Gideon Page gets fired and starts on his own with a manslaughter client and a woman who bakes rats. I had hopes that this book would be much better, but the action was slow. It took forever to get to the court scenes, and they were dissappointing. I never figured out what motivated Dr Chapman to be so stubborn with his lawyer. There are parts of this book which entertain with appealing characters, but overall, I had to force myself to finish it.

Grif Stockley's PROBABLE CAUSE is full of well-defined, memorable characters. Gibeon's Guys: Spunky Sara, a daughter with wisdom; Rainey ,a girlfriend who's so in love she's trying to protect herself; Dan, a budding partner with his own expansion plan; and then there's the clients. Egotistical, sociopathic, obcessive-compulsive, bill paying clients. Finally, meet ex-social worker cum attorney, Gideon Page. More real than shredded wheat with raisens. The only way you'll ever meet people like these is in Grif Stockley's imagination, and in PROBABLE CAUSE.

Grif Stockley is the writer you have probably never heard of -- but should definitely read. I picked up this book, finished it, then picked up all of his others. Loved them all! Better than John Grisham any day.

This man, Gilliard, who was once described by the Danish minister to Berlin as "the lickspittle of the Grand Duke of Hesse," would never have dared publish this book if his Imperial employers had not died. Look what happened to the present Queen Elizabeth's governess, "Crawfie" when she published a seemingly innocous little book about her royal charges; Banished from her 'Grace and Favour' home, banished from Royal circles and never spoken of in Royal circles again.

Sadly Gilliard's book is the quicksand in which so many other authors sink, including, I have to say it, Robert Massie in his "Nicholas and Alexandra." Gilliard presents himself as a kind of paragon, and he often puts himself as an observer in situations where he could not have possibly been.

Of course, he could hardly expect to sell the book if he declared himself to be the very minor member of the household he actually was, so, he 'embroiders' his story to appear to be a close confidant of both the Tsar and the Tsarina. Grotesquely many many historians appear to have been taken in by him. Don't you be!

This book goes into fantastic detail about the children of Tsar Nicholas II. Mr. Gilliard was the private tutor of the children. More importantly it tells of the family's last days. A must read for anyone interested in Russian history.

Gilliard was the tutor for the five royal children, so this is a very intimate portrait of their lives from about 1909 or so until they died. He went with them when they were imprisoned and along with several other servents was separated from the family when they reached Ekaterenburg. The book has a lot of information in it and is a good first-person account of life with the family. The pictures are a bit muddy however, which is more the fault of the publisher than the original print.

This is one of my favorite operas but unfortunately this recording stinks. Scarpia probably had a hand in the engineering. While the performance is of high quality the dynamics are very poor. Whoever mixed it was playing the magic flute or intoxicated with the elixir of love. The quiet passages are recorded at such low levels that I have to increase the volume to hear them, but only to find myself forced to rush over to lower the drastically over amplified loud passages. As I have a much better recording (Caballe-Carreras-Wixell on Phillips) I end up looking at this book and playing the other. This was most disappointing since I also have the companion La Boheme and Butterfly and those are excellent. Save your money on this one.....

The score in this book is perfect, it's a copy of an Ricordi Edition, if you are a conductor you can use it, don't confuise with the comment of the hardcover edition, the hardcover dosn't have the full score of the opera only this book. it's a good edition, if you like this opera buy this book.

It was once said that Puccini's "La Boheme" was all music and no drama, while "Tosca" was all drama and no music. Yet, at least to modern listeners, "Tosca," with its resonating themes, its incredible orchestrations, and its compelling story line of love, lust, loyalty, and betrayal continues to fascinate. The full score will aid the discerning listener in enjoying the scope of Puccini's genius as music and drama come together in a breathtaking rush of melody, aria, and incredible pathos. One of opera's most detestable, yet evilly engaging, villains, Baron Scarpia, stalks with regal ominousness. Floria Tosca sings one of the most poignant arias, "Visa d'arte. Visa amore." And as the plot thickens, the listener is carried to new heights of musical drama as the lovers plan their escape. But Scarpia's evil hand reaches from beyond the veil of death to thwart their flight to love and freedom. Puccini's orchestrations, his soaring melodies, and his sense of place and time have thrilled audiences for generations. Enjoy it again with the full score, and your favorite recording!

Admittedly, this book is now a little dated, but I just came across it at a friend's home and thought that I'd read it. There is many items worth looking at, but overall the information is available in other books and easier to find.

This book covers many of the points that you always were one the verge of asking but never quite know how. You can tell from the way that the book is written that the authors are speaking from a great deal of experience. What is more, the writing style makes reading a pleasure. I have no hesitation in heartily recommending this book, which takes a much-needed view from the top down. I have had over 20 years experience in MarCom, so I can speak from experience myself.

I heard about this book in college in 1981, but I first used it in 1993, it has many valuable architectural data for design, especially for civil engineers who need to come up with simple architectural designs. Although it provides the basic data, however it would be nice if more details can be provided in some areas, even if it requires the book be published in more volumes.

