For developers involved with web-based projects, whether it be an online store for electronic commerce or an Intranet site for accessing and modifying company data, the powerful blend of JavaServer Pages (JSP) and Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) technologies can really make life simple. Once you've mastered them, creating new components that encapsulate business logic, or new web interfaces to existing systems, is easy. The trick, for developers, is mastering the technologies.

Professional JSP is one way to get up to speed. Like many of the books published by Wrox Press, Professional JSP covers a specific technology in-depth, as well as the various ancillary topics relating to it such as databases, servlets, and XML. While not every developer will need every web technology covered by the book (and there are many), the book works both as a tutorial to cover the basics and a reference for technologies that you may encounter later.

Professional JSP starts by covering the basics of Java Server Pages, and how they relate to other web technologies. Embedded in HTML pages, JSP provides an easy mechanism for creating interactive web interfaces that draws on server-side components, known as Enterprise JavaBeans. While the presentation logic is written in JSP, the processing occurs within these JavaBean components. The book takes a balanced approach, covering both JSP and its syntax, as well as how to write and interact with JavaBeans to perform useful tasks, like accessing databases through JDBC and using other Java technologies. However, if you've read other Wrox titles, you may find there is some overlap in the topics covered.

One of the nice things about Professional JSP is that, in addition to covering theory, it goes further and examines practical applications of JSP, and issues for programmers like security and debugging. Like other titles in the Professional series, there are case studies of real projects using JSP and related technologies. My favorite would have to be the case study on porting Active Server Pages to JSP -- something that is extremely important for developers with "legacy" web systems. On the whole, Professional JSP is an excellent book for web developers wanting to get up to speed with Java Server Pages, web development, and Enterprise JavaBeans. However, developers with less of a web presentation focus and more of back-end server view may also want to consider the excellent Professional Java Server Programming title, which also covers JSP. -- David Reilly, reviewed for the Java Coffee Break

This is a book for programmers who have a solid background in servlets programming and some experience in JSP. For beginners and for people who wish to learn those techniques on a standalone machine, they will be better off with Hall's "core servlets & JSP" or Fields&Kolb's "web development & JSP".

The book consists of 20 chapters. The first 12 chapters discuss the various salient aspects of JSP and the rest ( about two third of the whole book) is devoted to case studies.

A. THE BOOK'S STRENGTH:

By adopting Tomcat as its main testing software, the editors of "Professional JSP" have assured that most of the code examples will work. This is a big improvement over the past wrox books.

There are some excellent chapters in the first part. The discussion on session tracking is a real gem although the author failed to make a showcase of the code examples. The chapter on JSP Architecture contains some of the clearest explaination on the techniques of redirecting, forwarding and requestdispatcher. The chapter on customtags is equally very well done. But my favorite is the chapter on Global Settings, the idea is so practical. I also like the idea of emphasizing the importance of authentication which showed in many chapters of the book.

The case studies will serve as an excellent reference. Its coverage ranges from (1) the front end of an insurance company (2) a good pictures website which use JSP to publish its data (3) Security with JNDI (4) a online store using LDAP and JSP (5) J@EE, EIBs and Customtags (6) Multimedia and JSP (7) Weather website with JSP, XSLT and WAP (8) Porting ASP to JSP.

2. BOOK'S WEAKNESS:

The book is a combined effort of many authours and its unevenness showed. The first three chapters to introduce to JSP are out of place and a real waste. The chapter on Dynamic GUIs is a great idea which turned into a joke: after showing the general diea how to do it, the author sent readers to his website to learn the rest(?). And the chapter on JDBC connectivity and Pooling is a big disappointment: most of the chapter devoted to get connection, create databse,editing it and make query; and the rest the author explained how to use his own pool manager package, PoolMan. This wouldn't be too bad if PoolMan worked, with Tomcat.

The richness of the case studies is also its weakness. Unless you are experienced and have the facilities, you can't test them all. These techniques become obsolete pretty quick.

Probably the strongest objection to the book is its price. Buy it for your company and share with your colleague.

