If you're looking for an introduction to optics or atomic physics, this book may be a little terse and advanced. But if you have some exposure to optics and lasers, and a good foundation in electromagnetism and basic quantum mechanics, this is a great book to have. The authors discuss the semiclassical two-level model to a level of detail which is hard to find in other standard texts. And although there is a good amount of detail, the book does not get lost in the mathematics, making it easily accessible to the experimentalist as well as to the theorist. I particularly like the treatment of the Bloch equations and pulse propagation. On the down-side, the book does tend to be terse in some areas, giving minimal discussion of the physics (although at least it does discuss the physics!), and some of the derivations are little difficult to follow. Also, the brevity of the table of contents makes it a little difficult to figure out what the book actually covers. And the notation used in some parts was somewhat unfamiliar.

But overall, if you're looking for a book in atomic and optical physics where you get the most value for your money, this book is to be highly recommended.

The book contains a nice balance of guidelines and tips coupled w commonly used reference material. A nice to have close by when developing w MS SQL. Good for DBA and programmer/ developer.

For me, this is a good book for students who want to get master degree in Civil Engineering, Building Engineering and Aerospace Engineering. Students can understand of the dynamic response of structures and the analytical tools to determine such responses. Furthermore, it demonstrates modern theories, solution techniques and real-world problems.

