The book is an absolutely practical treatise of applied thermodymamics. The explanations of how to use property estimation methods are excellent, but invaluable are the comments on their accuracy and recommendations as to when to use which method.

The book served as my operating manual for the ASPEN software for modeling chemical processes. The book documented nearly every method used by ASPEN.

I was a bit unconfortable when I bought this book since I was suspicious that this one was one of those unreadable thermodynamic books. Fortunately I was wrong. This book provides you with a complete treatment of the properties of gases and liquids in a plain language stressing the understanding of the basic laws governing the behavior of liquids and gases instead of the mathematic that goes with it. The treatment of the topics is very suitable for engineers since it allows quick understanding of the phenomena and provides a wealth of correlations and methods for estimating properties. The appendixes contain all kind of basic information indeed helpful for applying the correlations showed. Without any hesitation, this book is well worth its price.

Lotsa Hotsa Properties...

Dr. Robert O'Connell, author of Of Arms and Men (1989), has written another excellent book on the history of weapons and warfare with Soul of the Sword. Running to nearly 400 pages, it covers all the major weapon developments on land, sea, and air from the spear to nuclear weapons. All the great classics are here, such as the Trireme, the Gladius, Composite bows, Wheel lock pistols, the Brown Bess .78 caliber flintlock, Ships-of-the-line, Enfield 1853 rifle, Dreadnoughts, Gatling guns, the Sopwith Camel, the Flak 88mm, the T-34, V series rockets - and much more. Very detailed illustrations are also included. A nice touch are the occasional vignettes that accompany the main text, describing little known battles, incidents, or weapons that are of special historical significance, neatly summarized on a page or less. For example, who has heard of the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592 with a fleet of ironclads 250 years before the Monitor and CSS Virginia fought in the Chesapeake Bay? Or the fact that the Ferguson breech loading flintlock proved itself ready for battle when the British used 100 of them at Brandywine Creek in 1777 but was never widely adopted?

As with Of Arms and Men, O'Connell is concerned with the heavy influence that culture has exercised on weapon design and employment. He points out numerous historical cases where a new deadly weapon was invented only to be suppressed or discouraged by the reigning military establishment (Spencer repeating rifles, explosive-filled shells before 1850, etc).

The only minor distractions are the lack of full-page color pictures for this illustrated volume and O'Connell's tendency to come up with cute chapter titles that do not help the reader know where he is chronologically.

In short, this volume will make a nice companion to the other classic works I am proud to display on my library shelf devoted to the general history of weapons and warfare - Brodie's From Crossbow to H-Bomb, Dupuy's The Evolution of Weapons and Warfare, Van Creveld's Technology and War, and O'Connell's own Of Arms and Men.

This highly readable, impeccably researched, well-balanced book is a prime example of what an informed, imaginative author can do with a well-worn subject. Do we really need another illustrated history of weaponry? I would have said no--until I encountered Robert O'Connell's superb book (with well-done illustrations by John Batchelor). O'Connell is something of a renaissance man, a respected defense analyst, a historian, a critically praised novelist...and perhaps that's the key to this book's humaneness, despite the subject. O'Connell never forgets that even the most unusual or most effective weapons are wielded by human beings, against human beings. This isn't simply a book about the machinery of war. It is about devices created by human beings for ferocious human purposes. Laced with anecdotes as entertaining as they are illuminating, this book has equal value for old-hand military historians and interested novices. A fine gift, too, for the "family warrior," military veteran or just that splenetic armchair general who needs to be placated at Christmas (so the rest of us can get on with our celebrations). This is in no way intended as a condescending remark--on the contrary, it is a mark of the author's great skill and talent that he has produced such a handsome book, and one as interesting to a four-star general as to a general reader. Extremely well done, and highly recommended. Also, because of its lucid style, this book would be suitable for a wide range of age groups, from bright teenagers to cranky old professors. First-rate and flawless.

