This is the most informative book I have read before in my life. Brian Fullerton's writing style cannot be compared to anyone alive today and no, I'm not just saying this because my name is Brian Fullerton too.

Simply a great book about Wales, with lively discussion of culture, history, and people. Suggestions about where to go and what to see, and fine pictures to give a flavor of the countryside before you arrive.

This book, which is now out of print, published in 1986 by Harper and Row. Attributed to the authors of Hollis and Sibley, although on the book there is no credit other than in the acknowledgements. Regardless however, this is a fun book posing as Mickey's biography from his earliest times in Steamboat Willie and with Walt to the days of all his shorts and his feature film debut in Fantasia. The book also discusses Mickeys appearances in all the merchandising of the days, from watches to clocks to books to comic books, music, ornaments and then the last appearance; Mickey's Christmas Carol. Fun to read and enjoyable and sure to please any Mickey or Disney fan.

First book I've read and thought it deserves a 10, simply because of its direct impact to my everyday projects. The author has clearly used ASP himself. This is not your usual 'academic' approach to a subject. Great examples and specific details (like using redirection from within a page instead of the header). Takes the mystery out of global.asa and sessions. Great ADO info. Very project oriented, like user authentication discussion.

After going thru a number of other asp books I find this book to be the premier source of information on the subject. The topics covered are from the ground-zero level without spoon-feeding yet the material will help build a foundation for advanced application needs. It is obvious that for the advanced development one should seek specialized books addressing the topics - eg: ADO, Java & Active-X, ExchangeServer intergration etc. Compelling Reading !!

This book provides excellent coverage of both the underlying technology and specific techniques needed to implement ASP. It also gives you (most of) the information you need to configure your Internet Information Server to handle ASP, a failing in other books I've seen. The book provides many useful code examples and an excellent reference to various objects used in ASP. Couple this book with a good reference to VB Script and you're in business. I selected this book as a text in an advanced business programming course.

I'll agree with the many other reviews that rate this book as an extremely knowledgeable reference on ASP, perhaps the definitive reference.

However, there are several points that make this book somewhat unappealing from a practical perspective.

First, note that it was written by 15 different authors. This incorporates many different writing styles, making it unwieldy. The previous edition was written by 8 people. Do not attempt to use either book as a cover-to-cover tutorial.

Second, the code examples are written almost exclusively in VBScript, although the book acknowledges that Javascript (also known as JScript) would work just as effectively. From a real-world perspective, I have found that many ASP programmers prefer to use Javascript for both server-side and client-side development.

The use of 2 scripting languages in one application is simply impractical. VBScript persists mainly because it is a Microsoft invention, as is ASP itself. However, Javascript (or ECMA Script) has become the industry-standard scripting language for web-based applications.

Another issue with the code examples is that they are not line-numbered. For short examples, this is not an issue. But for larger code modules (as one would encounter in the real world), line-numbering is considered part of best practices in explaining and debugging code before it is deployed.

For readers with any ASP background, this book would be a useful desktop reference. Carrying it around in your briefcase may cause lower back strain.

Professional Active Server Pages 3.0, by Alex Homer, is a book on developing web applications using Active Server Pages 3.0. This book goes in depth into developing web applications with discussions and examples on advanced topics such as, CDO/Microsoft Exchange Server, ADO/Microsoft SQL Server, and ADSI/Active Directory. Homer presents the reader with a wealth of information on advanced enterprise level topics based on Microsoft technologies. This book is excellent for intermediate/advanced users who wish to learn about Active Server Pages using Microsoft technologies, however due to the fact Homer does not goes in depth with fundamentals of programming Visual Basic Script, this book should not be recommended to novice developers.

Throughout the book, Homer discusses the importance of COM/COM+ and what that technology can do for your web application. He writes examples of a COM+ component in Visual Basic and shows the user how to register/load the component into memory along with utilizing the functionality of them in an Active Server Page. Homer further explores the features of Windows 2000 by introducing the features of Active Directory and explaining/demonstrating how ADSI can connect an Active Server Page to the Active Directory. The book goes into further detail on enterprise level topics by discussing how CDO interfaces with Microsoft Exchange Server. Using CDO, a developer can access all of users Exchange account information including mail, contacts, calendar, etc. The book ends with performance and security issues for web applications running on a Windows 2000 Server and how an administrator should configure a Windows 2000 Server for maximum performance and security.

