I think that this book is very good for the people wno likes to be in suspense. It gets you inside of the story and surprises you each chapter. One of the things I most liked about this book is that James Bond gets personally involved. What surprised me about me about James Bond was how much he cares about inocent people diying. I think that this book is different from the other books about James Bond because the other books have more action and I think this change is because it wasn't written by Ian Fleming.I liked this book because when you read the first two chapters you can't stop reading it because you want to know what is going to happen next.It gives you information about the characters chapter by chapter and I like that because you can imagine everything that is happening.This book makes you think alot because you have to remember what happened in last chapter in order to know what is happening and you also start to imagine what is going to happen next.The first couple of chapters were my favorites because you start thinking about all possible resolutions and you start liking the book. I didn't like Sukie Tempesta's character because she was kind of predictible.One of my favorite parts of this book is the end and the phrase were it says "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end.But it is,perhaps, the end of the beginning" because it makes you think.Finally,I think that every James Bond's fan should read this book, and even if this is the first book about James Bond that you will read I am sure you will find it very interesting.

I believe that this is a very good book for people who like suspense, because this edge of your seat thriller keeps you involved every chapter. In this sotry James Bond gets involved sentimentaly because he thiks that his girl friend was killed, later he found that she wasn not dead. She betrays him. One of the things I liked the most about this book, is that each of the caracters are described in detail. I think this bood is different from the other James Bond's books, because it was written by John Gardener. I think that James Bond's boss shouldn't assign this mission to him because he knew that James Bond will get personally involved. This book was good, but some ot the parts were a little confusing because you had to remember perfectly what happend in the last chapter's to understand what was going on. I didn't like that character of Sukie Tempesta, it was very predictible since chapter 2 and in chapter 23 you realize that she wasn't as good as she seemed to be. I think that the other stories I have read have more action than this one, and James Bond cares more about inocent people dying. James Bond continues to be very smart like in the other stories.

Slam bang action. This adventure hits the USA and Washington DC! Bond is sent to take charge! And that is what he does in this great Bond adventure! Great reading! Loved the ending!

Out of print for nearly 50 years, New York Review Books has happily reprinted this slim, charming, nearly forgotten classic by Schuyler, best known as a poet. Told entirely through the dialogue, letters, and diary entries of two very precocious children -- Alfred and Guinevere, sent to live in the country with their uncle and grandmother for reasons not entirely clear to them -- Schuyler brilliantly and hilariously portrays their attempts to piece together the larger, enigmatic adult world around them. Beneath the book's apparently guileless surface, there also lies a sophisticated awareness of the complicated ways in which words work to define the boundaries between fantasy and reality, innocence and knowledge. Thoroughly delightful, Alfred and Guinevere will move you with both beauty and poignancy.

Schuyler is best remembered (with Kenneth Koch, John Ashberry, and Frank O'Hara) as one of the "New York" school of poets. This slim little novel, however, shows that his talents in prose have been underappreciated. ALFRED AND GUINEVERE is a hilarious little story--told entirely through dialogue, letters, and Guinevere's diary--of two very precocious children sent to live in the country with their uncle and grandmother for reasons initially unclear to them. Their attempts to piece together the larger adult world (which may comprise adultery, death, disappointment, and loneliness) are very funny and poignant, and though Alfred and Guienevere often get on each others' nerves their mutual devotion still rings quite true. This is a fast read, and its high quality may still not justify the exorbitant cover price. (NYRB has been charging too much for its editions, which are beautiful and spectacularly chosen, but often run to novella-length rather than to full novel-length). But I was glad I had bought--and read--this little-known jewel.

