Being a hugh Bonnie Raitt fan one may imagine how excited I was to get this book. It actually is the liner notes from Ms Raitt's albums and various interviews she has given over the years strung together. Some of the text is taken verbatium off of liner notes.

Instead of spending money on this book, just go back and read every review written on Bonnie Raitt's work, and you will get the same information. Mr. Bego offers nothing new and no inside information, no childhood background, no authorization or cooperation from the artist herself. Disappointing.

Half way through reading this book I checked what amazon.com reviewers thought about it and I was very surprised with black-and-white opinions expressed here:seems that people find this book either the best biography ever written (which is not) or the worst biography ever written (which is not).I think that Mr.Bego did loving job,writting about the artist he obviously care for (no dirty sensationalism here) and if he used every available information he could (LP cover lines and so on) I understand that was the only information to be found,in his place I would probably do the same!As the book intrigued me to look for more of Bonnie Raitt's music,it did good job and even if its not the most exciting book ever written,it did provide me with some information about Bonnie which I didnt know before and it make me curious to listen ALL of her albums.Is that "the worst biography ever written" as the previous reviewers think?

I guess all the refugee's of Miami U./ Oxford's "Monday Night Smoking and Drinking" from the early 80's are commenting here.

I knew Mark, I knew Jim, I knew Akers. I forget who's idea the trip was, but Akers was supposed to go before she had something come up. Some sort of poetry emergency. Anyway, Jim was/is a better writer than Mark, Akers was better than both, and doing a book about it was her idea. That's the way I remember it and I am bigger than any 2 of them.

The best thing I can say about Winegardner is that as a writer and original thinker he was very good looking.

I know Wingardner, and I know his road trip buddy, Jim. Trust me, Jim would have written a MUCH better story. Wingardner's prose is flat, his tone is at once snide and "gosh golly gee whiz," and he scripts himself as the hero in nearlly every chapter. I agree with the first reviewer that "Elvis Presley Boulevard" is more "Me, Glorious Me," which is a shame, given the potential richness of the material. Jim sent me a postcard of a fur-bearing trout from this trip, and the message on the back had more drama, wit and affection for the subject than this whole book.

Winegardner's later, amazing novels--The Veracruz Blues and Crooked River Burning--are the places to start reading this first-rate American writer. But this book really does give an intriguing taste of what this writer will do later. A smart, seminal American road trip, written with heart and verve.

If you are an absolute beginner to programming games in Linux this book might be useful in that it introduces you to some of the main libraries used in Linux game programming but the book lacks any real information. Even if you read it from cover to cover you still won't know enough to make even the simplest game. The best thing you can say about this book is thay it can give you some hints about where you can really learn to do Linux game programming.

This book is a good overview of what gaming libraries are out there for programming in linux and some fundamentals on getting several of those gaming libraries. But that's it...

I've found the book to be extremely lacking in depth or finished code samples. It gives snippets on how to accomplish something then leaves you hanging. Plus there are quite a bit of syntax errors in the code that can leave a beginner quite frustrated. Nothing is worse than cutting and pasting code from a book word for word and not having it compile because of poor book editing.

The author tries to cover everything from sound, to video, to AI, to networking - with several different libraries - in a 300 page book. And a good fifty of those pages are concerning the gpl and other licenses. Knowing about the GPL and about open source is great, but not when I spent money on game programming (video, sound, ai). What this results in is less than 10 pages on one particular topic.

To sum up: browse this book in the bookstore and then keep moving. Buy yourself a better C++ or OpenGL book instead. Or just go online - better information exists out there.

The author knows what he is talking about and you can tell that he has been there himself. The experiences he shares are invaluable - they save you so much time! This book gets you started by answering the really difficult and important questions: What are the best libraries and tools to use, how do you get the major obstacles out of the way and what are the basic principles in modern game programming. If you have ever strived to write top quality software you will appreciate and undertand the advice in this book.
This won't teach you how to program in C/C++, although there is plenty of good general advice. But it will teach you what you need to know to write games in C/C++.
If you are looking for completed source code that you can tweak a bit to have your "own" game, look elsewhere. If you are a C/C++ programmer, but not very familiar with Linux, graphics, sound, or networking - this is for you!
I loved the authors humour, too, by the way. Excellent reading.

