First I thought it should be called Wide Range because of all Linda's varied interests but as I looked through it, which took all of l0 minutes to review, I was very disappointed in it. The pictures were too simple and looked like a child's first attempt at photography. I am a staunch Linda McCartney fan of her photography and share in her many interests, but felt let down by this book of simplicity.

I found this book an inspiration. Not surprising since I have always been inspired by Linda's pictures, but I now have a collection of moving moments that she has caught on film. As an amateur photographer I am now inspired to experiment with the medium. I now keep my camera handy where ever I am.

She was, indeed, one of the best photographers of her generation. There is a terrific sense of reverence for the natural world in these photos, in which she demonstrates that nature provides the most satisfying, serene, and dramatic of images, if you look for them. And you need not travel to the Grand Canyon or the redwood forests to see them--looking out your back door, out the plane window, in your garden, across the beach, or through the glass teapot on your table, may yield views as delicate and mysterious as the old masters. Of her photographs of people, John Lennon said "She has an eye for an eye." Of her photos of nature, we can say that she had an eye for the most intense beauty in the most fleeting of moments.

I must have misunderstood the title -- I thought it meant that you could read the book in 90 minutes, not that it had been written in 90 minutes. The biographical sketch is fine, and a bit entertaining, though Strathern too often goes in for easy sarcasm and makes too many jokes at the expense of his subject. But his pretension to have dealt in any way whatsoever with Wittgenstein's thought is simply outrageous. There are in total about 7 pages devoted to Wittgenstein's work, which do not even provide the barest bones of the beginnings of the glimmerings of an understanding of this profound and difficult thinker. In this age, of course, the idea that one can attain a deep comprehension of a difficult topic with almost no effort is almost irresistible; but I fear greatly that this glib and shallow work will make people who might well have enjoyed reading Wittgenstein feel that they no longer need to. Of course, if all you are interested in is being able to drop the name of a famous philosopher at cocktail parties, this may be the book for you.

Strathern has a real gift for "putting the cookies on the lowest shelf." Unfortunately, with a thinker of the complexity of Wittgenstein, that can often lead to shallowness. This book suffers more from its narrowness of scope, though. While its biographical aspects are complete, its description of Wittgenstein's philosophy focuses almost entirely on the Tractatus, only mentioning briefly his later developments of linguistic theory, which more than anything else he produced has influenced postmodernism. In fact, I don't recall ever seeing the term "language game" used in the book! Nevertheless, because the book requires such a minimal investment of time, it is probably a good place to start. Just don't end there.

Strathern proides the gist of both of Wittgenstein's philosophies along with biographical information and historical background. W. came of a prominent family (Brahms was a frequent dinner guest and, of course, provided after dinner music); he went to school with Hitler, though the two never met as Hitler was kept back a grade. W. knew nothing whatever about philosophy until he was in his twenties, and after writing the book that he claimed ended philosophy, he decided to become a monk. The monk at the gate of his chosen monastery was offensively rude, however, so he chose to become a village schoolteacher instead. Later he returned to philosophy and reworked his ideas. Having been converted to Christianity by reading a book of Tolstoy's, he was determined to live an austere life, and was considerably irritated when he inherited a fortune, which he gave to his family.

Strathern relates these anecdotes in an easy, conversational style, occasionally sticking in sarcastic little comments. The book is a model of clarity and great fun to read; its only drawback is that it is too short; it does exactly what it sets out to do--give a brief introduction to W. The reader is left wanting to know more about the man and especially about his ideas. And that, of course, is really no drawback.

I bought this book on the basis of the above review and was looking forward to a gripping tale of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. Instead, I found a book bogged down with with the author's attempt to document too many minute details. The writing style is choppy and confusing. I'm sure as a reference book it is very well researched, but it is not at all what I would call a "good read". I gave up after several chapters.

This excellent volume, superbly documented, paints a realistic, grim, and completely readable picture of the Grande Armee's retreat from Moscow. Much new information has been uncovered and used, and this is one of the best books on the subject available today in English. The third of three books by the same author on the Russian campaign, it tells the tale of one of the most tragic and gripping events of the Napoleonic Wars.

The retreat was gruesome. During it, Napoleon reached his nadir as a soldier, but somewhere, possibly during one of the running fights with Cossacks or other Russian irregulars, he regained his identity and courage, and got the remnants of his army out of Russia, the survivors he later proudly nicknamed his 'men of bronze.'