I have used the previous editions very frequently especially during my time working abroad. This is the only comprehensive source of metric and International standards for design data that I am aware of and is organized in very readable way. In fact, when I introduced the book to my co-workers abroad, everyone bought a copy. It is a great book for rules-of-thumb reference for designing buildings, spaces and layouts for national and especially International standards.

Firstly, let me say the research Nicholas Lardy has conducted is commendable and a welcome addition to the existing literature. His data sources are vast and highly informative. The major limitation of this publication is that the central argument is biased. Lardy selects those data and pieces of existing literature which support his own view. As a result, major sections of the literature concerning financial reform in transitional economies are simply ignored or brushed over. Lardy's view is the typical Western, dare I say "American" argument. Primarily he uses financial criteria to evaluate the economic performance of China's state banks. This methodoloy is extremely poor - particularly in the context of China's trannsitional economy. Financial criteria are a horrible guide to both internal and allocative economic efficiency. If anyone would like elaboration on this point feel free to email me. In summary, Lardy's book is informative and makes for interesting reading. However as a piece of economic analysis, its usefulness is limited. The major reason for this is a total lack of economic theory(as indicated by the previous reviewer) which has resulted in a poor methodology.

This timely book by Lardy explains: 1) the intermingling of China's gradualist reform, the inefficiency of SOE and the evolving banking system; 2) the structure and practise of the banking system of China; 3) some of the implications of the looming financial crisis in China. It thus serves as a critical and timely piece for readers to gauge what has been wrong for China and why are the policy implications. There are a few points worth highlighting. First, the cost of the gradualist reform approach is the resulting inefficiency in SOE and the related banking crisis, a cost which is usually forgot in the debate on the pace of reform for emerging economy. Second, the relative size of SOE in China, despite all the measures to stimulate private sectors for the past two decades, is still large, particularly from the perspective of bank lending. This has been reducing the strength of the banks and limiting the availability of funds to private enterprises. Third, due to the lack of other forms of investment, Chinese banking system has absorbed most of the saving from the private sector. However, because of the fragile banking system, deposit rate has been politically controlled at a very low level. This is effective taxing the Chinese household and subsidising the borrowers, i.e. the inefficient SOE. Forth, related to the third point, liberalisation of capital market will post a serious threat to the banking system because it will take away the funding source from the banking system. Fifth, the Asian flu would post limited short term threat to the Chinese system primarily because it is still a closed system. However, long term implication is clear and the Chinese leaders are aware of the similarity of the Chinese symptoms to those of the Asian flu. The only problem from this reader perspective is the level of theoretical underpinning. The piece is full of details in most of the aspects it is addressing. The missing piece however is that it fails to put the banking crisis into a larger perspective of the transformation of socialist system. Although a full discussion in this aspect may perhaps require an entire book itself, a brief discussion seems appropriate given that Lardy commented on some of the more theoretical aspect of the study in Chapter 5.

Mr. Ifkovits somewhat satyrical portrayal of televangelisim is sure to strike a familiar and sympathetic chord with everyone who's ever asked themselves how anyone can have THE TRUTH and still declare that everyone else is headed straight to hell (unless, of course, they repent and send a monetary donation to a certain P.O. Box#). The lead character's revelations from God sit poorly with his father, a nationally known televangelist, and the resulting conflicts threaten to engulf them. Meanwhile his messenger from heaven must defend both himself and his charge to no less a personage than Jesus. A fine mix of humor and tragedy with an unexpected ending.

On my way to lunch in a crowded mall, a voice spoke up from a small table outside a bookstore. "Do you like to read novels?" I turned to see a wiry man with wild hair and sparkling eyes grinning at me. Nick Ifkovits was not your typical author plugging his book, and Cloud Drops is not your typical novel. I obliged him, intrigued by the jacket description, but more by the man who wrote it and his obvious excitement over its message. Cloud Drops is a novel of clarity, particularly the blinding kind that creeps up when you watch televangelists and their religious furvor. It unifies world religions and their understanding of a higher power, and how all men can come to acknowledge and appreciate that power in their own way. The central characters; Ledyard, the son of a famous Televangelist; and Cambian, an agent of god, are charged with the task of turning Ledyard's father away from his 'wealth theology' to the true messages of Heaven. Ifkovits paints with natural prose, his images of Utopia bring memories and feelings of satisfaction. His unification of the worlds religious and peace icons in the 'House of Kings' is humorous and revealing. Cloud Drops is tragic in its identification of the masses, and what inspires true hate and prejudice. In that lies a dichotomy, that as a flock we can be led astray, even with the best intentions, but as a group of individuals focused upon one common goal we cannot falter. This book is an affirmation for those who share Ifkovits's ideals, and an awakening for those who never thought beyond the stained glass windows...

I enjoy most Country Living books and Irish Country was an intriguing topic. This treatment unfortunately is a very shallow look at a very limited amount of examples of pottery, fabric, and furniture. Many of the items are obscure and one doesn't get a real feel for the richness of the topics. Its not really a decorating book either - its focus is substantially on replicating the look of some of the material (pottery, fabrics, etc) through do-it-yourself crafts. For example, I didn't learn anything about the variety of Irish furniture and how to decorate with it. Hate to be so negative but I felt like the title and book cover were false advertising.

