This book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in creating websites with great business value. As a server-side applications developer, I've been mainly concerned with exploiting the web as a technological medium. This book opened my eyes to the web as an information medium, strategically used to improve a company's bottom line. It truly delivers on its claim -- [serving as] "a bridge from technical understanding to business savvy".

The book is extremely well-organized and has tons of practical knowledge and insight. Furthermore, all the principles are illustrated using easy to follow, real life examples. Excellent throughout -- highly recommended!

Building effective business systems and web applications requires an understanding of not only technology, but also the organization and the processes in which it will be implemented.

Nick Flor, a Professor of Information Systems at Carnegie Mellon's Graduate School of Industrial Administration, argues that to create high-value business web sites requires business as well as technical knowledge. He draws a distinction between a mere web site, which he says, exchanges information and a business web site, which exchanges value - it generates significant revenues and/or drastically pares expenses.

He says three skills are required is proposed for systematically molding the Web to the specific requirements of the specific business.

1.General Business Knowledge.
2.An ability to analyze and diagnose business activities.
3.An ability to design Web treatments to address those activities.

To equip Web entrepreneurs and consultants with these requisite skills, Flor organizes his book into four sections:

1.Web Business 101 - This section covers the first business skill - the big picture. This general business primer includes a discussion of Return on Investment, Net Present Value, Payback, Internal Rate of Return, production, distribution and the effects of competition.
2.Web Business Engineering - Using the knowledge acquired in the first section, the book proposes a methodology that links technical knowledge with business specific knowledge.
3.Case Studies Putting Offline Activities Online
4.Case Studies Applying Web Business Engineering to Online Activities

Stick with the book until you reach the case studies. They add value to the first two sections.

This well-written book sheds important light on web development. By focusing on the author's definition of "value", managers and development teams will avoid aping successful online companies, building instead, systems that address what companies should be doing online based on their offline activities.

Until reading this book I thought I had a good understanding of what it took to design the underlying strategy and processes supporting commercial web sites. After reading this book I clearly saw how wrong I was.

The approach set forth in this incredible book is straightforward and focused solely on business imperatives. I suspect that the author and publisher realized that the title would attract IT professionals and consultants, which accounts for the inclusion of business 101. I almost skipped over this part and am glad I didn't. Even here what I thought I knew about business turned out to be superficial. The education you will receive in Business 101 goes well beyond the basics and I recommend that everyone read this regardless of whether you are an IT professional or have a business background. You might just discover that you've been misapplying common techniques such as NPV, IRR and ROI, or using the results in erroneous ways. In other words, the section titled "Business 101" is much, much more.

I loved the author's approach to value chain analysis, which is straightforward and based on a simple, but effective, notational language. Here, like in every other chapter, I learned techniques that will serve me well in general consulting assignments outside of web business engineering.

The web business engineering methodology itself is one of the leanest, most effective processes that I've ever encountered. I can only describe it as elegant. It's a blueprint for success when success is measured by how well a system is aligned to business strategy and goals. If you follow the method and resist the temptation to take shortcuts you will be rewarded with a system that meets all of your requirements and objectives whatever they may be - and you'll know exactly what the value of that system is to your organization.

A few observations about this book: (1) Give yourself plenty of time to read through this book and work through each example. It took me four times as long as it would for a book of approximate page count and topic complexity. If you're unwilling to make this commitment, perhaps you should pass this book up. (2) I fully agree with the author and a previous reviewer that web systems projects should be managed by business instead of IT. (3) If you're an IT professional get this book and read it from cover to cover - even if you never work on a web project you'll receive an incredible education in business factors and requirements analysis that will serve you well on *any* project. As a fellow IT professional I will assure you that this book will change your outlook.

This book is among the best I've read on any topic or subject and should be required reading for anyone who is assigned to a web project. It's also, in my opinion, one of the most important books published in the past few years.