This book untangles politics in Yucatán's henequen zone at the transition from Porfiriato to Revolution. It seeks to join middle level political history with the "uncertain terrain of social history and political culture at the grassroots (iv)." From this juncture, Wells and Joseph propose to explain the success of Yucatán's Merída oligarchy in staving off change in the absence of the Porifirian regime and in the face of widespread dissent and revolt. So successful was this oligarchy that, "the Mexican Revolution would have to fight its way into the peninsula with an army of seven thousand troops (1)." The success of Merída's export oligarchy against change is a comparative case, the authors argue, for Central America and the Southern Cone illustrative of "the capacity of local (or national) oligarchies (such as Yucatán's henequen planters or El Salvador's coffee barons) to 'hang on,'. . . even in the face of escalating social challenges,. . . local rebellions,. . and multiclass coalitions (iii) ." Part one, titled "Summer of Discontent, Oligarchy and Its Costs, 1876-1909," examines the factional politics of Merída's oligarchy within the Porfirian state. It details how Porfirian patronage first quelled Yucatán's chronic political instability, and later abetted the exclusive dominance of the Molinista faction. From Merída in the tropical jungle, the Molinista faction took economic and political control of Yucatán by forging national and international alliances, positioning itself both as the guarantor of the immense henequen profits and the broker of Dìaz's patronage. The Molinista faction held rival factions in check through manipulation of the henequen market and political repression. Repression was exercised against not only rival elites during official elections, but also against dissidents--radical liberals and labor organizers who denied the henequeros' legitimacy, and who articulated an opposing social vision. Frustrated by the entrenched Díaz-Molinista alliance, rival elite factions began courting the support of the artisans and peasants who found cause with this dissent. "Seasons of Upheaval" continues the story of henequero rule at the end of the Pax Porfiriano. In 1910, the Morenista and Pinista elite factions allied with Francisco Madero's reform movement, seeking not so much a new social pact as a means to pry the Molinistas loose from the state house. They organized in the villages along the fringe of the henequen zone, recruiting local leaders like Pedro Crespo and José Loreto Baak into their loose political organizations. Their strategy, the authors reason, was to foment enough political agitation to convince Díaz to arbitrate a compromise. Initially, the move partially succeeded, as Díaz replaced the Molinista Enrique Muñoz Arístegui with General Luis Curiel as governor. However, this bid for regional power soon spun out of the hands of the Yucatec elites. Not only did Francisco Madero briefly replace Díaz as president, leading to the collapse of the center, but the revolts in the countryside continued as aggrieved villagers and peons sought to redress the abuses of the henequeros. The desperate attempt of the Morenistas and Pinistas to unseat the Molinistas produced an opportunity for Yucatán's beleagured campesinos to turn their machetes against the masters. Over two chapters, the authors recount the major episodes of the agrarian revolts which menaced the henequen oligarchy during 1911-1913. Here, the work delves into social history and peasant studies, turning to criminal archives and oral history to reconstruct the world of the Mayan peasants. While they note that the judiciary's support of henequero hegemony in its time of crisis shaped the trial records, the detailed testimonies of the criminal cases "allow the social historian," argue Joseph and Wells, ". . . to hear the voices of the dispossessed (15)." With these, as with the oral histories, they pursue the internal dynamics of the revolts--how did they begin? Who participated in and who led these revolts? What were their purposes, and who and what were their targets? Rejecting contemporary newspaper accounts and those of later Marxist historians which depict peasants manipulated by paternalist ties for the causes of elite caudillos, they argue that the peasants pursued their own agenda, turning this "critical meeting of grievances and opportunities" into a time to settle scores and recoup community rights (185). For example, in November of 1911, armed campesinos took the cabecera Halachó in the name of Delio Moreno Cantón's party. After taking the plaza, however, the rebels cut the telegraph lines and named their own municipal authorities (237). Personal vendetta also played prominently in these rebellions. Pedro Crespo tied his fortunes to the Morenista and anti-Díaz causes as he led a pre-dawn raid on Temax on March 4, 1911 to avenge his father's murder(202). Also in early 1911, campesinos and artisans from pueblo Peto attacked the Catmís hacienda, seeking to revenge the abuses of the hacendado Arturo Cirerol and his crony Casmiro Montalvo Solis. With the support of the district prefect Solis, Cirerol had exacted "first night rights" from newlyweds on his hacienda and in the district at large. In a court action brought by Cirerol against the rebel Máximo Sabido, Sabido decried Cirerol's abuse against the campesinos' families. "These are the facts," he declared, "and they will be remembered two generations from now." As with Pancho Villa, whose sister was raped, the authors conclude that "a deep personal outrage" motivated many of the rebels on the edges of Yucatán's henequen zone (201). Despite the Morenistas' advantage at the grass roots, Delio Moreno Cantón and his supporters never arrived to the governor's house. The Huerta regime, once safely established in Mexico City, "wooed Morenismo," the authors conclude, "playing on its illusions and cravings like a hussy toying with a sugar daddy (250)." The clear miscomprehension of sexual power this equation of Huerta with a hussy expresses undermines the authors' contention that sexual outrages sparked those revolts. A hussy toys with a sugar daddy because she does not have the coercive power to take what she wants. Toying, we might say, is a weapon of the weak, a means of extracting money from The Man who controls money, the basic resource in a capitalist economy. Huerta, in control of the state apparatus, by contrast, had the power to manipulate Delio Moreno Cantón. Power is the matter of this work. And, the authors, in this metaphor, evince a poor understanding of it, perilously so in light of how important sexual expressions of dominance stand in the authors' account of Yucatán's "Seasons of Upheaval." Between 1911 and 1915, changing Revolutionary governments and the Yucatán oligarchy pursued politics on the Porfirian model with varying success. The game, though, was not the same. The demand for agrarian reform from Yucatán's campesinos remained, and that threat brought a check against a full revindication of henequero domination. Moreover, the Carrancista governors, Eleuterio Avila and Toribio de los Santos, came into office with a reform agenda. Affronted by the heavy handed administration of de los Santos, Yucatán's oligarchs stirred a desperate separatist movement which was put down by an army of seven thousand federales. In the aftermath, firing squads accomplished what Porfirian style political machinations and agrarian revolt could not--the overthrow of the henequero oligarchy. Summer of Discontent, Seasons of Upheaval is a methodologically sophisticated work which makes an important addition to the bridge being built across the divide that separates political history from subaltern studies. Summer of Discontent, Seasons of Upheaval is remarkable for its transparency and the ease which it allows the reader to enter the world of the henequen oligarchy.

