Don't listen to the readers who complained about this book not being up to the normal standard within the fantasy genre. Taliesin is a very different mode of fantasy fiction. In fact, Lawhead has spearheaded an unexplored genre: the historical fantasy novel. Within this novel, and the ones that follow in this series, Lawhead has created a world based on factual research. Keep in mind that while Lawhead has based his world on facts, he has also taken the liberties granted to him within the fantasy genre. What has resulted is an interesting blend of factual ballast and fictional narration. The books in this series are great reads because Lawhead brings the myths of western civilization to life. Those readers who have read Beowulf will find interesting similarities.

P.S: This book takes longer to read than a Robert Jordan novel because Taliesin is written at a higher reading level. A combination of complex sentences, facts, and long digressions contribute to the three weeks that some readers have devoted to this book. If you like it and your reading chops are up, you will finish it in a day or two.

In preparation for Lawhead's upcoming release of Avalon I am re-reading the Pendragon Cycle beginning with Taliesin. The book is wonderful. Lawhead evokes grand and fantastic images in my head as I read his books and Taliesin is one of the best. I sincerely love the characters; they are very wonderful people. This is one of those rare stories that also lift my heart to live life more fully. Even though I have read this book many times, I still laughed and cried aloud at new and familiar points in the story. I also discovered a key plot point that I had somehow missed in the first 4 reads. What a great book! May Taliesin live forever!

This book is one of the best i've ever read and for good reason. The plot is great and the characters are really written well. I had to look up once or twice to make sure i was still in this world and not there with Charis and Taliesin. Stephen Lawhead wrote it all so well you start to think you are part of it. I can't wait to finish the rest of the Pendragon cycle. All in all this book is great, the battle between good and evil, light and dark, friendship and enemity is strong and weaves the words like a web that you get caught in and never free yourself from. A great novel

"Life, the Universe, and Everything" took me months on end to get through. Every time I opened the book I'd think "Ha, ha! What a funny and crazy man that Adams is. Why don't I read this more?", but after a few pages I'd grow weary. This book is genuinely funny, but I think instead of being a five-book trilogy, the Hitchhiker's franchise should have stopped at one. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was one of my favorite books for a time, and still holds a special place in my literary tastes. It's hilarious, and Douglas Adams has undoubtedly the sharpest wit this side of Oscar Wilde! Unfortunately, his abilities in the field of plot propulsion are weak at best. I read through this series, loving the first, liking the second, and by the time I got to this one, I just felt like asking what's the POINT? All this book was was another opportunity for the author to demonstrate his wit, which is, i reiterate, amazing. However, it's not enough to keep me reading, ...

This is anohter fine tale from Douglas Adams, taking us on wild adventures with Arthur, and the rest. The difference in this one is that Arthur is finally starting to actually do things. rather than jsut standing around saying what. In this one we get to see Arthur and trillian save the universe, and we learn to fly, which was my favorite part of the novel. The key is to throw yourself at the ground and miss. I enjoyed it. I am in the process of reading the entire trilogy, but I am putting it down after each book because, not being a fan of Sci - Fi, I do get a little tired of the names and ridiculous situations. If you are going to read the trilogy and you are not a big sci fi fan, take a break in between each novel.

Thanks for your time T.

Life, the Universe and Everything, by Douglas Adams, is a story of unmatched proportions, tying in satirical humor with an amazingly complex storyline. The people of Krikkit have been looking at the same features every night in the sky, and are sick of it, simply because there are no features. Krikkit is located inside a dust cloud, and when a mysterious spaceship crash lands on the planet, it puts the people in a sense of panic. They find out there are things out there, and don't like it, they enjoyed their solidarity. It is now that they must destroy the entire universe, and regain that piece of mind.
It is Arthur Dent's job to make sure that none of this happens. Arthur is a human who was rescued from earth, just as it was about to be blown up by blood thirsty mongrels, named Vogons, to make way for a hyper space bypass. Along to help Arthur is the man who rescued him, Ford Prefect, Tricia McMillan (Trillian), the ex-president of the galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox, and a handy man from a planet factory, Slartibartfast.
In this story, the 3rd in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, it starts out on prehistoric earth, and through the marvels of time travel, Arthur Dent is teetering on the edge of insanity, while living in a cave where his house will be located in another couple billion years. In the mean time, Ford Prefect has decided to resort to animal cruelty in Africa, until he decides that it is time to try to find a way back to their time. Along the way they meet up with Slartibartfast, who tells them of the pending problem. The people from the land of Krikkit are about to escape from a "Slow Time Envelope", which is supposed to only open when all other life in the universe has disappeared. It is now their job to try to keep the inhabitants of Krikkit from attacking the galaxy, and restore peaceful life to all of the people of the universe. Can Arthur do it? To find out, read Life, the Universe and Everything. But be sure to read the other books in the series before to avoid complete confusion.

