths of the book in my opinion. The heroes are well fleshed out and engaging, and the villains intimidating and surprisingly real. There's quite a fun cast of characters that Stewart sets up in this book, the first in a series, and it's clear that they will be enjoyable to explore as the series progresses.

Story: This one is action packed. Stewart has a great sense of action and pacing, I could really see this film becoming a movie some day. There are several action scenes in the book that kept me enthralled. The story also has plenty of surprises. Just when things seem to be settling down, Stewart throws a curve ball and I spent the whole book really wanting to know what would happen next.

Themes: There seems to be an underlying theme about orphans and characters who have been abandoned in the book. Most of the major characters have had this happen to them in some form or another and they each deal with it in different ways. I found this subtext to be an interesting examination on how people deal with loss.

Overall: This is one of my favorite books. Don't be confused by the short length of the book either. I enjoy a big thick book as much as anyone, but despite the shorter length of this one Stewart really does a lot. He doesn't seem to linger with unnecessary fluff, he just gets right to the story and still somehow manages not to skimp on any of the details or characters. I'm really excited to read the next book in the series. Check this one out.