I met one of the contributors (Micha) and heard him speak. I bought the book from him and read it. It was really great. It talks about the stuff that teens deal with.

If you need a book that deals with stuff that teens are going through, this is the book. It contains solid advice from motivational speakers from around the world. I suggest you read this book.

As a co-author to this book, I must admit I am biased. But, I would not have gotten involved if I did not think this is a book every teen must have. With a collection of youth speakers from across the United States, it is a collection of hilarious and touching stories from a variety of very different authors. This is the original in a series of four and it truly helps teens get the power to do what is positive. If you have any questions, just email me!

Today I had the pleasure to hear Mark Cox, this year's Frost poet in residence at the Frost Place in Franconia, NH. He read from this lovely book of poems with such clarity, such honesty, that I was compelled to buy the book on the spot. He writes of the things that we all face, that we can all connect with, but still, with careful word choice and all the other fine things involved with the crafting of good poetry, he evokes our own experience as well. The poetry is accessible, careful, emotion-laden but not "sentimental". Build your own collection, using this one as a valued addition.

Cox is a poet whose work I admire and enjoy (and I'm a hard woman to please -- as I am both a poet and a literary critic). This collection is like a complicated American all -you can eat breakfast with surprises, freebies you never thought you'd get and a bottomless cup of thought provoking images to wash it down with.

See him "read" (aka, perform) these if you can, but in the meantime, buy the book and support the work!

Reviewed by Rustin Larson in The Iowa Source

An often heard praise for a poet these days is that he "takes the straw of the ordinary and spins it into gold." However, it may be said Mark Cox takes it one step further, that he gives his gold an unusual new texture and shine. Ever since the appearance of his chapbook Barbells of the Gods in 1988, Cox has been taking perfectly good poetic lines and spinning them into something even better. One line from that chapbook could well have read "Let's... throw our cigarettes from this car like ecstatic hearts, / and let the sparks lead us home." That would have been a good line for most of us. But Cox does a brilliant thing. He reverses the tenor and the vehicle of the simile so it reads "Let's throw our hearts from this car like ecstatic cigarettes..." and for my money the lyric and imagistic movement of the line is enhanced by this strategy. Something emotionally unexpected and vivid comes from it. This is just the sort of gold weaving Cox has practiced and improved over the past decade. His new book, Thirty-Seven Years from the Stone, exhibits a very high level of accomplishment.

Cox's great sense of the absurdity and communicative strength of similes, and his artistry with them, continues beautifully in poems like Like a Simile:

"Fell into bed like a tree/ Slept like boiling water/ Got from bed like a camel/ And showered like a tin roof./ Went downstairs like a slinky/ Drove to work like a water skier/ Entered the trailer like a bad smell/ Where I changed clothes like a burn victim/ Drank my coffee like a mosquito/ And waited like a bus stop./ A whistle blew./ Then I painted like I was in a knife fight for eight hours/ Drank like a burning building/ Drove home like a bank shot/ Unlocked the door like a jeweler/ And entered the house like an argument next door./ The dog smiled like a chain saw./ The wife pretended to be asleep/ I pretended to eat./ She lay on the bed like a matress/ I sat at the table like a chair./ Until I inched along the stair rail like a sprinkler/ Entered like smoke from a fire in the next room/ And apologized like a toaster./ The covers did not open like I was an envelope/ And she was a 24-hour teller/ So I undressed like an apprentice matador/ Discovering bullsh*t on his shoes."

Working with the concept on a larger scale, with extended metaphor and simile, Cox excels. Even a title might reflect a brilliant reversal of the expected, such as The Tunnel at the End of the Light, and then build upon it: "The summer my body began to fit,/ living seemed fluid/ as putting my arm through a sleeve--/ when I threw crusts of bread in the air,/ they became birds,/ when I held her,/ I held myself-" .

There is a great emotional investment in each poem of Thirty-Seven Years from the Stone, but Cox does not stray toward the sentimental and false. Do not mistake heart and courage for sentimentality. Whether reflecting on fatherhood in poems like Make the Cobra Talk, or on his future death in Grain, the uniquely rendered similes transmit a genuineness within the oddity: "...like a snapping turtle in a two-dollar butterfly net,/ I will refuse the new world" Cox says of the prospect of leaving the ones he loves behind when he dies. It's a tenacious spirit that inhabits these poems, that grabs on and holds us even as it turns the world upside-down. Thirty-Seven Years from the Stone is an accomplished, admirable collection of poems.