I applaud the efforts of those who contributed to the creation of this study. There are many helpful notes, introductions, and topical studies that elucidate themes central, or at least unique, to Eastern Orthodoxy. In particular I found helpful the notes in the Epistle to the Romans. At the same time, I was very disappointed to find that in many places the notes were quite dumbed-down. To make it worse, in the section of morning and evening prayers, which, by the way, are very handy, there is no mention of Mary!! This has lead me to conclude two things. Firstly, this production is intended to convinve Portestants that we Orthodox do indeed love the Scriptures and it is a tool to draw them into our fold (which isn't a bad thing!). Secondly, the claim that it is THE Orthodox Study Bible leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Perhaps I'm a nit-pick, but to neglect the Mother of God in the prayers is wrong when it's touted as THE OSB. Perhaps in its second printing it could be modified to say AN OSB.

Although there are many differences between the Orthodox and the Catholics which I in no way dismiss as superficial, I still find the Jerusalem Bible's notes helpful. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, my former home, has published through Concordia Publishing a helpful study Bible which an Orthodox could read with profit, although there will be obvious differences in parts (i.e., Romans and James). I recommend these titles since they are more scholarly than the OSB in most respects. Nonetheless, everything they say cannot be endorsed as Orthodox and, depending on the subject in question, caution must me used.

Up until this century it was taboo to put commentary into a Bible for fear that folk would take the notes and interpretations as if they were part of the Bible itself. Well, they were right! However, now everyone and his brother puts footnotes and explanations in their texts of the Scriptures, so now the Orthodox do as well. This is not THE Orthodox Study Bible (as reviewer Matt asserts above - and, yes Matt, you are nit-picking!), nor does it pretend to be. The articles and notes are intended to help elucidate the Scriptures and provide some introductory articles on Orthodox topics, but this is not a full-blown Bible commentary, nor a course in New Testament theology. The complaints of the critics tend to be essentially that it isn't enough. Well, then they need to write a multi-volume commentary to suit their needs. However, for the average layperson who's lucky to crack open the Bible occasionally, this fits the bill just fine. Remember, there is no "official" Orthodox translation of the Bible except for the original Greek. Thus, the NKJV is one of the better texts and the footnotes are there to make occasional comments as to translation problems and errors. No, they don't cover all the issues, but as I said before, to do that you would need a multi-volume Orthodox commentary that takes up half your bookshelf. Hopefully, at some future date, such a work will be undertaken. For now, this is a modest and well-needed starting point. +Fr. William Christ

This book does a good job in providing commentary notes on Bibilcal passages with an Easern Orthodox viewpoint. The right amount of information is given. It assumes the reader has no or very little knowledge so as not to confuse potential readers, including new converts, curiosity seekers, or cradle Orthodox who have never really studied their faith.

It is filled with iconograpgy throughout and the end of the book has special sections in regards to Orthodox views, prayers, and doctrines. It is done in an easy fomat to spark one for further study and research.

This study Bible should be in any serious Bible students libarary regardless of religion. The views of the East have been often neglected by the West and the East has a rich tradition the West can learn and enjoy.

This book offers some good ideas for some different adventures in the San Rafael Swell but is somewhat confusing and deceiving. In some of his hike descriptions, Steve uses time instead of distance to detail his routes e.g. hike 19 minutes southeast to the wash, then turn east. This can be misleading because everybody hikes at different paces. If you hike especially fast or slow you may make a turn at the wrong landmark. He also described a route as turning at the E.T. looking rock. - Huh? We missed our landmark and had to phone home. His maps (though meant to be supplements for topo maps) look deceivingly one-dimensional, which give a false sense of easy, flat walking. If you're experienced in the backcountry, it's a good list of routes. I would, however, recommend Kelsey's San Rafael book for better maps, landmark descriptions, and distances though you do have to adjust his hike times as he hikes much faster than most. Add time and a half as a general rule.

The San Rafael Swell is a huge geological blister located in east central Utah. It is crossed by several creeks and has numerous beautiful canyons, cliffs, mesas, slot canyons, and grottoes. It is also marked by spectacular cliffs of white Navajo sandstone, particularly on the east and southeast borders. There are a few big arches in the Swell and a host of gargoyle rocks. It's a place that, were it anywhere else, would be a National Park or Monument. However, in the scenic wonderland that is southeast Utah, it's just another unexplored place for the most part. Up to this book, the bulk of the Swell's publicity has come from occasional uranium strikes.