Without a doubt, the French and allied survivors were the toughest men in the Grande Armee by virtue of their getting out of Russia. The best and proudest moment for all concerned, except the Russians of course, was the assault crossing of the Berezina River, the last obstacle facing the Grande Armee on its way home.

Chased by two, and the river line held by another Russian army, the professionalism and stark fighting qualities of Napoleon's soldiers sorted themselves out and they executed a flawless operation, defeating two Russian armies and outrunning a third. Building the bridges they needed as they went, they fought their way across against almost overwhelming numbers of men and guns, the French and their trusted allies, Swiss, Germans, and Poles, outfighting their Muscovite opponents and leaving Russia as victors.

This story has many eyewitnesses, doctors, privates, generals, colonels, and one French actress. They tell of the horror and suffering, of high deeds, and the hopelessness of the snow covered vastness that is Russia in the winter.

This book is excellent, and along with its two partners, deserves wider reading. It is a superb reference for study or fun, and all three have now been produced in one volume.

In this final volume of the trilogy horror is piled on horror as the remnants of the Grand Armee, of its camp followers, and of the pathetic survivors of the pre-war French colony in Moscow struggle westwards through snow and ice, dogged at every step by swarms of Cossacks and the focus of converging Russian armies. Almost every page finds heights of human heroism and sacrifice contrasted with extreme examples of cowardice, selfishness and cruelty. One always knew that the Retreat from Moscow was an unparalleled disaster, but until one reads this fusing of so many first-hand accounts once never realised just how bad it was. The collapse of discipline, hope and decency is graphically depicted yet in the midst of it perhaps the greatest surprise is how effectively some units, not always necessarily elite ones, still managed to stage effective defensive and rearguard actions, without which the disaster would have even more total. (Readers will inevitably find close and indeed uncanny echoes of Anthony Beevor's recent "Stalingrad"). The story is inevitably dominated by Marshal Ney, who comes across as an even more magnificent battlefield-commander than even his "Bravest of the Brave" title suggests, but Prince Eugene Beauharnais, runs him a close second as a splendid, resourceful and indomitable leader in adversity. The pace of the narrative never lets up and indeed the chapters surrounding the loss of the Berezina bridge to the Russians and the subsequent efforts to get the survivors across by improvised field bridging, in appalling conditions, achieve an almost unbearable level of suspense. It is a measure of the writing that, though one knows the outcome, one still hopes page by page that some miracle will still happen. Many of the personalities whose accounts feature in the earlier volumes appear here again, adding to the reader's sense of familiarity. Like its predecessors, this volume cannot be too highly recommended - it is a magnificent achievement and must surely assume classic status.

This book covers the Chernobyl nuclear reactor melt down that took place back in the early 80's in the USSR. The first third of the book covers what happened to cause the accident - an amazingly small human error for such a major problem. The next third of the book covers the fighting of the fires, evacuation of the town and the closure of that part of the facility. The last third of the book covers the political fallout for the incident.

Overall he details are very interesting and the author has done a very good job in pulling all the facts together. You really can tell that this is a very well researched book. The writing is not bad and the book follows a well-constructed path. My only complaint would be that the last third of the book tends to drag a little due to the in depth coverage of the political aspects, due to it being USSR it is not always the most interesting for an American. All in all, this is a good book that does a great job in describing the accident and the clean up. The one thing you will take away from the book is that it is a wonder that this type of incident has not happened again.

If you enjoy true documentary type history and politics, well written, and especially if you are one of the thousands who enjoyed this author's "Alive" - about the survivors of an airplane crash - then you will devour "Ablaze". Mind you, among the page-turning excitement there is also a lot of breathtaking incompetence and cover-up. You'll remember: the Chernobyl reactor blew up, the Soviets covered up, Europe was contaminated, thousands of Soviet citizens were (and still are) made tragically ill. This book gives a journalistic factual account of the emergency and all its aftermath. The physics is well explained for the non-scientist. Worth ordering!