This is a big, sweeping treatment which integrates advances in weapons and warfare with their political and socioeconomic interactions and ramifications on the scale of world history. And it is brilliantly conceptualized: walled cities become necessary when militant shepherds learned to ride; walled cities, European countries for two hundred years after 1648, and the nations of the world after WWII needed only limited war to maintain the balance of power between them; dictatorships had to tear down city walls and employ mercenaries to control their subjects; small family-owned farms in Greece could produce hoplite phalanxes which were lethal to cavalry and ideal for weekend soldiers, but vulnerable to the Roman short sword; naval warfare appeared on a massive scale with the Phoenician introduction of the triple-levelled galley; guns were manufactured on a massive scale only when they came to need little training to use and less marching because of the construction of railroads; and so on. The story is amazingly detailed and full of fascinating examples: France was able to end the Hundred Years War by liberating seventy castles in little more than a year by the introduction of siege guns; wage inflation in the 16th century forced navies to man their galleys with slaves and prisoners; in 1592 the invading Japanese were defeated by the Korean navy with ships with gun-ports and armored with metal plates. I marvel at O'Connell's masterful grasp of the subject.

I originally got this book because I was looking for [an inexpensive] Italian cookbook. I had low expectations, just wanted a couple of quick recipes. Instead, I got one of the best cookbooks I have ever owned. My wife and I love this book and use it all the time. The recipes are usually very easy, and always delicious. We are constantly amazed at how good the food turns out.

We cook alot of Italian dishes and this book has not failed us yet. Veal Chops Stuffed with Spinich has become our favorite "company dish". When we aren't sure what we want for dinner or if we feel like trying something new, this is the first book we consult.

I have used The Art of Theological Reflection with both graduate and undergraduate students in theology seminars. It has provided them with a method for engaging theological questions and readings out of their own experience of life and of the Christian tradition - however extensive that experience might be. The authors give examples throughout the text that effectively clarify the porocess they are describing. They also make a convincing argument that theological reflection is not just for a few "initiated" but builds on a natural human quest for insight into the meaning of life experiences and for ways to integrate those insights into our lives.

Bill and John are personal friends of mine. I've known them since the 70s when John and Burton and I were co-leading the New Games Foundation. Bill has been teaching recreation at San Francisco State and stayed with it despite lack of funding and recognition for-just-about-ever. So anything I have to say about this book is probably suspect.

On the other hand, I REALLY like this book. In my 30 years of exploring new games and deeper fun, I haven't found any book that could actually portray New Games leadership as comprehensively and compassionately.

It is, of course, about more than leading games. It is about leadership itself, and a startlingly revolutionary model for the kind of leadership that truly serves the players.

The book presents a good high-level approach of the design/building process. Mr. Connell does a great job of presenting various alternatives of all aspects of designing and building your home, all the while taking great care in never restricting creativity. For those who are in need of an overall discussion the book aquits itself splendidly. If your purpose, however, is to dig deep in technical matters, then look elsewhere. Even Mr.Connell acknowledges the lack of micro-content, when in the final chapter (and I am paraphrasing) he writes that we cannot be done (the book that is), that there are many questions unanswered, like how to build stairs, and floors, and windows, and doors ... (you get the idea). Well, these questions remain unanswered, meaning you have to buy another book. In all fairness to Mr.Connell, I fully understand that a technical discussion of every house building aspect is beyond the scope of his book, but I just wish I could get more information on let us say, windows, other than design issues. Great starting book.

i'm in the process of building a second home for our family. at first, i was very afraid that going to an architect, an "expert" was going to be expensive and potentially frustrating - how could they know what i wanted, how could i know to trust that they were "that" good and wouldn't charge me an arm and a leg for some design-y house? this book provided the education - the vocabulary, the concepts, the rationale - that any non-architect needs. after reading its chapters, i feel more confident both in my own ability to find the right architect and building professionals, and that i really do want to work with an architect.

even if you aren't building a house, this book will help you understand the one you currently have. it gives you enough context so that, the next time you see a funny stain on the floor, you'll be able to better guess if its water or a present from the dog.