This books lives up to its title in that it provides both real-world JSP techniques (through 7 very informative case studies chapters), as well as JSP background information that serves as a quick start guide. I rank it as one of the top 2 JSP books currently available (the other one is Web Development With JavaServer Pages by Messrs. Fields and Kolb).

After the JSP fundamentals are out of the way (which I am sure any JSP newcomer will appreciate and can benefit from), the book picks up pace with discussion on JDBC connection pooling, and the best practice for data access from JSP. Then comes the chapter on custom tags. My favorite chapters are the ones on debugging JSP's and implementing the MVC design pattern in JSP/servlets.

The case studies are very comprehensive and closely correlated to the earlier chapters. In one case study the design methodology is clearly explained with UML diagrams, which are very helpful to someone who is currently architecting an enterprise Java Web application. Other case studies cover such a wide area of topics such as JSP in combination with LDAP, EJB, XSL, and WAP.

For ASP developers, this books has two enormously useful chapters to get them started on JSP right away. One is a case study showing how to port an ASP app to JSP, and the other compares and contrasts the object model and syntax between ASP and JSP.

Having said all the above, this book does suffer from certain weaknesses. One is typical of any multi-author book, i.e., repeat of the same topic in different chapters. This is the case with JDBC, which shows up in both chapters 4 and 7. Another problem is the lack of the use of a standard servlet/JSP container, which will help new users to run all samples under the same software setting (although there is an appendix on setting up Tomcat server). Finally, a few chapters seem to be out of place in term of the logic flow of concept, such as the ones on dynamic GUI's and JNDI.

Finally, this book is still thin on heavy-duty J2EE topics, such as EJB, distributed transactions, message service, and interoperability with CORBA. This is why I consider it as an intermediate level book, not an advanced one. Hopefully we will see another Wrox book in the near future that addresses some of these issues.

Better organized than the first Exam Cram book (Tests 1 & 2). Plus there are fewer mistakes/typos.

I didn't feel that the chapters on Backup & Recovery prepared you adequately for the test. However the author does admit that this book is intended as a "pocket guide".

My recommendation is that you combine this book with other study material. The practice questions, sample tests and cram sheet are the best aspects of this publication.

If you read reviews here you can be amazed how different they are. Some people put 5 stars and other just 1. Wonder why?

I used this book as the only tutorial for both exams and I passed them with a good score. The book really helps you to prepare. It's pretty slim but it contains all required information. Test examples are very good and very similar to real ones.

But there are some bad things. In a few places it has mistakes and some of them maybe confusing. It's not very important for exams preparation but probably it's annoying enough for some people to put 1 star. Another reason is a book structure. It's not supposed to be a general Oracle tutorial. It's just the exam cram. You can easily pass exam using this book but it's also true that you won't have complete Oracle vision in your head. I guess, some people don't like it too. But according to me it's a plus, not minus.

And don't forget that these exams will be retired at August, 2000!

The book is well organized and the practice tests and detailed answers are very helpful. As a result of the valuable study guide, I passed the two covered OCP exams with an average of over 100 points to spare.

If you are just looking for the exam answers, you will not find it here. If you are looking for an excellent study guide to help you prepare for the two exams covered by this book, buy this book. Like all OCP type books, it neither takes the place of "hands on" experience nor studying the Oracle concepts and reference manuals; however, it provides an excellent template on what to study for and also how to tackle tricky exam questions. In my humble opinion, the best OCP study book on the market!

I must say, I find some of the negative comments of others surprising since I felt this to be the most compelling of Desai's books. I think that it is deceptively simple and quite profound in parts. I have read it twice and upon the first the reading I admit that I did not think that I stumbled on to something special. But something told me I should consider it further, because like an unexpected feast, it was memorable. I felt so pulled by it that I actually decided it would be a book worth sharing with my students. They are currently in the process of reading it and enjoying her prose while considering the novel's subtle undertones. Unlike many other novels, this one does not gloss over or pretend to hide the obvious flaws and irrationality of either the Indian or American culture. Instead, it delivers a poignant, often startling, and ultimately, I think, positive view of acceptance--of one's life, of one's family and of one's culture. As far as the ending is concerned, it is wholly truthful. What aspect of life ends with any real sense of closure? Like Desai's characters, we only move and meander along, unsure of our footing at times. Her ability to draw out richness from the limited simplicity of her characters lives is quite remarkable. The more I reflect on the novel, the more I am impressed with her insight and intelligence.

