Looking for a good escape while sunning on the beach? Here it is in the guise of cooking guru Anthony Bourdain's novel of a transvestite mafia boss - husband and wife CIA hitmen - seedy St. Maarten - unsuspecting chef and wife - and an ex-mafia boss with a colostomy bag. Bourdain has cooked up a trash-fest of characters and locales that will keep you amusingly occupied for a day or so of fun reading. While somewhat predictable and definitely filled with Bourdain's unique sense of plot development, this was a very easy read. Character development is mostly good although there are some characters who Bourdain develops nicely and then disposes of ... manipulation of the cruelest sort.

Those foodies out there hoping for the cooking overtones of Bone in the Throat will be somewhat disappointed (only a few forays into Bourdain's cooking descriptions). Bourdain does do a nice job of setting the scene in St. Maarten though.

The ending leaves one hanging to a certain extent ... perhaps there will be a sequel. Being a fan of Bourdain's writing in Kitchen Confidential, A Cook's Tour, Bone in the Throat and Gone Bamboo one can only hope that he continues to explore the seedy underbelly of life more in future fiction. Have fun.

This book was a complete suprise to me. I picked it up because of the title and the cover, and the blurb inside....When I saw who the author was, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Man, can he write! I mean, it's not a great literary work, but what a story! I haven't been able to put this book down since I opened it. The most amazing thing, I don't even care how it ends! I'm just thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere and the characters. I don't WANT it to end....I want to go live on St. Marteen with Henry and Frances! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for a great vacation read. Especially if you want to think WARM thoughts!

Following his hilarious first novel, Bone in the Throat, with another antic tale, Bourdain establishes himself as a new master of the wiseass crime comedy. Henri Denard, an ex-Vietnam War hero who was trained as an assassin by the CIA and is now cozy with the French government, is living a peacefully hedonistic life as a ponytailed hippie on St. Martin with his wife, Frances'who's smart, gorgeous and similarly handy with a gun. But Henry's past is coming back to haunt him: a year ago, 320-pound crossdressing mob boss Jimmy "Pazz" Calabrese hired him to knock off two rivals at a ski resort. Henry botched the job, allowing one of the mobsters, D'Andrea "Donnie Wicks" Balistieri, to survive. Now, not only has Donnie Wicks made a deal with the FBI to testify against Jimmy Pazz, but he's also ended up as Henry's neighbor on St. Martin. After weighing his options, Henry decides to confront Donnie directly. To gain access to the mobster, Henry and Frances befriend Donnie's friends and housesitters'uptight failing restaurateur Mickey and his fun-loving girlfriend, Rachel'and end up hitting it off with Donnie, too. Meanwhile, the thug Jimmy's hired to hit Donnie'and maybe Henry, too'has found true love with an Indian prostitute and isn't at all eager to complete the task. As Jimmy grows frustrated, the number of players'federal marshals, French spies and a variety of small-time gangsters'continues to mount, threatening mayhem and bloodshed. A potentially routine mob caper is brought to life by tight plotting, appealing characters and a stylish mix of irony, snappy dialogue and amoral verve. Author tour.

I have read three of these new Modern Library Chronicle books so far and this one has been the least enjoyable. I think the subject matter is too much for a small book like this. The author may have bitten off a little more than he can chew here. We're talking 3000 years of conquests covered in less than 200 pages. Way too much for one book. Pagden does a very good job in parts. I especially enjoyed the section on the Byzantine Empire. He explains quit well how Rome fell apart, but simplifies a little too much at times. The later hegemony of the Americas was a section that was way oversimplified for example. One advantage is the book is so easy to read. I think it has something to do with the type font the Modern Library publishers use. You can really fly through the pages. Unlike the other Modern Library books I've read this one does not cover its subject matter completely. This material could be better presented in separate volumes like the Roman Empire, The British Empire, and so on. All of them in one small volume is just too much material to try and cover.

In contrast to many books that cover similar territory, this concise volume says a lot in a relatively short space It presents a view of global history from the perspective of empires and the people they ruled. It does so from the vantage point of European migration, exploration, and conquest, and as the author admits, does not cover empires of diverse peoples in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas. As such, it is basically a history of Western civilization with a central theme--the means by which empires were organized so as to unify peoples with different traditions and origins. It follows the traditional chronology of historical surveys. Classical history is represented by Alexander's empire and the Roman Empire; medieval history by the unity that the universal church imposed on much of Europe. The bulk of the book, however, is devoted to the methods by which European empires spread across the globe after 1500. Pagden examines the rationale and how non-European peoples were subjugated, concluding by discussing the end of empire and its lasting heritage. General and academic collections.