Author Allen has turned out a masterpiece. The book extensively covers all the things previously discussed, and a lot more, too. Especially interesting is the history of the region. The maps and hikes/tours are clearly described, although I would have preferred measuring in terms of distance rather than time. Quite obvious is Allen's enthusiasm for the place, an enthusiasm brought out in the text. The pictures are good, but I would have preferred some of them in color, given the fantastic breadth of colorful formations in this region.

I used the book last May in a brief Jeep tour of the Swell, and found it to be very accurate. I recommend the book highly to anyone who wants to see/explore this magnificent region.

A great guide to a vast number of adventures in the San Rafael Swell, what really makes this a quinta-stellar masterpiece is Steve Allen's enormous enthusiasm for the wild places. A variety of hikes are covered and Steve has an amazing attention to detail. Anyone who's looking for information on hiking in the Swell will find this the best book. While most of the hikes are of the hard core variety, there are enough easy hikes to keep the less vigorous busy for a few years.

The Tribes of Israel have not been found because they were never lost. This theory, and this author was "stolen" by Herbert W. Armstrong, the discredited cult founder of the Worldwide Church of God. Read 2 Chron 30:6; 34:9, Ezra 6:17 and James 1:1 and you will find that the nation of Israel was destroyed, but the tribes, the people were not lost. They did not migrate to NW Europe. No reputable historian accepts this fallicy. Allen and Armstrong (a high school drop out) were not scholars.

The book is split in three parts. While the fist two parts are a recall of Biblical history, the last part is based on extra Biblical sources.
The first two parts are very good and will give anybody, who is not familiar with the biblical truth of the two houses of Israel a good introduction.

With the end of the second part the trouble starts.
Allen tells the reader that the prophet Jeremia in companion of some daugthers of the Davidic linage and a the scribe Baruch flee from Judah to Egypt and from there to Ireland. He claims that the ancient history of Ireland has this account in their writings.

I made an in-depth search to find these writings Allen is refering to. They do not exist! I have no clue, where Allen has these ideas from, but they are not biblical, nor in any way historical and are deffinetely not in the records of Ireland. But on these little tale, he builds the structure of British Israelism.
Because of his very good introduction on the topic of the "lost" tribes, the reader is tempted to take the Jeremiah story as given fact and is deceived in the end.
Unfortunately also author Steve Collins in his book "The lost tribes of Israel found" and others refer to Allen as a source of historical facts and run into problems and in the end loose their trustworthyness.

I gave the book two stars, because the first two parts are very good and give a good understanding but the last part is a nice fantasy story based on the dreams of the Brish Empire that its monarchy are the descendants of the House of David, which is absolutely ridiculous.

This book is the most valuable book I have besides my Bible. It will show you the scriptures like you never have seen them before. It was well written by an amazing Bible Scholar in 1900. Most books on this subject will refer to this book. All my family and friends are reading it now. Enjoy!

This Handbook is a very good compilation of classic and modern topics on Fluid Mechanics and its applications, with special emphasis in modern topics. Due to the depth and detail of the treatment of some topics, it exceeds the level of a Handbook. The scarce extension in the treatment of each topic lets an unavoidable sensation that the Handbook would be able to continue deepening and extending the exposition; this limitation, that would drive to an enormous Encyclopedia of doubtful applicability, is saved by an extensive list of references at the end of each chapter, being one of the prominent characteristics of this Handbook.

About the treatment of the different topics, we remark:

- the emphasis in Computational Fluid Dynamics, as many to dedicating it practically half a volume of the 3 making the Handbook - the same observation is valid for Experimental techniques - an extensive revision of available videotapes and didactic movies - the excellent presentation of some topics that not only overcomes the Handbook level but that of many texts (i.e., Internal flows, Separated flows, Stability in pumps and compressors) - the wide revision of specific topics of Fluid Mechanics (i.e. Transonic and Hypersonic flows, Unsteady flows, Complex flows, Multiphase flows, etc.) - the wide revision of specific application topics of Fluid Mechanics (lubrication, acoustics, combustion, fluid dynamics in nature, vehicles drag and lift, cavitation, ship propellers, helicopter rotors, etc.)