This is the first book of Anita Desai I read. Her observations are astute whether they are on living conditions in India or USA. She uses witty and satirical language which keeps reader's mood light. I had difficulty understanding what message she is trying to send through her novel. For one, life is miserable whether one lives in India or USA, which is a pathetic outlook. Secondly, in spite of different living conditions people behave basically the same way to situations in life. There is no strong story here. Just description of characters and small incidences to enhance characterization but Anita Desai uses her words perfectly to convey exactly what she feels. She uses commonly used words, nothing flashy, to keep the reader engrossed in her characters, makes one turn page after page. I was never bored to read any page.
I felt Uma's character was ended rather abruptly. Arun would have been more human if he would have felt occasional pangs of homesickness and brooded over few pleasant memories of his childhood.
I would strongly recommmend this book to anyone who is interested in comparing living in India and in USA.

The books deals with two differant cultures. First part of the book highlights the Indian traditions, cultures and mostly the place of a woman in an Indian family. Anita Desai has done an excellent job in describing the indian family to every single detail of existance. Though this type of families still exists in India, Please do not generalise this view to the whole nation. It is only a 40% of families that could relate to the book specially in states where literacy is meagre.

I must say however, there are lots of uma's in India, today, and all they need is a little encouragement with education and exposure to the outside world, and she could definitely be a very strong woman. I loved this character of Uma in the book because she was both willing to take a chance with life and at the same time dedicated to her family. And she took all that happened to her life with such grace that she did not give me a chance to cry for her. Thats her inner strength.

The second part of the book deals with the dillemma of Arun in a world which he could not have imagined. Arun, the younger brother of Uma reaches Massachusettes for his higher studies, and is totally taken aback by the lifestyles of the west.

The most beautiful part of the book is its literatrue. So well written and with accurate details, its definitely a joyful read.

A sorry science fiction book (not a mystery novel in my judgement) not written by Ludlum but his name is on the cover to sell books (my viewpoint). The book takes advantage of todays terrorist threats and smallpox concerns to stir the readers interests but nothing in the book reflected the writings of Ludlum. I strongly suspect that Ludlum did not even write the outline for this book and the sorriest one, "The Paris Option".

I have been a Ludlum fan for many years and have read all of his novels. I have enjoyed many of them so much that after a few years I pick them back up and reread them to get a dose of his suspense filled writing that keep me up turning pages far into the night.
However I was disappointed with Hades One and this book, his last effort I believe before his death, was equally disappointing.
His descriptions of scenes are not up to his earlier standard, his character development is shallow and he telegraphs his villians, unlike earlier works and comes up with completely impossible situations. The suspense he used to create in his books is missing. I used to stay up late reading his page turner suspense filled books, now I just couldn't wait until I was finished, hoping it would get better.
Unfortunately we have lost a great writer, but this book is not anywhere near the caliber of The Holcort Covenant, The Bourne Identity or any of his earlier works.

"The Cassandra Compact" is a very exciting and entertaining read. The plot sometimes stretches the bounds of credibility a bit much, but that is to be expected in an action-thriller like this. There are also times when Dr. Jon Smith (the protagonist) borders on becoming a superhero rather than a true character, but he is generally very likeable, if never quite realistic.

In the past I have read some of Philip Shelby's work and thought that he showed promise. I have been impressed by his skills as a wordsmith, but found his story ideas to be somewhat lacking. Combining his writing talents here with the imagination of Robert Ludlum, however, has produced a blockbuster of a novel. This is not great literature by any means, but it is an engrossing story that will definitely keep you turning the pages.

With his death earlier this year, Robert Ludlum left a huge void in the international suspense/thriller genre. Thankfully, we do have writers like Philip Shelby and Gayle Lynds who are eager to take up his mantle. If "The Cassandra Compact" never rises to the level of the best of Ludlum's work -- and it doesn't -- reading it is still a very pleasing way to pass some time.