My gosh, I have never read such a poorly written book! Wasn't there an editor at Prentice Hall to have, at least, reviewed this book prior of it going out to print? The poor grammar usage, the garble & ambiguity of explaing the concepts; it truly lacks direction...where are the solutions to the problem exercises?

I consider myself a strong avid reader, but I have found myself re-reading a page or two before pressing on.

If this is a required textbook for your accounting class, I highly suggest investing in a good supplemental study guide to aid you with this book. Good luck!!

I've just completed my managerial accounting course with an "A" grade DESPITE having been assigned this text. These authors, like many accounting authors, don't know how to use language to convey the concepts they're attempting to get across. (Does that mean they're "numbers people" who can't use language correctly to develop ideas?? Perhaps!!!) Even more so, the way they choose to conceptually develop managerial accounting theory is somewhat farcical. If you've been assigned this text from your instructor, RUN OUT NOW AND INVESTIGATE OTHER MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING TEXTS TO USE IN CONJUCTION WITH IT. (Try "Managerial Accounting" Weygandt, Kieso and Kimmel) The problem with "Management Accounting" is that it has little precision in describing the main issues of managerial accounting and wants to be an Operations Management text or Management text rather than an authentic Managerial Accounting text. As students, let's vote with our wallets and tell these accounting authors to get a 2nd degree in English so that they can actually convey to us the ideas they're attempting to convey!!! Tell your professor he/she needs to wake up and change texts! The book was written for people who really don't want to actually learn Managerial Accounting theory, but want to pretend to have learned it. It can't describe the critical concepts in enough detail for you to get a good grip on the material - and it's conceptual development of the theory is confusing. Switch it!

I would not recommend this book to anyone who has not have any prior Managerial Accounting classes or sufficient work experience in this area. The way the topics are presented in the book requires familiarity with a number of related concepts in order to gain full understanding. Additionally, there is a number of instances in which concepts are introduced in a given chapter, but not explained until a later one, which makes it really confusing for those exposed to Managerial Accounting for the first time.

There is very little of value in this book that shouldn't be posted on Oracle's web site as a tutorial or whitepaper. It is expectedly Oracle centric, but only covers their products in a very broad manner without much meat. For example, Chapter 4: "Developing for an Oracle Application" is only 16 pages and simply provides definitions for the variety of Oracle-side web apps/extensions.

If you really want to buy an Oracle XML book, then get the O'Reilly "Oracle XML Applications". Now there's a 5* book.

If you've ever tried understanding Oracle's XML offering from the technet documentation, you've probably given up in despair, as the information is available, but it's totally disorganised.

Unfortunately, this book suffers the same problems. Many of the examples can be found on technet, and the organisation is no better. Like many Oracle Press books, this layout is poor, and the examples are either superficial or non-existent.

Instead, try Steve Muench's "Oracle XML Applications." It's superb.

There are several problems with this book. One is that very little coverage is given to the Oracle XML SDK. I could not find useful documentation on TechNet regarding use of the XML SDK via PL/SQL. I had hoped that this book would provide examples of SDK and a more complete set of documentation. To my disappointment, this book does not provide much more than an overview.

The other problem with this book is that it was written with examples for Oracle Application Server, which has been replaced by iAS. Bottom line, this book reads like it was written for the first release of Oracle's XML SDK. Your better off on TechNet and the newsgroups.

I'm truly on the fence about a number of animal rights/animal welfare issues, and this book did nothing to help me clarify my opinions. The author defends virtually every practice anyone protests in the name of animal rights - from meat-eating and medical research, to hunting and fur-wearing and cosmetic testing - with "but they're just animals!" as her sole argument.

There is certainly a reason that Kathleen's Animalscam is currently out of print: this book was a sorry collection of laughable excuses as to why human beings ought to be able to continue slaughtering, torturing, and exploiting animals for whatever trivial reasons they like. A copy of this book is currently available in my own public library, and I've a good mind to check it out and 'lose' it conveniently.

