The Sierras are much nicer when visited in person. Reading about the natural wonders found there isn't the same as actually checking them out for yourself. Perhaps if you were already familiar with the areas Mr. Muir traversed, and wish to brush up un them or revisit them literarily when unable to do so physically... THEN perhaps this book would be better.

My First Summer in the Sierra
By: John Muir
Review by Austin Bauer

My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir is a book published by Penguin Nature Classics in 1987 but written in Muir's diary in the summer of 1869. It seems almost as if Muir wrote one page and repeated it 264 times. He wrote of nature's beauty and bounty when untouched. John Muir was a naturalist who lived from 1834-1914, beginning his life in Wisconsin and later moving to California to observe the beautiful sierra mountains. His intention in the writings were to inspire people, naturalists or not, to enjoy nature at its fullest and keep it that way. I think that this book was very repetitive, but the message was a positive and, to me, true one.
The context of this book revolved around the idea of nature's true beauty and how it can exist freely. Muir spoke of the ecology of the Sierra. Nearly every page of the book had a new species of plant or animal that he had observed. He then told of what its affect on him was, whether it was annoying or satisfying, beautiful or ugly, natural or processed. In short, his main context was the loveliness he observed and wanted to share in his writings.
John Muir stated "...Mr. Delaney, a sheep owner, for whom I had worked a few weeks, called on me, and offered to engage me to go with his shepherd and flock to the headwaters..." This was the beginning of his journey to the most beautiful place he could ever imagine, a place that he returned to for the rest of his life. Muir had a good companion, a St. Bernard named Carlo. The book went on to tell how him and a few others led 2050 sheep up the Sierra mountain range in California. They encountered many obstacles along the way. Some of these obstacles were bear attacks, to which Muir said, "Bears are slow and awkward with their eyes." They went on camping at different sites, spending sometimes several weeks at one site. Here, Muir made endless amounts of sketches and recordings of his observations. The group faced a bread famine, the result of a slow and lazy Mr. Delaney, but recovered and returned to their trek with the sheep to the high mountains. John's helpful substance was tea. To another, tea was nothing and he needed tobacco. Everybody had something to keep them with it, so to say. The book did gain some excitement when Muir was sitting atop a mountain and had a sudden feeling that his old professor from Wisconsin was visiting. A few days later, he realized this was true and met up with him, speaking of old times and getting slumber in the hotel. Whenever John would observe tourists going through the mountains, he would shake his head at their ignorance to the size and beauty of the area. He just saw them looking at the ground, not fully enjoying it. Towards the end, John was sad to leave the mountains and return to the lowlands, farther away from the mountains he adored so much. He said "Now, however, I must turn toward the lowlands, praying and hoping Heaven will shove me back again." He returned many times in his long life, and each visit was never a disappointment.
The work that I read had very much information on the specifics of plants and animals found in the Sierra. I learned a lot about the sizes of these organisms and their characteristics. For example, there was a section where Muir wrote of how the ants were ¾ inches long and that they "check you out" before they have the colony attack you. If you are still and seem harmless, they will not bite, but a sudden move may jolt them to bite. He said that the bite from this species of ant felt like a terrible electric sting that nobody should have to endure more than once or twice in a lifetime. So these parts of the book were good because I found this activity quite interesting, but some parts, such as the tree descriptions, got boring. I am not interested in the texture and color of the tree bark. I can get the whole picture much easier. My own experiences tell me what nature is like, so I have a good feel of what Muir is trying to show us. The honors biology class has helped me by letting me know some of the ideas behind genus species names and writings, so that is how the course helped me out. That is what I thought of the book and why I thought that way. The only question I really had was why Muir described things so detailed and run-on and descriptive. I may have an idea, but I am not sure.
I believe that John Muir described the organisms so in-depth because he wanted his audience to really be able to visualize it and the beauty it held in itself. This all fits in with the context of the environment's ecology being a precious thing that can not go to waste. So while it wasn't the most fun book to read, it still held an important message, as I have said before, that we must follow to keep the environment beautiful.