This book is an excellent survey of the scholarly research that has gone into the attempt to identify the anonymous Beloved Disciple of the Fourth Gospel. However, he fails to provide compelling arguments in support of his own thesis that the Beloved Disciple was the apostle Thomas. The chief reason for rejecting Thomas as the Beloved Disciple is MOTIVE. Charlesworth does not provide a plausible motivational hypothesis in support of his idea that the writer(s) of the Fourth Gospel concealed the identity of St. Thomas as the primary source behind this biblical text. The question here should be: "Why?" Thomas was one of the Twelve Apostles. Why would the writer(s) of the Gospel not be willing to identify one of the Twelve as their eyewitness source? ...Indeed, after careful consideration it is difficult to understand why they would have needed to suppress the identity of any MALE disciple mentioned in the Gospel. In his introduction to this book, Charlesworth says the following: "It is obviously inconceivable that the Beloved Disciple might have been a woman, perhaps Mary Magdalene, because from the cross Jesus told his mother, 'Behold your son'"(5-6). In quickly dismissing the possibility that the Beloved Disciple may have been a woman, Charlesworth probably rejected ideas that are more plausible than his own. The motive for concealing the identity of the Beloved Disciple may have been precisely because that disciple was indeed female, perhaps even Mary Magdalene. In fact, the recently discovered ancient Gnostic documents of the Nag Hammadi Library repeatedly refer to Mary Magdalene as the disciple whom Jesus loved the most. The Fourth Gospel was written at a time when the testimony of women was not considered to be very credible by the patriarchal power structure. Perhaps the reason for the anonymity of the Beloved Disciple in the Fourth Gospel was because the disciple was a woman and the final editor(s) of the text did not wish her gender to become an issue among possible detractors who would not accept their Gospel as credible if it was primarily based on the testimony of a woman. Charlesworth should have pursued this possibility rather than rejecting it outright with one sentence. There is a growing amount of research among many Scripture scholars which shows that women probably had more to do with the expansion of the early Church than traditional scholarship has led us to believe. The idea of a woman, perhaps Mary Magdalene, having been the Beloved Disciple may or may not actually be the case. But, it is a possibility that Charlesworth should have investigated. It is hardly "obviously inconceivable."

Charlesworth provides a detailed analysis of scholarship on the question of the identity of the mysterious "beloved disciple" in the gospel of John. After carefully anaysing each scholar's thesis, he lays a case for identifying Thomas as the beloved disciple. Unfortunatly, like most other scholars, he fails to consider the candidacy of Mary of Bethany, who fills the bill better than Thomas does. See Thomas W. Butler's LET HER KEEP IT: JESUS' ORDINATION OF MARY OF BETHANY, Quantum Leap Publisher (1998) for a careful study of Old and New Testament evidence to support the thesis that the beloved disciple of Jesus was a woman. Her identity was hidden because that fact was not acceptable to the established leaders in ancient Christian, Jewish and Greek culture.

The 4th edition of this "Collectors Handbook" is a reprint of earlier editions rather than a much needed rewrite.

The background information provided in this book IS very interesting and helpful. HOWEVER, the first question asked on the back of this book is "What is the value of an Audubon Print?" This book answers that question with print by print price information (almost 1/3 of the book) that is over 20 years old. NO price information is even given for the Octavo prints.

As a guide for collectors looking for current value information for Audubon prints this book is worthless.

For those who are interested in Audubon prints, this book is a good introduction, but if you are serious about collecting or very interested in Audubon, it could raise more questions for you than it answers. Don't expect a comprehensive or 100-percent accurate treatment of Audubon or Audubon prints from this rather short book.

Unfortunately, some of the areas of weakness are important to collectors. For instance, the approach to authentication is simplistic and by no means comprehensive. The book doesn't really address how to distinguish hand coloring from printed color, or the fact that hand-colored reproductions of Havells exist. The authors barely mention plate mark, which is an extremely valuable tool for authenticating Havells. In spite of these shortcomings, the book provides a nice overview of all the major editions of Audubon's prints with a good mix of biography, history and nitty-gritty details.

Beware, however, that brevity comes at a price -- this book has some gaps. Bannon and Clark do not mention the second issue of the Imperial Folio edition of The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, or the existence of a restrike of the Imperial Folio plate, The White Wolf. (You can find more information on both topics in the recently published book, John James Audubon in the West, edited by Sarah Boehme).

Information in Bannon and Clark is not always accurate -- e.g., the later edition octavo dates. (Try Ron Tyler's book, Audubon's Great National Work, for a more detailed account of the octavo Birds). There are also more significant errors. For instance, the number of prints from Nagel and Weingaertner in any given octavo quads set varies; the set that Bannon and Clark looked at just happened to have seventeen plates by Nagel and Weingaertner, but they give that as the number for all sets.

The price information in this book is out of date even though the authors include some appendices that attempt to give an idea of price inflation. Still, the lists do provide an indication of relative prices. As long as you realize that these lists represent a single dealer's opinion and experience, and that other dealers do not necessarily rank the plates in the exact way that Clark ranks them, you should find this information very helpful.

In the end, I have to say that I like this book, and often find myself turning to it for background or price information. Right now, it is the best book -- really, the only book -- available that is specifically geared towards Audubon collectors. Although that will change over time as more books come out, I doubt that Bannon and Clark will become superfluous...it is a good addition to any Audubon library.

