Save your money and purchase the REAL stories 'outlined' in this cheap book put together to ride the wave of The Perfect Storm. The collection of stories is nothing more than a collection of extended abstracts of the real stories. Many of the 'abstracts' are taken out of context and the reader does not get an accurate picture of what and why the nautical situation developed or how it concluded. Pass on this one.

This book is in a series put out by Adrenaline books and each book contains certain selections chosen by the editor. The selections are either excerpts from books, excerpts from diaries and journals, short stories, or an occasional essay. I look at how good the writing is, and how good the stories are.

There are 16 selections in this book. Half of them range from good to great, and the other eight are fairly poor. The writing is okay throughout, with some being more exceptional than others, but it's the stories that differ the most in quality. Six of them, whether written well or not, have virtually no story whatsoever or are very poor. As it turns out, the best stories in this book are also some of the better written. This is where the book's strength shows up. The selections introduce you to stories and books you may have never read and after reading some of the good selections, it makes you want to go read the books they were taken from. So I would mostly recommend this book to people who have not read much or any sea stories. It introduces you to a wide variety of sea literature. But otherwise I would only lightly recommend it by saying that everyone would find some selections that they really like.

Clint Willis has created a fascinating series of books with Epic, Climb, High, Wild, Ice, Rough Water, and The War. Each of these volumes presents the best literature about their respective subjects in a powerful cohesive manner. These books are a quick read, but intricate and spellbinding. I have given many of them to friends and family as gifts.

I have this book. This book is a poor atempt at up dateing a drafting book to a CAD world. The CAD parts of this book are small and short. They were added to an existing book to bring it into the 1980-90's. The seems to be witten by a school teacher not a practiceing Architect with very little background into what is done in a small Architectal firm. I have not looked at the new addition but here is what it needs, a total rework of the existing material to bring it up to the year 2000, along with a CD-ROM that includes all the question at least one or two full sets of house plans. First a stock set of plan would allow the teacher to due a room addition project, change to a set of stock plans. a second set of plans be unfinished just the outline of the house, and a door and window schedule with blocks of all the windows, other drawing could be started also. It's not worth the ..., when there are up to date books for far less money. A stock set of plan would allow the teacher to due a room addition project, change a set of stock plans. a second set of plans could be unfinished just the outline of the house, and a door and window schedule with blocks of all the windows.

I bought it used (1996 edition)at a bargain rate, in top condition. I'm changing from mechanical to architectural design and the book is priceless for me. It has all the basics, and lots of details. The book is a textbook with assignments and tests. Saves going to class. The focus is on design rather than CAD.

This text has the ability to encourage the student in architectural drawings because of its excellent use of architectural designs and actual color photographs which back up the drawings. Clear examples are used to make the drawings come alive to the student. The text is challenging but understandable to the college student. It is creativly written in a clear and concise way. Great work, Mr. Jefferis!

I wish I hadn't broken the seal on the CD-ROM that came with this book because within 20 minutes I wanted to return it. Subtitled "Mastering the AWT," the book spends very little time on the Java AWT, instead pushing for the use of the JGT (Java Graphics Toolkit) which accompanies the book. The chapters suggest they will be covering the AWT but they all really say "The AWT sucks, and so you should use our JGT." I wanted a book on the AWT

This book was very helpful in terms of providing code and ideas for my project. But having been written in java1.0, it had to be modified. None of the java books are completely Object-Oriented. Ifs and thens should be things of past by now.

The book is not intend for beginner. But, you really should consider it book as your second java book on your bookshelf, if you need AWT now, instead of waiting for Java 1.2. It covers AWT in deep and in detail. It has a lot of example code with detail explanation to almost each few lines of the code, (even in the last few chapters). It spends just enough pages to cover to AWT, but too many coverage on the GJT. However, programming Java 1.2's AWT is going to totally different from Java 1.1. So, it may not be a good time to buy now if you want to learn the most updated AWT.

Cuba is a visual delight and, with more than 100 color photographs, David Alan Harvey shows you why. Combine Harvey's images of life in Cuba with Elizabeth Newhouse's terse yet thorough style and you have a perfect match for this book.

I have recently visited Cuba and found that Harvey's photography captures the essence of Cuba's greatest resource - the Cuban people. Strong and proud, though materialistically impoverished, the people of Cuba are rich in relationships, music, dance and defiance. Harvey, a photographer for National Geographic, has spent the last 20 years photographing Latin America and is skilled at capturing people in their everyday environment.

Newhouse's chapter on the turbulent history of Cuba is excellent. Without pulling any punches about the glaring deficiencies of Castro's totalitarian Communist government, she writes with objectivity about life in Cuba and she is able to show, with sensitivity to the culture, the strength found in the people of Cuba. "But above all Cuba is music," Newhouse writes, "expressing Cubans' intense joy in life, sensuality and machismo. Garcia Marquez calls Cuba 'the most dance oriented society on earth. And that Fidel Castro is the only Cuban who can't dance, should have warned the people about him from the start.'"