The software/technologies the book uses are based on products/technologies developed by Microsoft. Since Active Server Pages is a Microsoft technology, it would be reasonable to use only Microsoft products/technologies. However, in the real world, many businesses have heterogeneous environments with Oracle database servers and JavaScript web developers. The fact that this book only exposes the reader to vendor-specific technologies could be a down fall, however creates a centralized focus for the reader.

This book covers a wide spectrum of advanced knowledge with Active Server Pages, however is completely based around Microsoft technologies. Several other authors composed this book, which helps the reader get a dynamic flavor of knowledge from chapter to chapter. Any intermediate/advanced web developer, interested in enterprise web application development, should purchase a copy of this book for reference purposes.

Being an enterprise web developer, I found this book to be the absolute best in its field. It covers a very wide spectrum of fields any web developer working with Microsoft web technology should know, including ADO, ADSI, ASP, CDO, COM+, error handling, MSMQ, Windows DNA, XML, and a whole lot more (note that this book is primarily oriented at web developers who's target platform is Windows 2000 and IIS 5.0, but I also found it to be extremely useful for use on Windows NT 4.0 and IIS 4.0, since the authors clearly indicate features that are new to Windows 2000 and IIS 5.0). The writing style is absolutely excellent and gives clear tips on code optimization and performance. I have read literally dozens of different books on these subjects, and none has come close to this one. Although this book is not for beginners, it is, in my opinion, good for anyone who wants to advance their career on the web or become an web developer. This is definitely a book you will want to read from cover to cover, and use as a reference. At just about any price, it's a steal.

For those who like Vampire's darkness or Werewolf's potential blood, Changeling is probably not the best game. However, if you're looking for something completely different from and possibly lighter than the other White Wolf games, this is it. Changeling, even more so than the other games, has no limits. I've been role-playing and Storytelling this game for over a year, and I find it refreshing. I can run a game where the characters have to go find chess pieces turned into humans or other similarly crazy ideas. And if it doesn't quite make sense, well, it's Changeling, and if it all has to make sense, then you're in the wrong game. Changeling's strength is in its enchantment, rather than in its logic.

There are some drawbacks to this 2nd edition, though. I was particularly annoyed by the change in the cantrips, esp. Primal. These changes make healing even harder for Changelings, which already are the weakest of the White Wolf pack.

I love this game! In order the list of the best to worst of the White Wolf WOD games in my opinion looks like this #1 Changeling, #2 Wraith, #3 Mage, #4 Vampire, #5 Werewolf, #6 Hunter.... Changeling is the best in my opinion because you are not playing totally angst filled Characters (Well except maybe Sluagh.) But they still fit comfortably into the World of Darkness. Its sad that most people overlook this game in the grand scheme of the World of Darkness because it is more "light" than the other games... Changeling is more fun because of that fact. No you are not on the run from the Wrym, fighting an Ascension War, participating in the Jyhad, or even having a constant battle with your Shadow. Instead you are trying to bring Imagination back to the world.. What a concept... :-)

Some call it 'fluff', some scoff at the idea of playing a faerie; however, a look deeper into the heart of the book will reveal the Changelings have as much to fear about the Endless Winter as the other supernaturals of Gehenna, the Apocalypse, the Oblivion and the Ascension War. There is a constant battle between fantasy and reality, not only are Changelings caught in the middle they are expected to fight on either side. Second edition is truly a 'glamorous' work of art, with its artwork, cultural setting, clearer rules and WW system. It can be much more challenging to run a crossover chronicle with the other WoD games but it can be very rewarding. Changeling offers an outlet of pure creativity, however this does not always equate to silliness, for the themes of Changeling can be as subtle and dark as any of those in Vampire. I may be incredibly biased, but Changeling is by far my favorite game in the WW series, for its creative outlet and strong ties to history and mythology as well as continued White Wolf quality.

Some years ago George Will wrote a column on this series, highly recommending it. I read this book, the first in the series, and I was hooked. A few months later I had finished all twenty books, though I admit I did not read much else in that time. A few months ago started rereading the series, and again found this novel to be a great read. Last week I read the first few paragraphs to my wife, and completed the book a third time a few days later.

I really have little interest in the historical period, it's the characters and stories (typically based on real events) that drew me in. The technical terms are really unnecessary to grasping the story, you can be as much of a lubber as Stephen Maturin himself and enjoy all of the book. The characters are memorable, the book is rich in humor and the writing is superb.

I read all but the first book (this one) compliments of the local library, but I now own the entire series in hardcover. Try the series. This is the place to start. If you don't enjoy it you've wasted one book. If you fail to read this, however, you risk missing out on the most enjoyable series you can find.