What disturbed me most about Animalscam was the section on animals as they are used for 'entertainment'. The author stresses that circuses animals are 'treated well' by their handlers, and that there is no good reason why they should be liberated from their miserable lives in ridiculous clothes, as they perform meaningless tricks for thousands of humans that will forget it all in the space of a week. I don't dispute the fact that many circus handlers are kind to their animals (although many are NOT), but what the author fails to mention are the horrendous experiences that many of these animals must suffer through when they are captured from their native countries and 'broken' by natives, all to make them easier to handle for shipping to the Americas. A chilling documentary shown recently on the Discovery Channel aired just such an experience; I remember watching in horror as a small African elephant was strapped down and beaten repeatedly by callous workers to show the animal who 'was in charge'. The animal's destination: circus life in the United States.

This book opens up showing the abuses of many of the big name Animal Rights groups. The vast majority of funds raised are not used towards benefiting animals by research or health funds but actually go back to programs to raise even more money. These figures are not released by these various groups because it would by common sense cease people sending them more funding.

A value judgement is given that human life has greater importance and to lose sight of this can only lead us to a world where groups like the Taliban can kill off women because they have no value. Humans are the present reigning species and this book does not suggest that we abuse or neglect animals just that we utilize our funds with information. To believe that you are giving to a charity for the welfare of animals and instead find out that the money goes to a select group whose salaries are in the top 5% and also that the charity funds and defends voilence and destruction of research is very disheartening. This book provides a vast number of source for all claims it puts forth, similar to the Susan Faludi book "Backlash".
Please keep your minds open and don't be lazy thinkers when you gift your funds to organizations.

This book fails miserably at explaining anything. The examples dissuaded me to purchase it only to find out that simple explanations about how it AI works are nowhere to be found (there is however superfluous and distracting commentary on simple Java things like Runnable, Applets, there's even networking code for a POP mail client which really ought to be delegated to support code outside from the book's topic). The examples themselves typically have no comments, even if they are several pages long. Later chapters provide more insight, however when you are looking to learn something, the "simpler" topics are glossed over.

The Java code also leaves a lot to be desired, it doesn't follow standard java naming conventions for instance variables and method names and the style is so varied and terrible (sometimes instance variables are declared at the top, sometimes at the bottom) that reading the code becomes a chore (and all that without commentary.

Some web pages on the net provide more useful information.

This book fails misserably at explaining anything. The examples disuaded me to purchase it only to find out that simple explanations about how it AI works are no where to be found. The examples themselves typically have no comments, even if they are several pages long. Later chapters provide more insight, however when you are looking to learn something, the "simpler" topics are glossed over.

The Java code also leaves a lot to be desired, it doesn't follow standard java naming conventions for variables and the style is so varied and terrible (sometimes instance variables are declared at the top, sometimes at the bottom) that reading the code becomes a chore (and all that without commentary.)

Some web pages on the net provide more useful information.

"Intelligent Java Applications" was my first introduction to neural networks and AI in general, when I bought the book a couple of years ago. It took an undergraduate neural modeling class at an Ivy League university before I appreciated what a lousy introduction to neural networks this book actually is. Watson glosses over all of the theoretical basis of neural networks, and does an inadequate job of explaining just what a neural network is and how it works. The author could have easily explained (in a paragraph) what a linear associator is, before launching into the more convoluted, multiple-layer back-prop algorithm that is presented in the book. If you want a real book on neural networks (along with neurophysiological, theoretical, and historical developments), I highly recommend "Introduction to Neural Networks" by James Anderson.

Watson also wastes paper by baby-stepping the reader through some useless GUI and networking packages that makes his code presentable (when run) but much more difficult to decipher. A useful AI tutorial would not be so tied to a specific language. Alas, I have a feeling that the Java reference, as well as the "For the Internet and Intranets" subtitle was a clever bait-and-switch tactic to sell more copies of this book. If you're interested in the function of AI rather than the theory (if, suppose, you're progamming a game), then this book might be useful. But I have a feeling that better resources exist if this is your avenue of interest.

I have not, as of yet, done much course-based or indepenent research on expert systems, genetic algorithms, character recognition, natural language processing, or any of the other topics that are covered in this book. But I have a feeling that, if I do, I'll find the rest of Watson's material similarly lacking.

