These Icelandic sagas are fascinating in their portrayal of this harsh bygone era. Egils Saga is a fine example of what the vikings were up to long before Chris Columbus got the urge to sail a boat across the sea. It was a savage, violent era but still there was poetry. This is an intriguing paradox but I guess it shows how much the times have changed. The saga of Egil is a compelling one. He is both killer and poet. He is a savage and a family man. I would be lying if I said I would like to have lived through this era but it is interesting to read about nonetheless.

I picked up this book in preparation for a trip to Iceland as a way to get a feel for the country's history, so I expected to appreciate it in an educational sense. In that respect, the book did its job. However, I was also surprised to find both the plot and the writing style engaging, so though I started the book out of a sense of duty, I finished the book wrapped up in the story.

The saga follows the life of Egil Skallagrimmson, one of Iceland's early settlers, beginning with a relatively lengthy section about several generations of ancestors preceding any mention of Egil's birth. Egil himself is a morally ambiguous figure, committing his first murder at six, but displaying moments of generosity and leadership as well, and of course he's also a poet. The action revolves primarily around Egil's movements back and forth between Norway and Iceland, though there is also a section that takes place in England, with Egil acting as a mercenary in a war against Scotland. Sagas do not read like modern novels--this is more of a biography that follows Egil birth to death--but part of the saga's purpose is to entertain, and it does that well.

Two things are involved in making this saga readable: first, the skill of the translators, whose sole fault seems to be an utter inability to translate Egil's poetry in any way that conveys why people thought he was such a great poet (maybe it just sounds better in Icelandic). Fortunately, the poetry takes up a pretty small fraction of the book. More significant is the author's skill together with the distinctive features of the saga genre--namely this: the sagas are primarily concerned with people and their actions. Thus every detail serves to carry the plot forward. You won't get landscape descriptions unless landscapes are relevant to the plot. Use of dialogue is frequent and relatively natural, but the conversations are brief and always move things forward. This might sound like the book reads like an action movie (and to a degree it does), but the fact that the saga includes Egil's genealogy and stories about others in his generation in his family that result in a story that evolves from a web of motivations. You don't get much in the way of examination of Egil's psyche, but the stripped-down style of the saga and its convincing portrayal of Egil as a complete human personality makes me wonder how necessary the tendencies of much modern literature to pay so much attention to inner life as a true representation of the human experience really are.

Egil Skallagrimmson is one of the great neglected characters of all time. Poet, magician, politician, good guy, bad guy, warrior--Egil is one of the more interesting characters that you'll ever read about. It's too bad that he's known mainly to fans of Icelandic sagas. If you're only going to read one Icelandic saga in your lifetime, choose this one.

As an avid true crime fan, I found this book to be little more than just another story about two people plotting the murder of a third. There is no insight provided with regard to the Sharee character -- We are presented with "what she did", but there is no real exploration of her character - & what really motivated her. In my opinion, the book cover (with its lurid picture and "Internet hype") clearly suggested something more than this book was able to deliver.

If you want to read a GOOD book about Internet deception and murder, I would highly recommend "The Internet Slavemaster" by John Glat. Insofar as character development, the book probably does not deliver much more than "Fatal Error", but there is certainly a lot more action, deception, and murder.

Excellent read. Mark and Paul worked wonders in weaving the web of intrigue that was the true story.

The story vividly reviews how the new mediuum of internet chatting can become a forceful instrument in social intereaction. It also shows how you can adopt virtually any persona you wish when conversing through the electronic medium of chat rooms and Instant Messenger communications.

The development of personalities and families in the book was extraordinary. You literally pictured the characters and their interaction in this shocking real-life murder story.

Good work!

I was there.... and I could not have written this story as well as the authors, Paul Janczewski and Mark Morris. Three different people, three diffrent time lines, laced in three diffrent lives. Like lacing your tennis shoes, Sharee Miller would weave a deadly lie between her husband, Bruce Miller, and her internet lover Jerry Cassaday. This book is a real page turner, a can't put it down type of book. When you get to the last page and realize that all that you have just read is true, you won't believe it. How could this wife, this mother, be so deadly, with out thinking of anyone else but her self? I wonder. Is this real life or the one in a million type of woman?For a close, personal, in-depth look into what the internet has to offer, read this book. I even knew how it ended, and I read the book to fill in some of the blanks, to answer some of the questions that I still had. Thank you Paul and Mark for doing such a great job with such a difficult story. You were kind and caring to the families when they really needed it. WE are glad it's over, and WE finally know most of the truth.