The downside of this book is the publisher/printer's very poor reproduction of Harvey's photos. Almost all of the photos are too dark and thus rob the effect that David Harvey intended. Considering that National Geographic is distinguished for its stunning photography, I called the publisher and asked about this blunder and was told that the printer, not the photographer, was culpable.

This book celebrates the passion, color and sensuality of the Cuban people, and, even with the gray backdrop of Communism framing their existence, and the deficiency in the photo reproduction, the Cubans are still able to shine through the gloom and darkness. Recommended.

I have traveled to Cuba and I have followed the photographic work of David Harvey for more than 20 years. While neither makes me an expert I do know that the Cuba Harvey captured is the Cuba I saw and felt when I visited several years ago while on a teaching visa. Harvey caresses his subjects with intensity and love. He blends in - he becomes a part of the scene - while not changing the scene. He is both a photographer's photographer and a man of the people. We hang with the saxophone player in Trinidad on page 45, we roam the late night streets of Havana on pages 92-93, we are unseen as we observe the barbershop/front bedroom on page 166. I highly recommend this book to those who love photography, those who love people and want to learn something about another place, to those who desire to sit awhile in a culture other than their own, and to those who simply love images and the gift a fine photograph can bring to your life. It is a true gift. This captures the vibrant yet gentle Cuba of today, of now, not of tightly clutched notions that died 50 years ago.

David Alan Harvey, long one of the most outstanding photographers at an outstanding publication, National Geographic, has produced that captures well the beauty, spirit, and reality of life in Cuba. Harvey's masterful compositions with his trademark use of strong, vibrant color remind one of Alex Webb's photographs of Haiti and the tropics.

I suspect that those who complain about "dark pictures" have missed the point; the photographer seems to deliberately have exposed for the highlights, leaving his shadow areas to fall to blackness and lending the subjects in his photos a timeless anonymity.

And the harsh reviews that Harvey has "misunderstood" Cuba seem to be misguided on the part of some reviewers. I guess they'd rather deny that the poverty reflected in some of his photographs actually exists, and bash him for merely bringing a non-Cuban perspective to the land they love with rose-tinted vision, rather than address the actual points his work raises.

David Day, in writing Tolkien's Ring, has seemingly changed Tolkien's written word to suit his purpose. Not only does he make many factual errors about the books by the author of the title, but fabricates evidence and deforms Tolkien.

"Sauron of the Evil Eye," says Day, is comparable to "Balor of the Evil Eye," and so forth. Unfortunately, for Day, nowhere in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is Sauron called such, thus making the comparison useless. And so on. There are too many such twistings of the original text to cite, too many of Day's own extrapolations quoted as the truth in The Lord of the Rings, for my comfort.

On the plus side, he presents an intriguing collection of stories. Yet knowing how he meddled with Tolkien, I cannot help but wonder if the tales I am reading therein are true to the originals.

The main good thing about this book is Alan Lee's fantastic imagery, which once again shows him to be undeniably the greatest Tolkien artist around. Having portrayed everything from hobbits to bigfeet without ever losing the mythic and ageless qualities inherent in his works, he brings a brilliant touch to the images in this book.

If only the same could be said of Mr. Day's text.

as other reviewers have suggested, the book is attractive because Tolkien fans are ravenous for more materials and this book has Tolkien's name on it in big gold letters. However, I must stress that this is not sufficient reason to buy it:

Pros: comprehensive discussion of the history of the ring as a symbol in lore and of its use in Tolkien. Also fascinating illustrations by incomparable Tolkien illustrator Alan Lee.

Cons: First, to be called Tolkien's Ring, it ought to have more analysis of Tolkien's Ring. On the contrary, it only spends a chapter on that. The title is almost false, so called to attract Tolkien fans. Also, to put it bluntly, Day is boring to read and although the subject matter is interesting, his style is not engaging.

It was a decent read, and i recommend it to anyone interested in the history of the use of rings in lore. But Tolkien fans will not learn anything new or interesting about Tolkien or his work.

Alan Lee illustrates Tolkien Ring, with black and white and some color drawings accompanying a literary investigation of Tolkien's inspirations and stories. Suitable for a gift, yet affordable enough for personal enjoyment.

Nibert makes leaps and bounds between his different trains of thought with no real logic coherently holding them together. He also grossly distorts reality and presents his own opinions as "facts."

David Nibert does a wonderful job of using social theory to explain animal oppression and show the ties of animal oppression to the institution of capitalism. He enhances his topic by showing how the oppression of animals is deeply entangled with the oppression of humans based on ethnicity, gender, and social class. Using a slightly modified version of Donald Noel's theory of ethnic stratification, Nibert clearly maps out his ideas concerning the oppression of non-human animals. He covers all aspects of oppression, ranging from the truths behind flesh consumption to the use of animals in vivosects. His topics then expand to show how the autrocities committed against animals then lead to, and help support, the oppression of humans.
This book is a must for anyone concerned with animal rights AND human rights. Equality will not come from seperate movements fighting for one cause. Coming together, and realizing that the cause being fought for is universal and spans the bridge between humans and animals, is the only way to make progess. David Nibert makes this issue painfully clear.