I don't know about the other readers, but my high school world history teacher was the swim coach. Let's just say I know a lot about the fortunes of a certain swim team from Connecticut circa 1967. If PEOPLES AND EMPIRES has achieved little else, it has plugged the gaping holes in my education and pulled three ensuing decades of idiosyncratic, untutored reading into context. For that it gets the 5 stars.

The Modern Library Chronicles are intended to be short works to serve as general introductions or refresher courses. When covering more than two millennia in less than 200 pages (it is 167 pages plus introduction and addenda), choices have to be made in what to keep, what to skip. Pagden's focus is the concept of empire and how it was adapted and revised over time to shape European civilization as it gradually circled the globe, then ebbed. There are entire wars, events and personalities that are left out because they do not directly relate to the conceptual development of empire. You will not find the Crusades in this text (though noted in the chronology) nor the Spanish Armada. You will find a detailed, charged discussion of slavery and its role in empire development. Likewise, you will find an energetic account of the conquistadors. Pagden's prose is always lucid and level, but in those chapters he shines.

This is the second Chronicles volume I've read. The series editor displays a knack for identifying authors who infuse their topics with voice, vision and heart. The books are well documented with indexes, chronologies and bibliographies. While seasoned historians may debate their perspective or find the content too general, it is just what a mainstream reader needs.

This fascinating novel dips into the past, late 19th Century Edinburgh, Scotland, the scene of a string of bloody murders that terrify citizens and mystify police. Beside each body, in plain view, is a cryptic message. Because of the notes, the police are quick to realize that there is a connection, a time when the victim's paths converged. Due to the truly gruesome nature of the crime scenes, it is unclear what kind of monster is loose, man or beast, perhaps something inhuman.

Twenty years prior, a young girl, Evelyn Todd, was confined to an orphanage, the only balm to her loneliness the stories she made up to entertain the other children. In her stories, Leerie, the Lamplighter, led through the streets of the city, illuminating the darkness with his torch. On his nightly rounds, Leerie was Evelyn's friend, an extension into a world from which she is shut out. Later, when Evelyn is claimed by a "relative, she is not heard from again, until she shows up as an adult in Edinburgh, confessing that she has dreamed each murder in perfect detail, even the notes.

Inspector Groves, assigned to the case, is ready for retirement and completing his memoirs, the more sensational the better. He is convinced that Evelyn is the perfect addition to his book and determines to get to the bottom of her nightmares, her obvious affiliation with the murders. There are two other observers willing to act on Evelyn's behalf, Thomas McKnight, Professor of Logic and Metaphysics and Joseph Canavan, an unemployed night watchman. The men are of a more sympathetic nature and believe Evelyn's dilemma is one of great danger, threatened with the very essence of evil. Slowly and tenderly, they coax her to reveal the tortuous story of her youth, searching for a solution to her nightmares.

It is past the Age of Enlightenment and philosophy is tempered with scientific knowledge, the psychoanalytic theories of Freud and Darwin's Origin of the Species, the clash of religious dogma and superstition with science. The darkened streets of Edinburgh are rife with mystery and menace, as McKnight and Canavan journey into the very bowels of hell, there to confront the face of evil. As the girl's mentors descend into the abyss, they struggle against the power of perception and the distortion of imagination. Theirs is a pitched battle between good and evil, the rugged path strewn by humanity's hubris.

O'Neill thrusts the soul of Satan into the light, exposed in his efforts to inhabit a human body, cloaked as Lucifer. Somewhere between heaven and hell, the fine line that separates human from inhuman may have been breached, unloosing untold evil. Evelyn is the epitome of helplessness, though capable of exercising free will. Leerie, as her familiar, seeks his freedom from the confines of imagination, to be made flesh, to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting souls of Edinburgh. O'Neill has created a stunning and visual exercise on the nature of evil, a cataclysmic denouement awaiting the intrepid reader. Luan Gaines/2003.

It is not often that one picks out what appears to be an interesting work of genre serial killer suspense and discovers that the author has made a real effort write much more that simple, entertaining fair. In fact, I'll start right out by warning the reader that, if you are looking for lots of blood and bits, this is not the book for you. Instead, it is something else entirely.