Even if you have other eclipse books at home, TOTALITY provides fresh information about this fascinating phenomenon. This book describes in clear language what makes a total solar eclipse so special. The authors explanation of the science behind eclipses helps to demystify the eclipse, while the chapter devoted to impressions from a group of dedicated eclipse chasers, gives a sense of the magic of a total solar eclipse. There are plenty of drawings and photographs complement the writing, with an excellent set of references in the appendix. Highly recommended, Jerry Levy ....

After being three times under the Moon's shadow, I already know very well what kind of excitement, marvel and amazement a person can feel during a total eclipse of the Sun. Reading "Totality", not only you learn, understand and comprehend better everything concerning the "most awesome sight in the heavens" (sic from the book's review), but feel again those very special sensations you only expect to find during totality. If you are not infected by the eclipse bug after the 1999 European eclipse, perhaps this book will do the work. I only miss a bit more extent on science (chapter 9) and about historical eclipses (chapter 5). Anyway, a very well-written, complete and fascinating book.

"Totality" is a superior reference providing a very comprehensive coverage of solar eclipses. I highly recommend this book for advice on understanding, enjoying, photographing, and experiencing solar eclipses, especially total solar eclipses. The information provided is easy to understand as well as practical and useful. I have about a dozen books on eclipses and this is one is the best. "Totality" is a must read for anyone preparing to experience a solar eclipse.

If you love racing, and if you have the respect of great drivers you will love this book. I own many NASCAR books, and this is my favorite. The pictures are amazing the information is great. You can't go wrong with this book. There is one sad thing about the book...after reading it reality sets in that we won't see this rivalry on the track ever again. The memories are well-documented in this book and will live on! Thanks Dale and Jeff!

Some of the greatest racing pictures ever. What a great way to remember Dale Earnhardt. If you LIKE Nascar you will LOVE this book. I have seen a lot of George Tiedemann's work and this is as usual, quality work. Buy it!

I ordered this book a few days after the death of Dale Earnhardt. I've been a Jeff Gordon fan for a few years now, and loved watching the on-track duels between these two drivers. The stories and pictures compliment each other very well, telling the story of two fierce competitors and their respect for one another. I am sad knowing that there will never be another last lap duel between 'Wonderboy' and the Intimidator, but this book helps keep the memories alive. Highly recommended for fans of either driver, or NASCAR fans in general.

This the last book in this excellent series may not be my favorite of the three but it is perhaps more gripping and well done than the other two. It is not for lack of excitement, adventure, hope, love, pain, comfort or even mystery, that makes this my least favorite of the Bracken Trilogy, but the realization that the characters and the age that were so much a part of the first two books are quickly coming to an end.

Yet the story of Krea, an orphan and slave, is one of new life and hope in the future that makes one wish that the series would last much longer still. As Krea makes her journey through her hard world, she learns to trust the Woman in Gray who never leaves her forever but always comes back when she is needed most. This Wise Woman purchases Krea from a life filled with emptiness, hopelessness and pain to a new life full of love, comfort, learning and danger. The Woman in Gray sets Krea free, yet Krea chooses to follow the one that has offered her so much, her true friend and protector the old yet strong and beautiful Wise Woman. Krea's journey is still filled with hardship and uncertainty yet she is guided by the knowledge that she has an important and honorable task to follow. This faith she possesses, that she has learned though the trials that have come before, ultimately guides her to the goal, not so much a resting place but the start of a new life of learning and service.

I first read this book (and series) when I was around 14/15 years of age, but yet discovered it/the series to be one of my favorites. I enjoyed reading this book & series so much the first time that I reread it again when about 19 years old, and while I wished for a adult version (rewriting) I still found myself learning or seeing more clearly the truths found in this book and series. Even today I look back on these books with fondness and a belief that they are some of the best children's fiction work that I have ever read.

This book is the last in The Bracken Trilogy. The 1st is The Bridge, the 2nd is Crown And Jewel. Please read these two first by the way.

This story is about Krea. She is an orphan and a slave. All she knows is the juggling troup in which she lives. With a cruel master and fellow orphans she travels constantly looking for work. One day she notices an old woman following her from stop to stop. The woman seems kind, but Krea's master is angry when she mentions her. Krea is prone to sickness and when she falls horribly ill her master sells her to the old woman, and suddenly her world changes for the better. When she is freed from her slave collar she learns that there are other "collars" in life one must wear, on her journey to personal discovery.