The Devil himself was manifested in the hellish heat and fire of the exposed core of reactor number four at the V.I. Lenin PowerStation in Pripyat, outside of Chernobyl, in the USSR. Soundsgrotesque, but intriguing, right? Piers Paul Read's novel, Ablaze, presents the horror "story of the heroes and victims of [the] Chernobyl [nuclear accident]." in a daunting, yet scientifically credible way. In the introduction of the book, Piers Paul Read, presents the information regarding the disaster in Pripyat. Read writes in a straight forward manner that promotes a trust between the reader and author. During his introduction, Read clearly outlines his thesis and how he is going to present information. He tells you from that beginning that he does not know extensively about nuclear physics, reactor construction, or about the operation of a nuclear power plant. His lack of experience paired with the average reader's same lack, makes a perfect match. For the information that the average reader doesn't know, the author provides what could be called a mini-lesson on the basics of nuclear power as well as a bit of nuclear physics. I think that the author does this to promote a feeling of trust between the author and the reader. When reading the introduction where the author spoke of not knowing extensively about the world of nuclear power, I got the impression that the author was learning along with me during the mini-lessons. This instilled a feeling of companionship and trust in me toward the author. I believe that trust is a vital part of the relationship between an author and his/her audience. While the mini-lessons alleviated much of the lacking of background information, the reader still needed to know some of the general history of Russia and the USSR to completely comprehend the work. The knowledge required amassed mostly to the structure of the Soviet government and the structure and the power of "the party" otherwise known as the Communist Party of the country. Although this information is not obscure or arduous to find, it still required some research on the part of this reader. After a brief mini-lesson on nuclear physics, Read went on to explain events leading up to the disaster. He provided a total explanation of the history behind atomic weaponry development and how it led to the development of nuclear reactors in the USSR. Read focused mainly on the RBMK reactor development and the Soviet drive to harness the vast amounts of energy that can be created by a nuclear reactor. While the explanation of this "nuclear race" was quite education, it seemed too name and oriented for me to follow with full cognition. In fact, to this reader, the whole book appeared to be overflowing with names. While it can be understood that names and specific facts are imperative to a non-fiction historical book, they can be overused, as they appear to have been in Ablaze. To this reader, the overuse of names and other facts avert the reader from fully enjoying and understanding the book. After the explanation of the events leading to the disaster, the author moves into a stage where the pace picks up. Events start happening with short intervals, and the words start forming vivid images in the reader's mind. This reader could see the eerie blue and red glow of the reactor as it emitted the deadly radionuclides that killed or harmed so many. The writing explaining the actual explosion and the 20 or so minutes that followed were realistic and action-packed. The pages of these actions, made the daunting journey through the pages of explanations worth it. The writing on the actual accident was like something one could read out of a best-selling novel, or more accurately, could see in the newest blockbuster action movie. Piers Paul Read's writing in this middle phase of the book were superb, but, to this reader, the readability and excitement soon faded. The writing of the immediate aftermath was still interesting, and I wanted to continue to read. But, as the book further progressed, the quality of the writing diminished. While totally untrue and unrealistic, it could be said that this book appears to be written in one day: It starts slowly, like one is writing after just awaking, then, as the writer wakens and becomes more alert, the writing quality and excitement increase. The writing quality and excitement seem to reach their pinnacle at the center of the book. Then, the quality diminishes, getting worst as the day goes on -- as the writer grows weary. The book closes with a triteness that is so indicative of the common history book. It closes like one has slowly drifted off to sleep. It does not close with the BANG that a topic of this proportion and magnitude demands. The book, while not in chaos, could use a better organization system. The Table of Contents was quiet insufficient for a book with as many divisions and sections as Ablaze. Also, the different sections and chapters would be better suited with a textual title as well as the numerical title that each section has. And these titles should be included in the table of contents. For a book that appears to be researched extensively, the author should have paid more attention to the structure and organization of the book. Published in 1993, Ablaze by Piers Paul Read addresses a concern that many American and International citizens share-- nuclear safety. Most Americans live within a comparatively close proximity of a nuclear reactor, weather for electricity creation, or for governmental and military use. The possibility is always there, for an explosion like at Pripyat, or for something worse, a full meltdown or even nuclear war. Piers Paul Read illustrates this point effectively. Although lengthy, the message is clear. Read tells us crystal-clearly, like Jacobo Timerman said, "Everything that happened once can happen again.

I ordered this book, hoping that it would provide a simple but substantive approach to identifying customers and developing strategies to reach them. Instead, I was disappointed to discover that it was merely a compilation of worksheets with no explanation as to how to use them. Many of the questions were open-ended with no real structure that would lead to a coherent strategy.

The "One-to-One Fieldbook" by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers is a much more useful handbook, and at $15.95 is a much more worthwhile investment. I'm returning my copy of this book and keeping the Peppers and Rogers tome.