Set in late Nineteenth Century Edinburgh, the surface story is about a series of catastrophically violent crimes that happen so quickly that witnesses are unable to describe the killer. Two groups of investigators are drawn into the crimes. The police are involved, of course, in the person of acting Chief Inspector Carus Groves. He is a man whose experience is limited to mundane crimes, and whose imagination is limited to a suspicious and self-centered nature. The other team consists of Thomas McKnight (ex-professor of logic and metaphysics) and Joseph Canavan an ex-graveyard watchman.

Groves is a tumult of action, often pointless, and a stream of suspicions that get in his way more often than not. He is driven by his desire to succeed in a truly notable case, which will be a fitting cap for his memoirs. McKnight and Canavan, representing both doubt and belief, carry their research out in the ethereal world of the mind. The murders become a metaphor for the nature of the creative imagination and the power of both the mind and the spirit.

In between these two is Evelyn Todd, a young woman whose past is marred by a dark secret. One that ties the victims together in a strange cabal that has echoes the religious brainwashing of the past few decades. Suspicion falls on her, even though the crimes are bestial, and clearly beyond her capacity. There is no question that she, and her dreams, are somehow central to the mystery, but each investigator sees the truth though a glass of his own making.

The real truth, if one may call it that, is far stranger than anyone's suspicions. The players re-enact a Dantesque journey into the imagination, in search of a redemption that comes unexpectedly, much as the murderer did. We are treated not simply to a murder mystery, but also to a wry and unique vision of the nature of evil. O'Neill does this in such a fashion that the intellectual dialogue never bogs down the narrative pace, and with a fine sensitivity to the power of language.

This is a wonderfully thoughtful and atmospheric novel - mindbending and genre-bending. There are philosophical dialogues that may challenge some readers, but overall it's a very fluid and exciting read, and much more "human" than you'd expect for a book with so many gruesome scenes and such groteqsue imagery. The author doesn't forget to buttress his outrageous story with authenticity, and exhibits a welcome ambivalence about good & evil.

Perhaps slightly better than Virtual Mode, but not by much. Again, I recommend this for juveniles and not adults. It seemed to me that the book was really a series of short stories strung together. There is the initial conflict with the despots of Nona's world but Anthony gets away from that quickly but returns to it in the end to wrap things up. Darius is really a minor character in this book which is surprising. The sexual references are getting really old by now. Anthony's description of fractals is hard to follow, and I was a math major! An illustration in a future edition would benefit the reader in showing the layout of the Fractal Mode. On to Chaos Mode which will finish up this series. If there is another book in this series, I plan to steer clear of it.

This book is very interesting, covering a variety of topics from child abuse to in-depth discussion of fractals, love to culture, society to magic. Piers shows an acute knowledge of the scientific aspects of what he writes about. The book seemed to focus a little too much on helping Nona, and not enough about the MAIN characters, but this didn't detract from the book too much. The settings are varied, as always with Anthony, as are the characters. Anthony provides much insight to what Colene is thinking, which I think is the most interesting part of the book-- to see how she reacts mentally to things like stress, Darius, her parents, etc. There are heartwarming moments, and some interesting happenings back at good old normal Earth. Many different things happen, settings change quickly, minor characters come and go, but the plot runs smoothly enough and what the gang learns along the way is interesting and their adventures are still fun, sometimes amusing--they get stuck in one really odd situation in Nona's reality! If you read Virtual Mode and are interested in how Colene and Darius' relationship will grow and change, and how Nona plays into their scheme, and if Colene and Darius will EVER settle down back in Darius' home reality...this is a good book for you.

I think that people looking for a book that they can just chill with, litrally switch their brain off and read are going to hate this book. It has references to maths, explanations of magic, totally-twisty landscapes, in depth character profiles and a totally confusing multi-reality storyline. Oh, and some sexual references too, which might wake some up. This is the second book of the series that touched me, I love it and could recommend it (and have) to anyone. Read it, read them all! I await the arrival of my Chaos Mode book.. and whats this I hear about another!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It has given me a new perspective on my career. I am glad that this wasn't just another book on how to save millions of dollars. Anthony discusses the importance of finding your calling, so to speak. He wants readers to look at what they enjoy most and do that for most of their lives. Of course, there may be a time when we are unable to work or no longer want to work. Then, it is important to have some money set aside. Otherwise, you can retire from the typical working world at any age and begin the life you've always wanted to live.