Y2K might be topical, but "Homing Instinct"(McGraw Hill) is evergreen. Connell, founder of the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren, Vermont recently updated the original book published by Time Warner in 1993 (see author's review). Yestermorrow students learn skills and philosophies necessary for designing or building a home. "Homing Instinct" is the next best thing to a month at building camp. Anyone planning to bypass architectural services can benefit from this conversational text with clear illustrations and imaginative chapter titles like: "A Window for Your Spririt, A Door for the Dance" or "Walls and Wallness". And don't skip the glossary. Someday a "Jeopardy!" title might hinge on mortise, kerf or zonohedra!

If you're still using VB6 (many, many are despite the .NET hype) and you need to put together a database-driven application this is the first book you should buy. It covers all of the basics you'll need to go forward with database programming. It includes chapters on good data design, definitions of databases and good interface design (the chapter "Creating a bulletproof user interface" is useful for any VB6 application, not just database-driven ones). All of this is essential for creating good DB apps, and the author explains these concepts clearly and not too verbosely. It goes beyond the coding and shows you the "why" behind data storage and manipulation. You'll learn much more than VB code.

If you're already conversant in VB6 (the book doesn't assume you are) you will fly through this book. I ossmosized this book, it's that well written, and I was able to absorb everything well in time for a VB project deadline. If you need to learn quickly, this is also the book to get.

The book focuses mostly on Microsoft Access DB programming (which makes sense since most beginners do not have an expensive copy of SQL Server just lying around begging for data), and it covers DAO and ADO and delineates the important differences between the technologies. Though the book provides a good foundation for any VB database programming, it will not teach you how to program using VB6 and SQL Server.

In short, a great introduction to database programming for Visual Basic programmers. Expect to learn a lot, but don't stop here. Move on to a more advanced book after ingesting this one.

John Connell should have been a teacher. I have about 1 dozen VB books, and this is in the top two of my favorites and probably always will be. If you understand basic (sorry, no pun)VB and want a good intro to database connectivity(DAO, ADO, ASP, SQL)stuff then definitely buy this book. There are also great sections on object-oriented programming like creating data handling classes and Active X controls for code reuseability. I found the midsection discussion on relational database design (normal form design, key constructs, SQL queries, etc.) an excellent refresher. The ending section and example on Data Mining was just too cool and really showed me how database programming could be much more than simply keeping track of who has what zip code.

If I had one suggestion for improvement it would be to look at connectivity issues with databases other than Access. Connecting to legacy systems like Dbase, or more esoteric ones like Filemaker are currently "try and see" experiments for me. I sure wish John would hold my hand there too!

I strongly recommend purchasing a copy of Beginning VB6 Database, John Connell, Wrox, ISBN 1-861001-06-1. This book is superb. It's well written, easy to follow, and uses practical real-world-example-type labs to get you quickly up to speed on DB access and writing GOOD user interfaces. It also shows how to write re-usable code for those interfaces. If you don't feel like coding the examples they can be downloaded from the Wrox web site. I've learned a bunch of simple little things to improve my VB skills in the first 200 pages. This is essential reading if you want to learn VB skills that you can apply to business solutions, and it doesn't take a lot of time to get through the chapters. I can't say enough good things about this book. Probably the best "how to" computer book I've ever read. It also covers ADO 2.0. I checked it out from the library and was so impressed I purchased my own copy.

I'm a pretty decent VB programmer, and have been reading various articles about VB.Net. Most were a bit cryptic and expected that the reader was already familiar with .Net. So when I picked up VB.Net Coding Techniques I was very pleasantly surprised. Mr. Connell eases the reader into OO VB.Net using real programs.

