I found this book well-written and posessing good overall appearance, but lacking in useful content. Over 1/3 of the first part, which introduces the craft and weapons, is mostly the same information that can be found in the user's guide or on the freespace web site. Although the mission descriptions are good, they are not detailed enough to really present new, winning strategies. There were no references to awarded medals, and how to earn them all, and I noticed that at least several "hidden" objectives in some missions were not mentioned. 90% of the strategy and mission content was information I already knew from playing the game for about 20 hours. Overall, though not a bad book, I would not hold very high hopes for learning alot more about the strategies.

Official strategy guides of simulations or space combat simulations (like in our case) have a certain layout. Have used enough of them and be- lieve my saying. The work at hand, is a good to very good guide but it has some defects that make it fail the perfect 5 star rating: Colour. What's the matter ? Are they jealous of flushing, or they think readers can't recognise colours ? We want ship stats and pictures from the game and we want them in colour. Mission branching. Is not present. It's better to say where the player is led to by a certain outcome, and show it by a tree diagram, than to say alternative missions and just lay down words. Picture it to us. Describe to us the alternative mission in a separate chapter. Also, where are the loosing game paths ? Where is the backstory ? It's good to cut into the chase, but a portion of those who buy these books, need a backstory, a reasoning of playing in a certain way. Also a nice touch to exhibit the multiplayer missions, but since we get Acts and different cut scenes that get us into the story, it would be good to picture this information here (look at Official Guide to: Wing Commander 4 and Wing Com- mander 3 with the ISN inserts to get my meaning). Why I wrote the defects ? The book is complete to all other aspects and there's no need to re-tell them: ship stats, foe presentations, weapons, mis- siles, strategies, hints, mission descriptions and briefings, winning notes, just everything. Seems finally that writtings a perfect guide is not dif- ficult, but needs a better planning and a PC gamer attitude towards the final product.

Gives good mission descriptions, walkthroughs. The game is great, the book makes the perfect companion for the game. One problem with the book is the first section. I found the ship descriptions to be mostly useless, except for the speed information. The mission tree was great, allowing players to experience all levels of the game.

This book wasn't a bad read, but it wasn't as good as some of the other Dinotopia books. Loro, Ria, and Trentor just spent a lot of time running away from things and it started to get a little boring after a while.

Rescue Party isn't as good as the other Dinotopia books but I still enjoyed the dino-and-human idea that Dinotopia is based on. I enjoyed River Quest and Lost City more than Rescue Party.

It was better than I expected. I am a big Dinotopia fan, and not all of the books in the series have satisfied me. I'd have to say that this one is one of the best three. The other two being The Lost City and Firestorm. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book, and most Dinotopian lovers probably will too.

I have not used this book much yet, but my impression so far is good. Each lesson is presented clearly and thoroughly. Unfortunately, it does not cover orthographic projection, although isometric drawing is covered. It concentrates on mechanical drawing, and does not cover surveyor drawings, and only touches on architectural applications. Sample exercises at the end of each chapter are barely acceptable. It would be nice to have more, and better quality exercises.

I am a student in highschool and I have used Discovering AutoCAD 2000 and I learned so much from it. I thought I would learn only basic commands but I have learned very complicated commands. My only complaint is that some of the drawings have minor errors that should have been spotted by the editor. I hope to meet Paul Riley someday because he is my AutoCAD 2000 idle. If you have the money make sure you bye this book. The $45 seems like a hefty chunk of cash but this wonderful book is well worth the money.

I bought this book expecting to learn only the minimum basics but I was pleasefully amazed and I am very satissfied with it's contents, so far I've learned far much on my own self tutoring that I thought I would manage to accomplish, I Highly recommend it, it suave and easy to grasp and the exercises are thorough so you learn at your own pace. The only detriment I've found, it's some small errors in the drawings given as exercises, but I think they'll correct that in a latter edition. I did my comparisons to other books on Autocad 2000 and this on is the one to get!

As far as TV tie-ins go, this has to be one of the best I've read. Based on the pilot of the now abandoned sci-fi show, 'Earth 2', Crandall has managed to give the characters a bit more depth than what was portrayed in that first episode.

The author also develops more of a background to people like Devon, Alonzo and Danziger. Not only that, but she shows a deeper insight to the conflict between True and Uly, managing to make True seem less like an annoying kid and more of an intergral character.

I would definitely recommend this novel to followers of the show and even to people who haven't actually seen the series. It certainly the best of the three E2 books available.

I like Earth 2 the show and also the books. As far as I can tell there are three books in total. The first is this one by Melissa Crandall. As far as I can tell it's pretty much the TV show and not a separate adventure. I am guessing that the TV show was based on this book as it unfolds the same as the show. The second book is by Sean Dalton and called Puzzle. In my opinion this is the best of the three. The third book is by John Vornholt and is perhaps the poorest in the series. That one is entitled Leather Wings. I haven't read anything else by Crandall, so I don't know if the style is typical of her. All I know is that it wasn't the easiest read - that honour belongs to Dalton. It is a little disjoint in places and the characters are not quite as the actors portrayed them and so it's almost like reading about different people apart from the character names. That said, it is still a pretty good book.