While written over 24 years ago, I was hoping this book would give me an understanding of the mathematical basis (if not the current state-of-the art;) ) of computer graphics. Despite (arguable to many) years of university math courses, I found this volume merely humbling, rather than enlightening. If you are more comfortable with fairly advanced mathematical notation and concepts than most, especially relative to geometry, you may find this book useful. I found it only marginally useful -- primarilly as a reference to some concepts I had previously been exposed. Best of luck.

Excellent coverage of matrix transformations. Some I had seen elsewhere, some not. This books real strength is the coverage of splines and patches however. Very readable w/ little procedural seggestion, i.e. implementation left to the reader.

I bought this book for a beginning algebra course. It was a useful book. I passed with an "A".

This collection of articles represents a political point of view about the politics of modern Irish history, not always to my personal taste, but carefully done, all the same.

What I found most valuable was the 13 page introductory essay by the editors. It was worth the price of the entire book to me, as I can now follow much more readily discussions I encounter at home and on-line - who's revisionist, who's counter-revisionist, or why so-and-so is anti-revisionist.

There are 10 essays by authors from several countries (including Wales and Australia). Each explores a topic; 18th century Ireland, the Act of Union between Britain & Ireland, The Famine, Irish Nationalism, Irish Unionism, Home Rule and others. The editors' expressed intention is for a "common thread" of "revisionism" to link them all not only to the debate within Ireland, but to the international debate on methods of historical interpretation.

As a 3rd generation Irish American, I was particularly interested in "Revising the Diaspora", by co-editor Alan O'Day, which I found quite fascinating, as my ancestors arrived both pre- and post- Famine, having very different experiences here in the US. It also flourishes extensive footnotes (as do they all) for further exploration.

If you're interested in modern Irish history, or in the methods and practice of history globally, this scholarly yet emminently readable book is well worth a read.

One of the problems that our next President does not want to face is the resignation, or the removal from the Federal Reserve Chairmanship by Mr. Greenspan. As I write we still have no President, thankfully we do have Mr. Greenspan.

For those readers who follow or invest in the markets, you all are acutely aware of the power this man wields, 2 words can literally have an impact on markets measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Who will forget "irrational exuberance"? Those words were not even a declaration, but part of a rhetorical comment, and terror still ensued.

Contrary to what often is reported, Mr. Greenspan speaks English. However the word parse has become connected with any statement he makes. So the routine is, Mr. Greenspan speaks, and I truly believe the vast majority understand him, but like any event the press and their "experts" take apart every word, whether his brow is wrinkled, and essentially try to graph each appearance and comment to find the "true meaning". I have always found this annoying and condescending. People who are sophisticated enough to manage their money, can manage to understand our Fed Chairman.

I made it through this book, but I would not recommend you bother. There is a new book about the man I am reading, and so far it is excellent. This work reinforces the idea that experts need to break down every word, and then explain what Mr. Greenspan means. There are no great insights offered, nothing is simplified, you will learn virtually nothing about the workings of The Federal Reserve, and if you feel comfortable listening to the Chairman now, this book will only make you question whether you should.

If you are looking for the opinions of these Authors, if you want to follow a needlessly complex maze of an attempt to find a pattern to everything the man has said, this is for you. As I said, Mr. Greenspan speaks English, and were it not for the emphasis placed on pairings of words out of context, and the emotions they generate, people would understand we have a brilliant Fed Chairman, who at times chooses to be vague, and at times cannot give definitive answers about the future, who can.

He has been a remarkable Chairman, appointed and reappointed by 3 presidents from both parties. Now you can take that statement at face value, or have the talking heads dissect it for you. The answer is the same either way, and the time you save listening to what you hear, and skipping the experts, is time better spent on anything else.

It is a recognised fact that statements from the Fed Chairman moves markets. Cruikshank and Sicilia here attempts to interpret the often incoherent mutterings of Mr Greenspan and hence throw light on his intended policy maneuvers. Which is all well and good. However, given the ambivalence of some of his statements, and the multitude of FedWatchers out there, how one interprets his statement may be different from what the market reads it as.

With the benefits of hindsight, analysis of Mr Greenspan's statements will always be easier. I feel that at the end of the day, the markets ultimately decides which way they would like to interpret his speech. The whole book is filled with quotes by Greenspan and commentaries by the authors on what these quotes actually mean. I feel however that the authors chose to emphasize on those quotes which actaully drove the market one way and downplay those that had less impact on the markets.

It's a veritable attempt by the authors here, but it was a real effort for me to finish the book.

David B. Sicilia and Jeffrey L. Cruikshank study how U.S. Federal Reserve Bank chairman Alan Greenspan interprets market forces. They explore how Greenspan's thoughts and actions affect markets. Knowing Greenspan's impact can be useful if you want to capitalize on market movements. The book examines the meaning - for investors - of Greenspan's relationship with the markets. Along the way, the reader gets a whirlwind tour of the U.S. and world economies. The take-home message repeated again and again - Greenspan and interest rates can move markets - is something savvy investors might already know. We [...] recommend this book to any investor who wants to understand the world economy better and to those who are interested, as investors or observers, in Greenspan's impact on the markets.