This book is not an easy read. Especially if you lack basic experience in China, you'll certainly have difficulties appreciating this book the way it should be. It is, however, an insightful story of the evolution of this coming world power. It, in rigorous details, shows history in the making. The book is a good resource of information on Chinese businesses.

I put off reading this book because I didn't think it would apply to companies having already businesses in China. I was wrong. The framework set out here has changed the way I think about China. The authors lay out a best and a worst case scenario. Vary valuable in times of SARS.

Frank Brady's "Citizen Welles" is one of the most well-respected biographies of Welles, and still one of the most underrated. Let me explain. Brady's book actually qualifies as a very early examination of Welles' life, beating Bogdanovich's "This is Orson Welles" and Simon Callow's "Orson Welles: The Road to Xanadu" onto the shelves by many years. It perhaps is not thought of as an early work because its publication was delayed several years due to trouble Brady's publishers had, not him. If it had been released when Brady first completed it, it probably would have earned much more acclaim than it already has. Brady anticipates much of the interest surrounding Welles and answers many key questions surrounding the man. He also thoroughly examines many areas of the famous man's life previously ignored by Welles historians, including Welles' abortive South American trip, which damaged Welles in Hollywood far more than "The Magnificent Ambersons" trauma or the battle Welles had to fight to get "Citizen Kane" released. Brady also avoids the awful bias of earlier works by Houseman and Kael that so macerated Welles, telling the man's story with frankness and understanding. It should be the first book anyone reads about Welles, and the book referred to by anyone reading any other work on the mythic director. With movies on Welles in production for HBO and the big screen (Tim Robbins' "The Cradle Will Rock"), interest in Welles only increases with time. That makes Brady's exhaustively-researched and smoothly-written book a keeper.

Frank Brady's biography dismantles the endless rumors and fabrications surrounding the life of Orson Welles. It is different from most of the other biographies on Welles in that it relies very heavily on research. Other biographies seem to subjective, and pay too much attention to the lies Welles sometimes told about himself. Ladies and gentleman, if you're into Welles, this is the one. A class 'A' "Mercury Theatre" production.

Some good stories fill this volume. But the recent attempt at a John O'Hara revival failed for a reason. He's not that good. If you've read one O'Hara story, you've read them all. O'Hara's same obsessions are played out in every story. His two obsessions were 1) Status 2) The obsession with and assumption that if a male and female are left alone together, one will immediately try and jump the other's bones. Maybe I've led a dull life, but I've actually been left alone with girls and women when neither I nor they tried to bed the other. The other thing is O'Hara thought he was one of the greatest writers ever...but, by his own admission, was not that well read. He mainly read Hemingway and Fitzgerald over and over. Not bad role models at all. But O'Hara famously said in a review of a Hemingway book that Hemingway was the greatest writer since Shakespeare (suggesting, of course, that O'Hara was the SECOND greatest writer since Shakespeare!). But O'Hara once responsed to a critic who said his writing resembled Tolstoy's (pulEEASE!) that, "Gee, I've never even READ Tolstoy." Now how could O'Hara say Hemingway was the greatest writer since Shakespeare when O'Hara had never read Tolstoy!!! Even ego-ridden Hemingway admitted Tolstoy was a greater writer than himself. And how can a literary writer dare sit down to write when he hasn't yet read the master, Tolstoy. O'Hara was okay, but not great. Yeah, no wonder that revival attempt in the mid-90's flopped.

This is an astonishing collection of short stories from a past master that everyone has forgotten, but could surely learn from, or relish. I liked the novellas best, including "Imagine Kissing Pete", "Ninety Minutes Away", and "Natica Jackson." What I was astonished by was how quickly they were read; it was like watching and feeling life unfolding before my eyes. The first masterpiece in this collection is "Over the River and Through the Wood" that must be one of the most disturbing stories ever written. It is disgusting to me that not a single O'Hara story was included in the recent "Best American Short Stories of the Century"; if a claim can be made that Hemingway, Faulkner and Fitzgerald must be included, then so must O'Hara. John O'Hara is an American legend. He should be revived.

