Marvel has undergone a renaissance in the last few years (in terms of creativity, if not sales) but they have definitely neglected their traditional audience. Thunderbolts was a product of the old administration and was a real Marvel book in style and substance. However, its now to be replaced by a hip (= embarrasingly dated within 5 months) version of Supervillain Fight Club, with zero connection to the original idea (and zero likeability). Avoid that travesty, buy this TPB which showcases some of their earliest and best stories

These guys were always my favorites. Before thast fateful day where I lost interest in comic books, I had every single issue. The first few year or so's worth of stories are still the best, where we get the bad guys NOT becoming sudden heroes, which was something unheard of in Marvel superhero books. The last page of the first issue is a classic. The stuff collected in this TPB is gold.

Justice Like Lightning reprints the first 4 issues of Thunderbolts, Annual 1997, their first appearance in Incredible Hulk #449, the T'Bolts story in Tales of the Marvel Universe, and Spider-Man Team-Up #7. What this collection amounts to is a gathering of the stories of their formative days as a team, and the unveiling of the master plan behind the concept of the T'Bolts.

If you haven't read this book, and don't know anything about the T'Bolts, you are in for a very special treat. The premise around this collection revolves around a very special concept, one which should blow you away when you discover it on your own. So get this book, skip the excellent Busiek introduction, and just start reading! There are spoilers on the front cover, back cover, and intro, so do your best to avoid them! AVOID THE SPOILERS! You'll thank yourself for it later!

The T'Bolts had their start in the aftermath of Onslaught, which, to the flesh and blood citizenry of the Marvel Universe, seemed to claim the lives of the world's greatest heroes, among them the Avengers and the FF. What's left of the world's remaining heroes can barely keep up with the defense of all that is good and decent, and so it is that a new team of costumed adventurers- the Thunderbolts- step in to save the day! With derring-do and good-guy gusto, Citizen V and his band of adventurers earn the graces and honest thanks of a world in peril by beating up the bad guys that threaten it's stability.

Heard it all before? I don't think so....do yourself a favor and catch up with the T'Bolts. The art is great, and there is the wonderful "origin" Annual with the legendary Gene Colan getting to draw a cameo of Daredevil (an unexpected treat!) The paper quality is excellent, too. This is a very nicely done trade package.

Four out of five brokers do not last five years. That is why the "salesmen" get weeded from the people who have their clients interests at heart. The author is one who got weeded out. Good ideas to protect yourself from salesmen, but the indictment of the industry is overdone. Brokers do make their living from commissions, but cheating clients is not the way to build a practice. Best advice: Find someone who got past the wash-out phase.

I was all set to review this a few days ago, but since I had read it quite awhile ago, I decided to re-read it. Am I ever glad I did! I do not like all the "broker bashing" that goes on. I must be the only person left on the planet that does not think full-service brokers are the devil incarnate. HOWEVER, I did see my broker in some of these examples. Surprise! Surprise! (He's the Master of the Pregnant Pause). This book is required reading for anyone about to invest. I do not believe it is as easy as a lot of people say it is to invest on your own--and I say that after reading piles of books. I say watch your broker like a hawk and keep this book handy as a reference. (By the way, the first time I read it I thought it was so good I bought a copy for the library where I work at my own expense). Please write more books like this one.

In the Preface of his book, Mark Dempsey states, "Out of fairness, however, I have withheld the name of the brokerage firm that I worked for." Elsewhere he mentions that his previous job was selling radio advertising time. A check of the NASD list of past and present brokers includes a "Mark Dempsey" who, between 1992 and 1995 worked for Merrill Lynch in Dallas, TX. Prior to that, between 1985 and 1992, this "Mr. Dempsey" held sales positions with five different radio stations or networks. Coincidence?

