D.R. SarDesai's work is a great introduction to the history of Southeast Asia. He manages to weave history of a region laden with ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity into a relatively seamless whole.

His approach deliniates the history of the region into three phases: precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial. This becomes a common theme in the book, especially when the implications of the effects of Europeans and Americans in the region are considered.

Some people may be turned off by SarDesai's perspective, which is profoundly and explicitly critical of American foreign policy. However, while I disagreed with many of his arguments, I found SarDesai's approach quite refreshing.

On the whole, this introduction to Southeast Asia is indespensible to anyone with no prior knowlege of the region.

I read this novel for a class in British Orientalist literature. It's a series of letters written by a woman who travels to the East. Read it in conjunction with _Arabian Nights_, _Vathek_, _Rasselas_, and some other Orientalist tales, and you can get some interesting insights in eighteenth century England and the exotic/erotic elements of the East.

This book elaborates the difficulties that children from poor Indian families face in their struggle for survival. More so if they have a drunkyard as thier father.Further one gets a closer peep into the problem of migration from villages towards cities in search of prosperity and enhanced employment opportunities.The challenges,brutal struggle for survival of a city life has been clearly elucidated herein. In all its a very satisfying reading experience which promises economic salvation of India in the form of industrialization.

If Anita Desai's novels revolve around the theme of alienation and lonliness, then this book is certainly no exception. When the protagonist feels the impact of yet another pregnancy, both the minor irritations and the frank grittiness of life become too much to bear. She shuts down emotionally and escapes physically to the island of her childhood where she hopes to remain pregnant with the baby forever since bringing another child into the world is more that she can handle. Though seemingly fantastical in nature, Anita Desai paints a very vivd portrait of a woman who seems alienated by the very air that she breathes. Readers will be gripped by the storyline though the English may seem somewhat stilted and artificial to the American reader. The tidy summation , as well, seemed a bit simplistic and not exactly what the reader may have hoped for. All in all, a great little book embracing the universal themes of a woman's life.

I always feel like I've read something good if I'm still trying to interpret it weeks after I've finished it. Such is the case with "In Custody." On one hand, it's a very entertaining, almost slapstick account of a poor chump who serves badly at a less-than-stellar academic institution. After finishing it, though, I've been doing a lot of thinking about new versus old theme in particular... [There] are very valid questions today, which makes this a timely read.

I haven't seen the film, and I'm not a student of Urdu poetry, but I really enjoyed this book. In fact, it's the only truly delightful, light-handed academic satire I've ever read. You'll find none of the hit-'em-over-the-head-in-case-they-miss-the-point nonsense of Jane Smiley's Moo and none of the archness and linguistic density of Alexander Theroux's D'Arconville's Cat. Desai employs a gentle, kind humor and simple, but totally controlled, style to create two memorable characters who will long outlive more fervid attempts to show the sometimes ridiculous lengths to which academics must go to achieve their goals and the goals thrust upon them.

It's been a while since I've read it, but am inspired to write about it since this book is far superior to the one I'm reading now by the same author (Journey to Ithaca). I loved this book. I feel that Desai truly captured the feeling of a bygone time (which was bygone already in the story). The frustration the poor lecturer felt at his failed attempts to record the great Urdu Ghazal master, which led to one disaster after another...poor loser, is felt by the reader. If you've ever been to India, you can just imagine the setting, the streets, the buildings, the city where the lecturer goes to make his recordings. The underhandedness of the Master's mistress, and the drunken stupidity of the "chumchas" is so typical, as is the nagging wife of the lecturer who just doesn't understand his artistic pursuits. Desai gave this book a wonderful ending too. Despite all that went wrong, the Master still saw through his drunken haze the sincerity of the lecturer and left him "In Custody," of his compositions. A masterful, bitter sweet ending.

I am a long-time MCSE 4 and I purchased this set to help me get through the core exams. I am also a CNE-5, CCNA, CCDA. I studied these books and passed the Professional and Server exams. I then studied the directory admin and network admin in preparation for the 70-240 exam. Fortunately, I have 2 cisco routers, 3 hubs, two servers, a cable modem, 2 workstations and 2 laptops. I was able to test everything I read. I was able to pass the 70-240 exam, but I believe it was due to hands-on instead of bookreading. I am going for the 70-219 exam next but won't be buying the Sybex book for this. This set will help you pass the exam if you are able to do all the exercises and create new ones on your own.

I used the Sybex books for the NT 4.0 exams so I figured why not use them for the 2000 exams.

I thought the 70-210, 70-215 and 70-216 books were good, BUT the 70-217 book is terrible. Lots of mistakes, awful questions at the end of the chapter. I even found some incorrect answers within the questions provided.

I'm not sure if I'm going to use Sybex for any of the others.