The book provides all sorts of tips on what Vb.Net programmers will find the most challenging - finding the right object in the amazingly expansive .Net Framework. Connell's guidance and tips makes it almost trivial now. The book provides seasoned guidance on how namespaces are layed out. Best of all, how to use various tools and more to immediately find, instantiate, and use the correct framework class. Not only is there crystal clear coverage of XML, Web Services, assemblies, inheritance, ASP.NET and more, but it ties these together seamlessly. Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. If you need to learn VB.Net right now - you can't go wrong with Coding Techniques.

I started reading VB.Net books when they started flooding the market with beta 1 last year. Most of them are me-too and a rehash of documentation. I saw this in a well known book store, paged through it, and purchased it on line. Mr. Connell's book is different in that he leads the reader through each chapter to show how each builds on the next using crafted code. Armed with what you just learned, you move to the next area - building on the previous knowledge. For example, he starts with Object Orientation -> Data Types -> Class Framework -> Error Handling -> Assemblies -> Windows Services -> ADO -> Datasets -> ASP -> Web Services -> Virtual Inheritance, etc. I have recommended this to my friends. IMHO iff you are going to buy a VB.Net book, you absoultely can't go wrong with Techniques.

I've been programming in VB from version 3 through 6 and really haven't done much with objects, so was a bit concerned about learning VB.Net (where everything is an object). I had difficulty with C++ in this regard. I just received Coding Techniques for VB.Net and can't put it down. While the book provides all sorts of expert techniques, it conveys the information in a clear and easy to follow manner. After two days I've already built several .Net programs and have all sorts of ideas for many more. The section on Artifical Intelligence using the .Net Eliza program is fantastic. The ADO.Net and Web Services sections are just plain fun to read. I highly recommend this Microsoft book.

Considered by many to be the great American novel, Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is the story of a boy, Huck Finn, and a runaway slave, Jim, as they travel down the Mississippi River on a raft. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is the sequel to Twain's novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". Where "Tom Sawyer" was more a care-free children's book, "Huck Finn" is a far darker less childlike book.

Judging from my rating you can see that I do not agree that this is in fact the great American novel. Twain seemed far too unsure of what he wanted to accomplish with this book. The pat answer is to expose the continuing racism of American society post-Civil War. By making Jim simultaneously the embodiment of white racist attitudes about blacks and a man of great heart, loyalty, and bravery, Twain presented him as being all too much of what white America at the time was unwilling to acknowledge the black man as: human.

However noble the cause though, Twain's story is disjointed, at times ridiculous, and, worst of all (for Twain anyway), unfunny. The situations that Huck and Jim find themselves in are implausible at best. Twain may not have concerned himself too much with the possibleness of his story; but, it does detract from your enjoyment of a story when you constantly disbelieve the possibility of something happening.

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is an important book in that it did affect much of the American literature that followed it. However, this is another novel which is more important to read for its historical significance than for its story.

When I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain in high school, it was possibly the first book I enjoyed that was assigned by a teacher. Twain's imagery puts the reader right beside Huck while he escapes 'sivilization' and floats down the Mississippi river with his slave-gone-fugitive friend Jim. Huck's innocent outlook on the world is both humorous and adorable. Huck's respect for Jim is admirable. Even though Huck was brought up with Jim being a inferior slave, he still looks up to Jim. Also, I think that although Jim's dialect adds to the effectiveness of the book, it is very difficult to understand. I think Twain writes it a little too much how the dialect sounds. I would recommend this book to anyone. It offers plenty of excitement and surprises.

I love Mark Twain! I am currently learning English in China. It is really hard for me to learn it here because there is not an evironment. But I tried to read some books in English and it did affect me a lot! From all the books I like Mr Mark Twain's best. Because his stories are mainly all about the childlife and I am also a kid, in fact. I am 14 years old. This helped me to know what American Children thought and lear my vocabularies. I know I wasn't able to win the contest because my English is poor, but I do think Mark Twain's books are nice. I have learned lots of words from it. I have also learned some in Chinese in our Chinese Text Book. One is called " Electing the State Minister", this passage is really nice and it not only is humor but also let us know what the U.S. Society used to be. In fact, I think he is the greatest author in the States. The book "Huck Finn" however, is a continue of the book "Tom Sawyer Adventure", and it shows us what happens next and also tell us what Huck had experienced. It tell me what the 19th Century boys in America thought and helped me to understand that I should not study all the time, as the Chinese students are hard at studying and I will find time to relax. And this did help my study! May I ever thanked him for giving us such good books. May I ever remeber him for helping me to know many things.