This was a disappointment for me. I thought he plot was not very well thought out, the story not very exciting, and the writing stiff and wooden. Maybe it is just me, but I judge this type of book by The Hunt For Red October and this was nowhere near that class. It had all the standard submarine descriptions and speech, but not much more in my opinion. I just did not have to guess where the story was going. On the positive side the book does provide some interesting facts about USSR boats and the realistic use of USSR and USA tactics in the action scenes

After re-reading "To Kill the Potemkin" the author's superb entry in the submarine technothriller genre, I had high hopes for "Typhoon", but they didn't pan out. "Typhoon" starts promising enough: a brilliant Soviet nuclear sub commander, the architect of Russia's current submarine strategic deterrent - goes to war against his superiors - political hacks eager to use nuclear blackmail to prevent the Soviet break up. The haplessness of the these conservative generals seem realistic when compared to the protagonists of the inept 1991 coup, but here they undermine the threat and the tension. This isn't "Potemkin" where the Soviet Sub skipper is sailing for survival and Joseph doesn't create a crew of many-textured types as had populated the ill-fated SSN Barracudda of that earlier book. Instead, "Typhoon" boils down to a standard cold-war yarn and not even the appearance of an American submarine crew - something that Joseph can shape as he had in "Potemkin" - suceeds in enlivening things. Worse, the submarines themselves lack that sense of mystery that makes them perfect metaphors for cold-war brinksmanship - we never know where they are, what they want to do or what they can do, but we know that they can end the world with the push of a button. This conflicting sense of secrecy and unimaginable power was key to "Potemkin" ("Cowboys and Cossacks" and "Plutonium Pizza") as well as all the other famous sub-thrillers. Too bad the author forgot the most important lesson, the one he taught other writers.

After reading arguably the most famous sub-novel of all time ('The Hunt For Red October') I was thirsting for pretty much anything that had to do with submarine warfare...unfortunately most of what is available really stinks (except for Michael DiMercurio who is excellent) but when I discovered 'Typhoon' quite by accident, I stumbled upon a fantastic story about the largest undersea machines the world has ever known. The Typhoon class Russian missle submarine is BIG, as long as the American boomers, but TWICE as wide--and 1 ship alone could wreak havoc and kill millions of people with its stretegic ICBM's. What happens within the pages of 'Typhoon' are similar to what almost happened in the Soviet Union at the beginning of Gorbechev's reign when a military coup, afraid that the impending breakup of the country would ruin their career's, nearly toppled the government. In this chilling scenario, a select few Russian military leaders decide to take matters into their own hands by precipitating the entire event by launching missles on their OWN country hoping to place blame in such a way as to stall or completely halt the coming democracy.

I don't mind telling you that this actually put chills down my spine to think that whoever is in charge of these ships actually COULD do something like this. A very sobering thought, indeed. Thank heavens for Admiral Zenko and a life dedicated to preserving peace with the use of the underwater machines he helped to design. Zenko makes the startling discovery of what is about to happen, and without a second thought, hijacks his own submarine and head's out to sea. Another wrinkle is placed within this story when the USS Reno shows up to do their assigned 'spy mission' and tries to make sense of what is happening between two of the largest subs in the world and why they act like they are on opposing teams.

IF you are looking for a hair-raising techno-thriller-adventure, than 'Typhoon' should definitely be ON that list. Simply put, this is an exciting story well told by someone who definitely knows the in's & out's of submarine operations (or does a great job of simulating it).

Sorry, but I have to disagree with the reviews so far. I my opinion this is the worst book from QUE-Books I have ever read (most of the QUE-books are really good). The author never explains the essential details about HTML, he always strays into simple, unneccessary details or into complicated, unneccessary details, but never gets to the point what is really useful. And if there's the rare occasion something is really explained, it will be repeated at least five times... I don't want to say the author doesn't know what he is writting about, he simply just don't know how to write...

