This book is a well written, logical, insightful summary of allergic disease

I had the great pleasure of learning from this book when it was still in manuscript form. For the first time in my long history as a student I found that I understood the text at first reading! The chapters generally present two approaches: the technical (scary!) and the commonsense -- with the latter truly written in a commonsensical fashion. In fact, it is so well written that it is possible to go over the material on one's own. The book is pricey, but it delivers on its promise.

There are a lot of people out there who do statistical analysis but who do not possess the mathematical knowledge underpinning a lot of what they are doing (i.e., linear algebra and some calculus). Most of the time people can get away with using stastical software as a sort of 'black box' and not worry about the math. But there are situations when having the background knowledge is crucial.

This book does an excellent job of facilitating self-study of the math underpinning multivariate statistical analysis ... namely, linear (matrix) algebra and some calculus. Each chapter has a set of questions and ALL of the answers are provided in the book (handy for self-study). The one slight critique of this book I can give is that I wish the book did more on the calculus aspects. However, that is a minor comment and the knowledge that this book imparts of linear algebra to self-learners is extremely valuable.

This is a good story, with a brisk pace, authentic action, and realistic characters. As a literary work it is probably only worth 3 and 1/2 stars, at best. But I think its real importance is in how it reflects the military's view of the war through the Tet offensive. Its importance becomes clear about when you compare the overall tone of the book towards the Vietnam war with Stephen Coonts' book Flight of the Intruder. The aviators in that book hold a very different attitude towards the war.

From what I learned during the late 70's and early 80's while working with Naval Officers, both books are authentic, especially in the attitudes reflected by the military. For people who want to understand the Vietnam war and the effect of the civilian leadership on the military during this time, I strongly encourage you to read both books.

If you've ever driven airplanes, and especially if you've done so 'in country' then I know how seldom you've been able to read a novel that comes even close to 'taking you back'. I've got some good news - an I got some bad news. The good news is that this particular book is but one of a trilogy. Beginning with "no place to hide" and ending with "North SAR" this book sets itsself between the two. It is incredible in both it's authenticity as well as the character development. The bad news is that Gerry died and there will be no more.

Thank you Sir.

I first read this book when I was sixteen and it was one the big things that helped me decide to join the military. It casts a great picture of what the Marines and Seamen had to go through during Vietnam.

I have now read this book twice. Not only have I read the book, I remember this time period as my company worked closely with IBM. One of the other reviewers said, "An amusing book that attributes IBM's success to a couple of lucky business decisions followed by endless blunders. Carroll makes alot of assertions about IBM but provides few facts to back them up..." Obviously, this person either works for IBM or did not know what was going on at that time. What Carroll says is true. Especially if you had ANY ties with IBM during these years, you will find this book fascinating. I have referred back to it many times.

This very readable book is the model that Gerstner should have followed. Elephants can do heavy towing, or push aside obstacles; they can't pirouette en pointe. This book is the viewpoint of IBM by an outside journalist. It lacks a table of contents. The book describes the problems, it does not tell when or why it originated.

Page 20 says IBM developed "a lush bureaucracy that prided itself on having a higher ratio of managers per employee than any other business around." Is this what they teach in business school? IBM's chairmen came from the sales force; if you can't sell it, there's no point in making it. The IBM PC was created from off-the-shelf parts so it could be quickly marketed; pre-defined interfaces too! Page 24 tells how Microsoft did an operating system: they licensed QDOS (a replica of CP/M), then bought it. It eventually made Gates the richest man in America.

Page 27 tells of the management problem in creating software. Architects spent months producing detailed designs for software. Then masses of programmers had a hard time deciphering the hundreds of pages of specifications. More time was spent in communicating than actually writing code! Isn't this a recipe for a project to be over budget and behind schedule? Estridge's habit of shunning meetings, not returning phone call, and ignoring unwanted advice could set an example of a well-ordered project manager who concentrates on the mission, not the housekeeping. Page 37 explains why standards for PCs began at birth.

Page 53 mentions the "fear of nuclear attack" as the reason for moving out of New York city. But other companies also moved out in the 1970s; the fear of a nuclear attack drained away after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Didn't IBM build a skyscraper in the 1980s only to sell it in the 1990s? Didn't AT&T do the same?

Page 87 tells how Gates got lucky when VisiCorp began to self-destruct. Those familiar with counter-intelligence operations may think of another reason (p.192). Page 97 says IBM never wanted to have too many people in one spot. Unstated here is the fear that nearly all could walk out to a new company (p.186). Page 101 tells that IBM used lines of code as a measure of programming; what did IBM use to measure its management? Microsoft rewrote IBM code to make it faster and smaller, then; how are they doing now? The last pages of Chapter 8 deal with the OS/2-Windows politics. There is no explanation as to why they didn't share the same application interface. Page 201 tells of developing a RISC chip; didn't CDC do this in the early 1960s? Page 208 describes the chip development problem in Burlington VT. Page 217 mentions the "golden screwdriver" and how quickly some machines were upgraded. Think ahead!

Pages 245-7 tell of the PS/1 project: crippled so it would not compete with PS/2. Would General Motors restrict the sale of Chevrolets to sell more Cadillacs? Page 281 suggests Microsoft moles reported on IBM's strategies. Pages 301-9 tell of the changes in Lexington under new owners. In political history, this is like a revolution that sweeps away the aristocracy and lets the farmers and merchants rise to power. Does the description of the IBM bureaucracy remind you of France before the Revolution? Will anyone write a book to cover the last ten years as well as this one does?

People who complain that this book is unfounded because IBM is growing and profitable forgets that over a decade ago, IBM was a stinker: the bottom had fallen out of the lucrative mainframe market, and IBM could not compete long-term in the rapidly growing PC/Workstation market. This book is a great lesson in how not to adapt to change.

Luckily, IBM has pulled itself out, but at what cost? Imagine if IBM had got the PC revolution right? There might not even be a Microsoft today and IBM could have retaken its position as THE corporate super-power.

Besides discussing poor management, I enjoyed the information and great anecdotes about IBM's relationship with Bill Gates and Microsoft. I cannot believe the number of opportunities IBM squandered to acquire, invest or eliminate Microsoft. It seems that IBM pratically pushed Gates to build Microsoft into the power it is today.

This is a great book for anyone wanting to know more about the IBM corp and its history from day 1 and its interesting realationship with Microsoft Corp and Bill Gates during the 1980's and 90's. Much of the information in the book comes from IBMers.

This novel has comedy, mystery, suspense, and some good old fashioned romance. Paul Monette has woven all these elements into a delightful tale that takes place on picturesque Cape Cod. As David is 'Taking Care of Mrs. Carroll', Paul Monette is taking care of us. The characters entice us to enjoy the surroundings of the Carroll estate and we are treated to interesting plot developments. I have to admit that this is my favorite Paul Monette novel.

After reading this book I cannot in good conscience recommend it to others.