Heitzenrater's book is the best single-volume work on Wesley. He has, in an accessible prose, documented Wesley's life and the foundations of the Methodist Movement better than anyone before him. It utilizes the sources that are the foundation of the older biographies, such as Wesley's journal. More importantly, however, it effectively utilizes nontraditional sources for understanding his life. He creatively and effectively uses Wesley's theological writings, the writings of contemporaries, and conference minutes to more fully tell Wesley's story.

Heitzenrater is the Albert C. Outler Chair of Wesleyan Studies at Duke Divinity School. He is widely recognized as the foremost expert on Wesley's life. He is also the current editor of the Works of Wesley; he has taken that role since Outler's death.

This is a superb book by Richard P. Heitzenrater. The narrative moves us through the many seasons of John Wesley's ministry, noting significant events and conflicts along the way. But this is a book that is very much limited to a focus on Wesley. It is as though a spotlight is on our protagonist and everyone else is given only minor occasions for sharing in his light...or being heard in the darkened background.

The strongest criticism of this book is that it defies its own title -- there are no PEOPLE called Methodists in this book. For one of the most profound and popular religious movements since the Reformation, it is amazing that Heitzenrater has neglected to include a portrayal of the people themselves. Who were these people? I am not talking about Wesley's aids here. I am talking about the common folk who made up the lion's share of the movement. There is no mention in this book of women's spirituality (in a movement made up of approximately 60 percent women!). There is no discussion of the social factors surrounding the rise of Methodism. So much of the story is missed.

Nevertheless! This is an excellent introduction to the topic of Wesley and Methodism...it is only that it could have been so much more.

Richard Heitzenrater's book, although at times extremely heavy reading and subject matter sometimes difficult to appreciate at first blush is an excellent example of drawing the "historical" into the same sphere as "contemporary" subjects.

This is an excellent book for those seeking to gain a greater and more informed understanding of the sometimes difficult relationship betwen Wesley and the early Methodists - they were not always on the friendliest of terms.

A book highly reccomened for those wishing and willing to read a heavy but non-the-less readable book.

Congraulations to Richard Heitzenrater.

BLOOD TO DRINK is another fine entry in the Wesley Farrell series. As ususal, Skinner's storytelling is strong and his characterization of Farrell grows more complex with each novel.

But what impresses me most is how Skinner actually makes you feel like you are in the 1930's or at least the 1930's as we like to imagine the era.

Mystery buff or history buff, you'll love this book and the rest of the series.

If you're a fan of detective stories, don't miss this book.

Well-plotted, well-rounded characters, dynamite dialogue, a unique setting (New Orleans in the 1930s), Robert Skinner's BLOOD TO DRINK is an outstanding book and a genuinely pleasurable read. It packs quite a punch.

Wesley Farrell is at his deliciously tough best, gun wielding, knife slashing, lady kissing, put-the-bad-guys-in-the-ground.

The intricate plot of gangsters, cops, organized criminals, alluring women, and crooked politicians is surprisingly easy to follow. Only a writer of Skinner's obvious skill can pull something like this off so easily, so deftly. This is one well-crafted novel I highly recommend.

It is certainly nice to be able to visit New Orleans in the good ole, bad ole days.

Robert Skinner has penned another Wesley Farrell mystery for his readers. Hardboiled mysteries are not my cuppa, but historical mysteries are, and since I missed out on reviewing his last title Daddy's Gone A-Hunting, I decided to grab this one up. Even though the storyline is a little stronger than I anticipated, I'm glad I did.

At the beginning, Mr. Skinner gives us a quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables, 1851: "God will give him blood to drink" -- and so goes the story. Wes Farrell's world is in the south; New Orleans to be exact. The former rumrunner now runs a nightclub. His sweetheart Savanna Beaulieu, back from a sabbatical, owns one in the French Quarter, but she only has a small part in this mystery. The prologue takes us to September 23, 1934, when Louis Bras and his Hot Six Combo were raising the roof at the Honey Pot. Wes thinks he's minding his own business until a Coast Guard Lt. Commander George Schofield shows up looking for an anonymous informant. The night leads to a deadly conclusion, one that will come back to haunt Wes five years later. 1939: A T-agent (Treasury agent) by the same name of Schofield shows up asking questions about George Schofield in an attempt to get some answers to that night in '34. The T-agent doesn't know Wes was with his brother that night, so Wes is in the clear, except that he wants answers of his own. At the same time, an undercover cop is killed and Chief of Detectives Frank Casey, Detective Sam Andres and Negro Squad Detectives Merlin Gautier and Sergeant Israel Daggett take to the streets looking for the killer or killers.