By his own account, Randall Fitzgerald put "Cosmic Test Tube" together due to his frustration with what he sees as the extremes of irrationality represented by most UFO believers and UFO skeptics alike. To that end, he provides summaries of literally hundreds of published books concerned with all aspects of the UFO phenomenon--ancient astronauts, UFO sightings, contactees and abductees, crop circles, cattle mutilations, and even the works of skeptics like Philip Klass and Curtis Peebles. By and large, these summaries are presented with a straight face and with no editorial or other subjective comment, although in the case of some books that I have also read I believe his selection of what to emphasize may not completely dovetail with what is emphasized in the books themselves. Since nearly all of "Cosmic Test Tube" is made up of these entries, one can view this book as a sort of "Cliffs Notes" on UFOlogy.

The book is divided into several convenient sections (ancient astronauts, general UFO sightings, contactees and abductees, and skeptics), and each section is preceded by an article-length discussion of one or a few of the subjects covered by the entries within. So, for example, the section on ancient astronauts is preceded by a more substantive and editorialized discussion of the so-called "monuments" of Mars and of Robert Temple's "Sirius Mystery," in which it is claimed that the Dogon tribe in West Africa possesses astronomical knowledge that could only have been obtained by the use of a telescope; similarly, the section for skeptical works is preceded by a discussion of the evidence (or lack thereof) for an extraterrestrial connection to crop circles and cattle mutilations.

"Cosmic Test Tube" is genuinely entertaining in places--many of the summaries of UFO-related works are quite funny, especially when presented in such a deadpan manner. It isn't clear to me, however, exactly how "Cosmic Test Tube" points to some sort of "middle way" between believers and skeptics, especially when all it does is reproduce the basic arguments of each side with little in the way of real evaluation. And, of course, it should go without saying that in the modern age of the internet not all of the pertinent information is to be found solely in published books--for example, the paranoia and self-delusion evident in Richard Hoagland's "The Monuments of Mars" pales in comparison with the fantasies and conspiracy-mongering to be found on his web site for "The Enterprise Mission."

Regardless, those with more than a casual interest in UFOlogy will find in "Cosmic Test Tube" a useful reference work that will point them toward other, more detailed books on whatever subject they find most interesting.

Cosmic Test Tube covers everything from Erich von Daniken to Carl Sagan. Whether it's bees from Mars, Nazi flying saucers from the north pole, the grays, or secret military aircraft, Cosmic Test Tube has it all. Which might be too much, actually.

It's helpful in that it can save you years of research. However, you won't be any closer to the "truth" after reading it.

I never thought that I would actually see a compendium for Ufo's and other space/alien related material. However, this title and book in question, i.e., Cosmic Test Tube : Extraterrestrial Contact, Theories & Evidence by Randall Fitzgerald, Paul Mendoza (Illustrator), does just that. It is a compednium that lists numerous titles that deal with the mentioned subject, i.e., aliens and other worldly life forms. Recommended.

As a user interface developer/consultant I have experienced first hand the value of a risk based, iterative/incremental approach to software design. This book does an excellent job of presenting a rigorous backbone to this approach; the software development "Unified Process". This book also does an excellent job of integrating the essential object oriented design deliverables (UML diagrams) with this software development process. Finally, these techniques are anchored to reality through example; the design of a real world, J2EE based, application. This book ranks as one of the best technology references that I have read in 25 years of software development.

This is a one-in-a-million technology book that makes sense from multiple angles. Most UML books are written by researchers that tend to have a myopic view on a project's scope. My impression from reading the book is that Paul Reed, the author, knows the theory and is experienced at practicing this theory - a rare find.

This book fully encompasses a whole project view and succesfully involves/educates the reader.

Let me explain : It is challenging to develop a book that covers OOP, UML, Rational Unified Process(RUP), Java/J2EE, Application Servers/IDE etc. Also most publishers will not touch such a subject assuming it will narrow the potential readership.

Having heap all the flatery, I must add some caution - to fully make sense of the book the rader must be somewhat familiar with some of the concepts - i.e. OOP, Java. Otherwise it can be hard to grasp.