Muir tells a story of his journey into the Yosemite area in California as a shephard. While his journey encompasses other places, the story remains essentially the same since the entire book is filled with him talking about everything being so marvelous.

Despite John Muir being very well known now to many people I'm left uncertain as to why this man should be one out of so many other 'mountain men' to become famous.

His story is filled with rantings about finding different little animals such as squirrels, rabbits, and indians and then peppers each description of the animal with some bantering about whatever it is that he finds extraordinary about it, or whatever he thinks is extremely interesting, or by simply saying such and such is truly amazing.

I did however enjoy the peripherial aspects of the book, such as Muir's growing insanity from being isolated in the woods for several months. He starts his journey talking about how he's heard stories of shepards gone mad and how he doesn't really believe he'll go insane. But near the middle of the book, he's put a personality to the plants...by the end, he's having in depth conversations with plants. Ha! It's almost worth reading just for noting little things like that.

The book gets 3 stars, as opposed to 1 star, because Muir writes VERY eloquently and if you have an interest and a solid knowledge of plant and animal life and the terrian Muir is traveling, the book is relatively interesting.

Before John Neff retired in 1995, he managed Vanguard's Windsor and Gemini funds for over 30 years. He managed these funds well enough to beat the Standard and Poor's 500 Index over 70% of the time. During his tenure, Vanguard Windsor became the largest mutual fund in America. Neff's account, "John Neff on Investing" contains three distinctive parts. Part One, "My Road to Windsor," is autobiographical in nature.

Part Two, "Enduring Principles," guides the reader through Neff's low price-earnings investing methodology. John Neff lists his main ingredients in picking stocks as a low price-earnings ratio (p/e), a 7% minimum earnings growth rate, a desirable dividend yield, and a favorable "total return ratio." To limit downside risk, Neff considers fundamentally strong companies and industries, and cyclical companies with extremely attractive price-earnings ratios.

John Neff low price-earnings strategy begins with a "total-return ratio" formula. Neff estimates a company's earnings growth rate, adds its dividend yield and divides the total by the stock's price-earnings ratio. Historically, Neff has generally looked for stocks with a "total-return ratio" greater than two. Interested individual investors can access and try John Neff's "total-return ratio" formula, with the option of entering up to five company ticker symbols at a time.

"Neff on Investing" continues in Part Three with "A Market Journal." This chapter chronicles Neff's formidable challenges and remarkable successes in his years at the helm at Vanguard under varying business, economic, and market conditions. Nearly one-third of "Neff on Investing" is devoted to Neff's personal history. Readers who wish to get a full measure of Neff's life - and his investment philosophy, methodology and investing track record may wish to purchase "John Neff on Investing."

As many have already pointed out; Neff's record speaks for itself. But what his book does is give you an idea of how he achieved his results throughout various economic & political cycles. Most of the book reads like a chronological journal. This gives the reader, and hopefully many new investors, an idea of how much stock valuations, and peoples attitudes towards them, can & do change. For example, in '78 the Windsor fund was valued at 5.6x earnings (an implied earnings yield of 17.9%), with an estimated growth rate of 9.7%, & current yield of 5.5%. More tantalizing is the company specific valutions he writes about. Such valuations sound absurd by todays standards, but after following Neff during his career, hopefully some readers may realize that today valuations may be just as crazy.

Along with some recent market history (the last 30 yrs.), Neff imparts to the reader the importance throughout his career of buying low P/E stocks & always focusing on the price paid for each company.

All in all a very good book & most certainly informative for any investor.