This story really touches the heart,taking place many years after the previous two. This is one of the most charming books (and series) that I have read. Adults will enjoy these along with kids. Please read my reviews on the other two in this wonderful trilogy.

This book doesn't follow the princess-save-the-kingdom plot of the previous two because the young heroine isn't a princess - she is a slave that the Wise Woman buys from a band of traveling entertainers. Also, the focus of the book is not on the kingdom and its stability; it is on the girl and her mistress. It is not until the very end of the book that we find out why - the Wise Woman is dying and she has been training the girl to take her place. The girl must decide whether she should trade her slave collar (the old woman has already freed her) for a collar of a very sort - that of Wise Woman which in its own way is just as restricting. It is a more serious novel than the previous books with heavier overtones, but it only improves the book. It is by far Massi's best.

This book is a 300-page testimonial to why Tex Winter should be fast-tracked into the basketball Hall of Fame. NBA fans need this book right now. Tex Winter is the antithesis to the Glamour Coaches of today. His Depression-era frugality, gratitude, and humility provide some balance for the Superstar mentality, and he clearly demonstrates that even professionals like Jordan and Pippen still need a true basketball educator like himself.

Mark Bender, excellent job. I will insist that my fellow NBA-junkie friends and family read your book.

But, please correct a major factual error for the paperback. On page 285, you said, "The Raptors beat the Bulls for the first time ever" during the abbreviated 1999 season. That's not true.

The Raptors beat the Bulls twice during the Jordan-era. Once on 3-24-96, and a second time on 12-8-96.

In fact, you make mention on page 242 about Dennis Rodman getting suspended for "two games for excessive profanity during a live postgame interview - a game in which he had been ejected." That was a game in Toronto in which the Bulls had lost.

Otherwise, thank you for writing this wonderful biography about a basketball genius who deserves due credit for his lifetime achievements and also his significant contributions to the Bulls' dynasty of the 90's.

Bender's succinct, edgy style carries the reader through Winter's life while racing down the court with Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, and other NBA giants. Bender tells it like it was--no holds barred. Winter's coaching philosophy of discipline, hard work, fairness and individual intergrity comes alive as we watch him lead individual players to become not only the best players they can be, but also the best men that they can be. Bender brings basketball personalities to life as we watch them struggle to learn Winter's famous "triangle offence" and to balance their individual desires for achievement and glory with Winter's emphasis on the ultimate good of the whole team.

The pace is fast, and the anecdotes and behind-the-scenes tidbits entertain as we go with the teams through Winter's unprecedented 53 year professional career as a coach. From Kansas State, Washington, and the Houston Rockets to fourteen years with the Chicago Bulls, and the current LA Lakers, we travel the backroads of behind the scene basketball. Bender gives us the inside story on the conflicts, the joys, and the frustrations of coaching mega-stars with mega-egos while trying to teach them values of character and integrity.

This book would be a perfct gift for any high school athlete. Bender gives the reader deep insights into not only the sports psychology that Winter uses, but into the secrets of what it really takes to be able to uphold personal values in the rip-roaring jungle of professional sports.

I loved every minute of this great ride, and if you love basketball, you will too!

Trial by Basketball is the Slaughterhouse Five sports book. It's a fascinating history into Laker coach Tex Winters rise from garage band gymnasium roots, college sucess, the amazing Bull Run to current Los Angeles Laker status. As a Long Beach State 49er booster and renewed Laker backer, I recommend TRIAL strongly to fans from N.Y. to L.A. The authors unique style is a keenly accurate flashback account of Tex Winters classic career with insights into the world of sports and life as it is! A humorously intriguing One of A Kind Biography. The book equally satisfies the golden age Wilt Chamberlain transition era as well as the Rodman, Kobe X'er generation. ONCE YOUR IN TO IT, YOU CAN'T GET OUT OF IT--- MARK BENDER CLEANLY RUNS THE TABLE!------------------------ Linda Fallico-Coto De Caza, Ca.

I just can't believe how much I'm enjoying Ultimate Spiderman, and this collection is the best story arc yet.

Brian Michael Bendis flawlessly introduces two major villains from Spiderman's rogue gallery, Doc Octopus and Kraven the Hunter. There is such a quality to this work, such an attention to detail. Bendis is really building this series from the ground up, really breathing new life and fleshing out Peter Parker. And while Bendis respects the history of Spiderman, he by no means is hampered by it, and has no problem discarding details that make no sense.