In Blood to Drink, the reader will know who the killers are. The mystery to solve is: whom is the bone chilling, threatening voice that gives the orders. Wes Farrell mysteries are highly seasoned, suspenseful reads to begin with, but with bad guys like Mercer and Zottie it becomes an even more demanding read. The author, Robert Skinner, is talented in his ability to bring the south, during the thirties, to life. With a stroke of his pen, he creates an intoxicating atmosphere of inestimable, dynamic characters so rich in dialect and life that they ascend from his inscribed print. It isn't just a mystery; it's one of the most provocative paintings of the south I have read in a while.

IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH DON'T READ ANY FURTHER , I CAN NOT EXPLAIN IN WORDS SOME OF THE FRIGHTENING SCENES WRITTEN BY W.D.L. . HE TAKES YOU FROM A RECONDITIONING CAMP IN THE MIDDLE OF RUSSIA TO THE POLITICAL NIGHTMARE OF A GOVERNMENT RUN BY RELIGIOUS ZEALOTS. DO NOT MISS THIS INCREDIBLE AND EXOTIC LOOK AT THE NOT TO DISTANT FUTURE. I BELIVE THAT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO EXPRESS YOUR FEELINGS FOR THIS NOVEL IN MERE WORDS. GOD KNOWS I TRIED.

This is one of the most interesting books that I have read in years.Eternity has a plot firmly grounded in science fiction with far ranging themes that include international espionage,government controlled by religous leaders, and the love and hate between a wide cast of charaters. This is not a novel that should be read by minors in my opinion as it contains graphic sex and descriptive torture scenes that only a mature reader can endure. Join Boris Gregory and a secret society of spies outside government controll as they fight to save humanity in the face of political monsters real and imagined. With many twists and an insightful look at the not to distant future this is sure to be a bestseller.

Do yourself a favor and read this novel before the movie comes out,,,,it surely will be made into a movie because of the terrific adventure..do yourself a favor and read it .....

Enter the world of the Pix where magic is divided into three categories, or spheres: Wicca, Fae, and Black magic. It is a world where souls can be merged into weapons to give them incredible magical qualities. And it is one of these weapons: The Griffin's Gauntlet, which must be used to free the Pix from the tyrannical rule of the Dragon King. I really enjoyed this book's storyline. It is compelling and shaped beautifully through fantasy and imagination. The characters and backdrop were described in a creative fashion. The attention to detail and vivid imagery of the people and places really added to the feel of the epic. Definitely recommended to the fantasy fan.

Sharon Amber is whisked away and abandoned in a world where a tyrant has cast a horrible curse on the populace to suppress rebellion. Only Sharon, who is immune to the effects of magic, good or bad, can aid in lifting the curse and bring about the downfall of Bain, the Dragon King. I liked this author's writing style. The story flowed and transitioned from chapter to chapter and was especially captivating when new characters and places were introduced. And I loved the unique way its exceptional characters and fantastic events fit together. An astonishing amount of imagination must have been used to write a book like this. This is an incredible fantasy that kept getting better and better as the story went on.

The Griffin's Gauntlet has a bit of everything to those who enjoy a good read: A fantasy world, creative use of characters and places, bloodshed, and a memorable female lead character.

Dr Miller told me of his book, and as I was so impressed with him as a person and a surgeon, it was the first book I read during my recovery. Even though I was still on pain killers when I started, I couldn't put it down, staying awake longer than I should have each night.