While this book does cover all the material for the Logic games portion of the LSAT, the book complicates the material to a point of confusion. In order to remember all the set-ups they use, you would have to study for months. It is a good source but I couldn't get my head around all the different types of games they explain. Try somethig else if you are having a hard time with the games, this will only complicate matters more.

Are the logic puzzles your Achille's heel on the LSAT? Then this is the book for you.

Work through the problems in this book, and the actual questions on the test will seem much easier. The examples in this book are much more difficult than the actual test. I do not think you will ever learn all the catagories of questions and identify each one definitively, but that is not the point of your studies. This book will challenge you and make the process of thinking through the logic puzzles much easier.

The book only gets 4 stars because it surprisingly contains several typos and one wrong answer. I would expect a study guide to have no mistakes.

This book had a definite impact on my score. If you take the free LSAT practice exam and score less than 150, then this book is probably not for you; purchase a more generalized study guide. This book is for the people that want to get the highest scores and accepted at the best rated law schools.

I found this book very useful; I bought it the day before I had to take the GRE, so I didn't get the full use out of it, but I think that it still really helped me on the test. The book breaks down the types of games you may find on the test - this definitely helps during the test when time is short. I haven't checked out the other books devoted to logic games, so you might want to read reviews on those books as well.

In general it provides a decent overview of the the e-business revolution and how the internet has the potential to improve any companies business processes. If it had stayed at the academic/practical level it would have been an enjoyable read.

But it is an annoying self-aggrandizing ego-building piece for Ellison. It bashes Microsoft and Siebel as well as any other company it views as a competitor. It is obvious that Oracle wants complete domination of the database and business suite market so that Ellison can then claim he is the richest person in the world.

What they do not tell you is that their Oracle 11i release needs 5,000 patches and then it still does not work.

If you are building a database with e-business apps for your business then avoid this book and simply read Ellison's 'How we saved a billion dollars a year' on their website. Better books are: Sawhney & Zabin - 7 steps to Nirvana - Strategic insights into eBusiness transformation; e-business 2.0 - Kalakota; customer relationship management - brown; e-business & e-commerce for managers - deitel (a textbook); executives guide to e-business - Deise et al.

In general it provides a decent overview of the the e-business revolution and how the internet has the potential to improve any companies business processes. If it had stayed at the academic/practical level it would have been an enjoyable read.

But it is an annoying self-aggrandizing ego-building piece for Ellison. It bashes Microsoft and Siebel as well as any other company it views as a competitor. It is obvious that Oracle wants complete domination of the database and business suite market so that Ellison can then claim he is the richest person in the world.

What they do not tell you is that their Oracle 11i release needs 5,000 patches and then it still does not work.

If you are building a database with e-business apps for your business then avoid this book and simply read Ellison's 'How we saved a billion dollars a year' on their website. Better books are: Sawhney & Zabin - 7 steps to Nirvana - Strategic insights into eBusiness transformation; e-business 2.0 - Kalakota; customer relationship management - brown; e-business & e-commerce for managers - deitel (a textbook); executives guide to e-business - Deise et al.

Like many people I'm not totally endeared to Microsoft. However this books extreme bias towards Oracle products and negation of Microsoft and others makes me feel that the title could be renamed to: "The Oracle Guide to buying Oracle e-commerce products".

This fact alone make me read the factual components with a pinch of salt.

Sorry Guys.

This is the worst java book I've ever read. The book is unorganized and the content is not suitable for the beginner at all.

The companion CD-ROM is useless.

If the authors would like to publish the new version for JDK 1.2, there will be a lot of works they need to get accomplished.

Simple words from me.... Don't buy this book.

Covers alot of fancy staff but has a great lack of contents. It seems like the author has rushed through the book just to fill it out with the Java 1.1 features and forgot to describe the import basics behind the language. There's now way you're gonna be a Java guru by reading this book!

It is very thorough. Almost everything important about java is in there including JDBC, JNI, Java Beans, Servlets, security management, even the specification of the virtual machine and most is explained well understandble. It is the best java book I ever saw!