I recommend this book only after the reader gets a moderate amount of time on the table. The reason for this is that the book teaches by example and it would probably be difficult for a reader who hasn't played before to get the most out of it since he won't be able to relate to the situations given. However, this is what makes this book so strong. Oftentimes, you read a poker book full of concepts, but few examples, and you're left wondering how those concepts would be applied to the situation at hand. The hands given in this book are excellent and very representative of common situations on the poker table. Each example is given with the popular opinion, his opinion (which I usually agree with), and if applicable, a reason why he believes his way is the correct way. Great book to get you thinking and to fill the practical gaps that other poker books have left their readers with. Best in its class!

The problem is, giving this book a rave review may get people I play with to read it and then I won't make as much money. Still, I must do what I must do.
This is a great book on holdem, and deserves to come from a guy who calls himself 'the coach.'
Each chapter covers a particular issue (pre-flop play from early position, turn play, etc.), with a brief but useful introduction and then adds numerous extremely useful examples, with correct play pointed out and explained for each example. Useful to read straight through or just go to problem parts of your game (value betting on the river, for example).
My only warning is that this book is probably not for beginning players. It has no easy charts on what to play and when and assumes some basic holdem knowledge. That said, for any player beyound the beginner stage this is an excellent book. You won't be sorry (but I might).

Of the dozen or so poker books I've bought in the last two years, this one has gotten by far the most repeated use. The writing is clear and logical, and the quiz/explanation format is perfect when I'm wondering whether I played a hand correctly. In the last four months I have gone from someone who was terrified of hold'em to a consistently winning player, thanks in large part to repeated study of this book. I think most people will find it much more useful than Sklansky and Malmuth, simply because the practical examples are such an ideal teaching tool.

Even if you do not have much of an interest in Ancient Egypt this book is filled with information and explanations that will make you wonder why you haven't given much thought to the Ancient Egyptians before. The art, literature (first love poems!!), and architecture are enough to make you marvel. But the creation of a 365 day calander a by the ancient Egyptians a few thousand years ago is enough to give you pause; then you discover how really remarkable their skill and knowledge of medicine was and you sit back in awe, at least I did. Though there are illustrations, I wish there were more. And for some reason (though this may be unique to my eyes) the font that the Greenwood Press uses in this book, seems to require more focused reading. But these are very small concerns regarding a book that really gives you more than just information. It gives you a sense of the whole culture, and, if you're like me, you'll want to find out even more, which is a clear sign that the authors have done an excellent job.

Egyptian Mummies: Unraveling the Secrets of an Ancient Art written by Bob Brier is a book about the practice of human mummification, using paleopathology, we find out information of what happened in Egypt... the Egypt of the Pharaohs.

Not a single pharaoh's mummy had been discovered through most of the nineteenth century despite one hundred years of assiduous searching. All the pyramids had been robbed long before, all the royal tombs had been thoroughly looted... at least as far as anyone knew, or was saying. Yet someone was not saying, because in the 1870's spectacular objects once belonging to pharaohs began to appear on ht antiquities market, harbingers of a great find.

This book is about the Egyptology complete with historical context of ancient Egyptian culture. Replete with stories of grave robberies and stolen mummies, as well as accounts of trial and successes of archaeologists who pieced together the puzzles and unlocked the riddles of the land of the pyramids and the Sphinx. This book has the most complete analysis of the art of mummification ever written, with a comprehensive listing and description of the known royal mummies, their subsequent unwrappings, X-rays, and CAT scans... also, where are they housed now.

This book, in all rights, is a detailed look at what a mummy is. Not only were they of humans but there are mummies of cats, dogs, birds and cattle. What ever the pharaoh needed in the after-life. The narrative is free flowing and will keep you reading as it is very interestingly written. Engaging to the point that you want to know more as the book proceeds till the ending.

The research in this book was all in preparation for the mummification of a human body. From ancient records and the exanination of mummies, that have been pieced together from the basic mummification process.

To the light-hearted side there is a chapter on how the movies have treated mummies from Boris Karloff to abbot and Constello and the Marvel Comics characters... leaving the old adage one can't always judge a mummy by its wrappings. One thing of note that I found very interesting was a price list for mummification in this book from ancient times and linen clothe was the most expensive item on the list, then the jackel-head death mask worn by the embalmer/ priest in his role as Anubis, the god of the embalming. I can only conclude that a new mask was used for each embalming.

This book gives a good detailed descriptionof the embalming process and can get quite graphic, so be forewarned. I found the book to be fascinating, nonetheless.

This book is great fun and full of fascinating little details. It covers the process of mummification and interesting info about the history of Egyptology. I loved the stories about the archaeological finds at Saqqara and Deir el Bahri. My one complaint is the last chapter, which is a lame summary of mummies in modern fiction.