Jack London relates a probing analysis of the captain of the sealing ship Ghost, Wolf Larsen, through the eyes of shipmate Humphrey Van Weyden. Van Weyden had been plucked from the freezing waters of San Francisco bay by Larsen after the ferry boat he was a passenger on, capsized after a collision in the fog. Larsen, ever the opportunist, forces Van Weyden to work on the ship. Van Weyden a book critic and "gentleman" has never done a days work in his life.

Through the insights of Van Weyden we see the cruel, combative, physically imposing and yet highly intelligent Larsen act as if a god over his domain, the Ghost. He holds the fate of his crew in his hands and murders those who he deems unfit. Under the tutelage of Larsen, Van Weyden becomes a capable sailor. After 5 more castaways are rescued at sea including a woman, Maud Brewster, Van Weyden and the woman make their escape by stealing a sealing boat. Van Weyden and Brewster are to fall in love and are stranded on a deserted island. Through a quirk of fate they are again confronted by Larsen, who is marooned and shipwrecked on the same island. There they observe his ultimate and deserved demise.

The book was tied up into too neat a little package for my taste. London spends an awful lot of time, and boringly so, on his philosophies of life. I was hoping for another Moby Dick and was disappointed.

The Sea Wolf, by Jack London is a very interesting and unique book. The story starts with a gentleman, a Mr. Humphrey Van Weyden taking a nice cruise on San Francisco Bay. All of but a moment, a simple twist of fate changes his life forever. The large ferry-boat he was on, the Martinez was suddenly struck by a steamboat in the dense and sometimes deadly San Francisco fog. As he was floating through the water he is picked up by the schooner Ghost whose captain is known infamously for his cruelty, Wolf Larsen. Soon he is thrust into a world of hard labor and death waiting around the corner always.
The book is a coming of age story, although it is unique because the one coming of age is already 35 years old. His whole life Humphrey Van Weyden never had to work for anything. He was a scholar; his job was a literature critic because his father had made all of his money for him. Once employed on the Ghost he must learn to fend for himself or be killed. But he finds that his incredibly muscled brute of a captain with no regard for human life or suffering actually has an incredible intellect. They end up discussing the philosophy of life multiple times. Soon, a pretty scholaress from the east of which Humphrey enjoyed reading very much appears on the Ghost setting a gap between Humphrey and Wolf Larsen. From then on the story takes an interesting turn and keeps you on the edge of the railing if not your seat.
If you like swashbuckling adventure, great philosophical arguments and outlooks on life unique to the brain of Jack London, even a love story here and there, then I would recommend this book against all others. I have never read anything like it at all.

Humphrey Van Weydon is an affluent gentleman living in San Francisco during the early 1900's. Because of his inherited father's wealth, he hasn't had to work a day in his life, has gotten a first class education, and spends most of his time reading and discussing the latest novels. One foggy day as he travels across the bay to visit a friend there is a collision, and he is cast into the sea. After being rescued, he discovers that he is aboard a seal-hunting ship bound for Japan with a cold-hearted captain. This captain, known as the Sea Wolf, has no respect for Humphrey's money and decides to keep him aboard to be used for work in the galley. The Sea Wolf also has no respect for life, viewing it as fermenting yeast with the most brutal aspects of natural selection in play. He is a self-educated man and talks with Humphrey about life, philosophy, literature, et cetera. London describes their situation as "relations...between king and jester." A gripping tale set on the high seas, this book will keep your eyes locked on Humphrey's changing life, and the Sea Wolf's deadly ways.

