Project managers/Team Leaders/Leads...: if you're about to start an Oracle Designer project, get yourself a copy (and everyone on your team one) of this book. The authors have done an outstanding job in covering most if not all standards and naming conventions for Designer objects. And boy, do we have objects in Designer. May be the best part of about this book is that you (the leader) won't have to spend months and months of fighting and trying to come up with standards that everyone can agree upon. It simply IS there- take it and use it. End of discussions. Kudos to Mark and Ken.

If your organization is just getting started with Designer, you need this book. It provides really valuable guidance based on intimate knowledge of how the tool works. If you use the standards they suggest your life will be much easier! In my work at a large metropolitan Transit agency I am trying to get almost 40 people to standardize on Designer. I just hand them the book and say "Do it this way." The end result is the naming conventions match, the different projects synch up and everyone can concentrate on being productive.

I had just finished a short Oracle Designer Naming standards for our Database and Data Architecture group, when I bought this book. It is clear, concise, helpful, and for me, incredibly timely! The Naming standard I created was a pretty bare bones document, created to help our Logical Modelers as well as our DBAs. I incorporated this short Naming standard into the MS Word template (provided on the invaluable CD included with the book), to live on our intranet site. I was able to create this new well formatted, larger, and more thorough document, in less than a week. It saved me at least a month of work, partially by accepting some of the standards that the authors propose, and then seeking editorial reviews from in-house topic experts (rather than the more traditional method of seeking input, writing the standard, then sending it out for review). Of course, I only used the sections that were appropriate for our company.

I actually read the book (as in sit down and read, not just browse), and found the style very readable and the content consistently on target. If you need to write an Oracle Designer Standard, it would be most inefficient and foolish not to start with this book.

Every 924, 944 or 968 owner or enthusiast must have a copy of this excellent book by Peter Morgan. The book contains detailed information and superb photographs of all models in the series and is divided into logical chapters. The book is also an excellent reference containing details on VIN's, engine numbers and options.

An absoulte must buy for the 924/944 owner. the book clearly guides you thru all models from 1975 to 1995, including the Turbos. All photographs are in color and the details of each model year are discussed. The book also includes specs and import numbers. Almost all options for each year are listed, a big plus when checking out what came with your car.

I have been driving/racing/instructing in Porsches since 1983, and am on my 3rd 944 series automobile. I only wish this book had come out many years ago, as it contains many of the answers to both the 1st-time and repeat buyers' questions. Its explanations of the rarer "special editions" is extremely helpful in determining which model is best suited for a particular driving style. I feel proud to have actually owned one of the featured models.

A must-have item for anyone who wants to understand exactly how good Randy Rhoads really was. A perfect note-for note transcription of one of Randy's performances (in Detroit, I think) on three sides, and one in England for the final side of the album. Including an incredible solo, not like the one Kevin DuBrow "edited" for the Quiet Riot CD, "The Randy Rhoads Years"

The Tribute album is really the only piece of music that has really affected my life. The pure intensity and flow of these live recordings gives me goose bumps every time I listen to it, and that's after I've learned virtually every song. This album is truely a masterpiece. Wolf Marshall does a valiant job transcribing Randy's playing. If you want to learn these songs then this is the best book to do that. Randy's live performances really brought all of his amazing talents together, and no show better illustrates this than the Cleveland 5.11.81 show where the majority of Tribute's songs are taken from. In the studio Randy was great; Live Randy is a legend.

If you're stone cold bored by today's "music" scene, with an endless parade of whining "woe is me" grunge bands (think Pearl Jam/Nirvana), complaining female wannabe poets (think Jewel), David Cassidy/Osmond Brothers retreads (think N'Sync), and shiftless hillbillies hammering out odes to their pickup trucks (think Garth Brooks), you need to get this book NOW! Plug in, crank the volume, and rock out. Listen to Randy's blistering lead playing, brutally crunching power chords (the guy exuded raw power), and his use of weird 'n' crazy phrasings. The man spoke volumes through his mastery of his instrument. In a day and age when "nerd rock (think Bare Naked Ladies)" and grunge bands eschew learning to actually play their instruments, Randy's deft articulation of complex melodies and harmonies still rules!

This book engages the reader in one of the most comprehensive studies on the growth and evolution of the pastoral council since Vatican II. In a superb analysis of the conciliar and post-conciliar documents, the ideas, theories, trends, steps and missteps of the 60s and 70s, the 1983 Code of Canon Law, and the developments in the 80s and 90s, Fischer illustrates how councils have not only matured, but have corrected erroneous positions held as inviolable for many years. He offers an exciting vision that could convince even the most ardent opponents of councils. The book is an essential resource for anyone involved in the process of evaluating their own current practice or in seeking new direction. While some will find this work a little heavy, all will agree that a finer analysis just has not been written.