--David Montgomery, Mystery Ink

Well.... This book would be good if you happen to be ten years old. For me, even at age ten it didn't quite have the Star Wars feel, though I did find it interesting enough to want to read the rest of the series. Continuity though is important to me, and this book had none of it. However I will say that this series would be good for kids too young to read say, Heir to the Empire, but would still like to know what happened next. I personally thought that the characters did not act like they should, and the writing was somewhat cheesy. Older fans would definitly do better with Young Jedi Knights or some of the adult novels.

This book in my opinion is for kids 6-10,no older. When the evil self-proclaimed son of the emperor Trioculus takes hold of the throne (with the help of Grand Moff Hissa & the Commitee of Grand Moffs),only Luke and his friends can stop him. Now Trioculus must find the indestructible right-hand Glove of Darth Vader. Supreme Prophet of the Dark Side Kaddan predicted that the next ruler will wear the Glove of Darth Vader! Then Trioculus gets a message from a imperiel named Captain Dunwell saying that he perhaps has found the Glove of Darth Vader!!! Dunwell runs a factory which butchers Waladones. The whale-like Waladones are intelligent sea creatures that live in the oceans of Mon Calamari. Luke and Acbar go to Mon Calamari to save the Waladons. But the leader Waladon Leviathor (the last great white waladon) is captured by Dunwell. But I won't spoil the suprising conclusions. May I note that the only characters that act like themsalves are C-3PO and R2-D2. The pictures of Luke are highly distorted and Acbar is a wimp. But this is good for kids who are not able to read bigger Star Wars books.

These books were meant for children NOT ADULTS! Therefore they need not be constant with the other books that were made for big boys and girls! I really don't think a child will care weather or not Luke flies a Y-wing or X-wing or if it doesn't correspond with the Thrawn trilogy! Children most likely wouldn't be found reading a novel like Heir to the Empire anyway! I bought this book for my friend's younger brother and I skimmed through it. No, TARKIN WAS NOT THE ONLY GRAND MOFF! IN THE MOVIES YES, BUT IN THE GALAXY, NO! DARTH VADER WAS THE ONLY DARK LORD OF THE SITH IN THE MOVIES BUT THERE WERE OBVIOUSLY MORE OF THEM BEFORE HIM! If you're mad at this author for it then also be mad at Zhan because in the Hand of Thrawn saga one of his bad guys is (suprise suprise) a Grand Moff! These stories entertained my friend's little brother greatly. He felt like he was like his big brother and me who were always talking about all the Star Wars novels. These are excellent books for the younger generation that they were meant for. Face it. Star Wars isn't just for the 20+ year old age group it once was. The Special Edition changed that, therefor it was a success.

By and large, this book will be of interest to Auster fans only. The first section is a brief autobiography, which may be boiled down to this: "How I Tried to Avoid Having a Regular Job." It's all about the crazy schemes Auster had to make money while not working 9-5. The stories are good, though nothing amazing. As he chronicles his early life, he references his "Appendices" -- a couple of one-act plays, a card-based baseball game he'd invented, and his first novel. I'd say of the entire book, the novel may be the best part. It's strictly a by-the-numbers noir novel (the unwilling detective, the femme fatale, a larger-than-life victim), but it's executed very nicely. It's funny how Auster thinks nothing of his work -- according to the memoir, he churned this out in three months (June-August), which to me is pretty impressive, but I suppose Auster thinks it's just pulp... I don't think it is, though because he stays so within the confines of the genre, it almost comes off as parody. Still, it's an enjoyable read.

3 stars

Like some obscure import record of your favourite band or musician, Hand To Mouth is really only going to appeal to the most die-hard fan. Auster's honest though somewhat uninteresting chronicle of his early failures may appeal to struggling 20-something wannabe writers, but generally the appeal is limited. One can't help but feel Auster should of held onto this material until later in his life - a complete autobiography in his later years would be more valuable.