I recommend this book because many things are taken for granted in today's rich American society, not least of which being the ability to stand on your own two legs. Most of the modern population depends on others for survival, and this dependence has made us weak. When Humphrey Van Weydon begins to stand on his own he goes through a considerable change, as most people do when faced with a crisis. This change can make or break someone, but like the old adage goes, "whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." While this story is filled with suspense and amazement, the intriguing philosophical concepts arouse your mind and keep the gears turning. The Sea Wolf is an excellent novel, a classic in every sense of the word, and one that teaches much about the human struggle for survival and self-improvement.

My theory is that Douglas Adams had 2 worries after the first part of this whole series. First of all, jeez louise, he sure was giving poor Arthur Dent a hard time... couldn't he at least maybe let him have a girlfriend? And second of all, how about the dolphins? Douglas Adams is really into animal rights, the environment, etc, and it just seemed a little perfunctory to have them all totally obliterated along with the Earth just because of that whole business about the interstellar hyperspace bypass. In this book, dolphins, Arthur, and Arthur's (surprise) girlfriend somehow come together, with a variety of mutant plot twists along the way.

As usual with these books, I envy anyone coming to them for the first time. Watch for the "Rain God", he is quite hilarious, and sort of a stand-in for Marvin in some ways. Ford Prefect has sort of a guest appearance, he isn't exactly central to the plot, but he becomes important in some ways at the very end.

I would tell a new Douglas Adams fan to read this as a love story, Adams' gift to the hapless Arthur Dent. The wackiness is MUCH lass omnipresent here than it is in the other books, so be warned. Basically good stuff, but very distinct in tone from the rest of the series.

This book, the fourth in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchhiker's Trilogy, is, hands down, the best. You probably wouldn't think that were true from reading some of the reviews on this page. However, I was astonished and amazed by what this volume had to offer.

For starters, if you read Douglas Adams just for the zaniness and offbeatness of it all, you may be disappointed by this novel. While those elements are not absent, they are severely toned down for this installment. The amazing thing, though, is that Adams manages to mix in his humor at all with a very touching romance and somewhat serious quest of rather epic (rather than episodic) proportion.

The best part about this novel is that it virtually almost entirely features Arthur, and that's it... at least out of the main characters. Ford shows up a bit, and Marvin is in the last chapter, but Zaphod and Trillian are missing, but don't worry, it hardly matters. Adams more than makes up for it by introducing a marvelous character named Fenchurch, who becomes a love interest for Arthur. A love interest for Arthur? Yes, you heard me correctly.

This book, in my mind, establishes Adams as a serious heavyweight. The levels of humor, romance, irony, wonder, and adventure are consistently high throughout, and one never detracts from the other. Besides, we finally get to take a really good look at Arthur (who had been shortchanged in the last two books), the most human character I believe I have ever encountered anywhere, and we get to see a bit of the earth, which Adams makes us realize is rather a funny place in itself.

Do not miss out on this book. Please. Read it for Arthur. Read it for Fenchurch. Read it for the Rain God. And definitely, definitely, read it for the most wonderful love scene ever written. Besides, if you make it to the end, you'll be rewarded with God's final message to His creation, written in letters of flame thirty feet high (quite the tourist attraction). It's worlds above all the others.

This is by far the best of all of Douglas Adams's novels - including the entire Hitchhiker's series and both Dirk Gently books. It contains all-new material, not just scenes from the radio series rearranged and slightly altered. Adams splits off Arthur Dent from the rest of his friends and throws him into the strangest situation of all: his galactic hitchhiking has led him back to Earth, an Earth which had long ago been destroyed by the Vogons, but is, for some reason, still there.

Adams is at his best here, creating wonderful imagery and great new characters. He perfectly captures the sensations of falling in love. The comedy is gentle, and the science-fiction elements nearly take a back seat to the love story - but come back in a big way when a long-estranged friend shows up.

