Since Tim Berners-Lee wrote of the Semantic Web
several years ago, there has been speculation about
how we might embed meaning within Web pages, as
opposed to merely displaying content. To answer this,
XML offers the separation of content from display.
From its user definable tags, different user
communities can define their own sets of tags and
associate meaning with those. XML offers the
infrastructure. But it is still fairly low level.
Assembler language, as it were, compared to more
powerful languages like C or Java.

So if XML is like an assembler, what is the analog of
C? This book puts forward XTM, XML Topic Maps, as the
answer. It consists of 17 chapters by different
authors, outlining various aspects of XTM. The
chapters can be divided into two types.

One type has nitty gritty explanations, replete with
examples of XTM written in XML. If you are a
programmer, these chapters are for you. There are web
sites listed with XTM definitions that you can

incorporate into your XTM, just like using standard
namespaces available on the web in normal XML.

The other chapters deal with the much deeper and
harder problem of how XTM may be used for Knowledge
Organisation and Knowledge Representation. They are
high level and abstruse, edging up to the issues of
semiotics and artificial intelligence.

As a side note: In the XTM examples and
implementations given, I was surprised to see no
mention of altavista's graphical representation of

search results, circa 1998. This was not in XTM, but
it conveyed the flavour. What happened was that if you
searched for, say, 'tornado', the results would appear
as a graph. The nodes would be the main keywords in
the documents containing 'tornado'. Nodes would be
connected to each other if documents contained both
those words. In this case, one might see two non
intersecting clusters - one related to weather
patterns, and the other to jet planes. By clicking on
a node, you could expand it into finer grained graphs.
It complements this book, whose main thrust is in
manually describing XML documents in an XTM format,
because it could achieve much the same visual results,
but derived automatically from arbitrary web pages.

In order to fully appreciate this book you will need a good working knowledge of XML and associated W3G documents, and more than a casual exposure to knowledge management. The first four chapters are a blend of historical information about XTM (XML topic maps) and fundamental technical information that describes design rationale and components of XTM (which is a separate open source initiative that is based on the ISO/IEC 13250 Topic Maps standard).

Chapters 5, 6 and 7 dive into the mechanics of XTM and knowledge management, and requires the prerequisite knowledge I cited above. This part of the book is not an easy read. This is not a reflection of the authors/editors ability to write as much as it is of the nature of the material. Knowledge management and development issues are given both wide and deep treatment in these chapters. Chapters 8 and 9 go deeper into the XML family as they relate to XTM (with an emphasis on XSLT), and address creating and maintaining sites that use XTM/XSLT as the core of a knowledge management strategy.

Related topics are covered in Chapters 10 through 13, including open source tools, RDF (widely used as a mechanism for weblogs and blogs that are gaining popularity), and semantic networks (intelligent agent-based systems). The final two chapters tie together the preceding material with a chapter devoted to topic map fundamentals for knowledge representation and a chapter about topic maps in knowledge organizations.

If you are interested in using an XML-like technology as the foundation of a knowledge management strategy, or are interested in learning about new directions in the integration of web technologies and knowledge management this book is ideal. For the technical reader the code examples, pointers to open source and commercial solutions and the website that supports this book (using topic maps, of course), this book is an excellent way to leverage knowledge of XML and use it to develop knowledge management solutions.

NIV-version is one of the best translations,and this dictionary is most helpful if you like deeper understanding of bible words.

Burrage wrote from the late 1800s to the mid-1950s, providing a powerful set of British supernatural stories which intrigued many a reader. Warning Whispers contains both stories presented in the original 1988 collection of his works plus eight new discoveries, from comedies to tragedies, and provide readers with an excellent and surprisingly diverse set of ghostly settings and encounters. Literary, powerful and highly recommended for ghost story fans.

I picked this book up on a lark, thinking it might have something to do with Walden Pond. . . It doesn't. It's a hilarious romp about Jack Douglas moving his family from the frozen north to Hollywood. Douglas was the Dave Barry of his day; I recommend this book to anyone who needs some stress relief!