I have too many "500 tips" books about customers and not enough like this one! Achieving Customer Delight gives an individual or a group a disciplined process for really transforming the way they do business, and it is in very plain English. I would recommend it for executive directors, fund raisers and staff or volunteer teams. It would be an interesting tool for a new ED to use in diagnosing an organization, too. The worksheets are easy to use, and you could go through the whole thing in a retreat or do sections as staff development (probably 1-4 hours) in the office. It's a great discussion starter. How many organizations could say "yes" to the first item on the first worksheet:"This organization is focused externally?" Way too few, and this book could help turn that focus away from internal wrangling to a focus on the mission. Tom Peters tells great stories about other peoples' organizations. Achieving Customer Delight could help you make your own great stories.

This is an excellent resource to help an organization think through attitudes about and relationships with customers.

We all work in a fast paced world where how we treat our customers/clients/stakeholders can make or break a relationship. This workbook stimlates ideas about how we can get and keep customers and it inspires us to to do that in an outstanding way.

We have used it to discuss how we treat donors, staff, volunteers, clients and everyone who contacts our organization and is a potential member of one of those groups. The fieldbook asks the right questions and helped lead us to answers that work for us.

The statutory rapists Simone de B and JP Sartre neglect to mention the hordes of students they raped in this swan story of their sick love.

To get a glimpse of one of many that get glossed over after having been sexually harassed and raped by this duo one could read A Disgraceful Affair by Bianca Lamblin.

She was seventeen when these two old fogies began to do her.

It's amazing how the communist left sees itself and its heroes as such innocents when they were criminal scumbags from the ground up. Trained in anthropology these creeps would have known better than to see themselves as such perfectly innocent people.

A disgraceful pair whose memory stinks to the heavens and cries out as a warning to young leftists everywhere that you will end up as filthy as these two cochons.

Then you need to read this book. It is Simone de Beauvoir's first-person account of the last ten years of Sartre's life, and it is heartbreaking to read in several places. Her descriptions in particular of his final few days are wrenching, and I did actually cry as she described Sartre's death. The prose is characteristic of de Beauvoir: deeply and intimately detailed, meticulous, and dense in some places. But the reading is ultimately rewarding as it gives the reader an even more thorough understanding of the devoted side of de Beauvoir--and the very human and mortal side of the great philosopher Sartre.

Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre were *the* couple of the 20th century. For all the immense history they created, it may be beyond our ability to imagine just how and why they were first drawn together, or more why they *stayed* together right up until Sartre's death in 1980. This two-part memoir is remarkable for its poignant intimacy, first as an historical record from 1970-1980, and then as a transcription of de Beauvoir's own interviews with Sartre during that same period of time. These two were a rough mix, as though that was a revelation. And, ironically, it's perhaps de Beauvior's own deep emotional commitment that comes through most clearly in these pages. On the other hand, we're also offered a fascinating view of their long public life together. From the times of divided German-occupied France, to the political activism of the 60s and beyond...and, above all, the writings they produced! If anything, this book reveals how moot is the point of Sartre's caustic personality, and to what extent he may have "used" her. (As if a woman of this caliber *could* be used!) Their focus was always on the change they hoped to produce in the world. Well, and for de Beauvoir, at least, there was also the issue of their own personal relationship. Therein lies the charm of this book. You won't be disappointed.

The author leads you through Adobe's history, advantages, varieties and mythology. Photographs from around the world illustrate Adobe buildings from ancient times to today's current structures. Often associated with luxury homes, Adobe houses come in all price ranges.

Well-organized, the book guides you on a tour of a dozen New Mexico famous buildings such as Taos Pueblo. It takes you to Peru, Bolivia and the middle East to examine Adobe's place in a variety of cultures. Personally photographed by the author, the many photos illustrate the versatility in its use, design and complexity.

The task of housing this planet's six billion people is a growing problem. One solution is using the dirt beneath our feet as material. Adobe is baked by the sun, requires unskilled labor and last for centuries. Half of the homes on Earth are built of earth ... more than any other material. The book is interesting to read and increases awareness of this often overlooked solution to World housing.

- Adobe has been used throughout the world for centuries. Why then is it no longer favored in the borderlands? Perhaps we've taken this "global treasure" for granted, or worse, thought it too old-fashioned for the present century. This book is an excellent introduction to material of adobe itself and the cultures of people who used adobe to create shelter. This is a book with practical sensibilities; after all, it was funded in part by the United States Agency for International Development.

