What a SUCK-FEST! This is the worst book I've read in a long time. The (unlucky) 13 authors seem only slightly concerned with plot continuity, and the result is like a novel with every third page torn out. Characters come and go, and come back again for no apparent reason, other than to satisfy the authors' self-indulgent egos. In particular, the chapters by Elmore Leonard and Vicki Hendricks were appallingly bad. Hendricks ignores all the preceeding chapters and suddenly changes the eponymous manatee from an aquatic pinhead into some amalgam of Lassie and the Hardy Boys. In a later chapter Carl Hiaasen openly mocks this sudden swerve in character. (Tip: avoid books where one co-author ridicules another co-author's writing) Elmore Leonard contributes a time capsule that might have been hip 25 years ago, with a black character refering to someone as a "cat", and in the very next sentence actually using the phase "shuck and jive". I am very happy I checked this book out of the library, instead of squandering 22.95 on this train wreck of a book

OK, thirteen of Miami's favorite writers are sitting around a campfire (this isn't a joke). Dave Barry kicks off a story involving a couple hit men, a manatee, a 102-year-old woman and a box containing the head of Fidel Castro, and passes it to the writer to the left. The next eleven writers circle the story around the campfire in an attempt to blend this motley cast of characters (and heads) into the literary equivalent of a refreshing Miami Beach smoothee.

Throwing in monkey wrenches, stranger characters and even more heads-in-boxes in the process, they mostly succeed in creating a wholly unbelievable, extremely offbeat and wildly entertaining mystery. Poor Carl Hiassen (of Striptease fame) is challenged with tying up all the loose ends without playing the Demi Moore card, and succeeds in delivering an ending as strange as a manatee is large.

Above all an interesting experiment, Naked Came the Manatee is also an entertaining quick read.

Booger is the answer to the walls talking. Suspend belief and enter the world of a manatee that thinks, feels and reasons like us. He becomes involved in a mystery not as a victim, but as a participant in important events. The concept of a manatee detective aiding the likes of Brit Montero in solving the case of the Castro heads is only exceeded by the writing of this by the many different writers, from Dave Barry to Carl Hiaasen. No mystery should be this much fun

Judging from the previous reviews, this is a book you either love or hate. I happened to like it very much, although I can understand why others might not. The book has its flaws (what do you expect from a first novel?), but its intellectual strength carries the narrative.

The Silk Code" is a novel of ideas masquerading as a cross between science fiction and police procedural. Levinson takes current thinking on genetics, speculation on the relationship between homo sapiens and Neanderthals, and archaeologic discoveries on the Tarim Basin in China and then mixes them with a little bit of Amish culture, virology, and Basque history. At times the mix gets a bit out of control, but overall it coheres fairly well, certainly better than some conspiracy theory novels I've read. The idea of moth genes in the human genome is not as far-fetched as some readers have suggested--it's already known that viral and bacterial sequences make up part of our genome and that we share some genes with other animals.

The weaknesses in "The Silk Code" are a direct result of the book's focus on ideas and its origin as a short story. The characters are wooden, especially in the modern sections of the book. They have a tendency to make brief appearances and then vanish. There were times when the narrative was too sketchy, and I wished that Levinson had gone into more detail. Who, for example, was Amanda really? How did the Amish get involved in an ancient conspiracy? There are enough loose ends and unexplored backstory here for a sequel, although I don't know if Levinson intends to write one.

At any rate, if you're looking for a novel heavy on character development and world building, this probably isn't the book for you. However, if you care more about the speculative elements of the plot, it might be more to your liking.

I think The Silk Code is really two books in one. One story is about a detective -- Phil D'Amato -- with a lot of heart and a great sense of humor. The other story is about a strange people who lived along the Silk Road over a thousand years ago. Paul Levinson weaves the two together in a very captivating way -- he goes so deeply into the Silk Road people that we almost forget about D'Amato, but then we're suddenly back in the present and it all ties together in a way at the end. As a graduate student in anthropology, I especially enjoyed the 750 AD part -- the thinking of the characters in that section seemed very real to me, and that's hard to do for an ancient culture. All in all, a *very* enjoyable book -- almost a new kind of science fiction.