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, set during the Crimean War (1854-1855), which focuses upon Sgt. "Fancy Jack" Crossman and his ragtag peloton (platoon) of (misfit) soldiers. Fancy Jack is actually the illegitimate son of a lord who opts for anonimity in the ranks as opposed to being an officer. He is in charge of a peloton of possibly the most unlikely band of soldiers, including a Turk, a Canadian (or American), and a sharpshooter who is actually a woman. They are the prototype of today's special forces, acting as saboteurs behind enemy lines, destroying a Russian crane, as well as performing the less savory tasks of hunting down a band of renegade British army deserters and gathering evidence of a British general's corruption and incompetence. Towards the end of the novel they participate in the attack on Kertch Harbor, but this is the only "traditional" battle that they see.
The author does an excellent job conveying the hopelessness and the futily of the Crimean War--the squalor, the mud, the entrenched lines which cannot be broken, the incompetence of the generals and the waste of lives, as well as descriptions of those Britons who went to Crimea as sightseers, along with servants, picnic baskets, wine, wives and mistresses, to witness the battles. I also like that Kilworth spends time describing the British class system and how it permeated the army (the younger sons of the aristocracy often went into the army as officers; their rank was purchased rather than awarded according to merit), thus keeping the officers forever separated from the men in the ranks and causing a great deal of anomisity on both sides.
I also like that the author has taken the time to develop his characters thoroughly. Readers have a good sense of exactly who Fancy Jack is, his strengths and weaknesses both as a soldier and as a human being, his strained relationship with his father, his love and admiration for his half-brother, his complicated relationship with Lavinia Durham (told with plenty of humor), an old flame now married to an officer, his uncertain feelings about his cousin (he comes across as a bit of a nerd), his good relationships with his superior officers (except Pirce-Smith) and with his peloton. The other characters are also fully developed, from the insecure whiner Wynter to the boastful (been everywhere, seen everything, done everything) Gwilliams to Peterson, the woman sharpshooter. They rag on eachother, pick on eachother, squabble just like siblings, yet when they have to operate as a unit, they do so. This unusual blend of war and personal relationships makes this an interesting change from the usual war novels, which tend to focus much more upon the fighting than the soldiers. I shall look for the earlier novels, and look forward to the further adventures of Fancy Jack and his peloton. Highly recommended.

I recommend The 7 secrets of financial success to anyone who wants to learn the basics of investment and debt. I find it to be an invaluable reference. Worksheets help you figure out your financial situation and help you begin saving.

An excellent introduction into fianance for the novice or those just wanting to get into finance. Highly recommend it

This was an easy to read, easy to understand colorful financial book. It was not over the head material that I am used to reading on personal finance.

I was 12 years old when I read this for the first time (I am now 33). I have recommended this book to lots of friends over the years, and everyone has enjoyed it. Jack Douglas' sense of humor is sarcastic, ironic and, at times, morbid...which, of course, makes for great comedy!

When you read one of Jack Douglas' books it is like a witty friend telling you about his life. He triuimphs over the commonness of everyday with a satirical sense of humor. When I grow-up I want to be Jack Douglas.

Just another excellent book in the series from Jack's life. No matter that they're out of print - search everywhere - they're worth it. I began reading Douglas in 1959 at the age of 14. After that, I eagerly awaited each new offering and occassionally managed to catch Douglas on T.V. As I remember them (more or less in the order published and the recommended order for reading): My Brother Was an Only Child, Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver, A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to the Grave (Autobiography), Huckleberry Hashimoto, The Neighbors Are Scaring My Wolf, The Japanese Sex and Cookbook and How to Raise Wolves, Shut Up and Eat Your Snowshoes, Going Nuts in Brazil, Benjamin Franklin Slept Here, and What Do You Hear from Walden Pond. There are probably more, but if you read these one after another, you'll probably need surgery.

A beautiful collection of photographs of rural Mississippi and some of it's population. Square format, black & white, sepia toned, soft focus images seem to be the style de ju and this book fits that bill! Some images delight and surprise, while others made me yawn. Like great music, only the test of time will prove if this collection of images is noteworthy and special, but for now I think they are!

