This is a great book for both, laymen and wine experts, on biodynamic winemaking. Nicolas Joly explains in a very simple way, why it is worth using all our senses at winemaking. Biodynamics respects nature's peculiarities in a positive sense and thus helps the vine to incorporate these specific characteristics into the wine. The origin of the so called "denominacion d'origine controlee". If all farmers, not only wine growers could respect their most cherrished input, the soil, as biodinamic wine growers do, what a wonderful world this would be! No more instransparent subsidies from States to the agribusinesses, no more hunger, and less diseases in the world.Bravo Nicolas! Welcome good wine, great wine.

Essential to the doberman owner, including history throughout the world, breeding, selection and puppy care, judging and conformation of the doberman, obedience, including schutzhund work, and much much more. 625 pp. / 800+ color photos

This book is a pretty good primer on XML. I bought it to learn about XML Schemas (XSDs) and XML Transformations (XSLTs). I read about a third of the book thoroughly, and haven't read any other XML books (yet).

The author's tone and pace are great. The back of the book says that the author is an experienced trainer, and it shows in the book. I have seen many a technical book that talks down to its audience, and this isn't one of them. If you're actually learning the subject and not just browsing, you won't be skimming through pages of fluff. The book doesn't assume that you've read three other books covering the subject already, or assume that you have a Master's in Comp Sci.

The book's coverage is remarkably broad and recent (as of March 2003 anyway). The author doesn't seem to have any bias towards any particular language or OS, and presents his examples in every language you're likely to want to use. There are primer-style review questions and exercises at the end of each chapter, and they are actually useful.

In general, the author does a very good job of explaining the subject. I didn't give the book five stars because in my opinion that level should be reserved for later revisions of books written by the acknowledged leaders in their fields. For a first cut of close to a thousand pages, this is excellent.

A couple shortcomings -- the example files aren't available online as of this writing, and I wish that the XSL Transformations chapter more explicitly described how the processor processes a template.

I'm making a career change and this helped me get some perspective. A "pre-interview"? What a novel idea.

I found good networking tips & the life-stage section was intriguing.

Also, the competency identfication section helped me determine some strengths and weaknesses I was unaware of.

The book offers a well-reasoned, easy to understand statistical approach to sampling which reduces the number of samples required while maintaining high quality standards. The plan specified in the book is equivalent to MILSPEC plans, and saves time and money.

I'm a mortgage trader in a regional investment banking firm so I looked forward to this book about the business even though it deals with the stock side. But many things bother me about the book. The story is of an intelligent guy clearly not qualified for a Wall Street job who gets a job at Cramer's hedge fund referred through one of the large investors. Ok, that could happen. The book does a good job of relating the mundane tasks that beginning traders perform and in that respect, I think the book would be very good for beginning I-bankers. The tasks can be very mundane but no matter how smart you are, the only way you learn is through repetition of doing the tasks daily. The author seems to have a knack for the business and eventually develops to recommending his own stocks.

But the author just can't put up with the belligerent, tyranical Jim Cramer who runs the firm. Well, welcome to investment banking where egos are dominant. Yes, Cramer is the worst variety. And there are stories of illegal or at least unethical trading. But the author just doesn't appear to have the stomach for the business and can't sleep at night and can't put up with the abuse from Cramer so he eventually quits a job that started at less than $25,000 even though it quickly grew to a six figure income.

I don't follow Cramer on CNBC but clearly this book is written to play on his fame. Yes, it is a hatchet job and maybe deserved. But it is very thinly written and focuses on some very petty examples. But did I enjoy it? Yes. I happen to like books about investment banking and this book had those. But I would caution that if you are looking for earth shattering information about a stock icon, it's really not here.