I heartily agree with the first two reviews written before mine, and will let them stand as my views also.

To unwind from his work, Dr. Miller told me he that on Saturdays he frequently gets an intellectually stimulating book on tape, and then takes his dog for an all day hike in the Cascade Mountains (near Seattle) while he listens to the book. This gives me the thought that he really is a renaissance man.

Pain killers aside, I thought the whole theme falls together for you during the last few pages. You may wonder as you go along as to how it all falls together. He does not disappoint you at the end.

I felt it was one of the best books I have ever read.

Suspend all your usual stereotypes about insensitive or materialistic surgeons! Donald W Miller, a cardiac surgeon, is a most knowledgeable, sincere, and deep thinker who has contributed a monumental work of art to our human quest for understanding. Heart in Hand is a wonderful gift, especially in this Information Age where true meaning and personal significance are often lost to Moore's Law and the next Microsoft takeover. Miller's exhaustive reflections on the nature of life are backed by solid scientific evidence, intuition, and a passionate appreciation for philosophy (especially that of Arthur Schopenhauer), Woody Allen movies, classical music, biology, and mystical experience. Although it seems almost impossible to integrate these diverse resources into only 213 pages of text, Miller does it brilliantly, adhering to his own message in the book that simplicity is a virtue. Examples of simplicity he provides include the guileless but compassionate fool of Danny in Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose, and the ageless simplicity found in the immortal music of the Beatles and Theolonious Monk.

Heart in Hand helps us realize that we are all deeply interconnected. All matter in the universe is comprised of leptons and quarks, force is really the same as substance, and we are all products of the big bang. He advocates for scientific and analytical thinking, but admits to the limits of this approach and suggests a need for mysticism and intuitive understanding too. However, don't mistake Miller's openness to mysticism as an endorsement of Western religion. Probing questions about religion will raise many ecclesiastic eyebrows, and he may get tossed out of a few churches! For example, he doubts that we have souls if we evolved from bacteria, and describes the secret and cunning of priests as "pretending to possess the means to satisfy mans great metaphysical need by saying that the great riddle has reached them direct." His deep sincerity and honesty is evident, and his description of Schopenhauer's writings on morality is a good primer for many supposedly good religious folk who are actually more instrumental in separating the human race through judgemental thinking than encouraging true compassion.

This grand integration of multiple dimensions of science and art succeeds on many levels. This is a technical book with tons of useful information on biology, history, art, and even sex, and Miller shares many personal preferences for future reading and listening. This is also a very fun book that celebrates life while standing on the shoulders of many significant and creative minds. You may want to read Heart in Hand multiple times, and will surely come away with new insights and pleasure every time.

There are still many questions unanswered. What happened before the big bang? Could there still be a personal God? Is there a personal purpose for each person during this brief planetary residence? Miller by no means answers all these questions. There will always be more questions to ask. What Miller does offer are personal experiences, knowledge that is extensive and refined, and great insight. Heart in Hand will most surely enrich your life. The surgeon adequately satisfied this psychologists' desire for a great read! I'll refer to it often in my work with clients.

If one has trepidations about mortality, then Dr. Donald Miller may assuage his and her misgivings. His book, Heart In Hand, however, is not just about death and dying, it is about life and living. Indeed, Dr. Miller traces the beginning of life to the one-celled amoeba and carries it forward to man in its highest form, most notably, as defined by Arthur Schopenhauer, Richard Wagner, and Woody Allen. He also makes several references to himself, his family, his friends, and his patients.

He no doubt has spent sleepless nights in Seattle as a heart surgeon, and in the process, has much time to think about six facets of life, each one represented by a chapter in his book. While it may be unusual for one to cross the divide between Schopenhauer and Allen, one sees where the two are not far apart, except by 147 years between birth, and the book is filled with quotations of both, which are treats, and saves one from the tedium of heavy reading, especially Schopenhauer; all of this in just 213 pages of text, with additional endnotes, reading and film selections.

