This book was helpful in defining all the new technologies and illustrates many challenges businesses face integrating their initiatives online.

There are a lot of facets to running a business that not only must serve an online community but an offline customer base as well. Gutzman does a nice job highlighting the various sectors and the tools businesses must consider to address those needs. She provides examples and case studies. Good book, must read.

In the Preface, Gutzman explains that her book "is designed to tell you what the must-have technologies are for your Web site, with resources listing vendors for each technology. However, new vendors are entering the field daily. For example, for the technology I discuss in the Epiloque, alternative payment systems, I received three press releases in the week before the book went to the printer. In fact, this book has been difficult to write because I have never felt that any chapter was finished." Nor could one be. There are several reasons why I thus begin this brief commentary. First, to indicate that Gutzman focuses on "must-have technologies" rather than on, for example, specific strategies and tactics. Also, to indicate (as does she) how rapidly circumstances in the "digital arena" can change. Finally, to suggest that a Web site is never "finished." Gutzman organizes her material within five Parts: The E-Commerce Climate, Technologies for Driving Traffic, Technologies for Making Buying Easier, Technologies for Customer Service, and finally, Turnkey Growth. Of special interest to me are the various "Case Studies" of exemplar companies and technology applications. Also various "Profiles" such as those of "Net Perceptions", "Soliloquy" and "BroadVision", each of which briefly discusses specific functions, features, and benefits of specific technologies. As a non-technical person, I commend Gutzman on creating access for me to subjects which can sometimes be daunting, if not intimidating.

Gutzman's is a "three-pronged strategy" for meeting your demands: implement essential technologies, maintain a flexible business model, and outsource everything. Think of the material in her book as if it were on display in a store which you enter, tool box in hand. Roam the aisles. Examine various clusters of items. She is your expert advisor as well as the store's proprietress. (I strongly suspect that she had this metaphor in mind when writing the book.) Over time, all of your questions are answered. She helps you to make appropriate selections. In process, she has helped you to understand not only what you need and how to use it but also why you need it. Effective use of the 12 "must have" technologies will drive traffic to the Web site, create and sustain Web site functionality, and facilitate customer service which ensures that the Web site will be ETDBW (Easy to Do Business With). In the Epilogue, Gutzman adds another "must have" technology: alternative payment systems.

For whom will this book be most valuable? First, I highly recommend it to decision-makers in small-to-midsize organizations which already have or are now developing a Web site. The more they know and the more they understand, the better prepared they will be to select and then work with vendors. (NOTE: Reputable vendors will welcome such expertise because it enables them to accomplish more for their client and in less time. The same expertise will enable decision-makers to recognize disreputable vendors, either immediately or soon thereafter. That one benefit all by itself is worth at least ten times the cost of the book and probably a great deal more.) I also strongly recommend this book to decision-makers in larger organizations because, in the "digital arena", they will be expected (if not required) to gain a literacy in the technologies which Gutzman examines. Also, these same decision-makers will become progressively more involved in business initiatives (marketing, client relationships, strategic planning, market research, etc.) which the "must have" technologies support. Congratulations to Gutzman on a brilliant achievement.

The E-Commerce Arsenal surveys twelve technologies needed to prevail in the digital business world, from submitting a URL and web positioning to using targeted direct email. The case histories from other business experiences are particularly revealing, covering common problems and solutions.

This book originally had the title "Everyman's Guide of First Names" published in 1983 by Dent. I read it twice and I agree that there should be a revised edition for the new millenium.
If you like books on names, get this one!

As an author of historical fiction, I consider this book the "bible" of names. For me, the value is in the fact that it gives the time periods during which each name was popular, which is extremely helpful in my line of work. Also, there have been other reviews panning the name being "New American", but perhaps this is due more to the fact that the book was published by New American Library than any effort to advertise it as a dictionary of American names. Love it, had to buy a new one because my old one fell apart. The best name book I have ever come across.

This is the only name book with "baby" in the title that is worth reading. (It was originally titled "The Facts on File Dictionary of First Names".) The only real competitor this has is George Rippey Stewart's "American Given Names", which will cost you over six times as much.

Dunkling, who founded Britain's Names Society, and Gosling don't just tell you the meaning of the name, but its derivation, when it entered the language, when it became popular (and fell off, and rebounded), why people used it when they did, literary examples, and lots of other juicy bits.

One drawback is that it hasn't been revised since its appearance in 1983, and has missed some of the recent fads. The no. 1 girl's name of 1990 isn't in here at all. (You'll find it on a map of France.) But then, no one predicted the Pet Rock either.

Every literate person should have a name book next to his dictionary and thesaurus. This book costs less than a movie ticket, is more fun, and lasts a lot longer. Never mind the new parents, get it for yourself!

The book has no index and the table of contents is only pattern names and not manufacturers. Although this book has great pictures, unless you specifically know what you are looking for; it is difficult to find things in it.

The information in the book is interesting but not specific enough. Pages of pictures but do not name the pieces and sometimes it is difficult to know which piece is which. Also, can't really see the patterns very well; maybe so he can sell the book that just has patterns.

Very pleased with this book. Many large, clear color photographs. Great variety of china and glassware included.

I'm a big fan of Alex de Jonge's. His biographies of Stalin and Rasputin are so interesting that they are hard to put down. I think he's gotten a bit out of his field, however, with his study of the Weimar Republic. First of all, it is important to note that this is not political history; there is some of that--the aftermath of Versailles, the horrid inflation, the Hitler putsch and ultimate rise to power--but there is more social and cultural history here, and it's not really very well done. There's no "flow" to the book, as he'll jump from one topic to another, including a chapter on film, theater, and cabaret, that I finally just quit reading, for I found it uninteresting. Others who are more interested in cultural history--including the sexual mores of the time, which de Jonge fully exploits, and effectively--will enjoy the book more. But if one is looking for a good, solid study of the Weimar Republic and why it did not succeed--which is what I wanted--this is not really the best book to read.
There is one other negative I'd like to mention. It seems like almost half the book is quotations from various sources. Well placed quotations, of course, are good and helpful, but too many rob a book of continuity and flow. And that's the situation here.
The book is short--less than 250 pages--thus covers nothing in detail because it covers so many things.
I'm glad I read it, but, frankly, there's not a lot of it that's going to stick with me for very long, except in the most general terms. It just wasn't that impressive.