Mark Bagley is definitely improving as this series progresses. I have been really quite impressed, it seems his storytelling is improving, and the action is very easy to follow. To me, Bagley has become a part of the book, an integral part of the experience.

This is a very intelligent Spider-title, and it only stands that it will get better and better, as has been the case so far.

Just when I thought the game plan of the "Ultimate Spider-Man" with regards to the love life of his alter-ego Peter Parker was to go directly to Mary Jane Watson, passing Betty Bryant and Gwen Stacy, when scribe Brian Michael Bendis drops the later into the action. This version of Gwen is big on the mascara and perfectly willing to pull a switchblade on a bully, both of which are completely valid reasons for Peter to have his eyes pop out of his head when he looks at her. Not even her police Captain father can reign in this blonde tornado.

At this point in the comic book the stage is merely being set for the impending love triangle, but I have to tell you that what is happening here is clearly a take off on "Dawson's Creek." Seriously. Peter is Dawson, Mary Jane is Joey, and Gwen is Jen (No, Flash is not Pacey; Kong is closer to being Pacey than Flash, but Peter Parker does not have a friend, which means Harry is not Pacey either). This should prove to be interesting, especially given that Mary Jane already know's Peter's big secret. But at this point the main problem is that Aunt May has an over inflated opinion about her nephew's love life. Yes, things might actually be worse for our hero this time around.

The title of "Double Trouble" has to do with the fact that in this collection of "Ultimate Spider-Man" #14-21, Spider-Man has not one but two villains after him (I was going to say two super villains, but that would not be the case). The new and improved bad guys this time around are Doctor Octopus, who has come out of his coma to discover his tentacles are fused to his skin, and Kraven the Hunter, who is now a reality television star from Down Under. Clearly, the more you know about the original Spider-Man comics and his various foes the more you will enjoy Bendis's refinements and provocative changes. At the end of this collection Spider-Man enjoys his biggest moment in the sun since the spider bit him, which quickly follows with a particularly low moment for Peter. Even when we think we know the rules of the game, Bendis continues to surprise us.

"Double Trouble" is the third trade paperback collection of "Ultimate Spider-Man" comics, which re-imagines the webhead as a younger Peter Parker trying to learn the ropes of being a superhero. But for those who read the first couple hundred issues of the original "Amazing Spider-Man" this is a hyper retelling of the tale. Forget all the ... superheroes Spidey had to fight with; this time around the focus is on the best and the baddest. The biggest difference between these first 21 issues of "Ultimate Spider-Man" and the original comic is that a single issue is no longer a complete story; it takes eight issues for the conflict between Spidey and Doc Ock to develop and be resolved. Consequently, we have the rather paradoxical fact that things are happening much faster for Spider-Man in this retelling of the tale while taking longer to develop. I continue to be impressed by this brilliant "re-imagining," which is drawn by Mark Bagley with inks by Art Thibert and Erik Benson.

this is spideys best villans first apperance Doc Ock and it shows spideys but being handed to him and becoming infamous. But kraven fans beware he isnt at his best. it even has a sneak peek of sandman. and this is a must have

"Ultimate X-Men" was the second title released in the "Ultimate" series, just after "Ultimate Spider-man" came out. Spidey was awesome, but with what little information that had slipped out regarding the new X-Men relaunch, the book looked to be disappointing. But it wasn't.

The new title is nothing short of gripping from page one. Scribe Mark Millar has done amazing things with the retelling, taking risky liberties that pay off. His X-Team initially starts off with Marvel Girl(who sports a punk rocker's hairdo) and Cyclops(Every bit the same boyscout in the Claremont run) who recruit Beast, Storm, and Colossus. Their first mission is to retrieve Bobby Drake, who's being hunted down by Sentinals, but Magneto has his own agendas as well.

The differences from the original are mostly good. The characters are far from being as lighthearted as their normal universe counterparts. Beast's mother refuses to speak with him. Colossus was a Russian arm's dealer and Storm, a small-time carjacker and pickpocket. Magneto is every bit as charismatic and frightening as he well should be. And Wolverine ... well, let's just say he's working freelance.

Millar's dialouge is always very strong and well thought out. Through the first storyarc, he'll do thinks that will make you balk and then appreciate the originality of it all. The Kubert brothers' art works perfectly, always detailed and well paced.