The Christian community has found another voice to boldly speak the truth in love - and at the same time tell an exciting story! Terry begins his book with a narrative of the antediluvian world, bringing to vivid life the people who lived before and during Noah's time. The 20th century fictional search for the ark chronicled in the last two-thirds of the book is well thought out and keeps the reader on the edge of his seat. Fresh new metaphors spring from the page to delight inveterate readers like myself who sometimes think no new ones exist. Mr. Terry is also a good apololgist, explaining Christian tenets clearly and convincingly. My only criticism of this first-time author's book is the occasional grammatical error (e.g. using "he" when "him" would be correct), incorrect word choices (e.g. "nauseous" when it should be "nauseated"), and unnatural dialog. But I must say that I have read established authors whose books were overall disappointingly weak. Frank Terry's first book is impressive by itself AND in comparison with work by other authors. Welcome, Frank Terry! The Cradle of Humanity should have a wide readership!

This is an exciting, thought provoking book on the search for Noah's Ark. Combining real historical facts with some suberbly written fiction, this book will keep you hanging on until the end! Every Noah's Ark armchair searcher(as the author calls himself) needs to read this book!

Its an well-put together of what you really need to know of MacroEcon. and and helps really clarify if Econ. is not a dismal after all?

This book is a "must" for every economics student. It simply helps understand the big macroeconomic iceberg. It includes the labour market macroeconomic part, and some basics macroeconomics. Excellent writers, especially Mr Solow. I would strongly recommend this book.

Bullen was a 19th. century sailor turned whaler who gives a graphic picture of life in a hard and dangerous business conducted with little regard for life and limb, nature or the peoples encountered by those involved in making a living at a time and in a place where it was work or starve, sink or swim, dog eat dog, everyman for himself and the devil takes the hindmost. A bit overstated, perhaps, but not by much if Bullen is to be believed. I enjoyed the writing about, if not the fact of killing, whales which evan Bullen regreted occassionally between recounting with enthusiasm the joy of killing and surviving danger and harsh conditions. Life on the ocean, hard work, adventure, loyalty, courage, man's right to dominate nature and Anglo-Saxon man's right to dominate all others is the gist of this life and book, as far as I can tell. Small wonder that it was included in the Boy Scout Edition (1913) of Every Boy's Library, eh? Some things have changed and most readers today might disavow the racism, chauvanism, species-ism call it what you will of Bullen's views but it is a good read on the times and the nature of man, humankind and the political correctness of the late 19th. century. At least that's my view for what it's worth. Dated, but still readable especially for it's candid picture of life in the last century. Yes, the last century since the 20th. century does not end until Dec.31, 2000!

A very exiting book about the life of fishing ship of de XIX centur

"Rogue Planet" is the second part of the 3 volume "Man From Nowhere" series starring '50's British sci-fi hero Colonel Dan Dare. The story is a collection of the strip which ran as a two-page serial in the British weekly comic book "Eagle". Frank Hampson wrote and pencilled most of the strips as head of a creative team which later included '60's comix great Frank Bellamy.

Previously Dan and his friends, having defeated the Mekon and brought peace to Venus, are enlisted by the mysterious alien spaceman Lero in an attempt to save his doomed race, the Crypts. In this volume Dan, Digby, Flamer and Lex aid the peaceful Crypts in resisting the genocidal Phants, and discover the secret of the endless cycle of interplanetary war.

Conceptually the story is imaginative but plot inconsistencies are glaring; faster-than- light travel, a key element of the previous story, is denied in this story. Names are not very imaginative; the Crypt spaceship intended to save a remnant of their civilization is the 'Kra', the evil Phant heirophants are 'Kruels', etc. Two- fisted British pluck, together with a bit of muddling through, wins the day. Nevertheless the series was a seminal one for British comix and introduced sci-fi concepts which were to become staples in series such as 'Dr. Who' and 'Star Trek'.