In M.J. Simpson's Douglas Adams biography "Hitchhiker", he maintains that many DNA fans (including Simpson) regard this as his worst book - an opinion Adams seemed to share (but Simpson points out that Adams had this opinion of most of his books at one point or another.) As a fan from the very first NPR radio broadcasts, I respectfully - and strongly - disagree. This is Adams at his gentlest, and his most poetic, and his best - in fiction, anyway. The nonfiction "Last Chance To See", itself a love story of sorts, is the only long-form Adams that I would rate higher.

Gee. This looks familiar. The nutrition program that Dr. Agaston gives us is in most respects the same as the Atkins regimen. I find it annoying that Dr. Agaston, in the first few pages of the book, takes a swipe at Atkins and mischaracterizes the entire Atkins nutritional approach. (The author should read Dr. Atkins most recent writings for an accurate picture of the regimen.) Frankly, I found Atkins' book to be far more informative, particularly in describing the medical effects of the low carb regimen. Having said all of this, I can highly recommend the nutritional approaches (Atkins or South Beach - they're almost the same). If you follow either approach faithfully you will feel better, lose weight and be healthier.

Basically the South Beach diet is the Atkins program with some modifications. Sadly Agatston does not give Atkins credit. In fact on page 10 he states, "the Atkins Diet, for instance which bans virtually all carbohydrates and leaves the dieters to exist mostly on protein." Anyone who is familiar with Atkins knows that though Atkins plan does ban carbs for the first two weeks in the induction phase it later allows carbs back into the diet and the individual works up to a carb allowance where he/she will not gain back weight. And yes with Atkins whole grains, pasta and potatos are allowed according to the individuals metabolism of carbs. So this quote indicated that the author was either unfamiliar with Atkins or just twisting things so his own diet was more appealing.

Agatston also claims his diet is not low carb. But in the first two weeks you eat very limited carbs and after that you add carbs back to your diet according to what you can handle (without gaining weight) so if you consider Atkins low carb, which does the same thing you will consider The South Beach Diet low carb.

You begin the diet with a two week period where you do not eat rice, pasta, bread, fruit, potatoes, etc. After the 2 week period you will according to Agatston lose between 8 and 13 pounds.

When your 2 weeks are up, you go to Phase 2. In Phase 2 you add back carbs that are good carbs like whole grains, fruits etc.
You continue to lose and then when you have reached your goal you switch to Phase 3. This is where you eat your foods in normal portions, but live by simple rules.

There are two main differences between Atkins and Agatston. Agatston does not suggest you go into ketosis as Atkins does. And Agatston suggest you limit saturated fats unlike Atkins.

Other than that, the diet is essentially the same. Agatston suggests eating fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, unproceessed foods and fat etc. just like Atkins.

Agatston's book is not well written either. He skips around in the book and doesn't clearly spell out the plan. The reader is left to infer what the diet is as he reads the book. A much better book choice would be to get "Atkins for Life" where everything is spelled out and eat less saturated fat.

Agatston also states you don't have to worry about counting calories. Sadly no matter what diet you are on, as I found out the hard way, calories count. The reason low carb diets don't require you to count calories or watch portions is because protein is very satiating and naturally suppresses the appetite. So most folks will not overeat. But there are some who will. And if you cheat just with some carbohydrates and are eating the fats and proteins that low carbing allows you may very well gain weight.
Bottom line calories count.

Agatston gives menu plans in the back of his book. These are cut and dried with no substitutions listed. And when you add up the calories, menu plans are approx. 1200 or so. No wonder you will lose weight!

One good point Agatston does make is if you add fiber right before you eat a meal in the form of say a spoonful of Metamucil you will slow down the processing of your food and feel fuller.

If you want to lose weight, eat protein to help you feel full. Eat healthy fats. Eat unprocessed carbs (fruits and veggies) and eat few starchy carbs (rice, potatos).
And eat moderate portions. Agatston tells you this but its already been said before.