The early previously unpublished works included in the book are a must for fans and Auster must be commended for being so brave as to include them here. Perhaps most entertaining is the publication of his 'action baseball' game.

Paul gives us his first book under his new contract. The result: A short memior, some plays, a detective novel, and something about "Action Baseball (I can't figure it out). Everthing except the memior (Hand To Mouth) are from his early days. Nothing breathtaking, but it's Paul Auster, so that means it's good. Regarding his memior, I must say that Mr. Auster is a very lucky man. Look how long it took Kelman to win the Booker Prize. And, more importantly, what happened to him. Anyway, this is a good book for fans. New ones should read "The NY Triology" and maybe "Moon Palace."

Environmental science is a heated and controversial subject. The Ehrlichs take on the anti-environmental "brownlash" full speed. They clearly separate the facts from the myths regarding the deterioration of our planet. Scientific evidence and common sense provide the basis for their perspectives on a number of worldwide environmental issues. This is not a book based on amateur, outlandish viewpoints. Paul and Anne Ehrlich have extensive background and experience in the field of environmentalism. They are clear to point out that scientific hypotheses should be based on fact and must change as the facts direct, contrary to the "brownlash." They simply take a real, holistic approach to encourage everyone to value their earth and surroundings.

In an age where Rush Limbaugh can sway millions with emotion-charged arguments based on misinterpretation of facts, this book should be required reading.

The authors--both scientists-- present the environmental facts, and the scientific community's consensus interpretation of the facts, in unambiguous and unequivocal terms. These facts just plain refute just about everything Rush and his kind have ever said about the state of the environment. Thank God for reason. Let's hope it's not too late.

The book's only shortcoming is that the people who need to read it most--average citizens--probably won't make it through because of its technical/scientific content and level of difficulty. So I am worried that the Erlichs are preaching to the saved. Perhaps a TV special on this topic would reach more of the critical audience??

Having read this marvellous book, I am inspired to become involved in the debate on scientific issues with a passion. Professors Ehrlich & Ehrlich clearly lay out the ways in which the planet's biotic and abiotic resources are being sold down the river, while many industries, politicians and a large sector of the media are perpetuating the myth that everything on Eden is fine. Calling these contrarians the "brownlash", the authors objectively argue that their aim is to maintain the business-as-usual ethic. As an ecologist, I am appalled at the backlash against the scientific community, and the attempts of the far right to demonize sound science in order to maintain short-term profits. I highly recommend this as reading for anyone concerned about the state of the environment, and who want to learn more about the ways in which certain extreme elements of society are attempting to downplay scientific research.

I though this a fairly readable book with an intriguing plot, if one hasn't read too many similiar books previously. I thought it would be fascinating to see Earth through the Envoy crew's eyes when they returned. However, I don't see how these idiots passed the supposedly harsh psychological tests to get on board. I had a feeling they were "rejects" conveniently being disposed of by various governments. And I couldn't get a good vision of what the Earth government(s) and living conditions were like at any time in the book. What was the technology like? Anderson kept interspersing the story of the Envoy crew with long, boring tales of the human civilization left behind. And I found the starfaring Kith people to be smug, arrogant, shallow people wrapped up in their closed, incestuous little culture. I did like the depictions of alien cultures and worlds. They were vastly more intriguing most of the humans and human cultures.The book wasn't a total loss.

Yet another collection of uninteresting characters collected together for a long trip across space together. All the usual cliches - sexual tensions, leadership struggles, a mutiny. I don't know why Paul Anderson even tries playing the character development game - he is embarassingly bad.

So what about science fiction content? Well this story looks like Tau Zero all over again - only this time it's not fresh or original. He has a central theme of civilisations stagnating over time. Really that's just a science fiction writer's cop-out - a way for a writer not to have to think too hard about the future. I really felt no sense of 'wonder' reading this book - I almost felt that like the characters he writes about Anderson is tired of encounters with alien civilisations and awesome phenomena.

This is old-school science fiction with one or two modern ideas thrown in. For example he has life forms at the event horizon of a black hole. But rather than develop them in any way he just mixes in a few bits of technobabble lifted from other authors. He even credits Robert L Forward in the actual text of the story with one of the ideas he uses, suggesting comparison with Forward's *far* superior Dragon's Egg about life on a neutron star.