I would recommend this book to developers/managers that wish to enhance their requirements process in software development.

In this book you can expect to visualise the role of UML in the full cycle of a project. The development process followed is RUP. There are nice background information on how to enhance the productivity of the development team in the design stages. The project discussed is a typical J2EE set-up - JSP, Servlets, choice of Javabeans and EJB, choice of Tomcat or BEA WebLogic and a Microsoft SQL Server (or Oracle) as the back-end.

I hope this review helps - please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

Thank you.

I am a professional developer who is moving from procedural languages and methodologies to object technology, Java and UML. I have bought and read many books on Java and UML, some good, some bad. This book is the best explanation I have found so far. It is genuinely pragmatic, with a case study that can easily be understood. The book is nothing short of exceptional. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I found this book very informative on the Pope, who has always been a hero of mine. It was very indepth and historical. Although it was not negative about the Pope it did seem to contain some incorrect statments on the views of catholics and the teachings of the Church. I felt it was assumed that catholics are, in general, negative towards Jews. I have always been a believing catholic and have never thought of Jews as "Christ Killers" or anything like that. I have never found anything in Catholic teaching that would support those views, most of these from writings from before John Paul II. Usually I read that we are all personally guilty of the crucifiction by our own sins. Over all it was a good and worthwhile reading.

I am not a particularly religious or spiritual person but in the last few years the persona of the pope has long impressed me,but he too has fallen under harsh judgements from the media, fellow catholics and at times it would seem just about everyone. for a long time I wondered if he too was just another religious celebrity and that his gestures and words meant nothing. however after reading this book I felt a change of heart, there are some truly good people in this world , and their actions need not be extraordinary or special. It would seem that his entire life has been an example of how the little things we do for one another can mean so much. As one previous reader mentioned it will change your life, and i think it has,at least for me.

hope that other readers out there feel the same way yahoo from Canada

This is a fabulous book. I am neither Catholic nor Jewish, but I was fascinated by the depth of the man we all call Pope. I had no idea of his personal journey, and the breadth of his goodness. Too many times, we don't look beyond the title and the robes. This is truly a saintly man.

Hi I am a college student,Junior.Before I encounterd with this book, I did not like studying chemistry, but since then I have been reading this text book, I get better and better understandings of CHEMISTRY, and want to understand it more. So I dicided to continue studying this subject even though I didn't plan to do so. I hope eveyone who struggles with learning chemistry knows about this book. ALso I want fuculty members to consider of this book THis book really think of students!

Yoshimi Yoshida College student.

I never had interest in chemistry (and probably never will) but I found this book easier than most. By easier I do not mean that there is not much content, but the way of writing and the explainations are given in simple terms, making it better than most books. Many concepts which were greek to me were easily understood, and the excersises were designed to make a person think and apply knowledge. It is a good book, but then again, unless you're interested in chemistry this book won't magically pour knowledge of chemistry into your head. All this does is make you learn chem the way it should be learned, by understanding and applying knowledge. Among most of the chem books i've come across I'd rate this as one of the best.

This book is one of the best chemistry books I have come across. Personally, I have an interest in chemistry, so I read many books on the subject. This book is one of the better books I have read, partly because of its easy-to-understand diagrams. A must for any chemistry student!

This is a wonderful reference book. The information is superbly presented. Where the entry might be unfamiliar it provides a pronunciation key (exceptionally convenient for foreign or archaic words). The entries themselves are well balanced for readability, content, and completeness. And most articles include a bibliography if you wish to research further.

It is also a reference in which you can get delightfully lost. My searches take me in many directions. It's first class cross-referencing makes an in-depth investigation a snap, but sometimes it is better to ramble. And this is the beauty of the book, unlike structured links with Web or CD encyclopedias, in the Columbia Encyclopedia the links are only encumbered by your imagination and curiosity.

If you are not American, (I'm Canadian) don't worry about obsessive jingoism that often pervades American efforts. The Columbia presentation is evenhanded and globally egalitarian in scope and breadth.

If you don't already own this excellent volume it should be on your bookshelf. If you are a teacher it should be in both the school library and your classroom (grades 6-12), and if you are a parent it should be in your home. The Columbia Encyclopedia is truly a rare and valuable information jewel.