I've always been intimidated or annoyed with diet books -they are sort of like reading manuals, which I also hate. But this book is concise and really easy to follow, and the fact that the diet is so restrictive and unambiguous in the first two weeks makes it easy to stay on track. They key is that you are allowed to each as much as you want as long as you stay away from the sugars and the refined-foods carbs. But, you still end up eating a lot less than you used to because you aren't hungry. I can't say that at first I wasn't finding it hard to resist a huge pile of pancakes, but I was losing about a pound a day and that is an amazing motivator. Also I found that my energy level for my cardio workouts was down at first. I'm a victim of the high tech world and I've gained 25 pounds in the last six years. I'm going to South Beach in a few months, which was a great motivator to loose weight, and I'm achieving amazing results with this book. All my pants were loose on my after the first four days - it's like after all this time my body is saying "thank you!" for eating right and is rewarding me with rapid weight loss. This is a healthy diet that encourages the consumption of food in a satisfying quantity in its most natural state - not overly processed or refined or sugary. It's the type of food we are meant to be eating.

One of the most famous science fiction books to date is H. G. Wells' classic War of the Worlds, which has become national paranoia in the late 30's with Orson Welles over the radio. And later in the 50's become a national hit with the movie goers. Well, neither the radio broadcast or movie rendition really took the book to its letter by letter copy, but rather improvised like most non-literal entertainers. The book begins with suspicion, suspense and wonder as a meteor passes the sky without any real notice to anyone. While the book is told in the perspective of the scientist (whose name I cant seem to recall at the moment), later, somewhere after the mid-point the gears switch and we learn what the scientists brother is doing elsewhere. For the majority of the book, once the aliens have control over the earth, which is within the first 4 chapters, things calm down and become a bit stale. Only after we come back to the scientist from the brothers story, things pick up, but mind you, they pick up slowly. I am happy I got the chance to read this book, but was a little dissapointed in how the story unfolded which is why I gave this book 4 stars. Nonetheless, certainly a required reading for science fiction fans, and even now, amongst those persuing literature.

I finally read this book for the first time at age 27, and was not disapointed!

The imagery is incredible, Wells tells the story of invasion and chaos as if he had been there himself . . .I could certainly imagine myself there.

I do think you have to be a little bit older, more well read to better appreciate this book. I noticed several school kids from VA put reviews on line calling it boring. Of course, these are probably the kids who were expecting the main character to be like Will Smith and the earthlings to travel to the Martians space station (a la Independence Day).

And that was part of the book's charm. No influence from Hollywood. Written in the late 1800's, before movies existed, the book is way ahead of its time. Independce Day obviously got its influence from this book, and is a more updated (and Americanized) version.

Hey, go read it now!

Unknown to the inhabitants of Earth, the planet Mars is aging and nearing its exhaustion. The Martians, not even perceiving humans to be anything other than animals, decide that it is time to seize this lush, young planet. Landing in several locations in southeastern England they begin their conquest of the planet. Can man, with his most advanced technology hope to stop the Martians with their much more advanced technology?

You've seen the 1953 movie, War of the Worlds, and want to read it in book form? Well, then don't look here. Herbert George Wells wrote this book in 1898, a mere one year after The Invisible Man, and two years after The Island of Doctor Moreau. The moviemakers of the 1950s made a wonderful movie, but one that, alas, bears very little resemblance to the original!

This book is one of the crowning examples of nineteenth century fantastic fiction. It is a gripping story that masterfully combines horror and suspense, keeping you at the edge of your seat until the final page.

I am lucky enough to possess the 2001, Books of Wonder edition that contains fourteen wonderful, full-color, full-page illustrations plus the two-page illustrations on the front and back, all done by the masterful Tom Kidd. It is very well made, and would make an excellent addition to any library.