The New Retirementality by Mitch Anthony is one of the most remarkable books I have ever read. Not since seeing the terrifying opening scenes of The Matrix, have I had the sense of a socially induced reality collapsing so completely. In deconstructing the commonly held assumption that a non-working retirement is the best way to spend the last years of our lives, Mitch Anthony provides readers with an escape route from the Orwellian world of institutional thought control.

Save your retirement, read this book!

Excellent book. Wish I had wrote it. Rather than concentrate on the economics of retirement, focusing on the many other factors makes this the single stongest retirement book I have read yet.

This book is very inspirational, however it is worth noting that Aveline Kushi (who authored a popular book on macrobiotics) died in 2001 from cancer. While I do believe that diet is important in the battle against cancer, I have to wonder about the effectiveness of macrobiotics in fighting cancer.

I just want to point out that, yes, Dr. Sattilaro died in 1989, as one of the reviewers points out. However, Dr. Sattilaro died of pneumonia, not prostate cancer. I also met him in person about a year before his death. He had by then stopped following the recommendations he describes in his book and he was very weak. I'm not rating this book [...]because I don't want to influence anyone. Read the book and make up your own mind.

As a newly diagnosed cancer patient, I found this book very honest, objective (believe it or not) and informative. I believe that Dr. Sattilaro's skepticism and his own critcism at times provides for an objective look at a Western doctor's experiment with Eastern philosophy. I understand first-hand many of the tests he underwent, even if the technology has changed somewhat, but what is most surprising is that Western medicine has not been able to make that much improvement in the last quarter century since this book was written. If we look at cancer as an immune deficiency and where cells go into overdrive, isn't it even conceivable that balancing your system could be of some benefit and that strengthening the system with good nutrition and exercise is better than weakening it with toxic chemicals? It's food for thought (pun intended).

The book had most of the tricks and all of the moves to the game but had lots of errors in it. Many of the pictures were incorrect to the move they were showing and where was the cheat for all the wrestlers playable. I had to go buy another magazine to get them all. But on the upside it did give all the moves and gave good biographies of the wrestlers. Just one thing, next time don't use the same biographies in all wrestling strategy guides. WCW Nitro for N64, WCW Revenge, and WCW Thunder all had the same biographies.

the book is good until you get the 2nd half of the 128 wrestlers.but overall its a great book because i own the book myself (what I mean it doesnt have the moves for the last64 wrestlers)>

i would like to see the book right no

I'm a pre-engineering student taking a mechanics of materials course at a local community college. I find this book tough to follow along and understand. I read through a section, and ask myself what I read, and I dunno.

I have found it easier to understand in other textbooks with many more examples, but simple ones. With a half-dozen or so examples for each chapter, it makes the later problems way more difficult. Difficult is good, sometimes, if a student can understand more than just the basics in that section.

I believe why many textbooks (engineering and physics [see Haliday and Resnick]) are tough to follow and understand is to "weed out" many students. Letting the ones who adapt well to the writing/teaching style of the text go on. I myself really want to understand this material, and go on in engineering.

I agree with another reviewer somewhere, which says that having more than one text helps your understanding. I had to buy another book when I was learning C++ and I understood a lot more. In this case, I will buy another textbook, because I'm having a hard time (and so are many of my classmates) reading this book. On a side note, nor does it help to have an instructor who's teaching style does not work for you.

And at least a partial Solution Manual would be extremely helpful to students, 'cause, the examples are not extensive enough.

Thanks and God Bless!

This is a good book on a very difficult subject. It was the text book for one of my harder engineering classes. The book does a pretty decent job of explaining theroies, and the worked example problems are done pretty good. My only complaint is that the worked examples are quite easy compared to the homework problems. Homework problems require lots of time, thinking, and MORE time. Overall i thought the material was pretty interesting. Good Luck

I was a pre-engineering student in Seattle. This book have plenty of examples in which I can follow step by step. The homework problems are useful, practical and innovative in this book. It help us to visualize the practical problems outside the school. Thus, this is very helpful for the engineering students, especially Civil and structral, to build up the fundamental concept of materials.

Nevertheless, this class is not easy. It is hard to undersatnd the concept of Materials for the beginner. It is very helpful for students to have peer group or ask for your professor to have further explanations or examples.

First book was good. well.....Now they (or Mayne himself) is/are not moving foward. repetitious schemes with minimal ideas. Graphics drowned in mindless Form-z models and renderings. Mighty Thom Mayne has lost his creativity.