I found The Silk Code to be wonderful. I had just finished reading Patricia Cornwell's "Black Notice" and had been disappointed. A pinch of enthusiasm is worth a pound of technique. This was a real treat and had exactly what I had been looking for. It blends mystery and science fiction perfectly. One of the most pleasant aspects of the book was that it clear the author was excited to be writing it and that excitement really shines through. The plot was well thought out, creative and unique. I found the characters to be very believable. I never had any interest in the Neanderthals before, but found myself intrigued enough to watch a Discovery Channel special on them. I always have shelf space for books that expand my interests. The fact that people either love or hate it speaks to its originality. I hope that there will be sequel or at least more offerings from Dr. Levinson.

Not my most favorite Clive Cussler book. I listened to the abridged audio version and didn't think it flowed as well as it could have. I thought things were a bit to choppy.

In this story you are given a possible link to the last days of the Czar's of Russia and the Kazaks that protected them.

Along comes the modern day Russian who wants to relive the rule of the Czar's and sees himself as the one to make it happen. How does this involve NUMA? Well as usual the story entangles a disappearing submarine, some underwater caverns and a fuel source from the ocean (Fire Ice) which can be more powerful than all other fuels we know if harvested correctly, it could also cause the east coast of the US to be under water after a title wave hits if it is done wrong.

A lot of your familiar characters are in this one though I do miss Dirk. But I do like Kurt Austin. If you are a Cussler fan I recommend this one thought it is not one of his best.

Fire Ice, the third installment in the series, is a classic Cussler story of good versus evil. The story pits Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala against a group seeking to create political turmoil and unrest in Russia with a return of the Tsar. The novel is filled with all of the action, suspense, and frequent plot twists that have become Cussler's trademark. Like Serpent and Blue Gold, Fire Ice provides a broader character set from NUMA than the typical Dirk Pitt novel, with each character's personality adding to the depth and breadth of the story. Although Austin and Zavala are at the center of the action, Austin has more of the top billing than in the previous two books. The ongoing inclusion of crossover characters from the Pitt novels (i.e. Admiral Sandecker, Hiram Yeager) also adds substance. All-in-all, the faithful followers of Clive Cussler will find Fire Ice to be an enjoyable summer read.

Fire Ice by Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos is action packed entertainment with adventure and intrigue. Clive Cussler is a name that you CAN count on if you want this type of read. This is a novel written with a Romanov mystery and sea adventure with a real notoriously volatile and unstable compound known as fire ice aka methane hydrate. Yes, it is real and is mainly found off the Eastern shore of the United States as a compressed form of methane mixed with ice under extreme pressure and cold. Extreme pressure via the sediment of rock and the weight of the water and cold by the depth of the location under the water.

Now, combine these with the Cussler's ability to write a good story and you have excitement that will keep you riveted to the pages till you finish. Cussler is noted for his hero Dirk Pitt, but in this novel we have a more subdued hero Kurt Austin. Austin is as resourceful as Pitt and works for the same government entity, NUMA, with all of the same office people Admiril Sandecker, Hiran Yaeger and his supercomputer the lovely MAX, St. Julian Perlmutter and Rudi Gunn. Austin has his team with Joe Zavala and the Trouts, Gamay and Paul. Of course there is and old adversary turned friend Ivan.

Tsunamis, Cossacks, Russians, The Black Sea, Romanov treasure, submarines, oceanographic technology, and the fate of the world as we know it are all in play. A corporate megalomaniac thrown in the mix set to take over Russia with a Rasputin like mad monk. Now, your getting the picture.

You won't be disappointed reading this novel. There is great character development along with an interestingly intriguing story that will keep well entertained. Always...

Rumor has it that they sell all the books in the Genes Series by the pound. The extremely large print is very distracting and makes the book very hard to lug around. The illustrations are wonderful, but many times the text is long on pretty colors and short on important details. Mr. Lewin has not referenced his text well, giving only general references some of which are less than helpful. The index was by far the worst aspect of the book--it's almost impossible to find anything. In an informal survey, 3 of 4 students in my medical school class say they would burn their copy of Genes first if they were trapped in a snowstorm and needed the heat.

I used this book taking molecular biology in the final semester of an undergrad degree plan in cell & molecular biology. As far as all the comments from Hopkins- this book was not written for medical students. It is written for those needing a graduate study sophistication level in molecular biology, not for medical biochemistry or whatever. Although more cellular in approach than I had expected, Lewin's explanations on complex processes are admirably concise- the figures are very good. The only problems I see are 1) maybe trying to include too much within the scope of the book, and 2) the resulting somewhat arbitrary (in places) division of related material into separate parts of the book.

