This short book (152 pages) is very enjoyable and enlightening reading. Having read several other books on WWII in the European theater, this book is very refreshing. While it does not have the scope of Stephen Ambrose's "Citizen Soldiers" or "D-Day", it tells of an average, reluctant soldiers involvement in many of the same operations as those covered by Mr. Ambrose.

The primary focus of the book is the author's involvement in WWII. But childhood memories by the author are covered in chronological order and particularly focus on memories of his peers and their thoughts on the impending World War. In their innocent teenage years, personal involvement in this war seemed to be surreal.

While Mr. Barnes is not involved in any singular heroic action, this is, I think, one of the more subtle aspects to this book. It shows that WWII was a team effort, involving the heroes as well as the average Joe.

A memorable aspect of this book to me is how Mr. Barnes expresses his fear of combat. As someone who luckily has never had to face combat, thanks in large part to John Barnes and his generation, I often wondered how I would react in similar circumstances. I believe Barnes reaction is similar to that of most anyone.

John Barnes may have left the classroom but he still is teaching Americans about their history. From the industrial town of Utica, NY to the mire of France and on to Germany, his saga will set straight young and old alike who believe that war is glamorous. His insights into his Irish Catholic childhood during the Depression make this a poignant tale, helping us realize how much was lost in order to gain victory. He also makes one confront the deep loss in so many small American towns such as Bedford, VA, where the flower of manhood simply vanished into the military cemeteries of France. I'm proud to have known him thirty years ago. I wish he'd included more detail on his inner faith formation as a result of war, but his service to comrades, school and community since war's end speak eloquently on his behalf. One suspects he was saved so many times during that war in order to assist so many since 1945.

GREAT SEXPECTATIONS is a terrific resource for any couple, Christians and non-Christians alike. While the authors are obvious in their belief system (man and woman as one-flesh, from the Biblical guidelines), the insights and practical advice in this book are applicable to any couple in the world! GREAT SEXPECTATIONS reveals seven common myths people have regarding marital sex: "what it should be vs. what it really is." Reviewing only the titles of the chapters, and even the first few sentences, a reader might conclude, "I never believed such a silly myth," but the authors make it clear how common these myths really are, and how easy it is to believe one or more of them. (THIS reader, at one time or another, believed 4 of them!) I purchased this book because of an extramarital affair. The book deals with "starting your own affair at home," and that is exactly what we've done! I'd recommend this book to anyone with a spouse! It contains valuable keys to understanding the way men and women think, sexually. I would compare this book to another I've read, MARS AND VENUS IN THE BEDROOM. This one, however, is written from a wonderful, Christian point of view. Get it! :)

I looked at this book based on the title. The expectation game seems to be the biggest roadblock for my marriage. This book devotes chapters to dispelling several myths like "Good sex is when you fill my wish list" and "My spouse responds the same way I do". After that were very helpful chapters concerning when children arrive and 'affairs we never knew we were having'.

The chapters on why she is not interested and why he is not interested cover many many reasons. I even found a reason for me that is rarely touched by other books of this kind.

The last section of the book covers how to fix things. Unfortunately the book does not cover the solution as well as it covers addressing the problem.

Regardless, I highly recommend this book to add to your list of books on this subject.

This is the story about the three Nguyen brothers from Central South Vietnam in the 18th century. Vietnam was then divided into two regions: north and south and run by two warlords. There was also a king, but he was powerless.

North and South were warring against each other like during the 1954-75 war and the people were poor. The brothers revolted against the southern warlord and displaced him all the way to the southernmost tip of Vietnam. Nguyen Hue then moved against the northern warlord and chased him into China.

The Chinese invaded Vietnam at the request of the northern warlord. Nguyen Hue beat them handily and enthroned himself as king Quang Trung. The brilliant strategist not only was able to defeat the warlords but also the Chinese and to reunify the country in 1788. He unfortunately died in 1792 at the age of 42. His empire rapidly unraveled after his death. Vietnam no doubt would have been completely different had he lived longer.

This to my knowledge the first work published in English about the Tay Son and the author is to be congratulated for attempting to retrace the footsteps of general Nguyen Hue who, to this day, remains unknown in western countries.

Considering the deep and prolonged US involvement in Vietnam for almost a generation, the average American knows surprisingly little about the culture and history of this southeast Asian nation. An excellent way to remedy part of this deficiency is to read this book. Although technically a novel, the book provides a historically accurate account of the Tay Son rebellion, which took place from 1771 to 1802. With a broad sweep of characters and events, the book shows that the Vietnamese possessed a strong warrior tradition long before their protracted conflict with the French and later, the Americans. A minor problem some readers may have when beginning the book is its daunting number of characters, with their unfamiliar-sounding names. However, once into the narrative, the story flow is smooth and absorbing, and will repay the effort to sort out the cast. The characters come alive and the plot thickens as well as in a first-rate historical novel. Readers will come away from the book not only with a solid entertainment experience, but also with a better appreciation for a proud and cultured people.