This may well be the best book RAND has ever produced--certainly the best I have ever seen or reviewed. An edited work, it brings together thirty-one authorities and integrates very high-quality editing, photography, and references. It even has an index.

As one who regards the collection of imagery as a supporting event, in support of the creation of geospatially-based all-source databases and integrated analysis, I would observe that this book must be regarded as skewed toward policies and capabilities related to commercial imagery collection. It does not address the many vital topics having to do with geospatial databases, the integration of diverse sources of geospatial imagery including Russian military maps and classified digital terrain elevation data, or the integrating of imagery into the all-source analysis process.

Commercial imagery is running roughly twelve years behind the early projections on both its adoption and its gross revenue potential. This is in large part because of a consistent prejudice against commercial sourcing by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Defense Mapping Agency (now the National Imagery and Mapping Agency). There are implications to this on-going negativity for the business marketplace--the cost of commercial imagery is still much higher than it need be, simply because the government is as yet unwilling to recognize that it should spend billions on acquiring commercial source imagery, not on building even more useless secret imagery satellites.

I recommend this book strongly, both for commanders who would like to exercise some control over national imagery collection policies and investments; and for business leaders who might wish to contemplate how the taxpayer dollar could be better spent in support of generic commercial imagery capabilities whose fruits can be easily shared with the private sector and especially non-governmental organization.

The editors and the authors of this book have excelled. I can find nothing to criticize--indeed, I expect the editors to get to work immediately on a follow-on book that brings together different authorities and focuses on the database and analysis side of the matter.

Review provided by Glenn Lethm, Managing Editor SpatialNews.com & WirelessDevnet.com -- This joint publication of RAND and the ASPRS takes a technological and political view in an effort to help readers better understand the political, security, and market implications of today's commercial satellites. The book will satisfy readers from government, industry, NGO's, and academia looking for answers that explain both the benefits and risks associated with using remotely sensed data acquired from a number of commercial observation systems.

It is apparent that the publication was put together with a great deal of support from the commerical agencies responsible for maintaining the observation systems mentioned in the book, as well as from government agencies around the world. The book kicks off with a detailed examination of policies and issues associated with the development of commercial remote sensing programs. A number of detailed examples of remote sensing applications to international problems are presented along with a section dedicated to emerging International political issues faced by policy makers.

Readers should take away a good overview of who the traditional and new users of remotely sensed data are as well as an understanding of uses and applications of the data.

If any chapter is not to be skipped over, it's section 2 dealing with National remote sensing policies. An excellent historical account of national policies since the Cold War years covers the military and civilian policies of the US, Canadian, Russian, Japanese, French, Middle East, and India governments. Excellent examples of applications are offered up, as are detailed technical specifications of each nation's observation systems.

Appendices included with the title are not too lengthy and provide a list of abbreviations, bibliography, sample images, and not to be missed, a very interesting time line detailing the past, present, and future of the medium and high-resolution satellite world. About the only thing I could have asked for in this publication would be more example images included in the text. Students of geo-spatial and remote sensing courses, academics, researchers, government, and commercial agencies needing a primer on commerical observation systems and Satellite imagery will find this a very useful resource - this one will be a valued resource on your bookshelf for years to come.

Table of Contents: Section 1 - The Policy Making Context Section 2 - National Remote Sensing Programs & Policies Section 3 - Remote Sensing Applications to International Problems Section 4 - Emerging International Policy Issues