Rumreich makes the undefinable assumption that the reader "is a beginner but has some knowledge of car stereos." So exactly how much knowledge is that? Much of the information takes you from beginner to intermediate, but many terms remain undefined. Who's to say that the reader should already know the difference between a 12dB/octave slope and an 18dB/octave slope in a crossover? I sure didn't, and I had to look at another book to find out, making me question the usefulness of this book. A safer bet for a beginner would be Auto Audio by Andrew Yoder. However, there is some original information, such as the sections on Factory Hi-Fi systems by Bose and Ford.

My review copy of "Car Stereo Cookbook", (How to Design, Choose, and Install Car Stereo Systems), is very well written by Mark Rumreich. It is published by Mc Graw-Hill who kindly provided me with my review copy. If you ever intend to spend serious money on a quality car stereo system then buy this book. The common pitfalls to avoid, as disclosed by "The Car Stereo Cookbook" will handsomely repay your modest investment.

Car Stereo Systems usually require the expenditure of some really "serious" money to get the desired results, and unless your decisions are very informed ones, it is all too easy to get burned big time financially. I honestly recommend you definitely buy a copy of "Car Stereo Cookbook" to save yourself the financial pain.

I say a lot of unkind things about most audio books. But not this book. If you where going to just buy one or two books on car audio This would be the first one to buy. If you don't have a clue about car audio this book will get you past most of the smoke and lies. It will give you enough information about what system is best for you. Even if you never did anything like this before. The next would be CAR STEREO SPEAKER PROJECTS ILLUSTRATED by Dan Ferguson and for ideas his old book KILLER CAR STEREO ON A BUDGET. discontinued but still available.

Read "Selfish Gene"? You have to read this book!

The Cooperative Gene: How Mendel's Demon Explains the Evolution of Complex Beings written by Mark Ridley who is one of today's leading evolutionary thinkers. This is a well-written book that brings to the reader an intellectual treat.

"The Cooperative Gene" give us clues as to why and how complex life came about. It was by natural selection by ingenious solutions to copying errors and uncooperative genes. The author explains everything in a distinctive style that is very cleve... indeed.

This book is geerd to a person with a scientic background as it delves into biology, biochemistry, and cell biology, but it isn't out of reach of a well read lay person. The author's wit and intelligence comes through and he seems to get the reader involved so you're not lost. I was pleasantly intrigued by the author's historical grounding of this book and the up to date relevance. From the initial wobbly, replicating molecules, through microbes, worms and flies till we get to mankind, the author reveals how life evolved on earth.

Natural selection encouragess genes that look out for themselves, while delfish genes that could easily evolve to sabotage the development of complex life forms. Ther author painstakenly explains the difference between a selfish and a cooperative gene. As well as giving the reader his definition of Gregor Mendel's fundamental laws of inheritance... Mendel's Demon, thus, we find out about the origins of sex, gender, and cloning.

The DNA in a human being is 6600 Million letters long and codes for about thirty thousand genes. In contrast, the DNA of a bacterium is two or three million letters long and codes for two or three thousand genes. You see where coding for a human being can bring on more mistakes. Mendelian inheritance controls how genes are inherited in complex life. It combines sex, reproduction, and the probabilistic rather than certain inheritance of genes.

All in all, this book was rather captivating to me, the narrative wasn't overbearing and it easily readable, but you have to have a scientific origin to get the most out this book.

Our view of life is usually pretty limited. Seeing trees, the family dog, winging birds, ourselves, we forget, if we ever knew, that complex life forms are in the historical and numerical minority. Even after 3 thousand million years, single-celled animals have the longest duration and largest population. Globs of material with a string of molecules, which we call "bacteria" were and are the most common form of life. Mark Ridley traces how those simple creatures underwent a radical change. They became restructured in a revolutionary step that would enable highly complex life to exist and evolve. Part of that revolution was the development of the most absurd concept in life's long history - sex. Gregor Mendel investigated the passing on of traits by counting peas. Ridley introduces an avatar, "Mendel's Demon" to explain how sex regulates what is passed on in us.

In this superbly written account, Ridley clearly explains the advantage sex has in the evolution of life. He uses the children's game of Chinese Whispers [called Gossip in my childhood] to explain how evolution operates. In Gossip [forgive the chauvinism], a group of children whisper a message from one to another. Record the original message "when the tiger comes, freeze." Compare it with the version expressed by the final child. There will certainly be changes. In almost all occurrences, the errors are in misunderstood whole words, not just letters - "freeze" becomes "wheeze." The "words" of life are our genes. Acting as instructions to forming a new individual, the message must be clear enough to build the organism. That organism must survive to produce another. Sex provides ways of assessing the message to assure its validity before generating an offspring.