Each year, thousands of eager and ambitious young women and men arrive on Wall Street. What we have here is Maier's account of what happened to him after he relocated from Cambridge (MA) in 1994 and went to work for Cramer & Company, a hedge fund. He made a total commitment to advancing his career and eventually was entrusted with managing an investment fund of approximately $50-million. His is an insider's unique and compelling interpretation and evaluation, not only of his own experiences but also of Jim Cramer and the firm he founded and headed. As I began to read this book, I realized that its title lends itself to all manner of interpretation. For example, who is the "enemy"? Those with whom one competes for career advancement, obviously, but also those psychological forces which require trade-offs when ethics are in conflict with expediency. (Pogo once suggested that "we have met the enemy and he is us.") Maier and Cramer worked closely together and then, for various reasons which Maier explain in this book, he left the firm after five years. By then he and Cramer had become enemies and are now involved in litigation.

It is important to keep in mind that personal accounts such this are necessarily selective and subjective. (The same is true of Cramer's Confessions of a Street Addict.) There are specific reasons why this book's subtitle is "Seduction and Betrayal on Jim Cramer's Wall Street." Maier acknowledges that he was seduced by the opportunities he pursued while employed by Cramer & Company. Eventually, he felt betrayed by Cramer and explains why. That relationship reminds of the character Bud Fox played by Charlie Sheen in the film Wall Street. He is dazzled by the business success and lifestyle of Gordon Gecko, the character played by Michael Douglas. Much of what motivated Fox also motivated Meier. Moreover,when the film concludes as Fox and Gecko are headed for federal prison, Fox's opinion of Gecko is strikingly similar to Meier's opinion of Cramer when their five-year association ends in 1995.

It remains for each reader to decide to what extent Meier is responsible for what happened to him, and, to what extent Cramer should be blamed. My own opinion is that neither emerges as an especially sympathetic character by book's end. Both seem to be inevitable products of a materialistic society in which, if "greed is good," wealth and power are even better. But the question remains, "what profit a man...."?

True or not, it is a fun read.

I found it useful in understanding the mindset of Hedge fund management and not just the Rev. Jim Bob. I had imagined Jim's operation as a Mahogany or Marble walled complex located at a prestigious Wall Street address operated by Gen-X boiler room sharks. Instead the author paints a scene of a one-table room above a Deli whose walls have long past needing a fresh coat of paint (let alone Marble or Mahogany).

If this book had been written a fiction, I would have found it hard to believe the antics of the principal character. Since it is published as a non-fiction "Kiss and Tell" about Cramer, I think it is more believable.

Did Jim do all the things the author claims? Don't know and don't care. I am sure everything done in the book was done by some Hedge Fund manager somewhere.

If the accounts are not true, Cramer has a great lawsuit.
After reading the book, I have started playing: "Gangsta's Paradise" before each trading day!

I was eager to read this novel, because I dearly love his first work, The Notebook. As I began Message In A Bottle, I immediately became engrossed by the story of Theresa and Garrett. While the concept might be a bit far-fetched, the circumstance made it seem believable. Mr. Sparks did an excellent job developing these characters, just as he had done with The Notebook. Unfortunately, it seems to me that about two/thirds of the way through the story--he got distracted and lost focus. He no longer seemed to know how his characters would behave in a particular scenario and the book fell apart. The ending was weak at best, which left me disappointed and confused. This author has great talent and I hope that his future works will be more completely developed to provide a satisfying conclusion. I want to add that I am not just saying this because the ending was sad; I'm not. The Notebook also had a sad ending and it was beautiful. Overall, it fell short of expectations.

I find myself eager for Sparks next book! I feel I am somewhat behind the curve, as I read "The Notebook" about the time the "Message in a Bottle" was released in hardback. I bought "Message" in the airport on my way out of town. When I read a Sparks book, I become totally consumed! I am a romantic - I admit that and this author knows how to touch my heart. If only my husband could write letters like Garrett!! I was disappointed that Theresa published his letters, but more disappointed that she did not tell him up front! Regardless, it is truly a wonderful story. Perhaps a little impossible, but what's wrong with that? Garrett's dream (if you've read the book, you know the one I mean) made me cry out loud!!! I finished the book at midnight (against the advice of my friend!) and had to watch HGTV in order to get it off my mind! I will be Sparks fan from this point on.