I had never heard of Jack Spencer until I picked up this book of beautiful photos. His images - atmospheric, shadowy, beautifully printed, heavily sepia-tinted shots of mostly people, are nearly all mouth-wateringly luscious. My only reservation is that a few of the photos just feel a little too staged for style over content. But I hope more people get to know about him fast. For me, the most exciting photographic discovery since Sally Mann.

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable book. There is a wide variety of styles and content; each reader should be able to find at least one story to suit him or her (for those of us who are proud members - no pun intended - of the "Girls Who Like Boys Who Do Boys Club, Inc."). My personal favorite was the quirky and endearing "Je T'Aime, Batman, Je T'Adore," by Kelly McQuain. This story alone was worth the price of the book, and when I reached the end, I found myself wishing there were more of it. If you enjoy well-written erotic fiction, "The Best of Gay Erotica 1997" is well worth your time and money.

This book was a major disappointment for me, although that should not have come as a surprise since the quality of Mr. Douglas's books has declined steadily since the first one I read, Mind Hunter. The premise is a good one--he uses his modern "profiling" techniques to provide insights into some older, well-known murders. But his performance here is mediocre & this book proves to be his weakest yet.

The first four chapters deal in detail with Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden, the Lindbergh kidnapping, & the Zodiac killer. While the overviews are decent & his analysis more or less sound, of necessity he relies heavily on the writings & research of others & there is really nothing in these chapters that you could not find more extensively in a book devoted exclusively to any of those cases. The next chapter includes three more famous cases (the Black Dahlia, Bambi Bembenek, & the Boston Strangler) & the same criticisms that apply to the first chapters apply to this one except that his descriptions & analyses of the cases are much sketchier.

The book really falls apart though, in the last full chapter, which covers JonBenet Ramsey. Douglas has ties to the Ramsey family & their lawyers &, while he makes a couple of good points in favor of the "intruder" theory, his allegiance is obvious & he often does not play fair with his readers. His attempts to defend the Ramseys from any & all allegations are fairly pathetic & seriously call into doubt his objectivity. As an example, he makes a big deal out of the fact that the Ramseys submitted to having samples of their hair, etc. taken saying that if they were guilty they would never have done so. But this is disingenuous--the crime scene was the Ramsey house which would have been full of their hair & DNA so matching their samples up with something found in the house would really be meaningless. On the other hand, the Ramseys have consistently refused to be interviewed by the police--interviews which, if they were guilty, would be very dangerous for them. Douglas also belittles the fact that the Ramseys hired lawyers right after the crime saying that any potential suspect would have done so. While true, it was this "lawyering up" that prevented the police from having contact with the Ramseys & from properly investigating the crime. While one could understand a suspect refusing to talk with the police even if he were innocent, it is much more difficult to understand the motivation of a parent whose daughter had just been brutally murdered to impede the investigation of the crime in such a substantial way. Interviewing & clearing the Ramseys, or using the information they provided to match up with other leads, could have focused on some other suspect & possibly solved the case. Regardless of who committed this crime, & it could very well have been an intruder, Douglas's tortured excuse making for the Ramseys pretty much ruins this book & his credibility in general.

For someone who has never read anything on the crimes discussed in the early chapters, this book will provide a decent overview & reference for further reading. But the contents are nothing special &, in the case of the JonBenet chapter, are much less than that. Two stars.

Not since his first work, MINDHUNTER, have I read a Douglas book this interesting. Mindhunter set the pace for all the profiling narratives that followed. Although nobody does it better than Douglas, his subsequent works were somewhat lacking because they did not grab the reader with the same tenacity as his first novel. He takes a somewhat new direction with THE CASES THAT HAUNT US and in turn a better book surfaces.