If you need one book on parish pastoral councils for your library, this may be what you are looking for. Fischer combines original research and meticulous scholarship with an engaging anecdotal style that makes this book accessible to the common reader. The material is very well organized with helpful chapter introductions and summaries. The final chapter offers a model for parish pastoral council guidelines that could help readers looking to formulate or revise their existing guidelines. Diocesan staff responsible for council development could use the book as a reference tool. The scholarly endnotes, exhaustive bibliography, and partial listing of diocesan guidelines for parish pastoral councils are worth the price.

This book brings to the reader an awesome collection of historical facts, documentation, data collection, sources, personal experience and solid recommendations. And in that process Fischer fearlessly hits all the 'hot buttons' we have struggled with for years: purpose, committee structure, understanding of consultation, leadership, and selection of members. And who would have thought that we could look to Aristotle for a definition of the kind of folks we need to have serving on a pastoral council?
The book will be intriguing reading for those who, like myself, have been involved for years in these formative struggles with councils, to see it all spelled out with such clarity. The greatest value of this book, however, will probably be found in the conclusions that Fischer reaches about what he calls a 'foundation document.' Here we will all learn more effective ways to put flesh and bones on the result of the author's insights as we foster the work of the Spirit in the American church. Thank you, Mark Fischer!

We love this book. My daughter really enjoys reading the pictures as we go through the story. And with a picky eater in the house Nicky helps us try new foods.

Picky Nicky is a good book for 3-5 year olds. After you read the first page you just want to keep on reading. Since it is a picture reading you and/or your kids will learn their animals, fruits, vegetables and much much more! Picky Nicky is a book about a girl that won't eat the dinner her Mom and Dad have prepared for her. She only wants to eat spaghetti! There are 24 flash cards in the back of the book. The pictures act as a glossary.

My daughter got this book as a gift when she was two. It has been a favorite ever since and now it is helping her learn to read.

This is the best Private Eye novel I've read in a long time. I highly recommend it. Great story (kept me up late finishing it). It's set in Hawaii, and the author does a good job of incoprorating Hawaiian culture into the storyline.

Apparently nobody else out there has thought to use the Hawaiian word for trouble in a book title, because if you type just "pilikia" into the amazon search engine, it takes you straight to this book. And this title does make good use of the word. The story is set in Hawaii, and the protagonist, Val Lyon, is a private investigator who does indeed encounter her fair share (and then some) of pilikia in a day's work.

This particular pilikia begins when a lawyer from a prominent island family hires Val to find the adolescent son of his client, who is being jailed for contempt for failing to produce the boy during a messy custody battle. The mother claims that her ex-husband has abused the boy and that, although she sent him away for his safety, she doesn't know exactly who has him or where he is. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for Val, the mother lets slip the name Harriet, and the hunt is on. Before long, Val finds herself entangled in much more than the search for the missing child. For one thing, people start getting killed, and Val is almost one of them. Then she discovers that the family of the lawyer who hired her has a lot of connections (none of them very pleasant) to the case at hand. It doesn't help any that she also starts falling for her lawyer client.

This is some deep pilikia that Val has to wade out of, but she does so admirably, even if she becomes terribly wounded in the process. One of the most striking things about this book is Val's character, which is complex and intriguing and very realistic. If I didn't know Mark personally, I'd swear he was a woman writing under a male pseudonym, because he has a clear understanding of female characters. The male characters are good, too, but sometimes they seem a little limited by the roles they have to play in the story.

The story line is another of the book's strengths. It is suspenseful and manages to be complex without descending into the sort of confusion that happens when authors just dump cartloads of red herrings wherever they can. Just a tiny bit of what may be a spoiler, however: if you have any more than a passing interest in genetics, you will probably be a few steps ahead of Val once the clues start turning up. That doesn't detract from this great tropical thrill ride, though, and I look forward to reading more of Val's adventures. Before long, I suspect pilikia will be Val's middle name, not just her occupation.

**Adapted from a Skullduggery review**

Sparse words used wisely with GREAT dialogue, this book is a real page turner. It will satisfy every reader of hard core detective novels. Can't wait to read about what Val will be up to next in Hawaii.

This book changed how I approach product design. It focuses on designs that will succeed in the market place. It's not a book specifically on designing for a market, but how a set of systems built on a common platform will allow you to compete in multiple markets at the same time. Meyer and Lehnerd combine marketing, manufacturing, design and strategy. It's loaded with great examples from companies like Black and Decker and EMC. Also impressive is that the authors show how apply platform principles in software and service markets as well as traditional manufacturing

This terrific book explains how to plan and execute a product platform which leads to a series of continuously improved products. We have used the system at our company to plan and evolve both software products and services. We have been able to spin out many different services that seem very different, but were really variations on the basic platform we had previously built. We can provide tailored solutions for clients with less than 10% of the effort that went into the initial platform development.