Nicholas Sparks' novel, Message in a Bottle, marks a triumphant accomplishment for romantic fantacism in the present, fast-paced world. Sparks' depiction of real-life romance with a twist of fantasy is wonderfully written through his character's feelings, as well as thoughts. This novel is written in third person omniscient; this allows the reader to feel like the character. The way in which Sparks uses his power of narration to pull the reader into the book, allowing the reader feel how the characters feels is magnificent. The details portrayed by Sparks, in the novel, are meticulously written, allowing a perfect, accurate, painted picture to wallow in the readers mind; thus resulting in a rush for more information. Once you find yourself wanting more details the book will never be put down. One of the most important detailed devices Sparks uses is flashbacks. Garrett, a main character, draws himself as a dream man through his undying, passionate love for his late wife Catherine; which Sparks tells through flashbacks. Garrett is written to be a dynamic character. We fall in love with him in the beginning of the novel because he cannot forget about Catherine. Toward the end Garrett is forced to change in order to keep his new love interest, Theresa, which makes you love him all over again. Moreover, these changes come as a result of a conflict Garrett held within himself. Garrett's profile hits home for many people. The struggle Garrett has to forget his past and look at the future allows many readers to relate to Garrett. The fact that Garrett conquers himself may give people hope to win their own battles. Theresa and Garrett's passionate love affair will have every woman wishing it were she. The good news is this passion does not seem impossible. The realistic writing used by Sparks leads you to believe he could be talking about your neighbor. The two main characters are seemingly not fictional. Theresa is a thirty-something year old woman, divorced, and working with a twelve-year-old son. Garrett is a laid-back widower with a dive shop and a love for sailing. In essence Message in a Bottle is a page turner story with a romance everyone wants and characters we can relate to and care for as if they were our friends due to Sparks' outstanding elements of detail in character profiles, flashbacks, and other literary technique.

James Patterson is at his best with Alex Cross and his murder and detective series. These are very explicit with the violence and graphic description of essential scenes plus a frenetic chase to catch the perpetrator.

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas is exactly the opposite - very tender, loving, emotional and slow paced describing each character. The diary is the vehicle to express love and a mother's way to capture that love for her son and husband forever and explain the events that Matt could not verbally handle - "Suzanne, Matt and Nicholas forever"!

Katie, the recipient of the diary, struggles through her own personal emotions as well and makes an absolutely wonderful choice near the end.

Patterson still remains true to his short chapters and tantalizing last sentences to urge you on. I really like his style.

I still can't believe Patterson wrote this book; it is nice to see his other personality shine through.

It is impossible to get your nose out of Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson. In this sweet love story of both romance and mystery, Katie struggles to understand why the man she thought she loved left her. Matt has handed down the diary of a new mother Suzanne who made a document of all her hopes and memories of her new family and marriage. Katie begins to understand much hurt what has happened and wonders with all her heart whether she and this new love of hers has a chance of surving. I really enjoyed this book being a romance lover and could not put it down. Like Katie I just wanted to understand what was happening. I especially liked the characters that James Patterson developed throughout the novel. They were just the type that I hope to meet in my future years. This book should be read by anyone who enjoys an easy and quick yet heart warming love story. I would definitely rate this book with five stars.

I love James Patterson's books, but I'll have to admit I was ready to hate this one. I don't usually like this sort of book and I was disappointed that one of my favorite writer's had defected. I was hooked; however, in the first 2 chapters.

This is a lovely story about Katie, a sophisticated NY editor and the poetry writing Matt, a handyman from Martha's vineyard. The wonderful writing and suprising twists play on your emotions as you read each chapter. At times it is impossible to like Matt as you wonder how he could be such a cad. At others, you see him through Suzanne's eyes and love him almost as much as she does. You will run a gamut of emotions for each of the characters as you try to figure out what is happening. At the end, all your preconceived notions about what this book was about are shattered.