Now, what's bad? Very little. With such a large cast of mutants, many fan-favorites don't make appearances until much later on, if at all. Mystique was a full fledged member of the team in Millar's rough drafts, but not at all present in the final work. Nightcrawler, a personal favorite, appears in the second storyarc collected here, and plays a significant role, but is absent from the later issues. But one should read this for the story, not the charcters. In addition, the second story doesn't seem to really go anywhere. It's good, not as good as the first, but it seems there was more that could've, or should've been done with the plot.

All-in-all, this collection isn't a must-have, but a good read and worth owning if you're a fan of the X-Men. It may not be perfect, but it comes darn close.

I have collected comics for many years, and I know when I read a good comic. HERE IT IS! Not only is the art amazing but the story gets you hooked. My only complaint is WHERE'S THE ANGEL? and on that note whers Shadowcat, or Gambit, or Banshee, or Havok, or Polaris, ect.

This hardcover combines the first two story arcs in this series: The Tomorrow People and Return to Weapon-X. Millar's take on the X-Men is new and refreshing. Using Marvel's new Ultimate universe, changes have been made to continuity to conform to the new story line. The team is different, the characters younger, and their powers a little stronger. The writing is tight and humerous, and the stories, especially the first one, are riveting. Millar does a good job combining characterization and action. These two story lines, especially the first one, are wonderful. The series has started to go downhill a little since, but this book is a must read for any X-Men fan.

Powell argues for John's gospel as being the earliest written, with Mark being written in answer to John. The idea that John 21 was the original ending to Mark rather neatly solves the problem of why Mark ends so abruptly. Mark's ending was transferred to John to help "smooth over" the differences between the two gospels. Powell's arguments for the primacy of John are good, but they fail to carry the day. Mark doesn't appear to be written in answer to anything. It appears to be written by a man who simply wants to tell the story of Jesus in a language which is not his native tongue. If either of the gospels appears to be an "answer" to anything, it is John. John takes great pains to elevate the "beloved disciple" over Peter, an indication that Peter occupied a highly respected place in the early church and that the author of John might have harbored some resentment of Peter. Regardless of whether you agree with Powell's conclusions, you can appreciate his scholarship and the cogent arguments he makes to support his views.

This theory fits so well with recent liberal scholarship, it's just a matter of time before other authors reconsider the gospel dating. The Christ-myth books (The Christ Conspiracy, The Jesus Puzzle, Deconstructing Jesus, The Jesus Mysteries) describe how the story began first as history-style myth and then later became reified as actual historical events of a single, toweringly influential Jesus figure.

In Paul's authentic epistles, Jesus is mythical, and in the synoptic gospels, Jesus is historical. Why place John after the synoptics, then? It makes more sense to see John as the bridge from the mythic early epistles to the later synoptic Literalist/historicizing gospels, to form a smooth progression.

The more I read other recent books, the more I keep being drawn to The Unfinished Gospel. Right now there is a tension building up; it's so inconsistent with the latest conception of the transformation of Christianity in the first few centuries to assume the John is later than the synoptics. This book may become a classic, because there is an established minority of scholars who agree that John reflects earlier traditions than the synoptic gospels.

I expect that once the other contemporary scholars consider how perfectly this book's redating fits in with their theories of myth-making and historicizing, this book could garner a lot of attention. Gnostic, esoteric, and Christ-myth scholars should consider this book.

Near the end of a ten year study on the Bible and Christianity, involving dozens of books on the subject, I came upon "The Unfinished Gospel". Finally it all came together and made some kind of sense. Powell presents, in my opinion, an incredibly sound theory bridging the chasm between rational thinking and the origins of the Christian religion, enabling both to co-exist. Sounds hard to believe, I know, but he really does pull it off. Absolutely a must read for those of us "cursed" with a too-logical mind to accept on faith the Christian doctrine. A good book also for any Christian or biblical scholar willing to look objectively at the story from a rational viewpoint. Extremely well written and easy to read.

This book is basically a manual for Unicode 3.0. It is not a light read but well worth the price and then some just for the glyphs from all of the various scripts that Unicode supports.

At 1040 large (8.5 x 11) pages it is the ultimate guide to unicode. With information on scripts and glyphs I had no idea even existed.

However if you are just getting started with Unicode I would recomend you get Unicode a Primer written by Tony Graham from M&T books. If you understand or feel you are starting to understand Unicode then The Unicode Standard Version 3.0 is the best comprehensive reference on the subject out today.