This handbook fills a void in the vast library of Audubon publications. It focuses on the various publications of Audubon and his family, such as the double elephant folio, the imperials, the miniatures, and the Bien edition. Accurate dates of publication are given along with very helpful clues to distinguishing between various editions. Our 1998 copy contained welcome revisions to the pricing of the double elephant, Bien, and imperial prints. I have found that in the few years since publication, the prices of the larger images have about doubled, and smaller images are about 15 to 20 percent higher in price than what is stated. In fact, whereas a complete folio sold for about $4,000,000.00 as correctly stated in Addendum C, page 128, (back in 1992), a complete folio recently sold at Christies for about $9,000,000.00. One should use this handbook as a handbook. We make regular notes in the margins in the price pages. For example, plate 376 (Trumpeter Swan) was valued at $30,000 in 1997, when I assume the information in the book was assembled. A plate 376 sold in 1999 for $93,250. We have entered this corrected information in our copy.

We highly recommend this handbook for any who wish to collect the work of a master artist/naturalist. The information will assist you in making intelligent purchases from sites such as eBay.

What a SUCK-FEST! This is the worst book I've read in a long time. The (unlucky) 13 authors seem only slightly concerned with plot continuity, and the result is like a novel with every third page torn out. Characters come and go, and come back again for no apparent reason, other than to satisfy the authors' self-indulgent egos. In particular, the chapters by Elmore Leonard and Vicki Hendricks were appallingly bad. Hendricks ignores all the preceeding chapters and suddenly changes the eponymous manatee from an aquatic pinhead into some amalgam of Lassie and the Hardy Boys. In a later chapter Carl Hiaasen openly mocks this sudden swerve in character. (Tip: avoid books where one co-author ridicules another co-author's writing) Elmore Leonard contributes a time capsule that might have been hip 25 years ago, with a black character refering to someone as a "cat", and in the very next sentence actually using the phase "shuck and jive". I am very happy I checked this book out of the library, instead of squandering 22.95 on this train wreck of a book

OK, thirteen of Miami's favorite writers are sitting around a campfire (this isn't a joke). Dave Barry kicks off a story involving a couple hit men, a manatee, a 102-year-old woman and a box containing the head of Fidel Castro, and passes it to the writer to the left. The next eleven writers circle the story around the campfire in an attempt to blend this motley cast of characters (and heads) into the literary equivalent of a refreshing Miami Beach smoothee.

Throwing in monkey wrenches, stranger characters and even more heads-in-boxes in the process, they mostly succeed in creating a wholly unbelievable, extremely offbeat and wildly entertaining mystery. Poor Carl Hiassen (of Striptease fame) is challenged with tying up all the loose ends without playing the Demi Moore card, and succeeds in delivering an ending as strange as a manatee is large.

Above all an interesting experiment, Naked Came the Manatee is also an entertaining quick read.

Booger is the answer to the walls talking. Suspend belief and enter the world of a manatee that thinks, feels and reasons like us. He becomes involved in a mystery not as a victim, but as a participant in important events. The concept of a manatee detective aiding the likes of Brit Montero in solving the case of the Castro heads is only exceeded by the writing of this by the many different writers, from Dave Barry to Carl Hiaasen. No mystery should be this much fun

I'll give this book credit for the fact it is easy to read but that's about it. I had thought the Cisco Press book was lacking until I read this one. It's a decent book on switching but I didn't find it very useful for passing the CCNP switching exam. I would recommend the Cisco Press and the Todd Lammle books. Reading the two of them will surely prepare anybody for the exam. The McGraw Hill book just doesn't have the depth and isn't very accurate. I also noted that the technical editor is a CCNA/DA. I find it hard to believe that a technical editor can provide much insite on a study guide for a certification that is beyond what he has. Spend your money on Todd Lammle's and Karen Webb's books and let this dog lie.

I used this book as a add-on for the test preparation. Topics like switch configuration and network design were covered in a need-to-know manner. The case studies are way too long and tedious to read. The tests are erronous all over. There was not a single chapter where all the test questions were valid. The CD-ROM is of no help for the test preparation. The answers concerning routing (think of the RSM!) are 75% wrong. You can easily evaluate this by reading the ACRC course doc. or even in the book itsself. As a supplement to the course documentation this book is OK. For test preparation, have a look into a original Cisco course doc.

This is a great teaching(learning) book. Very few books get the point across as well as this one does. Aside from keeping your interest, as the book progressed from fundamentals to the later advanced chapters, I felt I was learning throughout the entire book. One of the best attributes of this book are the case studies. Each one builds upon the last until you have built and programmed a complex campus network. I was delighted as the lights went on with each progressive insight. I was less than happy with the CD and the answers to the study questions, and feel sorry for the authors as the editing staff did a poor job of catching mistakes. There is an errata sheet on the publisher's website, and it did address the errors. I am told a second edition will address these issues. By the way, I passed the exam first try with a 792. Not my greatest score, but also not squeaking by either. I recommend this book despite the errors.