There are thousands of books that give investment advice: "buy this", "sell that", etc. John Neff reveals how a successful contratian investor actually does the homework, the analysis, and makes and sticks to his judgements. There are no pat formulas here, but wonderful display of a great financial reasoner doing his stuff in all kinds of market conditions. Neff's returns from 1964 to 1995 were double the S&P's because of his way of interpreting the economic scene and his determination to find values where others saw dreck. His story is described in fast-paced language and a wry sense of humor. Some people might argue that today's market conditions are unique, so what's the point of dredging up and discussing the market of 10 and 15 years ago. And okay "value investing" is not very fashionable, since recent value funds have under-performed against the averages. But that is precisely the kind of opportunity that Neff just loved to wade into, when value stocks were a bargain. After the current technology and IPO frenzy has subsided, the Neff approach will be what investors turn to. This is not a how-to book: better it turns on a light inside the mind of one of the few professional investors to beat the market over many decades.

This is the funniest book I have read in years. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt for days. I generally skip the appendix and sources chapters at the end of the book, but these are too funny to miss. I've purchased copies for all my friends!

Who needs the glum old worst case survival handbook? Think positive! This refreshing book prepares us for the equally likely best case scenarios instead. Much more fun to conjure up these scenarios (winning the lottery, delivering a mistress' letter to your hated boss that you got by mistake) than preparing a defense against being eaten by an alligator. I choose fun over glum any day! Gotta go, I'm busy preparing for "How to survive on a desert island with J. Lo"!

This book has some very funny moments, such as How to Accept the Nobel Peace Prize, What to Do if You Win the Lottery, and many others. My favorite one is about what to do if you're stranded on a desert island with Jennifer Lopez. These range from explaining that the reason you don't want to build a signal fire is it would damage the island's delicate ecology, to saying that you're basically a sensitive guy and it's okay with you to go slow with the relationship. There are many other scenarios in the book, and overall it's a lighthearted and funny piece of writing.

Save Your Money. Spend your money on more usefull things like paying all those parking tickes your have received thus far. This student solutions manual has the soulutions to some and I repeat some of the many problems in the text. Having mear soulutions to problems is not enough depth to place in a manual of solutions. Most solutions manuals work out the problem to show where the answer came from, not this one.

When studying about linear models, this book is a very good resource. The very title gives one a sense of this book's target audience: _Applied_ Linear Statistical Models. Throughout its 1400 some odd pages examples and applications are sprinkled, neatly illustrating concepts relevant to the section. One problem: the end-of-chapter exercises. All of the data for use in these exercises are contained on a diskette. Fine. What happens if one were to lose this disk? Better make friends quick in order to have someone from whom to copy the data. Hypothetically, you've gone the entire semester without losing the disk. Datasets are reused throughout the book, yet explanations are only given the first time the data are used. When reusing the data one has to turn to the section where it was first used and decipher the book's difficult labelling system. The exercises do just that, and well, yet they take much more time than if their organisation were better.

I'm a senior, business administration, Yonsei Univ. in Korea. I'm studying Regression Analysis with this book. This book is easy for students specilizing in other fields to understand Regression Analysis. Very good. I could understand Regression Analysis easily because all theorems are proved in the level of introductory statistics. There are, however, no solutions of problems. In preface I read that instructors may order from the publisher, Irwin, copies of the Student Solutions Manual. Can't a student like me studying by himself receive 'Student Solutions Manual'? I'm eager to check my solutions. I don't want to stop to study Regression Analysis

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!

For 1972 it isn't bad, but the downsided ending offerring only the hope of commercial conquest and a rather trite "I shall have no son" (because I am a twit) for the conclusion, brings it to a sorry close.

The series either needs a fourth book or a rewrite of the ending with a better editor.

Of course, one can't help but compare this trilogy to the author's more famous Tripods trilogy and yes, the trilogy this book belongs to (The Swords of the Spirits) does fall short. But having said that, I enjoyed reading about this much darker, less hopeful world, where politics and personal gain rule the lives of the protagonists. Our main character, though young, must combat enemies and keep his wits about him. A future where men live to fight and women are clearly in a secondary role (well at least the author included a few women here, in Tripods, there were hardly any mentioned and barely worth remembering) seems pretty backward to me but then again it is a apocalyptic future. I'm looking forward to reading the next two books in the series.