While I would hesitate to say that the first editions of these books stunk, Sybex really stepped it up with the second editions. I had a chance to look at the first editions, and decided to go with another book (which was not very helpful). As an MCSE in NT 4, I have the basic understanding and experience needed to pass these exams. But unfortunately, I have test anxiety. The review questions in these books were extremely helpful, as well as challenging. They gave me an idea of what to expect when I was ready for the test. I used the Net Infrastructure and Directory Services books to prepare for the exams, and I passed. In addition, the real world examples and Exam Essentials section helped me gleen from the text what was very important.

You'll need Viagra to get up to speed for the exam after reading this one. I am an MCSE, CCNA and a technical writer for several leading tech rags, and I have to say that this is one of the worst books I have ever read. The author spends more time trying to "make it interesting" than giving you useful info that you can actually use. Example: During the discussion on Site Links the author fails to inform you that if you plan to use SMTP to perform directory replication that DCs need to be in different domains and in different sites. This minor oversight could have a huge impact both on the exam and in the real world. Another example is the complete lack of a discussion on how the tombstone setting of directory objects affects the effective shelf life of your backups. Hello???? It's like Sybex just followed the bare minimum in order to call this thing a study guide. The software is ok, but the free practice exams were weak as expected. I like books that I can keep as reference material after I read them. The only thing you will use this one for is lining your garbage can. Don't waste your time with this dribble. Get a real book.

This book was the most disappointing so far of all the Sybex books I've used for Microsoft and Cisco certifications. The author constantly repeats himself from paragraph to paragraph, making the book rather tedious reading. Cut out the redundancy and the book could easily be 150 pages shorter, without cutting any material. Another complaint is the unacceptable lack of depth. This book felt more like a topical overview than an actual exam prep guide. Through the entire book I kept waiting for the author to "get into" the subject material, but after each chapter I was left empty and hopelessly disappointed. A significant portion of my test-prep learning came from using the Transcender practice exams (purchased separately, a bit expensive, but definitely worth it) because they give much more in-depth information as to why right answers are right, and why wrong answers are wrong. Also, let me add that this book is full of errors and inconsistencies, and this was in the 2nd Edition no less. For example, in Ch.12 he lists 5 bulleted points as *mandatory minimum* config for RIS clients: P-166, 32MB, 1.2GB HD, NIC, PXE Boot ROM. In the practice exam he asks which of the following is wrong, and lists P-166, 32MB, 800MB HD, PXE. You'd expect the answer to be the HD, because it's only 800MB instead of 1.2GB, right? WRONG!! His answer is that PXE is not mandatory because you can use a floppy instead. Okay, I can understand that, but when the chapter says minimum 1.2GB and test implies 800MB is acceptable, that's an inexcusable inconsistency-- and this book had many of these, forcing the reader to stop and consult another source (such as the Microsoft website) to get the real answer. Using this book PLUS the Transcenders netted me a score in the low 900s on the exam (taken in Jan 2002) but I can tell you from experience that this book alone does not have NEARLY enough depth of coverage to adequately prepare you.

Don't get me wrong, these will get you there. But when the other reviewers say that there are inaccuracies, they're not kidding. I think it has to do with their simplified language. Their definitions of Group Scope for example are convoluted, and seemingly contradicts actual functionality. Just compare their definition of a Domain local group to one in a decent reference manual, or the online help for that matter, and see if you think they got it right. I don't. I wouldn't rely on them for day to day admin, and besides the Microsoft Press books usually provide eval versions of the OS for the test labs you'll want to make.

Okay, this is an opinion but I didn't like this book. This was not a book for me. I read it, at every step I was caught between what I interpreted to be either dither pretentiousness or elevated lierary pedestrianism, but as I wrote, this is my opinion only. But, as far as I was conerned, worse still I liked it so little that I was virtually compelled to tell someone. To say that this is a brilliant set of observations of humanity would be like saying that a photocopier is capable of seeing into the soul of man, analyzing it, making it extremely and tediously dull, and them making double sided copies of it, in black, gray and white.

Sorry to be so jaundiced but I really don't see what all the fuss is about...

I enjoyed reading Desai's Diamond Dust and other Stories due to the wide range of themes she explores in these stories, ranging from insensitivity to others as in" Royalty" , human obsessions as in the title story ,the need for privacy in " Underground " ,sibling and filial relationships in a cross-cultural framework as in "Winterscape" , a nostalgia for the bygone days and times as in " Tepoztlan Tomorrow " .The sense of place is very strong in these stories , bringing about a confluence of cultures ,and casts an undeniable influence onthe characters ,moulding their perceptions and affecting their choices . The stories are memorable due to the powerful delineation of characters reflecting the subtle shades of the complex human personality .The stories stir up the feelings of the reader through the psychological depth and the perceptive tone .The element of drama and climactic conflict seems to be lacking in these stories , yet it is the imaginative vitality and the poetic vision of the author which becomes the tour de force of these stories .