Willy Loman the protagonist of the play „Death of the Salesman" is supposed to embody the American average man. An American average man is married, has children, lives in a house, possesses a well paid job. Hence he spends his quality time with his family, so most of American fathers use to teach their children football, baseball or other sport activities. Willy Loman the protagonist in Arthur Miller's play just seems to fulfill the duties of an American average man. Yes, he is married to Linda, yes, he also has children, two boys named Biff and Happy. Willy and his sons are footballphile. Nevertheless, he lives in a house and he seems be to be succesful as a salesman. But while you read the play you will realize Willy Loman is just a faker who is still dreaming and has not woke up yet. Willy Loman has internalized wrong values which are money, success and „being well liked". He wanted to earn respect and lost his view for the most significant values a human being should have such as being satisfied with yourself and having people around you who support and love you. The consequence of having wrong values is Willy Loman alienated himself from society, although he deeply wanted to be part of succesful people. Ironically Willy Loman is a product of society. He tried to adapt himself to society's expectations and actually lost himself in the crowd. Willy has always looked for more, more than he actually was able to achieve. Willy wanted success, money and respect which people should bring towards him.

At this point I am wondering if these goals will lead individuals to become satisfied with themselves. Can people be actually pleased with money and success? Or are these aims only an illusion? Biff and Happy Loman experience whether money and success are worthy values you should set your life on or not. They both come up to a different conclusion. Happy still holds on to success and money. He believes that these values are the key to life. Money rules the world. Whereas Biff has found other criterias he wanted his life to be based on. Biff believes in his individual talent, he trusts his feelings what they tell him to do. Biff goes his own way, therefore he prefers to work on a ranch. Biff came off from what society thinks, what society expects him to do.

Therefore I think Death of the Salesman has lost a little bit of topicality. Arthur Miller focuses his play especially at Willy Loman's failure in society because of his wrong values. But today I think people have enough courage to stand and speak up for themselves as Biff does by the end of the play. Our daily American and even European society is a crowd of individuals.

Death of a salesman is a play written by Arthur Miller (1915- ). The play focuses on how Willy Loman, the main character always thinks and talks about being successful. Being successful is Willy's great dream. Just like the American dream. Willy strives to bring happiness to himself and his family, but does not succeed. He is too prideful to accept the fact that his dream of being a successful salesman never will become true, and he is too prideful to accept where he fits in society. People like Willy are very common in today's society. They are caught up in the American dream; everybody wants to be successful, but only a few make it to the top. But is this really the most important values in life? Willy looks at himself as a failure, just because he didn't make it to the top in business life, well, that is how business is; not everybody can make it to the top. That doesn't necessarily mean that your whole life is over. That is what happened to Willy; when he felt like a failure because of his broken dream, he let it out on his wife, and his two sons, Biff and Happy. Then he killed himself. This shows that Willy's only values in life were to become wee-liked and successful and if he didn't, it wasn't worth living. I think the book was a bit difficult to read, because the play shifts between present and past, which makes it a bit confusing. All over, I liked the book, not because the story was so good, but because after finishing it, it made me think about how much people think about their career, and how often the career becomes a first priority, no matter what. Is it the career that makes a man successful?

"Death of a Salesman" is a sad, but wonderful play written by Arthur Miller. This play, together with "The Catcher in the Rye", was my introduction to real reading. Previous to reading this book, I had kept to what I will call "easier" reading.

"Death of a Salesman" was assigned to us by our English teacher, as part of our undergraduate English class. Our teacher, Mrs. Syring, knew this play by heart. She pointed out the subtleties in this play for us (you can't expect too much from a bunch of accounting students..) and she made us understand what kind of outstanding literary attack on the American society and the American dream this play really is.

The protagonist, Willy Loman, is a committed, hard working, aging, middle class man, with a dream to be rich and successful. Making it "big"- just like the American dream. Unfortunately, Loman is neither rich nor very successful. And in the end, Loman commits suicide, (wrongfully) thinking that his family will be just as happy without him, living well off the insurance money.

This play is a classic portrayal of what kind of tragedy the pursuit of the American dream can bring to a man and his family.

The play is written some sixty years ago (written in 1949), but I don't think this play will ever be outdated. Wonderfully written, with an important moral lesson for all of us to remember.