One of the few architecture books at the brick and mortor bookstore that isn't sealed shut with shrink wrap. After I flipped through it I immediately bought it through amazon. It is designed by Cranbrook design superstar Lorraine Wild, the design perfectly represents what Morphosis is about. I take it from the other reviewers that they only looked at the images and did not read anything at all because they did not "get it". Their work is delivered as a cyberpunk novel outtake, the setting an industrial dance club with torture devices. There is a wonderful surreal short story that acts as a sort of guide to viewing the work as well. I am not an architect but this is inspirational enough for me to spend half a decade in school to become one. Reminds me of the Jean Tinguely book published in the early 70's (with sketch overlays) and a similar design philosophy as Low/Tek

Being an architecture student, I constantly refer to many books, and Morphosis is one of my favourite contemporary architecture firm. This is really a thick and quite a heavy book. Its a compilation of many of Morphosis' work. Their "Best Of.." volume. This marvelous edition is divided into 2 parts. The first part consist of many colourful computer generated views, elevations, plans and 3D computer models etc of their buildings. The 3D models give a good visual understanding of their complicated but exciting buildings. The second part consist of essays by Thom Mayne. The thing about Morphosis is Mayne's writing is clear. He states his intention and theories clearly without getting out of the subject of architecture much. He talks about the difference between a project and a building which is a very good way of looking at architecture today. The graphics and writing provide a very clear understanding of their buildings. The bottom line is, if you like Morphosis, you'll love this book among your collection.

Did NOT help us run Kaizen events. An overview and story.
Author has never implemented Kaizen, only told about others' successes.
Not a "how to do it" book.

Three contributers, three more "experts" trying to tell us how to do something that they have never done themselves.
A lot of references and notable people and companies are mentioned, but where is the real hands-on "How to do it?"
This book is a story book and should be classified as FICTION.
This trio are writers, not "Lean Manufacturing" implementers.

As you probably know already, the word "kaizen" is a Japanese term meaning "to make better" with the implication that such effort should be continuous, indeed intensive and unrelenting. Since 1994, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) has developed a series of educational initiatives known as the "Kaizen Blitz." In the Introduction to this volume, Jon Brodeur observes: "We think non-consultant-driven events -- training and on-the-floor work by the experts, the hands-on employees who have experienced the power of the Kaizen Blitz -- will continue to be a welcome addition to any organization's arsenal of improvement approaches. Small- and medium-sized companies can do it as well as larger ones and they may have an advantage if operations are small enough in scope to get their arms around." However, positive and significant results can only be achieved with an appropriate combination of leadership at its highest level, acceptance (indeed enthusiasm) throughout all other levels, and tenacious involvement about attaining 20 percent to 50 percent improvement (or greater) in performance in a short time and in narrowly targeted areas. The effective Kaizen process must be top-down, initiated and sustained by teamwork, and focused entirely on doing "whatever needs to be done" ASAP. The authors of this book explain both how and why.

The material is organized within 11 chapters whose titles correctly suggest the nature and extent of coverage: The Power of AME's Kaizen Blitz: Learning by Doing; The Roots of Kaizen; Improvement Strategy: Implementing the Big Picture; Getting Ready for Kaizen; Time Prints and Takt Times; How to Tell If There Is Improvement: Adding Value, Subtracting Waste: Uncovering the Flows: Establishing and Clarifying Process Flows; Forms, Charts, and Measurements; Sustaining the Gain: Lean Leadership; and finally, Never Look Back. Throughout the book, the authors reiterate the imperative that Kaizen Blitz initiatives must be sharply focused, task oriented, results driven, measurable and -- meanwhile -- FAST. Hence the relevance of the concept of "blitz," which gained worldwide prominence prior to and then during World War II when Fascist and then Allied forces attacked enemy positions with unprecedented velocity. As the AME Kaizen Blitz has demonstrated so convincingly, the same strategy (with obvious modifications) can effectively be implemented within any organization, regardless of size or nature.

Obviously I think highly of this book because it offers a sensitive, flexible, thoughtful and rigorous program to achieve what the subtitle correctly describes as "accelerating breakthroughs in productivity and performance." If these brief comments suggest that this is a program your organization needs, I strongly recommend that all of its decision-makers read it. Then, schedule an offsite meeting during which the book becomes the agenda for collaborative efforts to formulate and implement a Kaizen Blitz appropriate to your organization's specific needs and interests. If there is a need for additional resources, I strongly suggest Breyfogle's two books as well as one written by Pande and his co-authors.