The sixth edition of Columbia is a distinct improvement over the fifth (CH, Feb'94), which contained not a few embarrassing geographical inaccuracies. Editor Legasse also edited Concise Columbia Encyclopedia. Hefty indeed, the new Columbia contains some 51,000 entries covering a vast array of topics; it is the largest one-volume general encyclopedia in English. Nearly 40 percent of its content has been revised to reflect the political, social, scientific, and technological developments since the fifth edition. Entirely new are some 1,300 entries covering such topics as the Internet, the Ebola virus, and alternative medicine, to name only a few. Among its 6.5 million words are 700 black-and-white illustrations, 80,000 cross-references, and 40,000 bibliographic citations. Articles range in length from a few lines to several pages, usually written in straightforward style free of jargon. A note for readers explains that "information from one article is generally not repeated in another," although numerous articles are properly cross-referenced to related items. Vladimir Putin, for example, is cross-referenced to Chechnya, which is cross-referenced to Dagastan. Entries are arranged alphabetically in boldface; longer articles are paragraphed with italicized subheadings (unlike the fifth edition) and conclude with brief bibliographies. Like its predecessor, the sixth edition dispenses entirely with photographs and portraits of persons, but includes hundreds of useful maps, tables, and diagrams, many new or revised. Other features include a key to pronunciation and a list of abbreviations. Extending a tradition begun in 1935, this version of Columbia is impressive in its sweep, clarity, and authoritativeness, making it a happy choice among one-volume "first-stop" reference works. Highly recommended for home use or for public, high school, or college libraries. Highly Recommended

I bought the Columbia encyclopedia a little over a year ago and now I feel qualified enough to review it.

I'm never amazed at the amount of information that is presented in this book. It has never failed me or my seventh-grade daughter with any of her school related questions. Whether her questions have to do with the population density of Calcutta (population and area in sq. miles), cell reproduction or plate tectonics, I have yet to find something that she needed and it was not there.

The information is presented in a very succinct manner. There is never too much or too little information for a specific entry - always just enough. The "also see" and bibliography references at the end of many entries are very useful. The binding is great. I was afraid that this huge book after constant use would crack at the hinges, but that is not true. This is one of the bulkiest books I've got and, yet, surprisingly, is also one of the strongest. After more than a year's frequent use, the hinges feel as strong as when I bought it and so do the ledge and spine.

This is not a multimedia information center. There are no pictures, only maps and drawings. When you first open it, you are faced with columns and columns of small font text, though it's nicely laid out.

I do not find any social or political bias in the book, but I may not be sensitive to it. One will not find positive or negative references being made on specific issues, although one may find something to the extend of "some academics feel that..." or "in this century XYZ has fallen out of favor with..." The book does not take sides, its stance is neutral and objective with no flavor. It does not offend and its errors (if any) are ones of omission not commission.

It may be a good idea to visit your local library first to take a closer look at its heftiness, lack of pictures and, perhaps, objectivity prior to purchasing it to see if it's something that suits your family's style. If you decide to buy it without examining it first, I don't believe you will be dissapointed - it's a great book and a best buy.

Using only this book and a few random tips from strangers, I picked up telemarking in two days. (I also started with 25 years of alpine experience.) This book is clear, concise, and effective. It made all the difference in the world in getting me skiing expert trails reasonably well by the end of my second day. I am nowhere near handling moguls, glades, ice, cornices, etc., but I did have twenty or so graceful, linked turns in a steep bowl

The book is wonderful.

It is abound with simple, practical, and easy to remember helpful hints;I call them little golden nuggets of information that you take with you on each run, or even turn, as you practice your downhill ski skills On or Off Piste.

It also has a wonderful introduction to the history of skiing and a very honest analysis/assessment of telemark gear.

It is incredibly suited for all beginner and intermediate tele-skiers.

Anyone interested in learning more about free-heel skiing would benefit from reading this book. Tips and discussion about technique, various conditions, and equipment make it a valuable resource to students as well as instructors. It also covers BOTH turn options: tele and parallel. Remember - it's a turn, not a religion. For what it's worth, I highly recommend it.

"Hostels U.S.A." is a comprehensive and immensely-helpful guide to over 300 hostels in the U.S. and some of Canada.

Evan Halper and Paul Karr not only write candid appraisals on each accommodation, they give prices, star-ratings, addresses (including email!), number of private rooms, and apropos icons (Attractive Natural Setting, Good for Business Travelers, Romantic Private Rooms, etc).