This was a wonderful book that I would highly recommend to anyone. Thank you, James Patterson, for such a delightful story.

This book was given to me by a reletive after I had watched the movie "The Horse Whisperer". I had already fallen in love with the movie itself so I was a bit skeptical about reading the book (usually the books differs somewhat from the movies). Yet, eventually I read the book and was not at all let down. Of course the book differed in a surprising way----there was another twist in the book besides the horse Pilgrim's behavior. If you have seen the movie then you have a basic idea of what the book is about but if not.....

It features a teenage girl (Grace) who becomes involved in a tragic accident where her best friend dies (along with her horse), and Grace herself is nearly killed while her horse Pilgrim is on the verge of death. Grace ends up loosing part of her leg and from that point on she ripens into an angry sulking sarcastic teenage girl. Meanwhile her busy business mom has to solve the problem of the half crazy horse Pilgrim. She comes up with the idea to venture out this "horse whisperer" out west and is VERY determined in doing so. The story leads on from there out west with a determined horse whisperer, a troubled horse, a broken down teenager, buisness mom, distant husband, and the beauty of the west and country folk around them.

All in all I found this to be a very satisfying read and the twist at the end surprised me. It's one of those books that you either like or you don't but the chances are in your favor that you will enjoy it (as I did). Read it and fall in love with it's desperation, hope, and love.

Breathtaking, tragic, compelling, and inspirational, all these words and more can't describe the amount of significance that The Horse Whisperer endures. Nicholas Evans produces a very touching and moving novel, which has rendered the lives of many horse back riders. What starts out as a lovely, fresh and crisp winter morning, quickly turns into a gruesome meet with a large transport. Two girls who didn't thing to check the trail before their ride had paid the price, Judith and her horse died, while Grace and her horse Pilgrim, had suffered incredibly with broken bones, ligaments and predominately scarring their heart and soul. Tom Booker, the whisperer, is kept much a secret through the entire story. His thoughts and feelings are subliminally placed in every chapter that he was present, and more and more is revealed about his character in each one; thus giving the reader a challenge to figure out what he's really like. The Horse Whisperer is filled with subliminal messages, which provokes an excellent in-depth read through all of the twists and turns of the novel. A well-constructed story that fills in many gaps that the movie couldn't cover.

She magazine said it is a 'Cross between The Bridges of Madison County with Black Beauty intensify the elements of True Grit and romance, and you have The Horse Whisperer'

I have seen all three films and I can honestly say that whoever wrote that knows their stuff.

The Horse Whisperer is a wonderful novel written by a fairly new author, Nicholas Evans, with only two other books under his belt. The book tells the story of how a 13-year-old girl, Grace, and her horse, Pilgrim, survive a horrific accident with a 40-ton truck. But both are physically and mental scarred. Grace loses her right leg and the Pilgrim breaks his nose and becomes consumed with fear.

Annie, Grace's mother, refuses to have Pilgrim destroyed, as she senses that if she does, something in Grace will die too. So her quest begins to find someone who can help Pilgrim. She hears about a man in Montana, a 'whisperer' who is said to have an incredible gift of healing horses. She abandons her job and takes Grace and Pilgrim across the continent to this man, Tom Booker. Under the massive Montana sky, all their lives are changed forever.

The story is told in the perspective of four people, Robert - Grace's father, Annie, Grace and Tom. Which may seem daunting but Evans does it in a way that makes it so simple yet very effective. You understand more as you see the story unfold from a variety of people's eyes. He also adds in information about the history of some of the characters and the places they are in, it all adds to the experience of the novel and although it makes the novel longer it is well worth the extra pages.