In CASES THAT HAUNT US Douglas looks at some of the more infamous murders of all time and adds his professional perspective. Whereas he can offer nothing new (after all there have been thousands of books on Jack the Ripper for example), he does weigh some of the more mentioned theories and shows their strenghts and more often than not, their weaknesses. He picks some of the all time chilling real life horror stories....Jack the Ripper, The Zodiac, The Boston Strangler, The Lindbergh Kidnapping, and even the infamous Jon Benet Ramsey case. All the chapters are intriguing and well thought out. He does an outstanding job of showing how some of the conventional thinking on these cases is flawed and in turn relays his years of hands on experience in the field. Along the way, he peppers his views with recollections of cases he has touched.

The main point of controversy in this book in sure to be the Ramsey killing. It is no secret that Douglas was called in to offers his thoughts on this tragic event by the lawyers representing the Ramseys. While I do not agree that he sold out as some would insist, I do question his desire to hire himself out to the main suspects in this grisly event. (in all fairness to Douglas he does contend that after the initial consultation fee he refused to accept further payment and even paid for subsequent flights to Atlanta). This chapter should not prevent anyone from reading the book. Rather, it ranks as one of the more interesting sections of this work. Douglas offers his own insights and makes convincing arguements for an inturder theory. You dont have to agree with the man to respect his logic, reasoning, and experience.

Overall the book reads at the speed of light. All of the chapters with the possible exception of the Lizzy Borden case are well written and really grab the reader's attention. True crime fans will have to read this book.

Douglas and Olshaker have done their usual stellar job in recounting several famous unsolved murders and approaching them from a 21st century perspective. They strip away all the sensationalism that surrounded these cases and focus in on the profiling that has proven correct so many times. What kind of person would have committed this crime? In this particular way, leaving behind these particular clues? This book has the some of the answers.

The cases given such scrutiny are London's Jack the Ripper murders, Lizzie Borden and the hatchet murders of her father and step-mother, the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, California's Zodiac killer, and the JonBenet Ramsey murder. Other cases encapsulated in one chapter illustrating the power of motive to make or break a case are the Black Dahlia homicide, the Lawrencia Bembeneck case, and the Boston Strangler killings.

It is fascinating to get to the heart of the matter, especially in the Ripper and Borden cases, and zero in on "just the facts" of who was there who had the motive, means, and opportunity to commit these crimes in this particular way? In the days before criminal profiling and behavioral analysis, it seemed as though it must be a crazed fiend running around killing people. Certainly not a God-fearing, Sunday School teacher of good family bashing in the heads of the parents to obtain a higher level of existence for herself. That speaks strongly to motive: who else but Lizzie (and her sister Emma) stood to gain if her parents were dead? Not a crazed fiend, but the Borden sisters themselves.

Obviously a crazed fiend was responsible for the Ripper murders, for which Douglas produces a likely suspect. It was either this man, or someone very much like him. Someone who, after the last murder, disintegrated to such an extent he was institutionalized and died soon after. This makes more sense than, say, an elaborate conspiracy plot involving members of the Victorian royal family.

Douglas dissects the crime to its individual components and adds them up to a behavioral profile and then compares this to the existing suspects. The best match is the likeliest culprit. Douglas seems less arrogant here than in other works; perhaps he worked on analyzing his own behavior!

Also, another reviewer made the point that Douglas is inconsistent with his findings. His or her example is that Douglas doubts that an intruder broke in to the Borden home, killed Mrs. Borden, then waited 90 minutes and killed Mr. Borden. But it made perfect sense to Douglas that someone broke into the Ramsey home and waited hours for them to come home, go to sleep, and then abduct and murder JonBenet. His findings do make sense when you consider that the Borden home was an extremely small (even for the day) house, with no place to hide without being seen by someone. The Ramsey house was a very large and warren-like, which could have afforded an intruder ample places to wait for hours.

I've got to say, Douglas has definitely changed my mind on the JonBenet Ramsey case; the combination of a compromised crime scene, incorrect suppositions, and tabloid sensationalism have contributed to a hopelessly muddled case which will in all probability never be solved. But Douglas is pretty persuasive that it was not John and Patsy Ramsey.

I noticed a few typos, but all in all, a ripping good read!