As the co-author of this book,using this text in teaching at 3 universities, Northeastern, Boston Univ. and U. Of Penn. in their graduate programs, I have come to realize the power of this book's teachings, its rules and tools for robust product platforms and derivative products, goods and services as well as software platforms.

We are now in the 4th edition and have published it in Spanish with a Barcelona publisher.

Companies that Marc Meyer and I consult with have found it extremely informative and useful.

Our follow up book will be an extension of this book, filled with rich examples of applications to goods, services, software and processes.

Included will be workshop materials for easy application to the users' unique products and business services.

Keep looking.......

Al Lehnerd

For the celebration of the Millenium we had planned a family evening with our children, and were looking for something to help explain the significance of this special moment in time. My wife came across this book, and we felt it was the perfect vehicle to put this event in a context that our kids could understand and relate to. That evening (along with the obligatory fireworks display in the backyard and other things)we read the book and discussed its significance to us. I think it really helped them relate to their little place in human history, and put some meaning in our existance. While the world is a big place, and there are billions of people, and two thousand years seems like a long time, we are all much more closely connected than it seems.

Dear Readers, I went to a local store book signing in my home town. I was searching for the "perfect" book to give as a very special gift for a dear friend's daughter who has just had her 1st birthday. As I was shown the book and told the story, I knew my search was over. I was delighted to have a signed copy. I left to pay but stopped and went back for another. My thought is to save one for my hopefully future grandchildren of my own. When I came home and had time to thoroughly read and enjoy this delightful story - I felt I must write a note. This story has touched my heart more than you could imagine. As I am faced with loosing my mother in the near future, this story has reminded me of the continuation of generations - that she will not really be gone - ever. The tenderness of "Aunt Pearl" with the boy reminded me of my mother and grandmother's tenderness with me. What a gift each generation is to the next! I was also reminded again of what I know so well, but have lately clouded with sorrow - and that is how much Christ loves us all. The fact that He brought me to that store at that time to receive the gift of this story havs overwhelmed my heart. Please know that He is using this book to bless many people. This is such a meaningful tale, and is full of gifted illustration that is warm and charming. It has lifted the clouds and warmed my spirit with God's love. I recommend this book highly for all ages. It is really special.

"A PERFECT TWENTY-ONE" does a beautiful job of explaining in easy-to-understand language our connections through the generations one to another, to Jesus. What a "perfect" book to be shared with grandparents as well as children! S. Beauchamp, Head of Lower School, Wichita Collegiate School

I found this book to be very helpful and fun to read but,I haven't picked it up again since my first read through. I think this would be a great gift to a new vegatarian or a lender to a person interested in learning more about the specifics. Informative and fun....just not a whole lot of new info for this long-time reader and veggie eater!

This book is an outstanding review of the health, ecological, and moral reasons for refraining from eating animal products. Having said that, it is neither "preachy" nor sanctimonious but rather downright entertaining. I loved it. It made a vegetarian out ofme.

I bought this book for my boyfriend right after we discussed going vegetarian. I thought it was a cookbook to help ease us into a meatless diet, which we were considering primarily because he wanted to lose weight. Instead, it changed my boyfriend's life -- addicted, he kept coming into the room to read me sections. It gave us permission to be vegetarians (year and a half now) for ALL the right reasons -- love of animals, the environmental and hunger problems perpetrated by the meat industry, all-around health, etc. -- although he did lose 30 pounds without getting hungry! This is a perfect antidote for all the stupid Adkins/Zone/high-protein diets that are so unhealthy -- and are only excuses for people to keep eating too much meat (which is *any*, now that we've read this book). And it's so funny and light-hearted that you'll be an avowed vegetarian before you know what hit you. Give a copy to everyone you know! We're sold.

I have been using PRESCRIPTION FOR A MIRACLE for one year with good results.

The book's main message is solid. God is not the cause of our illnesses. However, I believe the author is wrong in his readings for October 13-15 in which he criticizes the practice of confessing sins. Taking a periodic inventory of our shortcomings and confessing them is a healthy practice which is also biblical as in James 5:16.

Brazee accurately depicts biblical truth pertaining to divine health and healing. He uses promises from God to strengthen and remind the reader of what God has made available to us through Jesus Christ. I look forward to those daily passages which have challenged and encouraged me in my Christian walk. Great food for thought that stays with you! This devotional will be one that I'll continue to use through the coming years. Also a great gift idea.

The main message of this book is powerful because it is based on sacred Scripture. God does not give us sickness. He wants us to find a path to healing. The author gives us a prescription to follow which will increase our faith in Jesus Christ as well as in God's healing promises.