A novel has never so profoundly touched me as The Horse Whisperer has. Usually when I finish a book I go right ahead and start the next one but I am reluctant to do this, as it will be ending the lives of the characters that have been a part of my life for a short but wonderful period of time. I was mesmerised with the characters and the story for five days, I just couldn't put the book down and if I didn't have to go to classes I would have finished the book a lot sooner!

At a whooping 479 pages the book is fairly long but well worth the paper! I definitely recommend that you read this book. The Horse Whisperer will forever be in your heart if you read it, I will certainly not forget it in a hurry.

I was disappointed in this latest novel by Nicholas Evans because it was nowhere as good a story as his two previous novels, The Horse Whisperer and The Loop. I am angry because this had the makings of a "great" book and ended up being nothing more than a longer version of a Nicholas Sparks' novel. And, don't get me wrong - I enjoy a good Nicholas Sparks' book but not when I'm supposed to be reading a Nicholas Evans' book.

Set in Missoula, Montana and inspired by real life smoke jumpers, this book follows the lives of its three main characters Ed Tully, Connor Ford and Julia Bishop over a period of about ten years. Ed and Connor are best friends brought together by their love of life and interest in "smoke jumping." Ed is exuberant in nature while Connor is reserved yet they both complement each other. Julia is Ed's girlfriend and she will become another thing in which the two men share an interest. This will become a book about choices with loyalty and friendship being at its core.

Prior to this reading, I had no idea what a smoke jumper was and found out that there are only 400 of them in America. This is one of the reasons I always gravitate towards Evans' books - I always learn something from them. In The Horse Whisperer, I learned that people COULD talk to horses. In The Loop, I learned that the wolf is an endangered species and people invent elaborate traps in which to catch them. In The Smoke Jumper, I learned that these jumpers parachute out of planes into "fire areas" and have devised incredible ways of fighting and starving fires.

For the first 100 pages, I loved this book until it became a predictable love triangle. Girl meets boy, girl meets boy's friend, girl is attracted to friend, girl feels obligated to boy, tragedy strikes boy and girl until it becomes like every other book of this type that I've read. I enjoyed the beginning, which had to do with the fires, and the wilderness and the program for which Julia worked whereby they brought troubled teens into the open country and helped them find themselves. Once tragedy struck on the mountain, the whole emphasis of the book shifted to the point where some portions were not even plausible. If only the storyline would have continued in the smoke jumper direction, I would have been happy but, in the off-season, Connor is a photographer and spends his time taking pictures of atrocities in third world countries such as Bosnia and Uganda. This book then becomes a convoluted tapestry of puzzle pieces that the reader should be putting together along the way as the main characters strive to find some kind of happiness in their lives. Once the setting shifted from Montana to Africa, I lost interest and found everything from that point on just plain boring and unbelievable to say the least.

There are very few heroes in the world and this book had the ability to create a fictional one yet it failed, in my opinion, because so many of the choices made by the main characters were downright "stupid". Since the fires that the smoke jumpers put out are very damaging, they are also cleansing in that new growth will eventually appear. I'm sure this was probably the moral of the story but Connor's stint in Africa left me begging to get back on U.S. soil so this new growth could begin. While the characters in the end might have finally found self-fulfillment, this reader certainly didn't.

Nicholas Evans is one of those writers I love to hate; he can write so darn well it puts most other authors to shame and that forces me to compare prose like his against those of other writers...which most cannot even begin to stand up to. If he had something more original to write about, I think his books would win applause from even the most stubborn literary fan. But he doesn't do that here...but still, he MAKES us care about his characters by getting us in so close and so intimate with them that we can't help but care!

The story is that of two friends, Ed Tully and Connor Ford. They have other jobs and live half a continent away from each other, but they come together every summer to become Smoke Jumper brethren in and around Montana. Smoke Jumpers are those slightly psychotic and carelessly heroic few firefighters who jump out of planes near fire-lines and dig fire-breaks and try to foil mother-nature's red tongued devils. Ed and Connor have a tight bond of friendship that is unshakable because of their smoke jumping past.

