The author makes a solid case for his position, citing historic cases and numerous overlooked facts surrounding acts of terrorism.

What is especially impressive is the fact that the book does not assume the positions of either the left or right wing, remaining non-partisan in approach. For instance, the author cites the Northwoods Project as an act of state-sanctioned terrorism. This would be a veritable gem to those on the left who unfairly scorn the cause of anti-communism. Collins, however, makes it clear that the revelation of Northwoods does not exonerrate the despot Castro.

Meanwhile, Collins gives no slack to the so-called right-wing either. He shows cases where anti-communism, initially sincere cause of anti-totalitarianism, was exploited by the power elite to create a politically expedient external threat to the United States. This is especially evident in the case of Bin Laden and his supposedly anti-Soviet forces. Under the banner of anti-communism, the oligarchs of the American Establishment funded Bin Laden and made him the threat he is today.

The overall contention is that Hegelian framework of left vs. right is a swiftly vanishing chimera, a fairy tale.

The one reservation I have with the book is that it simply does go as far as it could. There are a lot more government ties to terrorism, such as the United States aiding and abetting anti-Castro rebels here in the United States. After it became clear that America was not going to employ genuine campaign against Castro, the government used them to perpetrate numerous other acts of terror.

Still, the book is very well researched and is very important in understanding current events.

If what Paul Collins has unearthed is true, it may not be long before we wake up in a police state. This book is definitely for listeners of the Alex Jones show and anyone who has read Gregory Palast's book.

I first discovered this book through an article over it in Nexus Magazine. Then, I got a copy and read it cover to cover! Paul Collins presents information of such importance that no concerned, freedom-loving American should ignore! ...

God bless America! Long live liberty!

This probably was a good book for 8.0.x but for 8i this book is far too easy! The questions in the book are highly similar to (or same as) those in the Self-Test software (from Oracle). However, I found the exam to be lot more complex. For example, the actual exam questions try very hard to confuse you with similar sounding names for views - viz. V$TRANSACTIONS, DBA_TRANSACTIONS, ALL_TRANSACTIONS, USER_TRANSACTIONS as choice for an answer! It is important to know the "exact" name of the view - this is hardly challenged in any of the questions in this book.

Overall, the questions in the book helped me answer about 25% of the exam. For the rest I had to rely on reading the actual manuals and experience. Phew, glad to get over it! Good luck!! Off to the next exam..

I am an Oracle8 OCP DBA with an average score of 97% and over 8 years of IT experience. This book tries to cover a very extensive subject and fails to accomplish its task. There are many topics from the original Oracle OCP classes missing, and some others misplaced. Also, the chapters do not match those of the course book nor the exam sections.

However, the practice questions are very close to the real ones, and that is the main reason I would buy this book. On the whole, it is a good piece of work - far better than the previous Oracle7 Exam Cram books - but do not expect to get a broad understanding of Oracle administration.

Please read my other reviews to have my opinion on other preparation materials.

If you are new to Oracle, do not mistake the Exam Cram books as the "one stop shop" for all your preparation needs. They are great books to summarize in a very concise and thorough manner 90% of what's needed to pass the exam. This book covers a lot of information in approx'ly 300 pages (not including sample questions or Chapter 1). After reading both Oracle8 Concepts and Oracle8 Administrator's Guide (free Oracle documentation), this book helped pull it all together. Definitely include it in your Oracle library.

Better organized than the first Exam Cram book (Tests 1 & 2). Plus there are fewer mistakes/typos.

I didn't feel that the chapters on Backup & Recovery prepared you adequately for the test. However the author does admit that this book is intended as a "pocket guide".

My recommendation is that you combine this book with other study material. The practice questions, sample tests and cram sheet are the best aspects of this publication.

If you read reviews here you can be amazed how different they are. Some people put 5 stars and other just 1. Wonder why?

I used this book as the only tutorial for both exams and I passed them with a good score. The book really helps you to prepare. It's pretty slim but it contains all required information. Test examples are very good and very similar to real ones.

But there are some bad things. In a few places it has mistakes and some of them maybe confusing. It's not very important for exams preparation but probably it's annoying enough for some people to put 1 star. Another reason is a book structure. It's not supposed to be a general Oracle tutorial. It's just the exam cram. You can easily pass exam using this book but it's also true that you won't have complete Oracle vision in your head. I guess, some people don't like it too. But according to me it's a plus, not minus.

And don't forget that these exams will be retired at August, 2000!

The book is well organized and the practice tests and detailed answers are very helpful. As a result of the valuable study guide, I passed the two covered OCP exams with an average of over 100 points to spare.

If you are just looking for the exam answers, you will not find it here. If you are looking for an excellent study guide to help you prepare for the two exams covered by this book, buy this book. Like all OCP type books, it neither takes the place of "hands on" experience nor studying the Oracle concepts and reference manuals; however, it provides an excellent template on what to study for and also how to tackle tricky exam questions. In my humble opinion, the best OCP study book on the market!

This book is a disturbing account of the way in which those employed by the Catholic Church are treated when suspected of disloyalty to the Magisterium of the Church. To put it bluntly in the introduction, it is disturbing for those who are familiar with secular court cases to know how ecclesiastical systems work.

The defendant has no right of appeal and is rarely able to present a coherent case - even if they do, those within the Vatican itself have to assess it. Lest anybody whatsoever think this will change in the future, the inquisitorial attitude of the Wojtyla papacy is certain to continue throughout the 21st century as the Catholic Church moves toward a smaller, but much more loyal, membership.

Of themselves, the accounts are by no means anything special, but do offer a reasonable degree of understanding. For those who know nothing about the Vatican, those involved must be described as the last generation of speculative theologians the Catholic Church will ever see, with diasgreements involved on such issue as papal power and female ordination.

The book is reasonable, clear, if disturbing, but it leaves one with a feeling of lacking an understanding of why the Vatican feels so concerned about its own power, and especially about those (believe it or not, mostly laity) who report such deviations in doctrine to the Vatican.

A worthy read if you do not have fear, but for those with any knowledge of the Vatican, superfluous.

i dont know, the book i'ts new for me! i's obvious, no?

"Dhampire: Stillborn" is the first in what will (unfortunately) be a series of graphic novels. In "Stillborn" we watch a Dhampire (half human, half vampire) explore his past and evolve into a full vampire. Vampirism is a subject with tremendous literary opportunities that the vampire-story, as a genre, has utterly failed to explore. "Stillborn" is a perfect example of why. Characters with potential are reduced to archetypes with the whirl-wind plot, and bland dialog. Perhaps the author thinks that the reader would not be willing to put in the time to get to know the characters, so she jumps directly to what the target audience expects: depressed, pitiful characters empowered and glamourized by extraordinary violence. The graphic novel appears to be targeted toward emotionally disturbed teenagers. For them, vampirism represents power and superiority. Pitiful social maladjustment is transformed, in the fantasy of the novel, into Evil. Perhaps, within a few years, authors will begin exploring the lives of the consumers of fiction like this, rather than producing more of it. The novel's only redeeming quality is its beautiful artwork, especially of the Dhampire's mother

this book is about life

it is not a good book I would not recommend that you by this book

i didnt like it so neither would u.

the end.