I just have to say this is the greatest book ever written. Why? Because it's MY web site that is featured in Chapter 3, Fig 3.12! It's under the heading of "The Wrong Stuff: What Not to Put on the Web"

I never got any royalty money out of the deal either, whats up with that? Can I sue for defamation of web site? Hmmm... probably not, but since it's the first site I ever made back when I was a freshman in Highschool, and now it's immortalized in print - I forgive him.

Greatest book ever written!

This book was great

If you are looking for a high-level book on Web Services, then this book is OK. Otherwise save your money and buy a book that outlines Web Services from the architecture perspective.

(-) Don't set big expectations on this book especially if you are looking for defining a Web services architecture.
(-) Does not address the Webservices implementation complexities especially Transactions, Security, Interoperability etc. (I WAS LOOKING FOR IT)
(+) This book is full of high level content if you want to know the basic story of Web services and where you can apply them.

Este libro es una excelente referencia acerca del tema, ya que da la visisón de negocios de la Arquitectura de los WebServices, la integración de sistemas legados, ERPS, CRM, etc. Es un compilado de varios artículos que reune las mejores prácticas en el diseño, desarrollo e implantación de WebServices, es una buena forma de introducir el tema desde la perspectiva de visión de negocios.

I was absolutely overwhelmed at Brenner's multi-step program on how to deal with your toddler. By the time you finish ALL the steps, your toddler will be onto her NEXT tantrum!

had higher hopes for this book. aside the fact that much of this was obvious, common-sense stuff, i kept reading reviews about people talking about how "positive discipline" was a bunch of malarcky. well, i'm beginning to see why. that's the gist of this one anyway (say "yes" to your toddler (!) more often than u say "no," etc.). thanks, but i'll keep looking.

I have two toddlers (2 & 3), this book provided practical advice that really impacted the way my husband and I parent. I agree with the author that teaching your child self-control is the real basis for discipline. I bought this book after becoming incredibly frustrated with my 3 year old's behavior. After 2 weeks of applying the techniques I saw real improvement in both of by son's behavior. I really recommend it for parents who believe their child is "difficult". A few modifacation in the way you parent may change your perspective.

This book was really really borring

Bartram's "Travels" is an odd, idiosyncratic, and highly original book. There is really nothing else like it in all of English or American literature. Certainly there are scads of chatty travel narratives by later explorers who wrote of more exotic regions and more dangerous adventures, but there are none I can think of that rise to the level of Bartram's. Its rich and colorful images, the poetic quality of its language (in places), the strange juxtapositions of prosaic discussions of the habits of certain animals or features of certain plants with profound analogies between the physical world and the spiritual realm, and the narrator's frequent speculations on the meaning of human existence and humanity's relationship to nature and the creator mark it as distinct a contribution to American letters as Melville's "Moby Dick."

The world Bartram writes of is late 18th-century (just after the American Revolution) Southeastern America: mostly East Georgia and East Florida. Some of the places he visits, if you are a Floridian or a Georgian, you will recognize: Augusta, Savanna, the St. John's River, the area around Gainesville, Archer, and Micanopy; the Suwannee River and its tributary springs (specifically Manatee Springs). Below Savanna, it is a sparsely populated wilderness inhabited by various Indian tribes (such as the Seminoles and Muscogulges) and where whitetail deer, racoons, black bears, rattlesnakes, alligators, turtles, and various species of bird and fish grace the fields, woods, lakes, rivers and streams.

If you love good descriptive writing infused with a passionate appreciation for natural beauty, you will be moved by Bartram's descriptions of Florida, which comes off in the book, quite convincingly, as a sort of prelapsarian paradise. Bartram entering Florida is like Adam going back to the garden of Eden before the fall (I am admittedly a little biased, being a native Floridian): he sees seemingly endless vistas of sawgrass and sabal palms under amethyst skies, crystal-clear springs of the purest water bubbling up out of the forest floors, emerald hammocks of palmetto, sweetgum and cypress; groves of massive liveoaks and wild orange trees. All of this is taken in and recorded in an attitude of childlike wonder, and a deep awe and respect for the mysterious but benevolent power that fashioned all of it. Bartram is a scientist (botanist), able to engage (sometimes, to the detriment of the book) in detailed discussions of biology, so his effusions about the majesty of the deity seem all the more genuine and sincere.