Dr. Miller's explanation of evolution has condensed the so-called theory into very interesting and coherent facts, and could be a primer for teachers. There are also many other facts that could be described as interesting trivia. And his explanation of sex, and indeed, compassion, touches the sensibilities. His chapters, "Searching for God," and the "Metaphysics of Music" are engrossing. But the chapter "Confronting Death" should get to core of everyone's being. Of course, death is inevitable, and when one is born, every day he and she creeps one day closer. But knowing it doesn't help. And for many, it is a perplexing and often debilitating experience. Dr. Miller enlightens us with one quotation from Schopenhauer, "Where was I before my birth?" "For it is irrefutably certain that non-existence after death cannot be different from non-existence before birth..." If one is hesitant to confront any of the volumes that have been written to assuage our fear of death, this chapter is enough. It takes us there without cringing, and with a simple but plausible explanation.

It is Schopenhauer and Woody Allen who are the main players in this book. Unless one has read the older philosopher, probably in his most important work, "The World as Will and Representation," and "Essays and Aphorisms," a compilation selected and translated by R. J.. Hollingdale, much has been missed about his views about compassion, living and dying. Likewise, unless one has analyzed the films of Woody Allen, and assumes that he is more than a comedian, then Dr. Miller shows where he is a deep thinker, and very preoccupied with death, which is made light through his comedy, but has a very serious and obvious cognizance. Dr. Miller is generous in his observations about Schopenhauer, Allen, and finally Richard Wagner, who was immensely influenced by the philosopher and his above mentioned book, and his chapter, "The Metaphysics of Music" is one that will inspire all music lovers, especially Wagnerians. The good doctor again reminds us about the soothing effects of music on our health.

So here we have a small volume packed with much to think about. It is a quick read, engrossing, and one which the reader will no doubt absorb in one sitting, and feel good about it.

Born To Trot is one of my favorite books! I have read this book twice and it's one of the best books I've ever read! It's based on a true story and I think you'll enjoy this book a lot.

From the moment you pick up "Born To Trot" you can't put it down! Your instantly transported back into time and stuck by Gibson White's (stories man charecter) side. It's packed with a ton of horse info, about history's greats: Hambletonian, Rosalind and Greyhound. But this book, you won't be disappointed!

This book is insanely wonderful!I love it!I liked how it was two stories in one.This book is a perfect example on M. Henry's wonderful writing ability.This book,King of the Wind,and Black Gold are my hands-down favorite Marguerite Henry books.

I loved these stories growing up and missed them when I started reading to my sons. I'm glad they are still around. Lessons are hidden in many of the stories, but not as blatent as many new childrens books seem to be.

Great stuff. Came with a poster, too!

If you're thinking of buying this to be AFRICAN lore, don't. This is an adaptation of the Joel Chandler Harris Uncle Remus stories, focusing on those containing the Brer Rabbit character. The stories are delightful, and will be a joy to any (I also heartily recommend buying a complete set for reading aloud), but the tales are drawn directly from the heart and soul of America (there are no raccoons and bears in Africa, anyway...sheesh).

After visiting Disney World last year my 4 year old daughter kept after me to retell the story of Brer Rabbit and the tar baby, I was so pleased to find this book with its great illustrations. When we read this book before bed we just can't read one. My daughter likes all the stories not just the Tar Baby and the poster is great too.