Some of these stories are excellent, some just good. Winterscape was one of the best stories I've read. I found the collection to be an excellent observation of "East" meets "West." "Underground" had an especially excellent exploration of this theme.

Make sure this is not the first Anita Desai novel you read. This is so unlike her previous works, it makes you wonder who the author really is. The language is different - much lighter and easier to read. Some parts of it remind you of Roy or Desai Jr.

The Fasting part is long. It's main protagonist Uma - you cannot help compare her and her context to Bim in Clear Light of Day - leads a pitiful existence peppered with everything evil that can happen with arranged marriages. Is there anything cheerful in her existence? However, there are moments in her life - her "little escapes" by associating herself with the nuns and their little art and craft projects was quite touching.

The Feasting part was interesting. It had its moments of promise - but ended rather quickly without the characters having any time to develop. Maybe this was deliberate and reflective of the lack of communication amongst the family members of the Mass suburbia - I am not sure.

The ties between the two parts are tenous and quite forced. I would almost like the Feasting part developed and nurtured a little and published on its own. Fasting is easily forgettable - its banality of themes and its treatment is quite unacceptable from a writer of Desai's ability. Read Clear Light of Day instead - which I believe is one of the best books of the century.

I must say, I find some of the negative comments of others surprising since I felt this to be the most compelling of Desai's books. I think that it is deceptively simple and quite profound in parts. I have read it twice and upon the first the reading I admit that I did not think that I stumbled on to something special. But something told me I should consider it further, because like an unexpected feast, it was memorable. I felt so pulled by it that I actually decided it would be a book worth sharing with my students. They are currently in the process of reading it and enjoying her prose while considering the novel's subtle undertones. Unlike many other novels, this one does not gloss over or pretend to hide the obvious flaws and irrationality of either the Indian or American culture. Instead, it delivers a poignant, often startling, and ultimately, I think, positive view of acceptance--of one's life, of one's family and of one's culture. As far as the ending is concerned, it is wholly truthful. What aspect of life ends with any real sense of closure? Like Desai's characters, we only move and meander along, unsure of our footing at times. Her ability to draw out richness from the limited simplicity of her characters lives is quite remarkable. The more I reflect on the novel, the more I am impressed with her insight and intelligence.

The books deals with two differant cultures. First part of the book highlights the Indian traditions, cultures and mostly the place of a woman in an Indian family. Anita Desai has done an excellent job in describing the indian family to every single detail of existance. Though this type of families still exists in India, Please do not generalise this view to the whole nation. It is only a 40% of families that could relate to the book specially in states where literacy is meagre.

I must say however, there are lots of uma's in India, today, and all they need is a little encouragement with education and exposure to the outside world, and she could definitely be a very strong woman. I loved this character of Uma in the book because she was both willing to take a chance with life and at the same time dedicated to her family. And she took all that happened to her life with such grace that she did not give me a chance to cry for her. Thats her inner strength.

The second part of the book deals with the dillemma of Arun in a world which he could not have imagined. Arun, the younger brother of Uma reaches Massachusettes for his higher studies, and is totally taken aback by the lifestyles of the west.

The most beautiful part of the book is its literatrue. So well written and with accurate details, its definitely a joyful read.

I'm extremely disappointed to have to give this rating. All of the Sybex MCSE book that I have read have been great. This book is missing a LOT of information. For example, there are several questions in the back of each chapter that ask questions that were not discussed, or have answers with data that is nowhere to be found.

The content is terribly disorganized with two sections on DHCP, for example, repeating themselves. Just about every topic provides incomplete information. Errors, typographical and question answers, are everywhere! Two words in a row, misspellings, mislabeled end of chapter answers. ACK!

This really is an awful book; HUGE disappointment. Stay away from this brick.

This book disappointed me. I have used Sybex books in the past to study for my Windows NT exams with pretty good results. This book seems to gloss over some very important concepts, at the same time telling you that you need to understand them for the test. If you know your stuff, it is not all that bad, but this is definitely not for a beginner. The questions at the end of the chapters sometimes don't refer to anything you would have learned from reading the chapter.

Not sure what the previous reviewer was looking for but this book is excellent in its organization and coverage of all of the exam objectives. I found its organization logically better than the Sybex Study Guide for 70-240. Coverage of exam objectives is short and to the point. If you already understand Windows 2000 thoroughly or have completed the Sybex Study Guide then you will find the Exam Notes most effective. I used this text and the Study Guide with a little bit of dabbling into the Resource Kit and I passed the exam. Highly recommended.