At the start of the guide, the writers explain to us what exactly a hostel is (no, it's not a hospice or a drunk tank).

And in the back of the book, Halper and Karr put the hostels into enormously-practical groupings--e.g., Best Beach Hostels, Great Value Hostels, Best Hostels for Skiers, and Most Romantic Hostels).

"Hostels U.S.A." is a laudable addition to both your knapsack and your briefcase.

I recently purchased the Hostel USA. Great guide for hostels. In particular, the party hat rating lets the reader know if the hostel atmosphere will be loud or more on the quiet side. Thank you so much for that.

Bravo to Mr. Halper and Mr. Karr for tackling a subject long ignored by American travel writers: youth hostels. Their intelligent, provocative guide gives readers more than just basic information and a standardized rating - they share their exciting, sometimes zany misadventures in a unique and witty voice. I would recommend this book strongly to any travel reader, regardless of whether they would stay in a hostel or not, and I look forward to the next offering Mr. Halper and Mr. Karr create.

Well, Phil D'Amato and Paul Levinson have done it again. I was a big fan of Levinson's first novel, The Silk Code, which introduced NYPD investigator D'Amato - a sharp forensic detective who always seems to get involved with cases a little out of the ordinary... There Phil pursued the hidden truth about the last of the Neanderthals and about modern-day Amish who might be more than they seem, and Levinson deftly distributed his fast-paced action over rural contemporary Pennsylvania, the streets of New York, and ancient Central Asia, addressing some pretty deep issues along the way. In The Consciousness Plague we get an even more immediate and unrelenting tale, as the novel follows D'Amato through a crazy six months trying to track down a serial killer on New York's Upper West Side and simultaneously get to the bottom of a peculiar memory loss syndrome which crops up everywhere he looks. As usual Levinson balances the hardboiled, action-packed mystery side of his creation with the thought-provoking speculative science fiction part, all the while keeping his story just within the realm of plausibility and perhaps even probability; he has a rare talent for crafting an exciting potboiler that really stimulates the mind. The subject of memory loss has become something of a popular one lately, what with excellent films like Memento and novels like Jonathan Lethem's Amnesia Moon; it's a phenomenon that never fails to intrigue the imagination, and I heartily recommend The Consciousness Plague for anyone who's enjoyed those explorations as well as anyone looking for a tense, intelligent bit of suspense.

The Consciousness Plague is Levinson's best novel
so far. Like all of his stories featuring New
York forensic detective Doctor Phil D'Amato, this
science fiction novel is so close to fact that
sometimes you can't recall if you actually read a news
story talked about in the novel or not. This time,
D'Amato investigates the possibility that our brains
work the way they do because of bacteria communicating
between themselves in our brain -- because of this, a
new kind of antibiotic begins to make people lose their
memories. And the loss of memory messes up an ongoing
investigation of a series of stranglings in Riverside
Park in New York City. The result is a bio-thriller,
police mystery, science fiction story all rolled into
one. I've been a fan of D'Amato since the beginning.
In fact, I heard that a movie was made of "The Chronology
Protection Case" -- a short story -- and I can't wait to
see it. In the meantime, I've got The Consciousness Plague.

Even if you're like me and you've never read the previous Phil D'Amato stories, The Consciousness Plague will draw you in. It's an engaging, intellectually thrilling novel.

The basic plot is this: a new antibiotic wreaks havoc with the brain's ability to remember, thus hampering a complex murder investigation. But to summarize it like that is to do the book an injustice. It's a story torn from the headlines and balanced on the cutting edge of modern memory science.

Levinson mixes disparate items into a seamless plot. Things like a police investigation into a serial strangler, copy-cat murders and the fascinating theory that a bacteria-like organism in our brains has given rise to our consciousness form a compelling, exciting yarn that stretches from the ancient Phoenicians in England (and possibly America!?) to modern-day New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Levinson's writing is easy and thought-provoking - his character, D'Amato, speaks directly to the reader, as in the best noir tales - drawing on all aspects of Western culture, from Beach Boy songs to medieval monks, with discussions of the blood-brain barrier and northern Italian cuisine thrown in for good measure. Yet he somehow ties it all together with a satisfying conclusion that leaves you hungry for more.

By the end of The Consciousness Plague, you'll want to catch up on all the Phil D'Amato you may have missed!