Before you see Martin Scorcese's film 'Gangs Of New York', read John W. Hurley's book 'Irish Gangs And Stick-Fighting'. Scorcese's film is based on the first half of the book'The Gangs Of New York' which deals exclusively with Irish gangs. And while it's flashy and exotic, there isn't much substance in the original book; it doesn't explain the traditions of the Irish gangs or the famous Irish shillelagh, it simply describes them in a sensational way. Hurley's book remedies this problem. It provides first hand accounts of Irish gangs and fights, written by a 'reformed' Irish stick-fighter, and vividly describes Ireland's fighting culture which was goverened by a code of honour which Hurley rightly calls 'Shillelagh Law'. If you are Irish or have an interest in Irish gangs, Irish boxing, the shillelagh, or Scorcese's film, you will really enjoy this book - I highly recommend it.

This book is a self-contained statistical process control (SPC) foundation in the context of software process improvement. Authors Florac and Carleton apply early industrial wisdom and some previous work at the SEI to a modern software development environment. The emphasis of the book is primarily on the use of analytical studies (predicting future outcomes) using the control chart as the primary instrument. There is only brief treatment of the use of enumerative studies (evaluating current situations) in this problem domain. Time-honored tools such as the Pareto chart, cause and effect diagram, and histogram, however, are given much less attention. The first half of the book directs attention to critical topics such as planning, managing and measuring. The authors adequately cover the material as it applies to software development, but the reader is cautioned that many statistical fundamentals are omitted from this work. In order to put these ideas into practice one should seek further instruction or consult a statistician for best results. A few annoying typographical and redundancy errors are present as well. Most bothersome about the book is that the authors do not seem to be 100% convinced that SPC for software process improvement actually works! This is somewhat alarming, given the long successful history of SPC in other industries. All in all, however, this book desperately needs to be read by anyone wishing to improve a software development process.

This book gives a practical guidance on software process measurement: what should be measured, how to measure, the measurement process/procedure, the data analysis of measurement, and the application of analysed results. It's easy to read and understand. It would be better to include more "case study" information.

This book contains the keys to meeting core CMM level 5 requirements, which defines key processes for optimizing and continuous improvement, and for achieving 6-sigma processes. However, you need not be striving for either (or both) of these goals to use the techniques and approach in this book to full advantage.

Implementing and employing statistical process controls are the basis of this book. The authors lead you through the steps and techniques necessary to implement and use SPC, starting with background information on processes and a process measurement framework, and moving through topics such as planning your measurement strategy, data collection and analysis, and developing and interpreting process behavior charts using common SPC chart types. The most common controls are x-bar (mean) and r (range) charts. Be aware that any SPC approach requires two conditions to be met: (a) defined processes, and (b) the processes are in statistical control (meaning that the data points being measured have settled into a normal distribution that are randomly clustered around a mean and have defined upper and lower control limits). New processes, or processes that are not managed well enough to have these characteristics are not candidates for SPC.

This book requires knowledge and skills in basic statistical analysis. If you require a refresher I recommend reading "Visual Statistics" by Jack R. Fraenkel before tackling this book. I also recommend "Applied Statistics for Software Managers" by Katrina Maxwell, which not only teaches the basics, but also approaches measurement from the perspective of multi-variable analysis, regression analysis and other basic measurement techniques, which nicely complements the SPC material in this book and gives a broader picture of metrics.

This book was translated from the old French oddly, perhaps too literally, and the result is that sometimes the fact that it used to be in verse form gets in the way of the story. Most of the time, though, the stories are the fun and gripping legends Arthur-enthusiasts will love.

I found the book to be fascinating, even for a person without a background in the classics. I felt the translation was fine, overall a very smooth read. I would highly recomend it to anyone with an interest in Arthurian legends.

In late 1698, four ships sailed from France under the command of Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville.Aboard were some two hundred people destined to become the first settlers of a French post in the lower Mississippi River. Iberville landed first at Dauphin Island near modern Mobile, then moved further East to Ship Island. Sailing up to the great River Iberville visited with the bayou goula Indians on the west bank. Rene Robert cavalier Sieur de la Salle who were a wealthy important immigrant to Canada who heard of the voyage of Marqette and Joliet and comprehended the strategic significance of a fort at the mouth of Mississippi. During the winter of 1682, La Salle led an expedition of fifty-six persons, including ten indians women and three children down the Mississippi to its mouth.He reached salt water on April 6, placed a cross in the mud and claimed the Country for France. He gave the name of Louisiana, in honor of king Louis XIV. That's was the basis for France's claim to Louisiana,though the Spanish Explorer Hernando De Soto had discover the Mississippi and crossed it 140 years earlier. Louisiana was a French-Speaking Spanish colony when the nineteenth century began. Twelve years later Loisiana was one of the United States, successfully operating a system of goverment radically different from the autocracy tempered by ineffiency that had gone before.

William Carleton(1794-1869) has deservedly earned a further biographical expose. Carleton gave us vivid portrayals of the Irish peasantry prior to their headlong fall into the Great Famine abyss of 1847. As a fellow serf; Carleton had hands-on experience of Irish rural conditions in early 19th century Ireland. David Krause,the wellknown biographer of Sean O'Casey,has provided us with an excellently researched and annotated account of Carleton's life and published work. It is both erudite and timely.Krause deserves immense credit in putting Wm.Carleton centre stage among English literary giants.