More than any Egyptologist Bob Brier knows mummies.The book opens with a polite rejection by his university to perform a
mummification on a human body based on ancient sources. Since the publication of the book Brier and a team of doctors has perfomed the procedure to determine if those descriptions were accurate. They were.
Brier's uses the mummy as a centerpiece to give us an overview of ancient Egyptian religion, culture and history. In later chapters the mummy as a pop icon in film and other media in modern times are discussed. Brier's writes in a lively style with the ocassional tongue in cheek that prevents the subject from ever becoming dull or boring. If you are looking for a book on mummies that also gives you a great introduction to ancient Egypt then you can do no better than this.

Brier, who wrote the wonderful MURDER OF TUTANKHAMEN, has written a book that is clearly dismissive of the religions and high culture of Egypt. In Brier's eyes, Egyptian religion was nothing but a silly lot of superstition. In fact, there is a highly symbolic nature to a great deal of Egyptian spritual thought that goes beyond a literal meaning of the hieroglyphs. Indeed, sounds were believe to hold vibratory magic, and anyone with sensitivity can read this in the hieroglypic texts. To read Brier, one would think that all they did was wear amulets to prevent illness and prepare disgusting mixtures for miraculous healing.

Surely, there were a large number of Egyptians who believed in all sorts of superstions, but Brier does not balance this fact with any of the many graceful, beautiful prayers that adorn the tombs. Surprisingly, good old Sir Wallis Budge summarizes Egyptian magic much better in his EGYPTIAN MAGIC. Budge has been considered outdated for many years, but his work still forms the basis of modern Egyptology.

All in all, this book was disappointing.

Lynn

The reader who gave this book a bad review probably didn't understand the nature of Egyptian magic in the first place, which could explain why nothing "worked" for him or her. Without the guidance of God behind it, Egyptian magic truly is nothing more than a few odd herbs and some mumbled phrases and it is indeed true that if you want to perform your heka without the touch of the source behind it, then you would do best to avoid this book.

For historical purposes, this is a very useful tome. For others, you may find this of some use as well. Brier is a touch sensational -- as always -- but he has a fondness of Egypt that comes through quite clear in his writing style and it's rather obvious that he loves the land of the pharaohs even if he himself does not completely understand it....

This book explains the various usage of Ancient Egyptian magic in medicine, hieroglyphs, spells, amulets and religious texts. The author, writing in a clear comprehensive style, demonstrates the importance of magic and its practice in this fascinating ancient civilization. It is an excellent introduction for a beginner's journey into the mystic of Ancient Egyptian magic.

This is a convincing and thorough hypothesis that is not fully proven. Yet Brier presents a case stronger than any other yet presented. I would be remiss to say this should be one's only book on Egyptian history (it is far from detailed), but I do not think one could study Egypt without reading The Murder of Tutankhamen.

I am aware of the rumblings inside the Egyptology community on the lack of precision in Brier's evidence. I am not endorsing all of Brier's reasoning, especially his extraneous investigation of the psychology of Aye and the supposed evidence presented in the Opening Of The Mouth ceremony drawing on Tutankhamen's tomb wall. However, I do find Brier's theoretical reasoning plausible and well-argued. I do not think this is a scientific book, rather it is an investigative inquiry. It may not be the truth, but Brier's analysis has more proof than theories that Tut died of plagues or diseases. (Michael R. Allen in SpinTech Magazine, July 1998)

Mr. Brier, a noted Egyptologist, has always struck me as a maverick in this field. Be that as it may, his books are always well written and understandable even to the novice. This book is no exception. By means of evidence collected thirty three centuries after the fact, this paleopathologist presents a strong circumstantial argument that not only Tutankhamen, but possibly his widow Ankhesenamun and probably a foreign prince were also the victims of murder. There is no smoking gun here, as the X-rays of Tut's skull are forensically ambiguous. However, the circumstantial evidence chronicled and articulated by Mr. Brier is logically and deductively overpowering. Realistically, there is enough evidence for a modern grand jury to indict Ay for murder, and Horemheb as a co-conspirator. I have studied this historical period for many years, and arrived at these same conclusions long ago. Bravo Mr. Brier, you have eloquently stated what others would call "alternate history". I would call it the dirty truth.

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy reading historical interpretations of limited facts with an open mind. Bob Brier is one of my favorite authors, because his obvious love of Egypt comes through in all the books that he writes. In this instance, he explores the known facts regarding King Tutankamun's death and comes to the conclusion that it was his grandfather, Aye, who arranged for the King's death so that Aye could assume the throne. Aye apparently killed off the widow, Annkesenamun, to boot after he married her to legitamize the claim. Do I think this is what happened? No, but I enjoyed the approach and the summary of information currently available on the subject. The book is enjoyable, easy to follow, and I felt that the new viewpoint was worth to consider.