I found the O'Brian series in a bookshop on Oxford Street Paddington (Sydney Australia) and was in desperate need of an excellent series to get stuck into. Well I did and I read the lot, I just hope more will be written. Master and Commander did nearly lose me in the first few chapters as I felt it was all conversation and virtually no prose but I stuck with it and was so delightfully rewarded with the story telling, character development, action and suspense that I couldn't put the book down. Now there's something you should know about me, I'm a woman in my 20's and thus a rarity when it comes to being an avid fan of Patrick O'Brian. But I thoroughly enjoyed learning about men and their way of seeing the world. I also thoroughly loved how O'Brian drew the women who came to be so important in later books of the series. So women reading this, go get this book. This series is set on a British man-o-war in wartime with plenty of action and it is primarily about men ! and there are some details that it would be easier to pretend didn't happen; it is also a story that makes you laugh at the wonderful dry wit. The observations of people and friendship aren't to be found elsewhere. I lament the fact that I've now read all O'Brian's seafaring stories and only hope at least two more in the Aubrey series can be written. So if you want a good laugh, well a series of them more like, an insight into life in a different world and into men. But be prepared to read the entire series and finding yourself buying three books ahead at a time so you don't find yourself finishing one at 10pm and running all over the city in search of an open bookshop with the next one on the self! Now I am back to trying to find another excellent author, the only problem is, my requirements are tougher than ever before, but at least I can look forward to breaking my rule about re-reading novels and get stuck back into seafaring life in a couple of years!

Master and Commander is the first book in Patrick O'Brian's much lauded Aubrey/Maturin series. Like C.S. Forester, O'Brian sets this novel (along with the rest of the series) in the tumultuous years of the Nepoleonic Wars and likewise, O'Brian's Jack Aubrey and Steven Maturin serve in Great Britian's Royal Navy. However, unlike Forester, O'Brian's frequent confrontation of the seemer side of naval warfare as well as Georgian society render his tales far more grittier and therefore, much more true to life. Furthermore, O'Brian's skillful combination of nineteenth century custom, language, and historical events makes these tales absolutely engaging in their overall sense of realism. You can taste the salt permiating the air, feel the cold sea spray blowing in your face, hear the thunderous roar and see the brilliant flash of cannon and smell the acrid powder smoke as it stings your nostrils.
As for the characters themselves, Jack Aubrey is the ingratiatingly sanguineous and impulsive Commander of H.M.S. Sophie who's impolitic and indiscrete shoreside antics continually taint his otherwise brilliant nautical career. Counterbalancing Aubrey is H.M.S. Sophie's surgeon, the eminent Dr. Steven Maturin who is possessed of a wonderfully melancholic and self-abusive nature. Both protaginists are made all the more fascinating for their individual peccadillos. In Master and Commander, Aubrey and Maturin embark on a series of lively adventures, which take place on both the land and the sea. The result of these increasingly enthralling encounters is the open revelation of their particular strengths along with the uncompromisng exposure of their peculiar weaknesses. Meanwhile, a solid foundation is laid for what becomes, in subsequent books, perhaps one of the most intriguing friendships in all of literature.

The Penguin Guide is a well-written, informative survey of the field. It's the only jazz review omnibus I return to for pleasure, rather than for reference.

While this tome is more opinionated than competing reviews, it's good to have a consistent frame of reference. You learn what the authors like and dislike, and can apply that to your own preferences. The essays that accompany the ratings avoid the redundancies found in the All Music Guide, and do a better job of placing the recording in the context of an artist's career.

Because the authors are English, however, much of the discographical data isn't very useful for American consumers. Also, the representation of American labels can be understated. For example, there's a lot more Blue Note CDs in print in the U.S. than in Europe, leaving some notable gaps in an artist's output. Fans of other American labels and artists might find similar holes in the discography.

The flip side of its European focus is that you get reviews of artists and releases usually ignored by American reviewers. And the English/European jazz canon is different than the American version, making the Penguin Guide something more than the Revised Standard Version of the received wisdom you'd find in an American omnibus.

I wish the Penguin Guide would follow the example of the All Music Guide and simply review the important albums, deleted or not. Eventually those Bobby Hutcherson titles (to choose some personal favorites) will return to print, and when they do, you won't be able to consult the Penguin Guide, unless you wait for the biannual update.

If you haven't bought one of these books, buy this one. If you own the 5th edition, however, save your money.