This book, in fact the entire series from Genes I to Genes VI is incredible. It should be required reading for every student of genetics and molecular biology. Dr. Lewin writes an incredibly detailed text, yet he makes the most difficult concepts understandable. Read the table of contents. If any of it applies to your studies or your research and you want to improve your knowledge of the area. Get this book

I was really disappointed with this book at the end. I think Mr. Stiles is a good writer and enjoyed reading most of the book. However, there is a passage toward the end that turned me off so much I almost quit reading the book. Mr. Stiles and his wife are "discussing" their situation, for which they are entirely to blame, and they decide to blame it on society and the media. As if they and all of us are mere unthinking pawns sculpted by the values of others. I actually had a grudging respect for the author up to this point in the book. Life is choice. Everyday we make choices. The author made a choice. I respected him for making the choice to try Wall Street and for toughing it out against the odds. However, to suggest, after sharing with readers his choices and struggles, that his choices were made for him by "society," completely insults the reader and diminishes his credibility. I would recommend this book to no one -- it is as if a different person wrote the end. Mostly it saddened me because I saw a basically good, reasonable person fail to evaluate his situation correctly. I hope the maturity and judgement that so often develop in our later years give him the fortitude to correct the course upon which he has embarked. I think he has great potential as a writer -- that potential could be reached with a major adjustment in his outlook.

This book is a true to life description of the Merrill Lynch culture. Stiles has absolutely "nailed" the Merrill work experience right down to the day to day relationships between co-workers.

For those considering employment in the world's largest brokerage firm - give it a read. You will not regret it. It is an eye-opener.

I wrote RIDING THE BULL to provide a first-hand account of the corrosive effect of extreme capitalism on human society. The book is a true story of a year I spent working at Merrill Lynch in New York City. It has now been seven years since I was hired by Merrill Lynch, and five since the book was published. In that time Merrill Lynch has paid half a billion dollars in fines both for its role in the Orange County bankruptcy and in the fraudulent promotion of dot-com stocks; the phony technology bubble has burst, just as the phony emerging markets bubble burst; and an unprecedented series of corporate scandals has rocked the American economy, causing a historic decline in the stock market that has erased an estimated $45 billion from the GDP. The magnitude of the problem has even led that champion of the Big Apple, the New York Times, to finally see the light: "If you have to choose the primary breeding ground for the various business misdeeds now consuming national attention, New York, I'm afraid, is the place...if infectious greed is the virus, New York is the center of the outbreak." (City of Schemes, NYT Magazine, 10/6/02).
One is tempted at this point to issue a strong I-told-you-so. I won't.

If you liked Saddler's work, forget this guy.

I really wanted to like this book as I have read all Sadler's Casca books and enjoyed most of them. I never actually finished reading the book, it was so bad.

The writer needs a lot more editorial control regarding pace and structure. The whole middle section of the book (where I gave up) has no action - Casca sits around, eats his meals, and that's it. In the first few chapters the author spends a lot of time describing the other people on the boat and I thought these guys would be with Casca throughout the story, but they get killed off by the pirates - what a waste of time.

I am surprised that Dengelegi was invited back to do a second book.

I've read (and re-read many times) the entire Cascaseries. Mr. Dengali made a valiant effort to continue the series, butfailed to grasp the character. The book was verbose to the extreme, filled with grammatical errors and errors of usage. The editor is at fault for this failing. "Taught" instead of "taut?" Please.

Perhaps had the editor been familiar with the storyline of the series, Casca would have drowned after the pirate episode. Which not only would have let us bypass several pages, but would have been true to the character.

A hard read, a story drawn beyond a viable length, and an indistinct setting, combined to make this book less than I had hoped for.

But Paul, don't give up! Re-read the originals, cut down on the flowery prose and take another crack at it! I'd love to see another one.

I seem to rememeber a mention of Machiavelli...