Lastly, what endears the book to many of its readers, I suspect, is the personality of the author. The "William Bartram" of the book is a kind, gentle, reverent, simple, generous, tolerant, and quiet person. The great thing is, he doesn't really tell us about himself--we get an idea of what he is like mainly from his observations on the people and things he encounters. His Quaker faith in the wisdom and omniscience of God undergirds all of his observations and speculations.

Regarding the book's place in literary or intellectual history, it stands at one of the turning points when one episteme is giving way to another. In the "Travels" we can see the influences of the Enlightenment: an emphasis on empirical observation and data-gathering, and the emphasis on the role of reason in securing man's betterment--but at the same time we can see the influences of the then-ascendant Romantic worldview: a belief in the "noble savage," that all people are basically good but corrupted by institutions, and a pantheistic sense (looking forward to Wordsworth) of God as immanent in nature.

Belongs on the shelf with Jefferson's "Notes on the State of Virginia," Thoreau's "Walden" and "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers", the "Journals" of Lewis and Clark, and Melville's "Typee."

This Dover edition is the best buy out there. It has an attractive cover (some unknown artist's rendition of a Florida hammock) and has all the illustrations included, plus Mark Van Doren's short but helpful introduction. It's also a very durable volume--you can keep it in your rucksack to pull out and gloss over choice passages as you hike the wilderness trails of Florida.

This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in the nature, landscapes, Indians, and early settlements of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee around the year 1775. I haven't read this book in about 10 years, but I do remember checking it out of the library about 3 times, and I'm going to buy it for my birthday. The landscapes the Bartram describes will by and large never be seen again. Bartram described seeing a 45 square mile forest made up of nothing but magnolia, and dogwood trees. He saw forests that were covered by grapevines for miles. The trees were sometimes 20 feet thick, and the grapevines were so old that the vines were more than a foot thick. He saw canebrakes that covered miles, and some of the bamboo cane was 40 feet high. Canebrakes are practically extinct as an environment. He saw virgin forsts, abandoned Indian fields, overgrown Indian villages, open pine savannah forests, and uninhabited swamps. He saw wildlife which today would be scare, or extinct. He reported seeing a bobcat stalk a turkey. He pleaded with a market hunter not to kill a mother bear, and lamented the reaction of the bear cub to it's mother being killed. Bartram also reported seeing wolves, and bison skulls from recently killed buffulo. Bison were just rendered extinct in eastern Georgia at that time. Bartram took literary licence with some events. He exaggerated his encounters with alligators in Florida. After enjoying a meal of fish, rice, and oranges from the Spanish missionary orchards, he battled "fire breathing dragons." Bartram had many encounters with the Creeks, and Cherokees, and most were friendly. He feasted with Indian cattle raisers. Bartram also gives a good account of early settlements. If you decide to get this book, also get a copy of a tree guide with the scientific names, because Bartram tells exactly what kind of trees he came across in each forest. What I wouldn't give to see what Bartram saw?

OK, any book that gives you a review of most of the Star Trek out there is worth at least 3 stars. That's the only reason I gave this book that high a rating. I love being able to see what's coming up on TV, and then zip through the book so I can see if I've seen the show 1 million times or one that I'd really like to see again.

That's the only good thing I can say about this book. The two authors are so incredibly biased for The Original Series, and so biased against The Next Generation, it's mind blowing. I counted three ways in which these two old folks showed their age:

1. They say that Kirk blows Picard away and that Shatner is a better actor than Picard. ROFL!! Obviously, this could only be said by someone growing up with TOS (and frankly someone without much of an ability to judge acting ability).