You have three primary choices for these "jazz guides": All Music Guide, MusicHound, and Penguin. AMG includes reviews of out-of-print CDs, and older LPs, which can be frustrating because you'll read glowing reviews of albums you won't be able to find. MusicHound is a compilation of reviews by different authors, so you can forget about any kind of consistency. Penguin is informative, contemporary, and consistent. It's your best choice.

This book features 1601 pages of CD reviews and artist biographies, not including the introduction and index. Whatever your level of knowledge, however long you've spent listening to jazz, you're sure to discover something new in this book. And that's a tremendous reward for Amazon's price.

On the other hand, as an update, this edition doesn't impress me. Significant artists like Mel Lewis and Carl Fontana still lack entries. Mick Goodrick, Christian McBride, and others have actually been removed. The artists suggest, in their introduction, that those noting omissions should get a life. Of course, no one's perfect. There are, however, both minor omissions and glaring omissions, and this edition still includes too many of the latter.

Jim McNeely, for example, is listed on page 1005, along with four of his CDs -- the most recent, from 1992. The authors ignore "The Power and the Glory" [Storyville, 2001] and "Play Bill Evans" [Stunt Records, 2002], which are forgivable omissions. I believe "In This Moment" [Stunt Records, 2003] was released too late to be included.

But also missing are McNeely's "Lickety Split" [New World Records, 1997], which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1998; "Nice Work" [Dacapo Records, 2000], which was nominated for two Grammies in 2001; and "Group Therapy" [OmniTone, 2001], which was nominated for a Grammy in 2002. You'd think an artist nominated for four Grammies would receive a more complete listing in a book like this.

These are limited examples of a larger trend: this edition doesn't show enough improvement over its previous edition to be worth updating. If you don't own the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD yet, then my criticisms are nitpicks. It's a great investment for a reasonable price, and you should buy it. If you already own an older edition, however, I can't recommend you buy this. Spend your money buying a new CD, instead. Let's hope that 2005 will bring a 7th edition that will amaze us all, anew.

The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, Fifth Edition
Richard Cook & Brian Morton

It may seem slightly ironic that the best book on jazz recordings was written by a couple of Brits, but there it is. Richard Cook and Brian Morton have compiled the most informative and well-written collection of jazz cd reviews available, but the book is much more than that: from its pages one may discern the pattern of influences and innovations that make jazz so exciting to explore, and learn more than a little about the history of the music and its principal as well as obscure artists.

Having this book around is having access to the opinions of a couple of guys who have been listening to jazz all their lives, have the most comprehensive jazz collections imaginable, and who impart their wisdom with the most succinct and inventive blend of wit and enthisiasm for the music we love to be found within the pages of a book. Yes, there are typos, errors, and Richard and Brian diss some of my favorite albums, but some familiarity with their tastes will allow the reader to make a well-informed appraisal of whether a given album is something one wishes to listen to. The book is written from a vantage-point that takes in the whole history of jazz, and more often than not their reviews are "spot-on": they know which recordings are indispensible for those of us who haven't listened to as much music as they have.

In the late 1990s when I managed a million-dollar-a-year music store, we kept the third edition of this book behind the counter and consulted it almost daily, whether to answer customer queries, settle disputes between posing hipster musicsellers, or simply to "learn more about the product" (alas, jazz only accounted about 4% of our sales). Nowadays I keep this edition in the kitchen and peruse it while I'm waiting for the tea to steep, musing about my next puchase.

If you love jazz you need this book. You'll probably need to buy it from Amazon too, as any copy on the shelf of your local bookstore is likely to have the binding cracked in several places from in-store customer perusal.

Let me put my review in perspective. I have been programming in one language or another for almost twenty years. I am an Internet Engineer for a Fortune 500 company. I perform contract work consisting of database design and implementation. In other words, I'm very familiar with many of the topics as they're presented in this book. Coming from this background, I found this book to be an invaluable resource.

I would NOT recommend this book to a beginner. I can't stress this point enough.

For an experienced programmer (and not just an experienced web surfer or HTML author!), the Wrox "Professional" series are a tremendous resource. Too many Internet-programming books start out with the history of CERN, HTML, ad nauseum. The "advanced" books are only useful as references, but you could never read them cover-to-cover. For me, the Wrox "Professional" books fall somewhere in between--exactly what I'm looking for.