Great Frank Hampson showing us his very best work in Dan Dare saga. Aliens and alien planets depicted with the unsurpassed imagination and illustrating technique for the time.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Mostly I think it was the characterization, from dialog (reminds me of Robert B. Parker) to actually feeling the emotions of the various people in the story. I could feel their pain, their frustrations, their joy and happiness. Overall the plot moved well and the main character and supporting cast kept the story moving forward nicely.

The hero, Chris Walker, is someone I could identify with. After witnessing a brutal crime and escaping with his own life, he struggles in trying to figure out what to do. What he ends up doing and how he does it all is believable and quite satisfying. A friend had told me about this book and I was really glad she did. A fast and thoroughly enjoyable read for the summer (or anytime, just happens to be summer now). If you like mystery/crime thrillers, you should get this one.

Came across this book when I'm browsing through a whole range of Turbo Pascal books. The illustrations are clear with reference from detailed examples especially those on the difficult topics. Pictures are also helpful in illustrating the more hard to visualize topics like those in ADT and trees. Generally a more helpful book compared to most other titles emphazisng on basic concepts only.

Use the book for introductory data structure, elementary software engineering, or advanced programming and problem solving. It fill up a lot of missing links that other data structure books trying to provide. Read it up.

Long, long ago I'd heard that Frank Prial, author of this book and wine critic of the New York Times, had to be badgered and bullied into taking the job. And who could blame him? Writing a weekly column year in and year out is an exhausting grind. Still, I'm awfully glad he took it on, and gladder still that some of his columns--from the past three decades or so--have been collected in this book. This is a book for the intelligent reader with an interest in wine; it is not for snobs and geeks. Its content is not poetry, for Prial is not a poet (as, for example, Gourmet magazine's Gerald Asher is). But he is first and foremost a reporter, and that's what's wanted more often than not when it comes to informative prose about wine (anybody can scribble stuff about 'hints of chocolate on the nose,' and far too many do). What Prial provides is the literary version of a good, sturdy country red, full of pleasure and easy to like. This isn't a "wine course"; there are no Qs and As and lists to memorize. "Decantations" is instead a stroll through the vineyards with a well-informed observer who's happy to pass on a little of what he's learned down the years. Prial ranges widely, writing of wine's notable families (the stately Rothschilds, the elegant Antinoris, the vivacious, New York-born Benzigers); some colorful titans (from Walter Taylor, the self-styled Baron of Bully Hill to Alexis Lichine, the Russian-born American who revolutionized the French wine business, whether the French liked it or not). Want some insight into the foolish devotion to vintages--or the equally foolish devotion to the tyrannical Bordeaux Classification of 1855? Want the lowdown on Beaujolais Nouveau? Prial clues you in, and briskly, too: One of the things a reporter learns is to keep it brief, and Prial does not ramble on. I could quibble a bit. There's not nearly enough here about Italian wines, and overall the book is TOO short--a mere 304 pages, including the index. But good wine writers and good wines have this much in common: They leave you wanting more.
--Bill Marsano

This book is like a collection of your favorite short stories on wine, about wine, about people who make wine; educational, informative, and delightful to read. Each chapter is a "short story", short, easy to read, and re-read.

It is a collection of over 90 columns from Frank J. Prial's "Wine Talk" which often appears Wednesday in The New York Times. He has been writing for the newspaper for over thirty years, starting as a reporter, then foreign correspondent, and while in France, got into writing about wine as a "novice".

While Prial is considered a "wine critic," he is not a "wine rater" or "telling you this is better than that." He likes people, and those that make wine, most of them. It comes out in his columns assembled in this book with humor and warmth.. Perhaps it should have been called the "Best of Prial."
The writing is superb. Great humor, knowledge, point of view told in short story format, so you can set down , think about, perhaps re-read, and enjoy the world of wine from Bonny Doon in the Santa Cruz Mountains, to the Napa Wine Company (("a winery for winemakers who don't happen to own a winery"), on our website,) to a Beirut hostage who survived three years in captivity by reciting daily the 1855 Bordeaux classification.

His syntax and vocabulary is excellent. Most importantly, he does not talk down to you, and is fun to read.