Overall I'd say this story was about as interesting and entertaining as an episode of Star Trek. I like Star Trek - but I expect a lot more from a science fiction writer with the reputation of Anderson.

In Starfarers, Poul Anderson explores once more how existence rewards those who dare to strive for something beyond themselves. He does this with a monumental journey of exploration as his backdrop, the saga of the crew of the starship Envoy on a 10,000 year voyage to make first contact with an alien civilization. Being the excellent storyteller that he is, he doesn't let the science or the vistas overwhelm the human dimensions of the tale (in fact, the few parts of the book that dragged for me were when he was focusing on the science and technology as opposed to how those things affected people).

If you're an Anderson fan (as I am, in case you hadn't noticed!), I believe you will definitely enjoy this book. While the theme in it is similar to that of Anderson's recent Guthrie books (and echoes themes found throughout much of his earlier work), being a single-volume novel it's a tighter and more riveting story, more like the excellent Boat of A Million Years. The human characters are believable, the alien settings and cultures startling but well-drawn, and the writing downright moving at times.

I was interested in the premise of the book when I picked it up at the bookstore for an upcoming vacation. The plot itself was well-conceived (although as I read, it seemed like I'd heard the story before in a lot of late-60s/early-70s spy movies and TV shows). But the writing itself was a little disappointing. Meade's presentation of the story was somewhat labored, some of narration repetitive, and the injection and development of so many minor and supporting characters made it confusing. Furthermore, Meade ought to shoot his editor, or spring for a word processing program with spell-check and punctuation-check.

I confess to being compelled to finish the book, especially toward the end, but it was too easy to put down, especially on a beach where it's main competition for my attention was my bikini-clad wife and other similarly-attired females.

I enjoyed Brandenburg very much. However, I recently finished his latest book, Resurrection Day, published only in Europe, and not in the USA (banned, I hear, because of the controversial and sensitive subject matter!) Resurrection Day is an incredible book, prescient and right up to the minute, about an Al-Qaeda terrorist attack on Washington DC--and one of the best books I've ever read, a must for Meade fans, up there with Snow Wolf, and maybe even better. You have to read Resurrection Day--it's scary, fast paced, and stunning. US readers can order it through Amazon.co.uk. Don't miss it.

Before anything else is to be said about Meade's Brandednburg, it must be noted that the book is far, far too long, particularly for its genre. My Australian edition is almost 700 pages in length!

Having said that, I must admit I am perplexed at the widespread criticisms of the book. I found the exotic settings particularly tantalising. The strong contrast between the lush tropical setting of Latin America and the bleek and very wintry Europe bring out the very nature of both. I for one enjoyed the attention to detail that Meade pursued.

It also has to be said that the author knows his stuff - the places, down to the very street names are legit. Having travelled to many of the destinations myself made Volkmann's journey even more real. Meade clearly knows his WWII history too - and his story - historically - checks out.

Some say it was all too cleche-riden but I liked it anyway - the backbone of the novel - its plot - was historically and geopgraphically plausible and actually quite original. So some of the one-liners leaned on the corny side, but in the end, do such idiosyncratic details really matter???

A fine read to all those with ample time on their hands to read it.

Klebnikov puts his detailed documentation the rise and predicting the twilight of bandit capitalism during Yeltsin's reign in a very readable format. The Berezovsky tale is just one of the tragic stories that arose from a dark era for Russia's political and economic sectors where massive corruption and gangster outrage was rampant.

However, Klebnikov's account focuses mainly on Berezovsky, which is probably why some readers might find this narrow. There is a tad too much exaggeration, but most of what you find in there does come from reliable sources (which are also painstakingly listed in the book so readers can do further research if they're interested) and many of his deductions are believable.