The first time laid my eyes on this book; to tell you the truth I was a bit frightened. I was expecting a very complex law book that would take me more than one pass over the material in order for me to get the material. This was not the case, the book really made the subjects easy to understand and the writers made the book very easy to read. The tables and diagrams also make the book even better for those of us that are more of the visual learner types. I would recommend this book.

I appreciated almost all of what was offered, especially from a Christian perspective. However, I was getting tired of the man playing the chump in most of the anecdotes. Maybe that is how they all fell, but in the interest of a more level balance they could have swapped the genders occasionally without us being any the wiser.

A note to UKC CS and CSE students.
It will not help with your second year Networks assignment, which is officially 'not a java programming exercise'.

To be honest, most of the things really didn't make sense. Sometimes there is a lot of skipping on information, other times I had to keep on reviewing the material 5 times just to see what the author is talking about. A programmer can not learn programming without having a hand-on approach, and this author uses classes that aren't even shown. How are we supposed to run these programs if we are missing the classes used to run these programs? I suggest a Dietel & Dietel book "How to program in Java"; I had to buy that book in order to understand the analytical approach that Barnes used in his book. That is why I gave this rating a 3 stars, because Barnes does somewhat of a good job explaining, only if you have some kind of background information in programming before.

This is one of the best Java Books i've used. It's verry complete and verry easy to search in.

If you believe all the bad reviews you've read about this book...don't! Anyone who thinks this book is hard to read and should only be used by experienced programmers probably shouldn't even be trusted to tie their own shoes. I didn't know a thing about Ada before buying this book and after reading it I feel I know as much as Mr. Barnes himself. The history of Ada83 and Ada95 - as well as OO programming - is well-organized and top-notch. The sections clearly mark differences between Ada83 and Ada95. It has numerous real-world examples which are helpful for my every day applications. It's also a great progressive learning tool with numerous exercises at the end of each section.

John Barnes' book is a very easy to read, complete coverage of a powerful language. The book is intended for those with some knowledge of programming, providing both details and, especially, rationale for the language features.

Explaining the rationale and possible use of language features is, in fact, the best aspect of the book, and has long been a characteristic of Barnes' writing. So many books in this category simply reiterate syntax and semantics; read this book and you will *understand* Ada as well as recognize it.

If you pay attention there is even subtle humor strewn throughout, making an otherwise potentially dry subject a pleasure to read about.

As a long-time Ada developer and a provider of industrial Ada-related courses, I strongly recommend this book to those who have no prior experience with the Ada language. As the owner of over forty books on the subject (including both editions of this one!) I rate this second edition in the top handful of all books concerning the Ada language.

If you really want to understand the Rationale behind Ada95, this book is a must read. It is not for beginners in programming, but experienced programmers- even if they don't know Ada - will learn a lot from this book. They will never have the same look at their favourite primary programming language, even if it is already Ada.

Althougth the writing style was not terrible (for a book on a programming language), the utiliity of this book is near zero. There are no complete example programs in the book. In order to understand how different parts in an Ada program interact it would be helpful if complete programs were included. This book was assigned reading for a programming language course.

John was one of the creators of Ada83 and his books have long been regarded as the "Bibles' of the Ada language. This is a great book for anyone using Ada 83 (which is still in heavy use in many defense companies). It also gives a nice intoduction to the new Ada 95 (called Ada 9x at the time of this edition). This book covers the entire language in great detail yet avoids many of the 'language lawyer' issues that might confuse the beginning Ada programmer. I have used Ada for about 10 years in avionics and simulation applications and have always recommended John's books to newcommers to Ada. The inclusion of more complete examples would have helped (and have been added in later editions). While there are many good books on Ada available, this one still ranks as one of the best. It should not be the only book you use to learn the language (if you're really serious) but it should be one of them!

If you plan to take the Microsoft 70-019 exam, do not buy this book. It contains nothing but superficial information. It only skims on the major topics. No detailed explanation, especially on DTS. Don't waste your money on this one.

The book carries very important informations for the beginners in data warehousing. These informations include basic concepts of data warehousing and tips for using SQL Server 7. Experient Data Warehouse developers will find this book useless since it brings little technical data.

When I purchased this book it was with the intent of learning what a data warehouse is and how best to implement one from a conceptual level. It has accomplished that goal admirably.

If you are a seasoned SQL person and want to know what the DW buzz is about, buy it. If you are an IS executive trying to make a decision on how best to proceed with your own warehouse, but it. However, if you are looking for a How-To guide for on the serious implementation details (ie: DTS), you should go over the fundamentals of SQL 7 somewhere else.