The character of Handbook and collective work doesn't impede a methodical treatment of the topics; nevertheless, in this work there are some particularities that it is thought they should be corrected: - some topics are exposed more than once (i.e. load losses in pipes, pressure losses in bends) - some chapters are inserted in an unnatural way (for example, Ch. 2 Properties of Fluids, Ch. 17 Videotapes and Movies). It would be preferable to put them, as usual, to the end of the book as Anexes to have an easier access for consultation. - the treatment of some topics leaves a sensation of insufficient material included. For example, Hydraulic Turbines, Wind Turbines. - some topics would benefit of a more modernized mathematical treatment, using matricial tools more extensively (i.e., Non newtonian liquids)

In summary:

It's a very good Handbook that highlights mainly for the variety of focused topics and their up-to-date content. The wide list of references makes it extremely useful for an approach to the current topics of Fluids Mechanics and its applications.

Daniel Schenzer - Eng. - URUGUAY - schenzer@fing.edu.uy

this book opens with blackwood's great story: the wendigo. B is the master of the setting, noone can create the background and atmosphere like him. a very well written story from Brennan here. and Meloff's story is also an interesting read. derleth is at his best here. i don''t care that much for the guy, have never considered him to be HPL's great successor or anything, but he knows how to write, and i have always considered his story about Ithaqua to be his best contribution. the rest of the stories are well written. i don't think any of chaosium's anthologies contains of so much good writing than this. but good is not great. and the rest of the stories never turns out to be really good. the suspence killed by irrelevant writing going on for too long, mostly. sad. but the book is still wort reading

This book is terribly disorganized, repetitive and has numerous
errors. Unfortunately, it seems to be one of only 2 books
available on this certification. The only chapter that was worth
reading was the one on JMS. The rest of the book was eminently
unreadable. I suggest reading "UML Distilled", the
Design Patterns book by Gamma et al, and a good book on EJBs,
messaging and JCA, instead of wasting time and effort over
this book.

This book reads as if it were written entirely between the hours of 2&5AM. It is more like an 11th hour paper one would write all night in college to barely make the deadline, than a well structured book that is written and rewritten to achieve its purpose. This is disturbing since the goal of reading it is to obtain a certification in software architecture, a discipline that demands quality execution to ensure success. The book is repeative across chapters, unstructured within any given chapter, poorly defines concepts and terms and generally frustrates the reader with obfuscated and needlessly complicated sentence structure. The content can be moderately useful if the reader has the patience to read and re-read passages when necessary. A heavily edited and refined second edition could succeed if the need to dwell on poorly written passages and definitions was totally eliminated. Proper grammar and spelling would be a nice touch too.

This study guide is the second book on SCEA available from the market.

It covers all the main topics for the SCEA 310-051 exams, with step-by-step instruction, and 2 sets of practice exercises. Chapters concentrate on the basic J2EE concepts, common architectures, legacy connectivity, EJB and its container model, protocols, applicability of J2EE, design patterns and messaging. Besides that, a J2EE case study is provided in the last chapter. The companion CD-ROM contains two sets of practice tests and a pdf-version of the study guide.

For a SCEA candidate, it is normally a challenge of using UML and J2EE together in the SCEA part 2. Unfortunately, this topic is missing in the book.

The J2EE case study chooses a real-life J2EE architecture, which involves legacy connectivity on Mainframe. This example is absolutely helpful on the SCEA part 2. However, it would be better if the authors could illustrate the pros and cons of specific design approaches.

Near 100 challenging practice questions are provided in the Mock Exam. They are closely modeling the format, tone, topics, and difficulty of the real exam.

Since it's the one of the only two books available, I suggest you go through this book. However, you should also learn the specific subjects from practice or from other corresponding books.