We should also take note that Berezovsky is a dangerous man, and during Yeltsin's presidency, was one of the a handful of powerful men who were responsible for "the robbery of the century" and that when he rose, Russia declined. However, Klebnikov has not been able to capture the other oligarchs that rose in the era of bandit-capitalism in the same light, although some of these "bandits" are just as or even more dangerous as Berezovsky. This is not a well-balanced piece of writing. The "Robbery of the Century" wasn't carried out by one man alone.

Paul Klebnikov brings to vigorous, swashbuckling life Russia from the death of Leonid Brezhnev (11/10/1982) up to and slightly beyond the resignation of Boris Yeltsin (12/31/99) in favor of Vladimir Putin. A principal literary technique the author uses is to contrast various players: politicians Gorbachev and Yeltsin or Generals Lebed and Grachev, for example. Klebnikov presents no more striking Russian "parallel lives" than those of oligarchs Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky.

Mikhail Gorbachev seems a passably decent, honorable man in the pages of GODFATHER OF THE KREMLIN. Paul Klebnikov's pageant locates, however, almost all his other players at various positions on a wide scale of sheer criminality, venality, murderousness and self-seeking. On that scale Gusinsky is comparatively (and only comparatively) a good guy, while Berezovsky wears a black hat.

Yet the parallels are striking, with the implication that for a time Godfather Berezovsky played "me, too" or "catch up" to Gusinsky. In 1989 Gusinsky partnered with an American, Berezovksy with an Italian. In 1991 Gusinsky established Most Bank, Berezovsky started one, too. Both went after an Aeroflot account. Both reached out for newspapers and TV networks.

But there was one big difference. "In contrast to Berezovsky, who liked to take over existing enterprises, Gusinsky created entirely new companies. He added value to the Russian economy. ... Unlike Berezovsky, Gusinsky could legitimately claim to have played a constructive role in the Russian economy" (p. 148f).

Absent good government and a moral business culture in Russia, Berezovsky and most if not all the other oligarchs found sheer piracy and looting of wealth created by others the easiest way to grow personally rich. Neither Berezovsky nor Gusinsky is remotely as benign or constructive as America's so-called "robber barons" such as Rockefeller, Ford, Carnegie and Morgan (who were neither criminals nor looters). But in a brilliant tour d'horizon of Russian society sketched in the author's Epilogue at pp. 322--326, Boris Berezovksy comes across as both criminal and looter, while Vladimir Gusinsky seems merely criminal. Is it possible that the best that can be hoped for of private Russian business in the next decade is that the Berezevskys will decrease while the Gusinskys will increase? Will both dreadful types ultimately be replaced by hard driving but morally upright businessmen more like Steve Jobs, Ross Perot or Don Rumsfeld? -OOO-

I remember my first visit to the Soviet Union in 1986. Gorbachev had
recently come into power and one could sense that dramatic events
would soon take place. The "Evil Empire" was showing cracks
and strains of trying to keep up with capatilists. The Russian people
for over 70 years were asked to sacrifice for the glories of
Communism. Five short years later Yeltsin was standing on a tank and
America's hero, Gorbachev saw his power come to an end. Hope sprang
eternal. Glasnost and perestroika. Then came the Yeltsin years which
were witness to the wholesale rape and pillaging of of a great
country with an educated public and vast resources. How did it
happen? Mr. Klebnikov's important book meticulously outlines how in
less than a decade tens of billions of dollars were stolen by a bunch
of unscrupulous men who could care less about the effects their acts
would have in devastating the country they lived in. By concentrating
on the most successful of these "oligarchs", to use a polite
term, the brazen rise of Boris Berezovsky is detailed courageously by
Mr. Klebnikov. He describes the murders, the methodology (steal low,
sell high), the willing and unwilling accomplices, and the total lack
of morality. What a tragedy. One thinks of the some 700,000 orphans
now in Russia mainly as a result of mothers being unable to feed their
infants. And where is the money? Sitting in European banks and
elsewhere outside of Russia. At least the robber barons of the 19th
Century rechannelled their millions back into the U. S. economy and
left us with Carnegie Hall, the University of Chicago and the Frick
Museum.. It may be some consolation if Putin is able to arrest a few
of these criminals. Or is he too, bought and paid for? Read this
book.