I'm a novice, developer-in-training and thought that there would be no way I could possibly benefit from such an advanced publication, but many newsgroups praised it, so I bought it, just in case.
So although I purchased the set close to 5 months ago, I would lug it to and from work and home, but never delving into it. I had a problem last night and posted it to the Access newsgroup hosted by Microsoft. One of the responders made a reference to the set. "Hey, I have those books", I thought.

I started flipping through the pages of the Enterprise edition and stumbled across page 68, "User List and Connection Control". I copied the frmViewUsers form into a database I've created for my company and felt an instantaneous chill surge through me!! Formerly, whenever I had to do maintenance on the mdb, I would have to make an announcement over the PA to ask people to get out of it, hope everyone heard it and hope that no one would try to get in it. No more!!. I can see who's in it, and request they exit via email and even prevent others from opening it. I can't begin to tell you how gratifying it is to purchase a product hoping that it meets your needs and it actually does!!

This encouraging experience has motivated me to take on the challenge to learn more from this set and hopefully improve my skills.
And for that, I thank you.

Damon Johnson

A great knowledge of VBA coding is critical when programming Access. These books provide that knowledge and also give you sample code that you can use on your own projects.

Again, lots of usable examples and sample code.

John Dunbar

Es un libro inteligente que respeta tu inteligencia y sólo te plantea los puntos para que la decisión SEA TUYA...

EXTRAORDINARIO !

I've not read Robertie's two volume set for backgammon, but I have read his 501 classic backgammon situations. While this is a great book too, Magriel is the better teacher and writer.

Also, there are plenty of reasonably priced used copies of the hardback version of the book. I bought mine through Amazon used books postings for only $ more than the recent paperback re-release.

That said, "The Big E" is without peer, as both a history of the World War II-era carrier Enterprise, and as a record of what carrier warfare in the '40's was like. Stafford's prose is both elegant and -- given the records he had available in 1960 -- accurate. His descriptions are vivid: you can feel the decks whip violently at Santa Cruz, you can see the vibrant green of the Philippines at Leyte Gulf, you can sense the tension in the ready rooms at Midway. Her men are not just names on a page, but tangible characters: bold, fast-thinking, humble, optimistic, but sometimes very worried about their prospects.

There are a couple points about the book which the prospective reader should be aware of. Stafford's focus is primarily on the ship's squadrons, and less so on efforts of her crew. Originally published over 40 years ago, some of the language is a bit dated, though, again, overall the writing is superb.

The fact, however, that a 40-year old book about a ship that was decommissioned in 1947 is deemed fit to reprint in 2002 should tell you two things. The book is not a throwaway, but a genuine work of literature. And Enterprise was not just a warship, but a unique bonding of man and machine, that came through for her country when she was needed most.

It tells you all the "why's" behind the standard interview questions like "where do you want to be in 5 years?", and red flags to look for in candidates. Reading it also helped me know what to say when I was being interviewed!

I loved reading about the methods he used for farming, building, and general survival with none of what we consider the amenities of life. I found myself feeling very calm as I read this book....a sure sign that the conveniences of modern life bring stress with them!