This is one of the worst endtimes novels I've ever read. The dialouge is horrible, the characters paper thin and the plot obvious and boring. There's much better out there. Save your money and try We All Fall Down by Caldwell or the Last Day by Kleier. Both are thoughtful, wonderful reads. This is neither

I have to agree with the other reviewers who have pointed out that this novel is simply not very good. With so many quality endtime novels that explore the concept in a superior way, it's become obvious that The Third Millenium is just a [copy] of Left Behind. Both We All Fall Down and the Christ Clone novels are far superior to this book

This was my first end times novel and while I agree with some of the criticisms of the writing style, etc., what Meier did for me as a new Christian was immeasurable! If anything, the book gives a complete, albeit simplistic, overview of the Rapture through the Second Coming of Jesus. I consider it a "primer" end times novel. After you have a grip on how the end times could happen, it's informative to read other novels that have different perspectives. What no one else has reviewed but which really placed this novel high on my list was the epilogue illustrating the truth and soundness of the Bible through an overview of fulfilled prophecy. Even if you don't like the word play in the novel itself, the epilogue is fascinating and informative reading. In fact, it was the reason that I began to read and research the Bible for myself and the rest, as they say, is history!

I bought this book because I wanted to supplement my preparation for the Solaris 8 certification exams. I already had sysadmin experience with versions 2.5, 2.6 and 7.

Solaris 8 - The Complete Reference is extremely readable and a good start for anyone who needs to look at the new Solaris version.

Pros
Good emphasis for PC based admins coming from an NT background, who need a grounding in Solaris and UNIX.
Very, very readable.

Cons
Not very much real information on the boot process

Not very much information on the security aspects of Solaris, just a few pages only.
Way too much detail on on subjects like FTP (16 pages), which everyone should know anyway.
Practically nothing on the use and setup of Jumpstart or diskless clients.
Not enough detail on the real Solaris features such as volume management, and set/getfacl and the Openboot process.

But overall.... I solidly recommend it to be on every small or big- time Solaris admins bookshelf.

I have been using various flavours of linux and BSD for 8 years now. Without a whole lot of practical experience in Solaris I spent the money and bought this book. It is an excellent resource and overview covering a wide range of topics. One could practically not even have used a computer or the internet and sit down and read the book and be fully able to install Solaris, set up web, ftp, mail and whatever other servers they may wish. I would be forced to suggest that those that did not find this book of value either didn't have the focus and patience to wade through the close to 700 pages (my hand hurt supporting this volume for several hours -- how many pages do you want it to be?!) and/or are dissatisfied with the OS itself and taking it out on this book. It's not Windows guys, it does require a little bit of hard work and some skill.

As the editor of Inside Solaris journal for a long time, I've been exposed to a lot of material covering Solaris. This book covers almost everything I've seen with depth and accuracy. I also wrote the foreward for this book, which is shown below:

It's been an incredible journey for Sun Microsystems and it's flagship operating system, Solaris. Sun released the first version of Solaris, based on a port of System V, release 4, in the early '90s and has built it into a truly world class application platform, scaling from PC's to clusters of 64-way E10000's. Solaris has been the first true assault on the "glass-house" mainframe world of proprietary architectures and astronomical prices. And every version has offered incremental improvements that keep Sun one step ahead of the competition. Things like 64-bit processing, the journaling file system, great Java support and network integration that is built-in from the ground up.

And this is were this book comes in. "Solaris 8: The Complete Reference" guides you through the rich functionality of Solaris with real world examples and techniques for getting the most out of your Solaris machines. There's enough here to satisfy everyone, from the Solaris expert who needs a reference to beginners looking for a guide to tackle a powerful, yet complex operating system. Spanning all of the core areas of Solaris makes "Solaris 8: The Complete Reference" an indispensable tool for both administrators and users.

I thought this book is extended version, why not, seller never declare this. If the book was divided as volume 1, 2, 3, why seller doesn't mention this is volume 1? Apparently the seller wants you have got wrong idea about this book. It may be strategy of selling, but harms the customers.

Generally a good book, if you just want to learn the formulas. The reasoning behind deriving the formulas and explaining physical concepts lacks depth and thorough explanation, so much of it is like "this is the way it is, so this leads to that". Tipler seems to be caught up with juggling the mathematical equations. This means that you will not grasp the ideas behind it all, and leaves you without the proper understanding to tackle the level III problems, as stated by so many of the other reviewers. Even though there exists a lot of examples, they still don't make up for the lack of profound explanations. One way to deal with it is to first read the corresponding chapter in Feynman Lectures On Physics and look at Tiplers examples, perhaps then you will be better off. So unfortuenately this is not the book that inspires you about the subject just dealth with, more it gives you the feeling of "phew! I got past this part", this I consider is the most critical point of all books, they should be more than a reference manual, they should inspire and exite you about the subject.

Posted book was not right needed volume, not specific to which volume and incorrect picture of book.