An unusual approach to explore the roots of simple earthen architecture. The similarities found in many parts of the world are clearly illustrated with photos. It offers solutions for ecologically sensitive housing that is available to all.

Although in a panaceal sense, Mr. Keating's ability to relate through his speeches appears contrived to the limit of being exemplary. Numerous references to the elements from which he has served justify his relevance to society as a whole. Plenty of motives are given for his pounding theme: the news from which he drinks is suffocating to the masses. Unlike former pensioners, his is almost believable. One need only place an order and it is prescribed. Two sanguine articles decline his mouth, and escape his authority. One must neglect certain wisdoms so that those who know, do. Fortunately, without bounding aims and governmental figures, all has been said in a tornado of wealth. Those who have skipped and jumped have faltered; lest he be that which hath opened -- not yet. We may redden the darkest yellow with greens of splendid blue. Lies are articulated in inter-culinary spaces. Forget the limping; burn the texts of allowance. Let them become in some category found, but not to impart too much sorrow. Why have you read this far? We must strive to dine on the walls of boundaries. Get his face and wipe. Plaintively, orcas present my tooth. Carded and frayed, like some graded talismans, one hath but to both of noss and leek of uvulas. And that is what reading the speeches is like.

It is significant that Keating's first foray into publishing, is not an autobiography, but rather a considered appraisal of the geopolitics of Asian and Australia's role in that developing geopolitcal framework. The book is not overally academic, and occassionally does slip into a historical accounnt of what occured in foreign policy duirng the Hawke and leter his own Governments. A worth first book, and I hope for more to come.

With Gough Whitlam, Keating was the leading Australian statesman of his time. This book reveals why: in his speeches, Keating expounds his vision for Australia - a mature, open and free society, mindful of its history and heritage, embracing the future and the rest of the world. Some of the speeches recorded here - notably the 'Redfern speech' and the Speech for the Unknown Soldier - are among the best ever delivered and rank with those of Churchill, Lincoln, Kennedy and King. Highly recommended.

This may in fact be the best of the entire "Choose Your Own Adventure" series, which is saying something, since this was always an interesting series, especially in its early days. Packard is the master of the genre, and the tangled web herein is suspenseful and atmospheric. Lots of fun for kids.

For me, this was the book that got me addicted at the age of 9! Edward Packard is a genius and one of my American heroes for inventing such an amazing literary genre! Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey? is a great mystery, full of suspense and interesting character development. It also stands out from the early CYOA books because it only contains 14 endings, thus making for a longer story.

This book was also one of the few selected to be published as a Grey Castle Press hardcover!

Choose Your Own Adventure books, I mean the Bantam Books ones, are the best! I want them all! It's amazing - the earlier ones are from around 1980 or even before, and can still be enjoyed thoroughly, as if they were written yesterday!

X-Automation of the Firm is an extremely concisely written book that gives some groundbreaking insights into the implications web-technologies are going to have on the way companies collaborate. The key theme of the book is cross automation in all its dimensions and how value can be created by not optimizing each company seperately but rather optimizing across markets and the value chain. I was thrilled to see what companies are already doing today. Would you have though that you can buy an SAP implementation over the internet and save more than 50% on consulting fees, hardware and the rest and receive a clean fixed price offer? This is really groundbreaking stuff.

X-Automation of the firm is the the best book I have read about e-enabling your business. Why did they not publish it before netgain and the other crap that made us all lose our savings on the stock market and implement non funcitonal solution from Commerce One and Ariba.

I liked most the case studies because they show the deep expertise of the authors in real applications of internet technologies to optimize processes across companies and create better working markets for complex goods. Has your company's ebusiness strategy saved your company alread more than $ 100 Mio? If not this book is a definite must to read. Strongly recommended

Despite some initial scepticism about book dedicated to the internet, I liked the cover so much that I somewhat had to open it. The introduction directly grabbed my attention. What really struck me as being pretty innovative was seeing the cross automation between companies in perspective with the industrial revolutions, the automation of the factory and the office automation. Also railroad building and the automotive industry came off to a pretty bumpy start. I think we should all see that when we are looking on the internet revolution.

The book is build out of pretty self contained chapters. As pretty innovative I perceived particularily chapter 6 about allgingin SRM and CRM and chapter 7 about the implications on the financial system. A great read.