"Professional Active Server Pages 2.0" did a great job of bringing web applications all together: from server side scripting, to client side scripting, to configuring IIS 4.0, to programming and installing Visual Basic components, to implementing transactions with Transaction Server. I found the segments regarding Internet security to be especially interesting. Although several of the examples assume a Windows NT Server 4.0 setup with IIS 4.0 and Microsoft SQL Server 6.5, I was able to implement many of them using Peer Web Services on Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Personal Web Server on Windows 98, and Microsoft Access 97.

The book does have some drawbacks: there are some pages that have incorrect code examples. Chapter six, which covers the Server Object model references many components which simply do not function as advertised. I had to purchase the "Internet Information Server Resource Kit" and install some of the components from the accompanying CD-ROM before I could use them. However Wrox does provide an errata bulletin board on their website, and there are a few discussion groups there as well that can help you through these types of problems. I even e-mailed Wrox for some of my questions, and was very grateful to receive answers straight from the authors.

If you are already comfortable with object-oriented programming, and have a reasonable understanding of the Internet, then you should find this book to be a great resource. I can't recommend it highly enough. However, the novice web programmer who is simply looking to spice up their pages with a little server side scripting would be well advised to look elsewhere.

If u have fundamental knowledges on programming and database, and have experienced on using vbscript and html to develop website, or u are already an intermediate web developer(those can create a simple website, not web page) and u want more, it can be one of the first step for u to learn how to be a professional web programmer. The topics on Database, Client/Server, Creating online Communities, Transactions, Implementing ASP Securities and the E-Commerce Case Study it tells u many important concepts and useful techniques to develop a professional website.

I'm a CS student and an intermediate web developer. I read this book after I read another ASP book about basic ASP. The books start by stating new generation of web solution which the world demands and what tools u can archieve them(all microsoft products). Then it tells u the basic ASP concepts. After reading these two chapters, u know about what a web required and the entry to archeive them. It goes on to explain differnt ASP object/components. If u're experinced on developing website, u'll know how these work and what for: u'll find it very useful. The book also tells u some tips on how to use them smartly.

After these studying these basic ideas, the professional things come: database, transaction, security, online communicty and an e-commerce case study. They're important to if u don't know them much or haven't implement the concepts on web.

The books explain these concepts clearly by text and codes. Useful tips are all around.

Appendix let u find out infomation about ASP method, property quickly etc.

If u feel urself an intermediate web developer but want to be professional, u must read it. ASP is just a tool to archeive it, concept is more importnat, and the book makes a good balance.

after reading this book, u should go on to read Professional ASP techniques for Webmaster

After wasting quite a bit of money looking for an ASP book that I can use as a self-teaching guide, I finally found it! (Serves me right for not reading amazon.com reviews earlier.) This book has it all: clear, efficient descriptions; excellent real-world examples; and fantastic on-line support from the publisher. Within a day I had a firm grasp concepts that so many other books had failed to properly convey. Within a week I was deep in the process of designing a web-based front-end for our corporate data warehouse. What set this book apart for me is its thoroughness. Rather than assuming you have an intricate knowledge of ODBC, Java, VBScript, IIS, NT security and HTML, it briefly touches on each of these topics and tells you everything you need to know to make your web site work.

As an ASP programmer, I use this reference almost every day on the job. It covers the API's of ASP, ADO and other related MS technologies very thoroughly indeed. Examples are plenty, and useful. Looking up for something takes me a few seconds, and the text is quite to the point.

For beginnning programmers, or those new to ASP, you might need another book before this one...got this reference, so I could find information quickly during my time-sensitive job...So make sure you know the script language well enough before you use it for ASP...In fact, the book shows examples in both VBScript and JScript, unlike most other books which just mention VBScript...I found ALL the specific details of ASP, and saved precious time on the job.

As an intermediate ASP programmer many times you need to find reference for how to do something in a hurry. Well this book is the answer. Concise clear well organized. Good reference coverage of XML to the end. I've had it for a couple months and it has proven invaluable to me and my team for reference. This book is not designed to teach you to code elegantly and efficiently, but even if you are a seasoned ASP programmer.. don't pass this one up. Definitely a good buy for your reference shelf.

Let's face it, no ASP programmer can remember it all, so having a handy-dandy reference book that cuts to the chase is a must. This book does just that, and then some. I turn to it all the time(mostly because I can't stand the MS online doc). A great companion to this book is Proffesional Active Server Pages 3.0, goes into more depth and more examples. Also, Beginning ASP Databases and SQL in 10 minutes was very helpful. Using mostly these four books, I've been able to develop several full blown, database driven ASP web sites.