Consider it an overview of the developing UNICODE standard. As such, it will serve the engineer working on software in English and many other European countries rather well. It will be a good _starting_ _point_ for engineers developing software for other languages.

This book is essential for software engineers, at least for the next ten years or so. All programmers should understand characters, and UNICODE is the best we have for now. Even if you don't need it in your personal library, you need it in your company or school library.

The standard is flawed, as all real standards are, but it is a functioning standard, and it should be sufficient for many purposes for the near future.

The book itself is fairly well laid out, contains an introduction to character handling problems and methods for most of the major languages in use in our present world as well as tables of basic images for all code points. Be aware that these are _only_ basic images. For most internationalization purposes, be prepared for more research. (And please share your results.)

**** Finally, UNICODE is _not_ a 16 bit code. ****

(This is well explained in the book.) It just turned out that there really are over 50,000 Han characters. (Mojikyo records more than 90,000.) UNICODE can be encoded in an eight-bit or 16-bit expanding method or a 32-bit non-expanding method. The expanding methods can be _cleanly_ parsed, frontwards, backwards, and from the middle, which is a significant improvement over previous methods.

Some of the material in the book is available at the UNICODE consortium's site, but the book is easier to read anyway. One complaint I have about the included CD is that the music track gets in the way of reading the transform files on my iBook.

This is not just a reference for computer people, but for anyone interested in alphabets, symbols and character sets.

Central to the book, taking up the larger part of it, are the tables of the characters themselves, printed large with annotations and cross-references. If you enjoy the lure of strange symbols and curious writing systems then browsing these will occupy delightful hours.

For the Latin alphabet alone there are pages of accented letters and extended Latin alphabet characters used in particular languages or places or traditions: Pan-Turkic "oi", African clicks and other African sounds, obsolete letters from Old English and Old Norse, an "ou" digraph used only in Huron/Algonquin languages in Quebec, and many others, particularly those used for phonetic/phonemic transcriptions.

The Greek character set includes archaic letters and additional letters used in Coptic.

Character sets carried over from previous editions with additions and corrections are Cyrillic (with many national characters), Armenian, Georgian, Hebrew, Arabic (again many national and dialect characters), the most common Hindu scripts (Devanagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam), Tibetan, Thai, Lao, Hangul, Bopomofo, Japanese Katakana and Hiragana, capped by the enormous Han character set containing over 27,000 of the most commonly used ideographs in Chinese/Japanese/Korean writing. Then there are the symbols: mathematical/logical (including lots of arrows), technical, geometrical, and pictographic. You'll find astrological/zodiacal signs, chess pieces, I-Ching trigrams, Roman numerals not commonly known, and much more.

Scripts appearing for the first time this release are Syriac, Ethiopic, Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics, Cherookee, Runes, Ogham, Yi, Mongolian, Sinhala, Thaana, Khmer, Myanmar, complete Braille patterns, and keyboard character sets. And yes, there are public domain/shareware fonts available on the web that support these with their new Unicode values.

There are very good (and not always brief) descriptions of the various scripts and of the special symbol sets. Rounding out the book are some involved, turgid (necessarily so) technical articles on composition, character properties, implementation guidelines, and combining characters, providing rules to use the character properties tables on the CD that accompanies the book. After all, this is the complete official, definitive Unicode standard.

Of course this version, 3.0, is already out-of-date. But updates and corrections are easily available from the official Unicode website where data for 3.1 Beta appears as I write this. My book bulges with interleaved additions and changes. And that's very good. Many standards have died or been superceded because the organizations behind them did not keep up with users' needs or the information was not easily accessible.

Caveats?

The notes on actual uses of the characters could be more extensive, particularly on Latin extended characters. More variants of some glyphs should be shown, as in previous editions, if only in the notations.

Some character names are clumsy or inaccurate (occasionly noted in the book), because of necessity to be compatible with ISO/IEC 10646 and with earlier versions of the Unicode standard. For example, many character names begin with "LEFT" rather than "OPENING" or "RIGHT" rather than "CLOSING" though the same character code is to be used for a mirrored version of the character in right-to-left scripts where "LEFT" and "RIGHT" then become incorrect. And sample this humorous quotation from page 298: "Despite its name, U+0043 SCRIPT CAPITAL LETTER P is neither script nor capital--it is uniquely the Weierstrass elliptic function derived from a calligraphic lowercase p."