Enter Julia Bishop, a beautiful, intelligent, and caring woman who hooks up with Ed. Ed, of course, wants to introduce her to Connor, and soon does. Connor is immediately struck with her beauty (both internal and external) as is Julia struck with him. But they deny their feelings for one another because of Ed (Connor's long friendship with him and Julia's caring for him). Soon Ed gets injured and is blinded during a raging fire and Julia and he are thrown closer together by this. Connor is moved further out, but he still cares for her greatly. Ed proposes and Julia accepts. Connor moves further out. Soon, it is learned that Ed cannot have children due to his diabetic history and poor medication choices in the past. So they (Julia and Ed) ask Connor to be a sperm donor. Connor agrees and Amy enters the world throwing all kinds of emotions around.

How does it end? What happens to Connor and Julia? Or will there ever be a Connor and Julia? Does Ed know how his best buddy feels about his wife? And what of Amy, the child of Connor's genes and Julia's womb? How does this mess settle itself into a legitimate storyline? It does. And does well.

It is an old story told time and time and time again, and that's one of the reasons that I gave it only four stars. It is also schmaltzy in places and highly predictable...but still....darn it! You can't help but care about these people. I found myself getting choked up a few times as I read what befell some of them.

It's a fun book and reads breezily, but has it's weak points. But boy can Mr. Evans write!

Nicholas Evans is perhaps the one male author of adult romance novels who best conveys the essence what love between a man and a woman can be like when it reaches an almost mystical level of awareness, interaction, and commitment. In Mr. Evan's newest novel, THE SMOKE JUMPER, he continues the same theme that resonated throughout his first bestseller, THE HORSE WHISPERER, which centers on an extremely passionate and unrelenting love between two people who, for reasons beyond their control, are unable to fulfill this potential for a life-long relationship with each other. Connor Ford is a Montana cowboy who has a passion for two things: photography and smoke jumping. During the summer months of each year in the state of Montana, Connor joins an elite group of fire fighters known as "smoke jumpers." They are the ones who are dropped in by parachute to fight the raging forest fires that pop up throughout the state. When Connor finally meets the new girlfriend, Julia Bishop, of his closet buddy and fellow smoke jumper, Ed Tully, it's love at first sight. Julia, of course, feels the same way about Connor. This is the conflict that they will have to wrestle with throughout the rest of the book because Ed is a great guy whom they both love dearly, and neither one of them wants to hurt him. This becomes more evident when Ed is seriously injured during a rescue attempt to save Julia and a group of teenagers during a forest fire. Julia later marries Ed out of a sense of obligation, and Connor takes his camera and heads overseas to the war-torn countries of Bosnia and Uganda to learn his craft as a photojournalist. After many years have passed, a time comes when Connor learns that the lives of Julia and her young daughter are in grave danger and that he's the only one who can save them. He will don a parachute once again and put his life on the line as he jumps alone into a raging inferno of fire and bullets to save the two people who mean the most to him. THE SMOKE JUMPER is a powerful novel of love, adventure, sacrifice, and heroism in its most pure form. Written from the heart by an author who understands that the process of love is never easy and will often lead its recipient on a quest of historic proportions, this novel is one that will definitely appeal to both men and women, allowing them to catch a glimpse into the nature of what it truly means to love another human being. I especially enoyed the author's poem, "Walk Within You," and its poignant message about the transcendence of love after death. Also, the scene near the end of the novel, when Connor Ford goes to the rescue of Julia and Amy gave me goose bumps and caused a big, silly grin to erupt across my face. I'm a sucker for these kinds of heroic moments in any novel, but more so when love and the heart are involved. I found THE SMOKE JUMPER to be a fantastic reading experience, equal to that of THE HORSE WHISPERER, and my only wish is that Nicholas Evans was more of a prolific writer, publishing a novel every twelve-to-eighteen months, instead of every three years.