In the future earth is in ruins, everyone lives in space stations. The syndrome (a sickness d to the stations) is killing everyone in order to survive man kind must inhabit a new planet It is a storie about second chances hope and survival.

If you are interested in classic sociological theory, you must read Durkheim...but always with the understanding that we have come a long way since 1912. The fundamental assumption upon which Durkheim's work is based, that aboriginal practices are religion at its most basic and primitive, is no longer accepted as necessarily true. And it definitely cannot be assumed that practices that can be observed today mirror practices from centuries ago, as it is the nature of social practices to adopt with fluidity to changing times and cultures. It is important to recognize Durkheim's role in beginning the dialogue, but it is also important to see the flaws in his work.

This book is a sociological text written by Durkheim. One of the forefathers of Sociology, he believed that to study sociology you must identify social phenomena and then trace it to its origins to see how it came about. This for Durkheim was the only way to understand society.

In this book he examines the origins of religion. He explains that religion develops from the collective feelings of security we gain from living in a group, and these feelings are very powerful and important to us. However, early tribes passed these feelings onto which ever object they were close to at the time of experiencing the emotions, or the most frequent object in their area. The object could include a plant, vegetable or an animal, which would then be represented in a carving of stone or wood and then worshipped. This for Durkheim is the beginning of totemism, the first religion.

He follows on to discuss how our first religion gave us an understanding of the world around us, our conception of space and time. For Durkheim 'the framework of our intelligence' is made up of the concepts of space, time, numbers and our existence, and they were born 'in religion'.

Durkheim's writing is suprisingly easy to read and very enjoyable. His examination of early societies gives much insight into their lives and how they understood the world to be. For anybody studying Durkheim, this book is a good topic area to concentrate on. However, for anybody interested in theology or in early societies, it is a fascinating read. I read this book as part of my degree course and, although I borrowed it from the library, even after my course has ended I am now buying my own copy to reread.

I recommend this book to a wide range of readers, not only those interested in sociology. Read it, you'll be suprised!

Durkheim was not as scientific (or as sociological, or even as valid) as he might have been, but that matters little. He helped start the discipline, and the rest of us have had a century to make advances. This is where to see it just beginning to take form.

This book is OK I guess. It sort of pushes you to believe in the death penalty though.

After re-reading this book, I now see what a terrific work it is. Please excuse my last review.

I am an attorney who has dealt with death penalty cases in the past. And while I fight this with all of my heart, I found Mr. Grossman's work to be an unbiased and informative manual to the history of capital punishment. As someone who takes such a staunch position on this delicate question in our society, I can say that it is most pleasing to see someone give a factual, historical, and unbiased view towards capital punishment. I was most impressed by the writing, the sources, the timeline and comprehensive bibliography, and highly recommend this work to anyone who wishes to purchase it or spend the time just reading it. It is a marvelous edition to the collection of writings on capital punishment in our society.

Comedy, Drama, Action/Adventure, Romance, what defines a Hero. These are put into this series of stories about Wally West (aka The Flash). It also includes a look back at how Wally got his powers, and how the love of Linda Park keeps him going (quite litterally). Good for both fans of the Flash, and for fans of Mark Waid's work.

If superheroes are your bag, and you like them portrayed both with their classic "nobility" and a sense of the ninties, they don't get much better than this Flash story-arc. Rather than decontructing old heroes, Mark Waid seems singularly adept at modernizing them while still leaving that sense of wonder that we all (at least at one time)loved about comics. Don't expect to gain any great insights into life, and don't expect to see any revolution in comic book storytelling. This is what it is - a superhero comic at its finiest.

Mark Waid's Flash is comics the way they were always meant to be; fun, thrilling, and just a touch of romance. One of the mostsatisfying endings I've ever read.

This book has hundreds of color profiles (and some top views) of warplanes from WWI to 1980. There's a brief introduction about the history of markings, but after that the text is limited to a brief introduction about each plane type and descriptions of markings. In addition to the full color profile views are some close-ups of unit markings and badges of individual planes. More than 100 planes are included, many on double-page spreads.

However, planes that are NOT SHOWN but should have been include: postwar Navy fighters (none are included, except a single side view of a "Jolly Rogers" Navy Phantom), the USAAF P-51D (although one is shown on the cover, none appear inside), the B-29, F-14, F-15, F/A-18, F-86, F-101, F-102, F-104, F-105, F-106, F-117, modern MiGs and Sukhois (last included are MiG-23 and Su-7), Harriers (again, on the cover but not inside), Skyraiders, Typhoons, Tempests, Vampires, Jaguars, Catalinas, Aircobras, A-4, A-10, pre-WWII bombers, postwar bombers (no B-1B, B-2, B-47, B-52, B-58, Vulcans, Victors, Blinders, Bears) C-46, C-47, C-5, C-97 C-124, C-135, and C-130. Also, no helicopters are included.

So, a pretty good overview at a great price, but many important types are missing.