Frederick Dellaenbaugh was a young man when John Wesley Powell tapped him to participate in Powell's second trip down the Colorado River. Powell had made the journey already a few years before, so the second voyage was less pure exploration and more science; the crew included Almon Harris Thompson (called affectionately "Prof." throughout), a professional geographer who also happened to be Powell's brother-in-law. With several boats and men of widely varying experience, the expedition sailed the Green river (thought at that time to be the upper Colorado) to its junction with the Colorado, and the Colorado itself as far as the middle of the Grand Canyon. Swirling rapids, maggotty food, blistering heat, sudden blizzards beset the adventurers, who still though it all made their geographical, geological, and ethnographical observations which resulted in (among other things) the first maps of the four corners region and the Grand Canyon (reproduced in the book).
While wild adventure, humor, and a real sense of the Old West permeate the book, there is a certain sadness, too. The Native Americans whom Dellenbaugh encounters are people clearly already defeated -- fearful, distrusting, sad. We catch glimpses of the Navaho trying to accommodate themselves to the new reality of white (especially Mormon) settlement, creating new networks of trade focused on growing frontier towns. But the seeds of the end are planted already in the irrigated fields of the Mormon settlers, and sometimes it seems as if the natives knew this too. Also, the topography through which the explorers travelled has now partly vanished behind the dams that have ruined Glen Canyon and other stretches of white water and canyon scenery. No one can now do what Dellenbaugh and his companions did; the sense of loss hovers unintentionally about every page.
Dellenbaugh was a keen observer (though perhaps a bit naive) with a talent for making even the monotony of running rapid after rapid spellbinding. One does feel that he may have veiled some of the conflicts that must have arisen in two (non-continuous) years of isolation, though if so this trait is refreshing in a world where we now expect everyone to tattle on everyone else. Every now and then just a shimmer of impatience with one of the crew seeps through. But the real hero who emerges from this book, somewhat surprisingly, is not the leader Powell -- the young Dellenbaugh seems never to have gotten close to him -- but rather the Prof., who rises to every challenge with decency and humaneness, and of whom Dellenbaugh seems to have been genuinely, and for good reason, in awe. Like Powell he is buried in Arlington Cemetery. He deserved that honor, but where he lives is in the pages of this book.

Love and respect for the Green and Colorado Rivers is greatly enhanced by Dellenbaugh's narritive of the 2nd Powell expadition. Well written, accurate history, and spell binding from start to finish. An adventure that can only be partially accomplished today is TOTALLY available in "A Canyon Voyage!"

At the time of the 2nd voyage down the Colorado, Dellenbaugh was on about 19 years old. He didn't write the book until many years later. What a wonderful/spellbinding look at the most beautiful place in North America (The Colorado Plateau). Not only that but I found it extremely hunorous as well. Great Great book!!!

This book encourages better OO design and analysis, shows how to involve the entire team of developers to the design of the whole system. The authors also describe how to gain benefit from involving the user and other parties to the OO design process.

I was in OO development for five years and I was thinking about a solution which will improve the efficiency of OO design and help to avoid splitting the program between developers who create their own set of classes they are responsible for. Such splitting leads to integration problems and overall design imbalance. Fred Brooks has described this consequences in his famous book "The Mythical Man-Month", where the modules are being written first and integrated later, and the coordination of interfaces between modules written by each developer requires essential effort and time. The CRC Card Book shows how to have "the interfaces" coordinated in the very beginning.

However, the methodology described in this book is "fragile". As soon as it isn't followed by all of the developers, it became useless. But if it is followed, the results are amazing. The book, however, is not very easy to read and lack something which can attract the developers who are "neutral" to improving their way of creating OO programs. But, for the people who already have strong OO background and are seeking the way how to improve their efficiency significant, the book is a must-have.

This book and the stream of thought it stems from is one of the most influental in OO software engineering. It focuses on sharing responsibility in a system. It takes into account the obvious parallels between software teams and their software systems.
The technique itself can be very enjoyable and if you can convince very formal people to use it, it will change their lives, much more then any formal OO methodology will do. CRC Cards make you live software systems! This should be the first experience of everybody who wants to learn OO. You can even use it to explain your work to your kids:-)

You want to know a great way on "how to" identify classes from any type of user requiremnets? Buy this book now!

A lot of OOA books like to tell how to design from start to finish. However, some (most) of us are thrown in some obligatory process without consent. CRC will bridge the gap on getting your Classes defined.

Also, CRC works well for "Use Cases". I use CRC after a good Use Case session for Class Diagrams. Some prefer to do CRC before Use Cases. That's the beauty, CRC can be injected anywhere you deem fit.

And, finally, this book will get you "thinking in objects" fast!