If your objective is to gain a solid understanding of why and how the Internet has become what it is today then this is the text for you. In clear terms it explains the key components of a successful Web venture (commercial or otherwise) through the identification of browsers aggregating towards communities. That growth on the Net is not subject to marketing gurus or advertising execs but rather through an organic evolution. Sounds a bit esoteric? Not at all, the real benefit of this book is that it breaks down each statement and supposition into clear, defined terms that can be verified through real-life examples, examples which the reader can investigate on the Net for themselves (hey, you learn by doing!). There is a very useful section on the lifecycle of a Web community and how to create one. It stresses quick entry onto the Web and gives clear advice on what the entrant should aim for at each stage of the creation of their 'community'. Best of all, through what the authours call 'Fractal Breadth' it lays out how a 'community' can expand and branch out. The Final sections of the book are especially useful in that they outline how a traditional company's infrastructure should change to accommadate a Web presence. Clear, conscise, non-insulting to the intellect and focused. Great value for money.

I read this book pretty much cover-to-cover and found it very thought provoking. It does a great job of explaining the opportunities in creating "Virtual Communities". Virtual communities are described as areas where a group of users sharing common interests gather to learn about and discuss information. These communities create an information source that shifts power from the vendors to the customers. Longer term, vendors can capitalize on this community by selling directly to the community members, and more importantly by using the customer interaction to create word-of-mouth advertising. Who are you more likely to trust: another user of the product or some sleazy salesman?

Up until this book, I have seen little written on the longer term business models on how to make money by aggregating users. This book will explain the rationale of why there is enormous value in web sites with a large base of users.

The book has a very interesting chart which describes the return on various strategic investments for a startup trying to build a virtual community. The conclusion was that far and away the most important investments were vendor acquisition (i.e. companies wanting to sell products to the members of the community), member-generated content, and member acquisition. Interestingly, usage fees for the site had an enormous long-term negative impact for the site (despite their short term ability to generate revenue).

There are a couple of points that I think were not well addressed in this book:

1) I don't believe that the authors make a compelling argument about how to sell the first vendors on the advantages of being a part of the virtual community. From my experience, vendors don't sign up for a new product or service because "that's where the market is going". They need to be convinced that there's an advantage for them to be first, and that reason was not adequately described in the book.

2) The book states the importance of member-generated content as a way to build up the community and keep traffic coming to the site. It was never clear to me from the book how to do this through a commercially sponsored newsgroup versus the already existing Usenet newsgroups today (which already have a pre-existing and active community). For instance, there are already many Usenet newsgroups related to Travel. Why should potential travelers use a commercially sponsored site instead of a Usenet group? Clearly there are sites that have been successful at creating their own newsgroup areas so I believe that there are justifiable reasons. I'm just not sure what those reasons are and the book didn't explain them.

Overall, an interesting book and well worth your time.

According to Hagel and Armstrong, virtual communities that combine content and communication can expand market opportunities, and those who form these online communities will experience commercial success. Throughout the book, the authors stressed that those organizations who wait will lose out. However, the emphasis of the book is not about making money; rather it's about forming communities, collecting information on members' preferences, interests, etc., and using that information to meet their needs.

In my opinion, two of the most useful components of the book are a listing of personnel required for the implementation and maintenance of an online community, and steps needed to help managers get started in organizing a virtual community. The book is certainly worth reading, whether you are developing websites for business, education, recreation, etc. Hagel and Armstrong present valid reasons and practical suggestions for developing online communities that will help members connect, as well as seek and find.

During the first half of the story, when everything is taking place on Mars, "Bright Messengers" is a wonderful tale. As the story reaches its midpoint, however, things begin to rapidly go downhill. . . .

In the second half of the book, the characters become implausible and the situations wholly unrealistic (or, more acurately, how the characters react TO the situations becomes unrealistic). Gentry Lee asks us to believe too much; I just couldn't swallow it.

The main characters accept being ripped from their former lives and essentially put in a prison with barely a wimper. It seems as though Lee just wanted the story to end. He rushes the plot and it comes down around his ears.

Agreeing with another reviewer here, "Bright Messengers" is very much like the "Rama" books Lee co-authored with Arthur C. Clarke: they're essentially "people" stories (i.e. not "action" or "suspense" stories). And, like those previous books, at times, it becomes tedious in the extreme ("Rendevous With Rama" was the only true masterpiece).