This book, lovingly created by Nicholas Mosse of Kilkenny, gives the reader many suggestions and tips on adding a touch of Irish style to ones home. The section on pottery gives a wonderful narrative on Irish pottery, and has three projects: decorating a ceramic jug, a ceramic bowl and a plate. The next section discuses fabrics, their history and significance, and has four projects: making and decorating stenciled curtains, a shamrock tablecloth (I loved this one!), a tweed throw, a patchwork quilt, and a sheep pillow panel. The furniture section deals mainly with stools, chairs, benches and tables, and has two projects: making and decorating a wall-mounted mug rack, and a small scumbled cupboard (very nice!). The final section is on "Elements", and mainly revolves around baskets and glass.

Well, you can't please all the people all the time. As for myself, I was quite pleased with this book. I am something of a do-it-yourselfer, and I liked the author's hints on decorating, and the small, easy-to-make projects. If you like decorating by hand, then I highly recommend this book to you.

"The Dissolution of Nicholas Dee: His Researches" started off very well. It was pretty in prose, it seemed to be heading off to an excellent finish. Suddenly, there was sheet music, which related to the story, but seemed sort of confusing. Next, the character of Nicholas Dee started writing his own book, with a change in font to differentiate between the stories.

Just as the book starts to redeem itself from the strange and frequent interruptions, the main characters are suddenly whisked off to a different land, literally, to do research, running from the police but not running from the police, involved in a "hustler" ring but not involved in a "hustler" ring. Meanwhile, the story of the research into an Opera House and the characters becomes more and more part of what is already a confusing story. It seemed as though there were five different plots running through the story, and while they were supposed to be set up as though they were parallel, it didn't come across this way. Instead, it became a convoluted mess, with me wanting to skip the less interesting stories (opera, his novel about insurance (hardly an appealing subject matter) and concentrate directly on Nicholas Dee and his daily life.

It started out with an interesting subtext, hinting at great things to come, but never really delivering the payoff. Jumping too quickly into a soap opera drama where police officers are drugged, characters seem to just exist to perpetuate the "mirrored" story of Nicholas Dee and the opera house.

A very very strange story, and if you feel up to trying to decipher this tangled web, I encourage you to do so.

Matthew Stadler is a reader, and his novels are a joy to immerse oneself in for this reason. I disagree with the assessment that The Dissolution of Nicholas Dee book is plodding, difficult or even "experimental." Why would I want to read a book that is structured, plotted, and populated so sterertypically that I won't even need to pay attention to it while I'm reading it?

I don't read to carve chunks of time out of my own life. I read because stumbling across writers like Matthew Stadler is a thrill that can't be duplicated by any other activity. To see my own unorganized musings perfectly crystalized on the page is fantastic. I'm far too lazy to be a writer, so I'm very grateful to Stadler for doing the work for us all. His own words, in discussing Proust, aptly sum up my feelings about what makes The Dissolution of Nicholas Dee ideal reading:

But what if reading involves a dissipation into languor and ease, rather than any kind of mounted effort toward victory? What if the book is our final and only destination, a place we live in rather than "get through"?

MacMillan Publishing (Sams) has done it again. Put out a instructional book which its only goal is to get your money.

Sams needs to stay out of the Linux arena until they are willing to do more research on the subjects they write on.

Really, the online help that comes with Star Office 5.0 is far superior to this publication.. and it's included with the program.. for FREE!

Stay clear of this publication... or any Sams put out on the subject matter concerning the Linux OS. They are clearly out of their element here.

I bought this book mainly because I will be saved the pain of having to download the program from the internet. Having never needed to buy a book to use a office suite before, I thought this would be a good opportunity to learn all the ins and outs of the package, as well as get the CD for the program. This book does not come with the CD. In fact the author points you to web sites where you can download your copy. The statement that it comes with a CD, in the commentary above is misleading and should be removed. Barring that, its a pretty good book by itself.

StarOffice is available for a number of platforms and, although the title of this book refers to the Linux version, I took the chance on buying a copy to help me with StarOffice for Windows. I needn't have worried because, having worked through the book, it appears that the program is, in fact, nearly identical on all platforms. StarOffice is a powerful program, though the built-in Help system is highly idiosyncratic - that is, it covers some topics in reasonable detail but others do not get a mention. The lack of an index doesn't help. This "24 Hour Guide" is therefore an essential aid to anyone who is trying to get to grips with StarOffice. The lessons cover a wide range of issues from installing and configuring the program right through to getting the most out of the various components - word processor, spreadsheet, draw, presentations, internet browsing, e-mail etc..... The lessons are well structured, with frequent tips as well as exercises to encourage a hands-on approach. Almost every page features a screen shot which should give the reader greater confidence. All of this makes learning a very pleasant experience. The book does not include anything on StarBase - the database component which seems to have been added to StarOffice 5 at the last minute - nor StarBasic, the programming language. This is fair enough since it is intended as a "getting started" guide. CONCLUSION: I can highly recommend this book to anyone starting to use StarOffice 5 - regardless of the platform.