Dr. Brier's book Encyclopedia of mummies is, (despite bad reader reviews) a very thought provoking & fascinating book. His book tells us about everything on mummies, from Egyptian to Peruvian, to bog mummies, to Evita & Popes! Yes, it's true, the information is scarce, but there are hundreds of entries in here! I think Brier wanted this to be used similiar as to how you would use a dictionary. Just look up a word, & there it is. I think the fact that he wrote about "fluff & stuff" the candy, movies, books..may be to show us how silly we have been in our knowledge & consideratiion of mummies, they were once people after all. It comes to show that though we've changed our mummy image in popular culture, they basically recieve the same treatment they always have. Brier's entries prove this. The entries are, brief, but he presents the facts vividly enough with his usual flair, that you get a good idea of the subject. I would say that this is a book anyone interested in mummies should have. At the very least for quick reference purposes. An excellent companion to this book, was Discovery Channel's Unwrapped: The Mysterious World of Mummies. You can still see what it was about at discovery.com. I think Brier did an excellent job for the way he choose to present the information & I guarantee his writing methods aren't as 'stiff' as the other guys & you'll learn things you never imagined possible.

Well this is an encyclopedia of mummies after all and it covers a very broad range of mummie nostagalia from really non-sensical 'stuff' to really interesting facts. The pictures are of an excellent quality and really liven up this somewhat "dead" book...sorry couldn't help it.

The book is entertaining yet it falls short of being an "academic" resource. Don't get me wrong the information is quite good and the bibliography is quite extent but it seems that this encyclopedia is geared more towards a younger audience and would be an excellent stepping stone for a child or teenager who is interested in mummies, both recent and ancient. Another interesting section of the book is the appendix that lists where the mummies are displayed at and how many each collection has and from what time period. So if you ever go on a trip to one of the areas that house the museums where the mummies are it would be an interesting side trip for the family.

I would recommend this encyclopedia for any one who is interested in all things mummies but for the serious student there are other and better works to be found on the subject.

Wow, this book is really getting some bad reviews! Well, it seems like people expect it to be some in-depth resource - when in fact it is written in a form of an encyclopedia, as can be deduced from the title. Which means it gives a little bit of info about many things. And I think as an encyclopedia it does an excellent job.

This book is basically an Internet version of Mark McCormack's classic, What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School. His basic point is how you can get more done in less time, with fewer errors, and less effort. That is essential in any fast-paced situation. Anyone who has wondered how an Internet CEO expands a business rapidly will get valuable details that can be applied to anyone's business in shrinking elapsed time.

If I say all of those nice things, why didn't I rate the book higher? Basically, because it seemed to me that all of Mr. Breier's principles serve to create many transactional interactions, but do relatively little to create and extend trustworthy relationships. Just because someone e-mails me three times a day doesn't mean that I feel any closer to them.

Mr. Breier often seems to confuse more activity with effectiveness. For example, his claim to fame is as a marketing thinker, yet the weakest of his principles had to do with picking brand names. In fact, the name of his business, 'Beyond.com,' seems to me to be a perfect example of a name that will be hard to turn into a meaningful brand. With a better brand name, the cost of building could have been vastly less. He is pleased to report in the book that appearing mostly undressed on CNBC got him lots of impressions for the company's Web site. I agree that it got lots of impressions, but at least some of them had to be bad impressions.

I was particularly surprised that he missed the lesson of The One Minute Manager, which this book is supposed to update. The main idea of that book is to encourage people by catching them doing something right, and praising them. They they get things done without much support, other than helping them learn. Mr. Breier's world would not permit the time to do that. His book is filled with lists of do's and don'ts -- far more than most people will be able to remember, each of which must be executed in ever faster amounts of time. Who would want to live like that?

At a time when Internet business models are rapidly becoming obsolete, I had expected that he would remind people to stay ahead of the competition with evolving business models and to treat and help employees and customers better than anyone else does. I looked in vain for those important priorities. The closest he gets is telling people to 'make feedback your friend.'

The book's concept is a good one, but the execution just isn't there. Those who have trouble speeding up their activities will probably get some good ideas here, though, as a time management book in the Internet age. I gave the book three stars for its ideas on that subject.

After you finish this book, consider what your top three priorities should be to ensure the most rapid and sustained success. How can your organize what you do to accelerate progress in those areas? How can you organize your time to make your work more fun and meaningful to you? How can you improve the lives of those you come into contact with? Feel free to add any other dimensions that you care about to these questions.

I really enjoyed this book. I have a ton of business books, but most of them are high level. They focus on theoretical or strategic issues around operating like an Internet company. "The 10-Second Internet Manager" is a much faster reader and has some great tips that I was able to apply immediately in saving time and getting better results. I think e-mail and meetings are the biggest time sinks of my current company life and this book offers specific tips I can share with others in my department. I also like the fact that they have a Web site, www.10secondmanager.com, that I can check out for more tips.

A very fast read and well worth the investment of time and money...

Wow, what a wonderful and insightful book from Mark Breier! Mark, Puts you in the executives hot seat in the decision making process of companies such as Amazon and Beyond.com go ahead Mark!