The Disaster had destroyed so much of the world. Volcanoes and earthquakes brought civilization crashing down into ruins and permanently changed the planet. The survivors blamed this on the machines. Now people live in separate medieval communities, worship Spirits and despise technology. Anyone caught with a machine of any kind is killed.

In Winchester, young Luke Perry is named Prince in Waiting by the Seers. Luke tells a tale of treachury, murder, and intrigue. The Seers have chosen Luke for a special mission...

This is a good story about friendship, loyalty, suspicion, pride and belief. John Christopher writes about a superstitious society of the future in a style that makes readers want to turn the page.

Many wrox books are great, but this one was a disappointment. As an "classic ASP" developer I found the examples unhelpful and impractical, the information spread out, the request and response object - used constantly in classic ASP - were so poorly explained I still have no idea how they function in ASP.net. I am sure that ASP.NET has many important benefits that make it superior to Classic ASP, but after reading almost 600 pages (!) I feel I do not understand how to achieve the same result I can easily get in Classic ASP. Not recommended.

I wanted to create a simple web application with this book that would allow for authenticated users to add content and allow non-authenticated users to simply view content. The book was perfect for setting up the the database connections, and web forms. The book fell on its face with security. The concepts were included and some examples were included, but there was no information about user roles when using forms based authentication. One feature I think most ASP.Net applications are going to have is authentication so I found it distressing that it was given such incomplete coverage. To get more information you need to look at one of two other Wrox books - Beginning Web Programming with Visual Basic.Net and Visual Studio.Net, or ASP.Net Security. The first book covers mostly the same information as this book, but goes into more detail on security. It too though is not complete. With the inclusion of about five more pages in this book it would have been complete from my viewpoint.

First of all, a good number of my undergraduates like this book as it introduces the bare bones required to get something up and running quite quickly. The downside of the book, from my persusal of it, is that it is less even than it could be, or perhaps should be. In many chapters (especially the crucial early ones) examples are often introduced and developed before their key constructs are properly explained. This is simply confusing to naive readers and highly irritating. For instance, the earliest ASP.net script uses "asp:label" without explaining the syntax or semantics for a another few dozen pages.

Unfortunately this is a bit of trend throughout the book and at the very least makes it frustrating. However, once you allow for this, (and it's a big allowance to make) the book is very handy.

It has bundles of scripts that anyone involved in web work will find interesting and useful. You can quibble with some of these (the login scripting for example) contra other books such as Professional ASP.NET, but I suspect this is a byproduct of committee authorship.

The book is clearly aimed at the learner so don't expect Enterprise quality insights into server management. Given the huge range of architectures and technologies available to the developer, producing any 'true' learner book is a considerable challenge. If you need a book for coursework alone, then this will probably meet most of your needs. If you earn your living with the .NET and its companions, then you need some supplementary texts.

An amusing work of fantasy and fiction. I prefer the Book called "Manufacturing Victims: What the Psychology Industry is doing to people" by Dr. Tana Dineen. Dr. Dineen has a website... I think that Psychological Evaluations for the Courts: A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals and Lawyers perpetuates a self-serving, self promoting psychology industry that still measures skull sizes and feeds people virtually addictive toxins. This industry will likely thrive as long as timid judges delegate their responsibilities of decision-making to court jesters, commonly known as "forensic psychiatrists".

Excellent reference, but a little outdated as of this writing (Dec. 2001). Opinions and recommendations of the authors do not in all respects reflect the majority, or even the respectible minority, of forensic psychologists and psychiatrists. Nonetheless, an excellent reference to have in your library to get the overall gist of an issue or a topic at the interface of psychology and the law. Detailed information pertaining to actual practices will need to be located elsewhere.