Ridley goes on to discuss how complex life forms emerged. The most important steps were the protecting of DNA in a cell nucleus and the addition of mitochondria. Mitochondria are the energy modules of cells - chloroplasts in plants probably being the best known. Their joining the nuclear cell provided a trade-off. Mitochondria were given a place to live, paying rent by transferring much of their DNA to the cell's nuclear version. Once these two changes had been achieved, sex evolved with mechanisms to overcome the problems of DNA playing Gossip. Ridley shows how the processes surrounding sex overcome the mistakes that inevitably occur in the copying process. Gross errors don't survive - indeed they rarely achieve the development level of a fetus. The apparent dichotomy here is that while reducing errors may mean conserving an organism's traits, it may also reduce the diversity necessary to survive in a changing environment. The balance is delicate, as the fact that 99.9 per cent of all species having gone extinct over time testifies.

Ridley sensibly brings each detailed description of the cell's processes back to how it relates to humans. This ploy is highly successful in making the book readable and focussed. It also builds a framework for the concluding chapters. After his thorough analysis of the procedures of reproduction and evolution, Ridley goes on to some highly speculative notions about the future. He notes that our species carries more genetic errors across generations than any other species. Could this error rate lead to what he calls "mutational meltdown"? Possibly, but not likely. Having speculated on conditions of life on alien worlds, he uses those ideas to suggest future scenarios to prevent that "meltdown." That bugaboo of today's society, cloning, Ridley dismisses as too vulnerable to natural selection. Instead, he sees gradually improving methods in using genes for therapy, organ replacement or repair, possibly even a drastic change in gender identity.

Ridley's almost anecdotal style makes this overview of a complex topic an absorbing read. Reaching from deep history to a plausible future he covers much ground. His imagery retains your attention and he carefully builds your knowledge as you follow his lead. He's also careful with his science. No assertions are put forward without good foundation, and where the evidence is lacking or slim, he cautions us about coming to conclusions. The balance is so carefully maintained that this book might be considered a call for research in particular areas. Formidable and challenging, this is a delightful book for countless reasons. Intriguing questions, bold but realistic speculation, sound science vividly presented. A rich treasure, this book will be valuable until all Ridley's questions are resolved.

Note to those who have found the title a problem, be aware that this book was originally published as: Mendel's Demon: Gene Justice and the Complexity of Life. Why the title was revised for U.S. publication remains elusive.

This books is a great book. I don't like the fact that on EVERY page of the book it either says Eco-challenge or Survivor. This is also a biography of him as much as it is a self-help book. Very interesting reading. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Mr. Burnett is a true adventurer and someone to be admired. I am inspired not only by his ability to reinvent TV programming, but also by his drive to create and build the best expedition race in the world. This book is a great read for everyone, including adventure racers, producers, parents, corporate executives, college students and more.

Author Burnett is behind the "Survivor" television series and is a fine TV producer, but he has his own story to tell, and Alan Shearman narrates it in Dare To Succeed. The author's daring experiences and autobiography come alive under Shearman's hand.

I loved the tapes and the listening guide. They include useful travel information such as numbers, days, weeks, months, and phrases such as 'I don't understand', 'Repeat please', 'How much is it?', 'How many are there?' 'I want to order' 'I want to pay' 'What is this?' What is that?'
and many other practical and useful phrases appropriate for travel or domestic study.

The real strength of this course is the simplicity and speed
with which a novice learner like myself can learn to construct and speak practical and basic sentences in French within
literally minutes of receiving the course. I highly recommend this fast and easy method.

We just returned from a week in Arles. Thanks to Easy Speedy French I was able to count, ask and understand simple everyday phrases, and basically 'survive'. What most impressed me about the course was the simplicity with which anyone can learn to speak French quickly.
I only had a week to prepare. To me this was the ideal 'fast crash course' to give you a maximum result in a minimum of time.

The land of Shaftal was ruled by an earth witch, but with his death and no apparent heir, it was an easy target for the invading Sainnites. Those remaining Shaftali paladins have grouped together as a guerrilla army to do what they can against the mighty Sainnites. Zanja is the last survivor of a peaceful tribe eradicated by the Sainnites, and her fire witch powers give her glimpses into the future. Emil is a paladin and also a fire witch, but his powers make him more of an excellent judge of character, although working in tandem with Zanja brings luck. Karis is an earth witch whose powers are stifled by her drug addiction, but she can't help but be drawn inexplicably to Zanja. The two women find events moving beyond their understanding and between them, they might just be able to save Shaftal, if they can save themselves first. Peppered with political intrigue, powerful magic, and personal struggles, "Fire Logic" wants to be a potent story, but it just doesn't make it. The first eighty or so pages flit through fifteen years of story, and this disconnected feeling never disappears. The love stories (between Zanja and Karis, between Emil and a young man who's a Sainnite) are told to us, more than shown, so we never fall in love with the characters as they fall in love with each other. The complex characters and the fascinating magic-laden world kept me reading and interested, and for that the book is recommendable, but overall it lacks.