I am not sure who this book the 'committee' wrote this for, but I can think of no one. More like a hodge-podge collection of Internet clippings somewhat related to Java & Macs, interspersed with useless code. It is sad because the Mac market needs a Java book covering getting started and the many options and tools Apple has provided the Java student & developer.

I am sorry I wasted my money & was responsible for the deaths of the trees that made it!

This is probably the worst technical book that I have read. Its more a collection of papers than anything else, and much of the content is trivial. Beginning progrmmers would find nothing in here. Advanced programmers will probably find a few nuggets of information that are useful, but they are few and far between.

If you are looking for an excellent book on Java on the new Macintosh operating system OS X, this is one to get. The writing style is well done and the book, in terms of content, is well thought out. I am enjoying the authors coverage of pure Java vs Mac OS X specific issues in particular. Keep up the good job.

I purchased this book as a study aid and reference to assist me in preparing for the MCSE tests. It is woefully and frightfully inadequate for that purpose. The text is replete with editorial and typographical errors and the accompanying graphics are obtuse at best. But worse, by far, is the content. Mr. Keogh has acquired some reputation in the IS community. If this book is an example, that reputation is undeserved. The CDs may be worth the purchase price, but at these prices I can't afford to open them and chance the same lack of quality.

The first step in becoming an MCSE is to pass exam 70-058, Networking Essentials. The cost of the classes can run into the hundreds if not thousands of dollars and choosing a training company can often be more challenging than taking the test. Prentice Hall may have save you a whole bunch of money with this training course.

The book included is just over 350 pages, and it covers the 70-058 exam objectives very well. Each topic like topologies, media, OSI model, hardware and others is accurate and detailed. The author spent a number of hours in making sure you have the right information.

The book also includes a cd-rom with a CBT package worth over $225.00. As if that wasn't enough to make this a great deal also included in another CD-rom with a Cyber classroom. This cd covers 8 separate but essential course.

The Cyber Classroom is multimedia based so a sound card is highly recommended. The installation was simple and easy and worked on a 95, 98, NT 4 and 2000 workstation without any major problems. Overall you can spend a fortune now in training or give this package a try, I think you'll be very happy with the results.

This book was chosen as the textbook for the AP Computer Science C++ class at my school. Having programmed in C++ for quite a while, I must say I was disappointed. Most all of the basics are covered, and I believe a beginner would, after reading this book, "know" C++. However, the style of teaching isn't that great, and the order in which things are taught isn't the best either. Also, much of the code appears untested, and contains errors. The code also does not conform to the ANSI/ISO standard. I've read much worse, but I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who asked me about C++, and I definately would not use it to teach a CS class.

-Alan Johnson

This book is intended to be a textbook for an introductory programming course for students who have never programmed before. You may agree or disagree with the premise (I disagree), but you have to admire the authors for trying.

What's in the book is pretty decent. The writing is clear. The examples are simple and clear enough to read without straining your brain. The authors do cover some fairly advanced topics, such as multiple inheritance and templates, but they concentrate on explaining the basics and make little attempt to cover the weird stuff and pitfalls of the language. You need a more advanced book for that.

Because the organization, writing, and index are better than average, I find that I am continuing to use this book. (I don't usually keep tutorial-type books after the first reading.)

I would recommend this book to undergrad students and beginning programmers who want to learn C++ or to anyone who wants an easy-to-read overview of the language. For advanced programmers who know C, Bruce Eckel's book "Thinking in C++" is a better choice.

This book has at least 10 authors and is fun to read for the first few chapters. Then I really got annoyed to read the same things over and over again and at the same time I missed some more in depth explanations. A lot is done with the framework itself. This is probably due to the very early delivery date of the book. Though I really enjoyed the C# example (game of life) I think you be better served with Hollis, Lhotka "VB.Net Programming". Also there seem to be quite a few other books out by now.

This is a good introduction to .net, as the cover says, but me thinks it was just a ploy to make money. Not very useful at all, but if you are a beginner to .NET, then you might want to browse through it to get a general feel for the framework.

I have purchased several Dot Net books as of late. I thought the book was very thorough as an overview. This book was not intended to be a programmers guide to any single language in the Dot Net suite. But if you want a book to give you some insight as to what Dot Net is all about, this is a great place to start. I also purchased Wrox "Programming C# with the public Beta", although this book is being replaced with Professional C#, I still learned much from this title as well.