I have used this book extensively both as teacher and practitioner for years and it remains the best available text for mental health professionals conducting evaluations for the legal system. It is also an outstanding reference for attorneys litigating mental health issues. Its greatest strength is in the criminal law area, but it is excellent in other areas of the law/mental health interface as well. Psychiatrists should not be deterred by the term "psychological" in the title; it is equally applicable to both disciplines.

i think farley has talent, and some scenes in the book are humorous, but i was looking and praying for a scene to come up that was fall-out funny...i just couldn't deal with with the vitriol at times...and thurgood messing around with a young girl totally turned me off...

An easy read backed by serious issues (racism, sexism, homophobia, teen pregnancy and abuse by the government). Farley has given us a novel that has been overlooked. He's telling it like it is; he's says what alot of has thought, and/or think about these same situations presently. Writers as such need to be sought out and supported.

Even though Thurgood (Farley's main character) can come off as slightly arrogant at bitter at times, the book is an incredible one - very easy to read, and very thought-provoking. It doesn't really get too deeply into the Gulf War (as I expected it would), but it opens a lot of other issues: racism, American press, government oppression, etc. While perhaps Thurgood's "solutions" or answers to these problems are faulty or misguided, he really adequately raises the issues - and these are issues that need to be raised. More importantly, he voices his opinion on many aspects of American life that are commonly ignored or stifled away.

Some of Thurgood's actions (sleeping with the 18 year old girl, leaving when he found out she was pregnant, etc) are not really impressive - but I think it brings out the point of the book even more - Farley is criticizing an imperfect world, but not claiming to be a perfect man himself.

Also, underpinning these issues and challenges is a nice little story on Thurgood's life as a 20-something year old, and is pleasant to read. If this isn't enough - it must also be noted that Farley has a remarkable sense of humor.. Some of his quotes are hilariously funny, so they make the book even more interesting to read.

So overall, he manages to raise some very important issues and concerns, while still narrating an interesting story of his life, and adding a bit of humor to it all. Maybe not a book to read over and over again, but definitely worth reading once!!!

Garraty's book The American Nation was informative and interesting. It provided information needed to help the student's in my AP History class. Granted, it was not perfect and was confusing at times, but all in all, it provided a good, detailed description of our history. Here are the pros and cons of Garraty's book. PROS: 1). Garraty is knowledgeable in his assessment of history 2). The book is very helpful with its timelines at the end of each chapter 3). Garraty explains the gist of every major event and sometimes non-major event 4). It's the only book where our class actually worshipped :) 5). IT WILL BE HELPFUL FOR AP HISTORY AND THE NATIONAL EXAM. I (personally) felt confident with the outcome of my exam, but that could also be due in part to my teacher who really complemented with Garraty. 6). It could be a GREAT paperweight! CONS: 1). It's not a good book to keep in your backpack all day long 2). Sometimes Garraty likes to force his opinions on certain historical figures ( he likes Hamilton, but not Jefferson) 3). There ARE events he doesn't cover that many might think was important or he might undercover events that many might think was important.

That's about it for the pros and cons, but remember these are just my opinions! Hope they helped! Good luck in AP History or whatever you're doing in regards to this book!!

This text is absolutely unsurpassed in terms of clarity, conciseness and general usefulness. I first used Garraty's book in 8th grade, then again as a supplement to some other texts in a U.S. A.P. class in high school (I got a 5 on the test, which I am confident is owed entirely to Garraty) and still use it for general reference in college. In a little over 1000 pages, Garraty covers just about every major event in United States history in interesting and extremely clear prose. I have yet to find any book that communicates such an enormous amount of information in such a small amount of space with such an enormous degree of clarity. I promise that this book will not only improve your understanding of U.S. history, but will also serve as a lifelong reference source.

Kudos to Garraty for his newest edition. I was a student in AP US History and thoroughly enjoyed the book. I received a 5 on the AP exam (highest possible score ranked 1-5). I wholeheartedly recommend the text to anyone serious about succeeding in AP US History or if you just want to refresh your knowledge of US History. Within the American Nation, you will find all sorts of ancedotes told by a preeminent raconteur. If you can not remember the "Sumner-Brooks" affair, you will enjoy reading Garraty's skilled account of that affair to remember.