The Shaftali nation has been left leaderless and is under attack by invading Sainnites. Bands of guerillas fight back, but without the magical power of their leader, the Shaftali seem helpless. And even magic seems insufficient. Certainly Zanja's fire magic is inadequate to prevent the complete destruction of her people. Rescued by a giantess, Zanja joins the guerilla movement, but even here she finds enemies and secrets.

Author Laurie J. Marks creates an intriguing world with a magic system based on cryptic glyphs and upon the elements of air, earth, fire, and water. Law has always been used to constrain and control these magics, yet the magics remain the center of the civilization--a contradiction that threatens to destroy what is left of the nation. Marks may also please or upset readers through her frank discussions of the gay and lesbian relationships between many of her characters--relationships that are perfectly understood and accepted within her fantasy world.

FIRE LOGIC is enjoyable reading, yet Marks falls short of delivering the full emotional intensity deserved by her subject matter. The physical and social suffering that Zanja survived shoud have been powerful and compelling--instead, it was matter of fact. The love between Zanja and Karis was described, but not really felt. This was almost a truly wonderful novel.

Laurie J. Marks is an undiscovered treasure of a writer. Her plots are some of the most original I've ever read -- see also Dancing Jack -- and her characters feel, if alien, like real, whole people. She has mastered the trick of letting her readers figure out the rules of her world while never resorting to "As you know, Bob..." creakiness. I did not give this book 5 stars only because I found the ending very confusing. But I look forward to re-reading it and anxiously await the rumored Earth Logic, the second book set in this world.

Perhaps slightly better than Virtual Mode, but not by much. Again, I recommend this for juveniles and not adults. It seemed to me that the book was really a series of short stories strung together. There is the initial conflict with the despots of Nona's world but Anthony gets away from that quickly but returns to it in the end to wrap things up. Darius is really a minor character in this book which is surprising. The sexual references are getting really old by now. Anthony's description of fractals is hard to follow, and I was a math major! An illustration in a future edition would benefit the reader in showing the layout of the Fractal Mode. On to Chaos Mode which will finish up this series. If there is another book in this series, I plan to steer clear of it.

This book is very interesting, covering a variety of topics from child abuse to in-depth discussion of fractals, love to culture, society to magic. Piers shows an acute knowledge of the scientific aspects of what he writes about. The book seemed to focus a little too much on helping Nona, and not enough about the MAIN characters, but this didn't detract from the book too much. The settings are varied, as always with Anthony, as are the characters. Anthony provides much insight to what Colene is thinking, which I think is the most interesting part of the book-- to see how she reacts mentally to things like stress, Darius, her parents, etc. There are heartwarming moments, and some interesting happenings back at good old normal Earth. Many different things happen, settings change quickly, minor characters come and go, but the plot runs smoothly enough and what the gang learns along the way is interesting and their adventures are still fun, sometimes amusing--they get stuck in one really odd situation in Nona's reality! If you read Virtual Mode and are interested in how Colene and Darius' relationship will grow and change, and how Nona plays into their scheme, and if Colene and Darius will EVER settle down back in Darius' home reality...this is a good book for you.

I think that people looking for a book that they can just chill with, litrally switch their brain off and read are going to hate this book. It has references to maths, explanations of magic, totally-twisty landscapes, in depth character profiles and a totally confusing multi-reality storyline. Oh, and some sexual references too, which might wake some up. This is the second book of the series that touched me, I love it and could recommend it (and have) to anyone. Read it, read them all! I await the arrival of my Chaos Mode book.. and whats this I hear about another!

I'm a technically-oriented, DIY person and I was looking for a solar electric book to help me with my small-scale, residential installation. I already have most of the background on photovoltaic systems and needed more of a "Here's-how-you-do-it" book. Although amusing and easily read, I found this book useful for someone who is starting to think about solar power and needs a light hand to make them feel more at ease about what a system will and will not do. This is not a book for someone needing a DIY guide or a "How-to" manual. It's not a bad book - just not useful for my needs.

I red this book in Germany where I live, and, even though some aspects of this book are based on conditions in the USA, I highly recommend this book to everybody on this planet. One can tell the author's love of the subject and his skill to write just from the heart on a very technical subject. The stories and jokes in the book helped me to understand the subject and, even if I could not follow some technical detail, the point he tried to make still came across. I now know more about the subject of solar energy and - what is equally important - I look at the world and its resources with a different eye. This is truely and "Easy Guide". Keep cracking Adi,
thanks for this wonderful book.
Sonja Baumann, Berlin Germany

I am not technically inclined and was long waiting to hear about some book that explains solar energy in simple language. I finally found it. And even though it is technically not a How To book it is in a sence that once you understand the concept of solar electric you can use common sense to figure out the practical side of things. Besides this book is more important in a sense that it promotes Solar Energy. With only 50 years of oil reserve left and the rising prices on oil and gas it opens up this alternative energy to many people. The author explains well why it is so important for us and future generations to go solar. I highly recommand this book to everybody. It is an eye opener. Thank you Adi Pieper

When I first got a look at the contents and sampled a few pages, I was eager to read this book. Ultimately, I too came to the conclusion that it is too biased towards the British Pop scene.