Hi,
I repaint a lot of planes for Microsoft's Combat Flight Simulator series as a hobby and have found this book an excellent source of reference for specific colours of planes and their squadrons in relation to a specific time period. Though the time period ends over 20 years ago, and some plates are dedicated to planes of lesser known manufactures, and a lot of the color plates can be found in comparible books by David Mondey, overall, it is good value.

This large book is packed with colorful drawings of aircraft from WW2 to 1981. The book features 113 aircraft presented in a variety of color schemes, usually in profile but occationally from the overhead perspective. As a modeler I use this book when painting miniature aircraft. The book is 207 pages long. There is minimal text. The text includes a brief introduction, then continues by briefly explaining each of the illustrations.

This frequently moving memoir wears three distinctly different hats. First, it is a vivid portrait of a young lawyer who feels compelled to join the front lines of the emerging AIDS crisis. Senak was there at the beginning in the early 1980s, when the main work of those who cared was to help people die, when no one knew how the disease was transmitted or who would get it. The first third of the book presents some astounding stories, both of cowardice and cruelty and extraordinary courage. Second, it is a moving love story as Senak chronicles his meeting and brief, happy existence with Joseph, a waiter/actor with AIDS who turns to him for help. Third, it is a tale of an altogether different existence for Senak as he moves to Los Angeles and witnesses the disease invading ever more privileged and glamorous circles.

This multi-tiered perspective of the effect of this plague on the American social fabric gives Senak's book a special fascination. As in many first-person accounts of personal crisis, his passages of tortured self-analysis occasionally provoke impatience. There is ample compensation in the sparely written, and therefore all the more powerful, passages that recount in stark fashion the gradual decline and death of his partner. In these pages, Senak's work joins a select body of great literature that has arisen from this dark and still ongoing chapter in American social history.

A Fragile Circle provides a very honest and personal account of what went on in the hearts and minds of many who were most directly in the path of HIV from the outset. As a surviving 'footsoldier', Mark Senak's account of having been plunged into a state of secret panic, paranoia, ostracism and devastating loss is told in a way that not only challenges our collective level of compassion and response to this pandemic but holds the reflective mirror in a way that one is bound to examine the truth of our very own brand of fear and denial.

I felt the book flowed easily, was engaging and very conversational with many moments of wit, insight and interesting metaphor - without feeling contrived or 'cute'. Senak has the natural grace of the few who can share themselves so personally without the self importance or indulgence that can reduce so much to so little in the end.

You might expect page after page of a book on this subject to be morbid, angry and certainly bitter. ! After all, well beyond their rightful place at the table, those feelings are the cornerstones of many of our experiences with AIDS. For me, this book is not simply about reliving the early days of the HIV and AIDS crisis, it's about ordinary people living through and doing extraordinary things, finding courage we wouldn't imagine possible and being presented with the greatest revelations of love in the process.

I decided to take the time to write this review because I hope this book finds its way into the hands of every and anyone interested in what has taken place below the surface of life in 'the now'...Because as tragic and untenable as living through an entire generation of HIV and AIDS is, A Fragile Circle memorializes that fact but reminds us that ultimately, beyond the pain of consciousness, reconciliation is very different than acceptance, and an important part of both living and healing.

Full disclosure - as founding president of NY's Bar Association for Human Rights, I was present to observe some of the events Mark Senak describes in this important and touching memoir of the AIDS epidemic. This is an important book, especially for younger folks who came of age at a later point in the epidemic and whose understanding of the current challenges should be informed by the experiences of the past. Unfortunately, it appears that Mark's manuscript received the kind of "hands-off" editing characteristic of all too many small presses today. A really good editor would have helped him to shape it into a much more effective book, and a thorough copy editor would have taken care of the occasional incomplete sentences, run-together sentences, and rare but distracting grammatical faux pas. But that's beside the point and doesn't get in the way of communication. Some of the stories he has to tell are absolutely priceless and compelling, especially concerning his experiences in supervising deathbed will ceremonies and the support and care for his lover, Joe. I urge those concerned with AIDS issues to read this book.

another guidebook such as Rick Steves book. Recommend.

I tried desperatly to purchase any other guidebook on Ireland other than Frommer's and Fodor's. But after an exhausting search Frommer's wins again: It has information found only in Frommer's. Reviews more variety of lodging and dining. Helps with ideas on side trips and day trips. Gives just enough inside information to help you make an informed decision on where to go stay and do. For an overview of Ireland, you can't go wrong with Frommer's. For more in depth on a single area.....You will need to do more research. Likewise, if you have a specific reason for the trip i.e. windsurfing or gaelic music a different format may help you. But for basic advice on travel Frommer's is hard to beat.

During an extended stay in Ireland I've used the guide a great deal for many different parts of the island, with an emphasis on the Dublin area. The maps of city centers are wonderful, the highlighted attractions are always as advertised, and the restaurant listings have been very reliable. It offers a great deal of depth, and the format makes it easy to find day trips from various cities you may be staying in.

It's well worth noting that the hotel rates listed are generally rack rates, and you will frequently find them much lower when you call.

Friends I've loaned the book to have agreed that it's the best one for the area that they've used. I'd recommend it highly to anyone considering a visit. Just don't forget your rain gear.