2. They constantly harp on all TNG's "techo-babble." Now, I always thought that "techno-babble" was cool. Once in a while it goes over the top, but to see a show that revolved around science and people who knew science was pretty exciting when I was first introduced to the series. It's because these two old guys just can't get their crusty old brains wrapped around a warp core!

3. Their 60's-style sexism gets pretty blatant. In some cases, they give a TOS show a high rating b/c of the great-looking and scantily-clad women! And they are always saying stuff like "It's always a pleasure to see that sexy and spunky Ensign Ro." GIVE ME A BREAK!

In a way, this book is not just a review of Star Trek, it's a great comedy book as you see them drool over Shatner's lousy acting and then criticize the rest of Star Trek. I don't care who Altman is -- as a life-long Star Trek fan who's never been to a convention but watches all the shows religiously, I thought his book left much to be desired!

If you are of the opinion, "If it isn't the original series, then it's substandard," you'll probably really like this book and agree with most of the reviews. If you do not hold this view, you will probably be irritated by this book. The reviews of The Old Series are very complete (and usually overly complimentary) although they do admit that TOS produced some of the worst episodes in Trek history (true) as well as some of the best (a matter of opinion). The reviews of the other series vary greatly in quality with the reviews of The Next Generation series being the weakest. There are several gaps in their knowledge of the episodes. More than once they make reference to a character doing something in the episode, "for no apparent reason," even though a reason was given. They frequently berate the series for the fact that it was different from TOS, which was Roddenberry's wish. A book of ratings and reviews are, of course, opinion. It's difficult to di! sagree with an opinion but you can certainly question them? Star Trek V was better than Star Trek: Generations? William Shatner is a better character actor than Patrick Stewart? The Animated Series produced a greater percentage of good episodes than any of the series that came after it?

Trek Navigator is the most complete Trek book I have ever bought. As the LA Times sys, "Altman is the world's foremost trekspert" His knowledge shnes through in his comments and reviews. Some of you may find the reviews to negative but that only means you need to look past your worship of trek and be honest about the shows. This book is as complete as it can be up to the point it was published. Altman deserves 5 stars, Gross only 3 1/2 but this book is a must for any trek fan.

I loved Bacheolo's art in this book. Really good stuff. Again Millar's poor writing of villains shows. Proteus just didn't have an "umph" behind him. Though he did get in his required body count (is it just me or do villains now aday have to kill like 300+ people an issue? Is it like a requirement to get their villain's license?). I will give Millar points for having Proteus being Xavier's son.
Still, over all, I wasn't as impressed with this book as I was Tomorrow People or even Return to Weapon-X. I think Millar is running out of steam. If you want a good telling of the Proteus Saga go pick up the original Claremont/Byrne one, it's worth it.

By now it is clear that Wolverine is going to be on the cover of each and every trade paperback in the "Ultimate X-Men" series, and Volume 3, "World Tour," is no different. The character who should be on the cover would be Professor X, because he is the pivotal character in the major plot line of issues 13-13 of this comic book, which has to do with the X-Men coming face to face with David, his son with Moira MacTaggert, who has escaped from his confinement on Muir Island. In what is essentially the prologue to the story arc, "It Doesn't Have to Be This Way," we check up on the X-Men through the context of Xavier's article on mutants and learn that Magneto is not dead: the Professor has placed a mental block in his lower cerebrum to prevent him from remember who Erik Lensherr really is and how to use his mutant powers. Xavier's position is that he would not take the life of another living creature when a peaceful solution was possible. In the four-part "World Tour" story that follows, Xavier learns to rue his world and rethink his position.

Ultimately, "World Tour" is not simply a retelling of the Proteus story from Volume 1 of "The Uncanny X-Men" (issues 125-128), because the fact that Doctor MacTaggert's son is now also Charles Xavier's is a significant change and placed in the context of Xavier's attempt to blitz the world with a public relations effort in support of mutants forces a reconsideration of what Xavier is trying to do. Remember, in the "original" Proteus story Xavier was in a galaxy far, far away enjoying the first state ball hosted by the newly-crowned Empress Lilandra. The sub-plot, which has Colossus returning to Russia because of his disagreement with Xavier's tactics in general (and letting Magneto live in particular), provides a different take on the issue of responsibility for mutants. The epilogue, "Resignation," returns Xavier to the park when Erik Lensherr is playing where the Professor is entertaining a change of much more than heart.