Overall, this is a decent book, considering how much sci-fi trash really is out there. Still, take a LONG break between the "Rama" books and this one; if you don't, you'll bore yourself to tears. We can only hope that the sequel will be better. . . .

Personaly I don't plan to recomend this book to anyone until the sequel comes out because the book is incomplete, none of the plots get solved, not one of the characters grow, you know... it feels like just a detailed explanation of the situation in wich earth and mars where during some of the RAMA books. I'm just hoping that the sequel does not try to fix everything up by having some variation of the RAMA ship or THE EAGLE show up... or worse yet the species that "almost reached earth" that we heard about at THE NODE in RAMA REVEALED. I don't know about the copies at amazon.com, but the book I have in my hand reads: "And coming in late 1996. Double full moon night. The conclusion to the story". It's late 1997 and no sequel in sight. Mr. Lee: We've read the first 20 chapters... are those your last?

Bright Messengers, while not having quite as believable characters as the Rama sequel trilogy, is a great book, and a must read. However, what most people ask is "Where the hell is 'Double Full Moon Night?'" Well, Gentry Lee got side-tracked with the Rama CD-ROM, and didn't quite finish it. He is once again at work on it, and is 70-90% finished. People have also asked, "What the hell does this have to do with the Rama series?" Okay, for those of you who didn't pay close attention, the baby born at the end is the same baby Nicole found at the end of the 2nd to last section of Rama Revealed. The creatures who constructed the ship, and the "zoo" on mars are the Octospiders, not the Ramans. The sequel will be about how the baby travels 120 years through time to Rama III. Presumably, then a 4th series of Rama books will detail what happens to Maria, Michael, Simone, Max, Eponine, Patrick, Nai, Benjy, Ellie, little Nicole, Marius, Kepler, and the eagle. I'm not sure what happens then, but I think it may have something to do with the "Prime Monitor", the super node at the center of the galaxy. E-mail me if you want to discuss this

I am giving this book two stars because Nersesian has a wonderful way with language and writing. However, if I didn't happen to work in New York (can't afford to live here though), I would probably get really tired of the endless detailed walking tours of the main character. Street after street, number after number ... after a while, I wanted to say, "I get the point.. he wanders aimlessly..."

I enjoyed this book at first, because I enjoyed the charatcer and his situation. However, as the novel wore on (at times, it appeared to be a bottomless novel.. the more I read, the more there was left to be read...)I grew tired of the endless situations our "hero" fell into... many of them of his own devising. You just sit there reading knowing that he can't possibly get out of this situation (in part owing to the "give it away" title). Also, while the book starts out promisingly, we fall into situations like "needs to pose as a gay guy to rent a great apartment of a film director, but sexy girlfriend of said director lives there also, which is why he needs to pose as a gay guy..." I could see the inevitable coming a mile away. I also found it difficult to accept such cartoonish and contrived situations as "intellectual best friend dates leathery flatulent 2 dimensional hag". It just ends up being cartoonish, unfunny and untrue. In fact, I am not sure what to make of any of the depictions of women in this novel. Not exactly a very positive outlook.

I would not hesitate to read any more books by this author, but I find this effort a little forced, and delivering a little less than promised.

Like most people, the title of the book grabbed my attention. I remember seeing a commercial for this book on MTV about 2 years ago, and just never looked into it. I was told about a similar book "The Perks of being a Wallflower", which I bought on amazon and saw that this was a recommendation, so I picked it up. I enjoyed it, but unlike the wallflower book, I didnt love it. And since they kind of lumped together, I compared the 2. There is a very witty and interesting story here, and while kind of off the wall, seems pretty grounded in reality. This guy's life spirals out of control so fast that not only doesn't he see it, but neither does the reader. A fun read.

The title caught my eye and I just started translating it (I do that for a living..) Anyway, it is very amusing and he has a very keen eye on details of human nature. Although you can't quite relate if you're not an American or have lived in Manhattan, he makes it easy to keep up and dive into the metropolis. The character is so innocent and guilty at the same time, the way he distances himself from his surroundings and yet, the way he implicates himself in everything. He can do better though and I'm really looking forward to his next work. A book from an American I could read was a nice change nevertheless...