Not to fault Mark Cunningham, after all he's British, but a lot of the artists he spends time on, have had little impact on the history of record production, at least on this side of the pond.

Ron and Russell Mael? Chris Rea? Slik? Interesting to read about, perhaps, but hardly of the same caliber as Trevor Horn, The Police, Peter Gabriel and U2.

Mainstream American artists such as Fleetwood Mac (yes, American!), Prince, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Springsteen, Toto and The Cars are largely ignored if mentioned at all. Equally absent are prominent American producers, such as Phil Ramone, Russ Titelman, Richard Perry, Jam & Lewis, Reid & Babyface, Nile Rogers and the like.

Still, what it does discuss is interesting. There are whole chapters on The Beatles, Brian Eno and the making of "Bohemian Rhapsody." There are substantial sections devoted to The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations," Jeff Lynne, Leiber and Stoller, Motown and Carol Kaye, Joe Meek, "Heroes," and Flood.

There are interesting discussions of the specific technologies used in producing the records. But unfortunately, beyond a certain time period in the book, just at the point where the use of technology gets really interesting in music production, the book fails to explain its influence. For example, one might assume that an Anglophilic book might wax poetic about how automated mixing changed the way records were made and how it was introduced by British mixing desk manufacturers Solid State Logic (SSL) and Neve. Not a word.

I think it would be most useful as a companion to a book that focused mostly on what was happening in the States. But as a general history of Record Production, it is somewhat weak.

I used it as a textbook for a course I teach in Record Production Techniques here at Mercy, but after one semester, I am looking for a replacement text. Perhaps the Wadhams....

Stephen B. Ward
Mecry College, White Plains, NY

This books is a well-written history of record production. I was impressed at the amount of content for the price.

This book is truely an amazing work. It covers so so very much in history of Production and it covers not only whom, what, where but with all the microphones used, names of studios, artists and time, and what happened behind closed doors and why, and so very much more. I highly suggest this to anyone going into recording and into anyone with a love for music. It tells you all the things you want to know!!

This book is good for the most part, and can be helpful for frustrated gamers or gamers who just need to be pushed in the right direction. HOWEVER, there are AT LEAST 2 places where the information is misleading. In the areas in the regular and inverted castles where the guide tells you to break a wall and fly through as the bat to unlock a secret door, you also have to walk through the hole as the wolf before the door will open. I wasted an hour trying to figure out how this worked until a friend pointed out the wofl trick. If this error had been made only once, it'd be one thing, but it occurs twice, for both castles, which is not only misleading but really frustrating. Also, the guide takes a very linear view of the game, and doesn't even discuss the alternate endings or how to trigger them. Oh, it teases you about them, but nothing is said about how to trigger them.

For gamers like myself who love this game, but really don't have the time to play the game for hours on end, and have a hard time remembering where you've been and where you haven't (don't tell me to use the map, that's not what I'm taling about), this is a good way to get a handle on the game. But it is not without it's flaws.

You've been warned.

Castlevania Symphony of the night has been called the greatest game ever made for the playstation, and not without good reason! The game takes a heart wrenching storyline coupled with the mind bending mazes of the great castle and forms a game of unparalleled entertainment. The secret passages, the unholy beasts, and the god-like weapons make the game a never ending chalenge. This book does show quite a lot of the game but it doesn't even begin to describe all of the things which I have personally discovered. I suggest that anyone with patience and willpower to try and find everything themselves before resorting to any book. I have logged countless hours on the game and I still have not found everything there is to find and I definitely haven't done everything that there is to do but I still keep going and only when I feel that i have will I turn it off. When that happens I will restart the game and do it all again!

P.S. To Amber from Mickelton NJ. In order to procure the Osefune katana you have to transform into the bat and fly in front of the waterfall where it blocks the cave. Then you must do the 'wing smash' attack to fly through the waterfall and into the cave. Just in case you forgot, the wing smash is done by holding down square and, starting with 'up' move your finger all the way around the d pad backwards until you hit 'forward' and then immediately let go of square.

If any one can tell me how to get across the waterfall in the underground cavern in the inverted castle to get to the room with the Osafune Sword please Email me Back with the answer!!! I would very much Appreciate it...Thanks Alot!!!!