This trade paperback volume also includes a two part story introducing Gambit as a street hustler who ends up using his mutant gifts to protect a young girl that he has met. The idea is apparently to explore those mutants who are not part of Xavier's School for Gifted Children, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, or another other organized group of merry mutants. These "Ultimate X-Men" stories are not, to date, superior to the original comic's glory days under Chris Claremont and John Byrne, but they are an entertaining take on the familiar characters in a slightly different context. Like the best of the Claremont-Byrne story lines it takes several issues to tell the story and for those who remember the X-Men (both the Stan Lee-Jack Kirby originals and the Claremont-Dave Cockrum next generation) it is interesting to see Mark Millar and Adam Kubert's twists on what we remember.

After countless attempts at creating a new universe, or continuum, the folks at Marvel finally hit on the right approach: recast their franchise characters as younger and more in tune with the issues of the day. Add top-notch writers and artists and voila! we have a hit. Though the story arcs are so far quite familiar to those with any sense of Marvel's history, the fresh approach to characters and the nifty art contribute to an overall great reading experience.

I would recommend this compilation to anyone who can't get enough of the Marvel universe or those who would like to start their trip into said universe. In short, recommended for any Marvel fan!

I would like to see a lot of big full colour pictures intead of just a bunch of newspaper style black and white shots.
I also would like to read more about Vangelis likes and dislikes.
Being a musician and composer myself, I find really hard to believe Vangelis realtime composition and production techniques are true, given the high complexity of most of his work. Whit that I say that in this book Vangelis appears very idealized and a more realistic angle is needed.
As a conclution: this is not a book to keep if you are not interested in getting vangelis complete discography.

This book fills an information void regarding one of the most impressive musicians living today. Griffin deserves praise for the long hours he obviously spent doing research and putting this work together, and to his credit he gives all of us information-starved fans plenty to digest. I especially appreciated how the author chose to incorporate quotes from all-too-sporadic Vangelis interviews. This allows readers the opportunity to "get at" the underlying philosophy and artistry that informs such a magnificent composer.

I only wish this book were better written. One minor complaint is that Griffin repeats the same information numerous times throughout the book. More serious are the too-numerous spelling mistakes, as well as poorly punctuated and non-grammatical sentences. I don't feel that I'm being overly picky in pointing these things out, as it would seem that more care could have been taken in proofreading and editing a work detailing a subject about whom the author is obviously passionate. In his defense, though, I can certainly praise Mark Griffin for bringing this work to the public. It is quite detailed; thus, I learned a great deal about a man whose music has inspired me for a number of years. In closing, I would be more than happy to offer my services at any time free of charge should he desire a dedicated proofreader for the next edition.

Many thanks to readers for the four star reviews of Vangelis:The Unknown Man.

Also a nod to the proof reading comments from some reviewers. The reason the book was written was there seemed to be no source of information about the BIG V on the planet and over a period of four years the project "grew in the telling"

One of the challenges of the book was the lack of support from established publishing houses to publish the work. With a choice of either shelve it or self publish it there was no other option. Author had to become designer, editor, proof reader, publisher, distributor. Anyone who has done this before will understand the logistical nightmare this can become!

Since its publication have recieved many letters of support and indeed the fan club Albedo was formed because of it. All the comments and indeed additional information have been collated and will appear (someday...) in the third edition.

Until then, thank you, for buying Vangelis:The Unknown Man. I hope you enjoy its content as much I enjoyed putting together. I hope you continue to enjoy the music of Vangelis.

Thanks...